Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 115468 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 577(@200wpm)___ 462(@250wpm)___ 385(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115468 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 577(@200wpm)___ 462(@250wpm)___ 385(@300wpm)
“Thanks. I’m…um, in the midst of getting construction bids.” I cleared my throat. “Eventually, next summer if everything goes according to plan, this will be a dog park and a boarding facility…and um, I’ll offer walking services and maybe grooming facilities. Later. If I build on. I’ll need a few licenses and some employees and, well, it’s going to take a lot of work, but, I’m excited about it. So…” God, my heart was beating so fast I feared it might explode from my chest. Mrs. Buchanan had mentioned an apology, but I owed them one too. And I didn’t necessarily want to, but I cared so deeply what these people thought. I hadn’t wanted to consider that at all because I’d believed they hated me and that I’d have to prove myself to them—to the town at large—but now they were here, and hope was building, but I was afraid of that too. Afraid to feel gutted when they rejected me again, even as a member of the community.
But the three of them were watching me with small smiles on their faces and so I released a deep breath and tried my best to relax my shoulders. “It appears you have a sound business plan,” Mr. Buchanan said. “And you’ve done a lot in only a couple of weeks.” He glanced at his wife who gave him a barely perceptible nod. “Like my wife said, I owe you an apology, Ms. Casteel.”
“Aurora, or Rory. Please,” I managed. “And I owe you an apology too. I lied—”
“Rory. We talked to our son, who explained everything to us.” His smile widened as heat infused my face. “It was clever, honestly, and I admire clever. Someday I’ll tell you stories about the ways in which I got my foot in a few closed doors.”
“Oh,” I breathed. We talked to our son. Gage…Gage. At the mention of him, my heart constricted, birds flapping between my ribs. I pictured him standing at an office window, looking out over London and missed him so badly I felt like weeping. My heart ached at the vision that blossomed in my mind constantly, but since I’d moved to Calliope, and even though it’d been such a short time, that ache had been mixed with the deep peace I felt as I’d gotten to know my father’s family and begun learning my history…and walked the same lakeshore that he’d loved so deeply. “I appreciate that,” I said. I felt a breath away from tears. “Your forgiveness. More than you know. And I’d love to hear those stories someday. I know the town hates me now but I’m hoping to gain back—”
“The town doesn’t hate you,” Mr. Buchanan said. “Rory, we were concerned for our son and only wanted the best for him. Our intentions were good, but our actions were misguided. The way we spoke to you, and the judgments we made without fully knowing the truth, were wrong. We’ve talked to our friends, and they understand that the way in which they treat you will be the way in which they treat us.”
Tears did prick my eyes then. “Thank you,” I said, my voice choked. “Gage is lucky to have you.” I meant it, though part of me crumbled inside because I understood why Gage loved these people so much and why he wanted nothing more than to please them and make them proud.
Why he was so willing to set his dreams aside to make theirs come true. Even if that knowledge crushed my heart for all the things he had to offer that would never be experienced by him or others.
“I think you currently know our son better than we do, although we’re looking forward to getting to know him better.” He took his wife’s hand on the tabletop and gave her a smile that she returned. “There’s so much…we never asked about. So much we recognized but didn’t encourage.”
I looked back and forth between them. “Oh…well, that’s wonderful,” I said. Gage’s parents had all the money in the world to make frequent trips to London and to get to know the parts of Gage that he’d held back over the years. His dream…the joy cooking brought him…his sense of humor and ability to have fun and be silly just because he could. He’d moved and was beginning a new life in a different country, but I hoped that if he took anything with him from our time together, he took that and built upon it.
“Okay,” Lexi said as she stood up. “Good talk. But I have a plane to catch tonight and so we’ve gotta move this along.” She looked at me. “Rory, are the dogs okay here while we take you somewhere?”
“Uh…I mean, yes, they’re fine for a couple of hours, but—”
“Good.” She reached out and took my hand and I stood, a myriad of emotions battling inside me. Joy. Confusion. Sadness. Longing. Peace.