Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 80035 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80035 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
She squeezed my fingers and toddled to the refrigerator. “Good. Now I’m making pancakes. You might as well invite those morons next door. It’ll give me a chance to yell at the tattoo boy for playing his damn music so loud.”
“You got it. Hey, Grams…”
“Hmm?”
“I don’t know if I’ve ever told you this, but…you’re my hero.” To my horror, my voice cracked, and that was the kind of display that mortified my stoic grandmother.
Grams grinned through a sheen of tears. “And you’re mine. I love you, Denny boy. Very much.”
I hugged her till she squawked and shooed me out the door.
Once upon a time, I would have gone straight to the rink to lose myself on a patch of ice. Hockey hadn’t solve my problems, but it had given me purpose and had introduced me to some amazing people.
Including Hank.
Yeah, I was still sad, confused, and I had no idea how to make things right, but the sun was shining, there were pancakes on the griddle in my grandmother’s kitchen, and a group of campers waiting for me at the rink.
It was a start.
23
HANK
My heart hurt like hell. And the only cure I could think of was work.
I hired additional help in the stable so I could spend extra time at the mill. I arrived early every morning and suited up for jobs I hadn’t personally done in years. I drove the forklift, worked the kiln, and unloaded shipments. I met with the builder, the loggers, the mechanics. I set meetings to talk to leaders in the Four Forest area in the hopes of generating interest and in opening discussions about fundraising.
I didn’t linger on any specific chore, I didn’t waste time with idle chatter, and I avoided Elmwood like the plague. I was a fucking chicken. I was raw and miserable, and one “Where’ve you been?” away from a breakdown.
And yes, I was afraid of running into Denny. I’d hurt him, and I hated myself for it. I vacillated between thinking I should never have uttered those three stupid words and being glad I’d been honest. I did love him, and it sucked to know there was no way we could make it work.
Our worlds were too different. Denny would be off to preseason training soon and the media would be hounding him, analyzing his game and debating whether he was talented enough to warrant an astronomical pay raise. No doubt it would be easier to keep up the charade that he and MK were still together than let them know he was single and bisexual. But he had to navigate that on his own.
And I had a job to do. Celebrity endorsement was a nice idea but what the mill really needed was leadership, so I rolled up my sleeves and got to it.
“Oh, good, you’re here. Your dad is on line one.” Emily pointed at the blinking red light on her console and shoved a plate of cookies at me. “I made those last night. Chocolate chip, peanut butter. They’re delicious. Don’t leave them at your desk, or I’ll be offended.”
My assistant loved me now. Go figure.
“Uh…thank you.” I gave what I hoped passed for a smile, then took the cookies into my office and picked up my phone. “Hi, Dad. How are you feeling?”
“Don’t fuss about me. I’m calling to check on you.”
“Everything is going well at the mill and—”
“I meant you, not the mill,” he intercepted.
“I’m fine.”
“Hmm. Are you sure? I know you didn’t count on dealing with a protest…in a forest in Vermont of all places.”
I perched on the edge of the desk and gave him a mini report of recent goings on, adding, “I probably should have started out by meeting with town council members in January, but I doubt they’d have been receptive then either. I’ll be in Denver in a few days. I’ll talk to Carl and your team there to discuss a plan for Wood Hollow.”
“What about the hockey player? You’re friends, right? Maybe ask him about the promo again while he’s still in town.”
“He offered to do it,” I said, biting the inside of my cheek.
“Hey! That’s fantastic! Geez, you’re a damn natural, kid,” he gushed. “Get that set up and come home. Let Cooper handle the meetings. Once the promo is out, we’re golden. We’ll hire a CEO and a—”
“I’m not going anywhere, Dad.”
“What are you talking about? You wanted six months—it’s been six months, and you’ve done what you set out to do. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Wood Hollow will take some time getting up to speed, but you’ve done your share. Bring the horses home, buy a couple more, and call Cassy. She’ll be more than happy to help you get your practice started. You’ve earned it, Hank.”
I paced to the window and stared out at the slice of forest behind the warehouse at the enormous flatbed truck, the row of forklifts, and neatly stacked timber. Sure, there was more to do, but someone else could take over and damn…that was tempting.