Chapter 27 - Dominic
Ethan and I drive in silence. After a few long moments, he takes a deep breath.
“Don’t,” I say before he can speak. “Please, Ethan. I don’t want to talk about it.”
I see Ethan nod out of the corner of my eye and I keep staring out the window. I wish I wasn’t putting him in this position, but I couldn’t help myself. Something about Mara draws me to her. She’s irresistible.
Plus, I needed the work.
Why should I stay away from Mara based on some old feud from 10 years ago! I don’t have any hard feelings for her.
When we get to the edge of town, instead of turning down the long gravel road to my house, Ethan continues straight. I glance over at him.
“Where are we going?”
“We’re going to Aiden’s,” he replies. His tone of voice leaves no room for discussion. My heart starts thumping a bit harder, and I stare at the trees and mountains going by as we drive down the road.
My muscles tense as we get closer to the winding road that will take us up the mountain to Aiden’s cabin. The sky seems darker all of a sudden. The drive seems to take forever.
Finally, the tension is too much for me. I turn to Ethan.
“What do you expect me to say to him? I’m pretty sure the contract is finished now. You saw Mrs. McCoy.”
“I expect you to talk to him.”
I sigh and shake my head. “Ethan, what kind of good is talking going to do? What do you want me to say?”
Ethan glances over at me and a pang passes through my chest. His eyes soften and he looks back towards the road. We turn off on the familiar gravel road that will take us to Aiden’s. Instead of driving up, Ethan pulls over on the shoulder and turns to me.
“I agree with you,” he starts. He stares at me and I see my father’s wisdom in his eyes. He takes a deep breath and pauses.
“But…?” I urge him to continue.
“But is it worth it?” There’s something different in the way that he’s looking at me. I see something in him that I haven’t seen since we were teenagers, standing around our father’s deathbed. I see the sadness and loneliness that’s been curled deep inside all of us for the past ten years.
I look away from him and stare out the windscreen. The pine trees are swaying gently. The sun is shining and big puffy white clouds are floating through the sky. It’s a picture-perfect day, but it feels like the weather is laughing at me.
I shrug. “I don’t know, Ethan. I just can’t bring myself to be mad at her.”
Ethan nods. We sit in silence, considering each other’s words for a few minutes. After a pause, Ethan puts the car in gear again and starts the slow, winding drive up the mountain.
We crawl upwards, until finally the trees clear and I see the house that we grew up in. Aiden renovated it and moved into it with his new wife. The cabin that he lived in for almost ten years has been converted into a workshop.
Ethan glances at me and kills the engine. We step out of his car and make our way towards the house. Our shoes crunch on the gravel. A bird sings in a nearby tree, but otherwise the forest is completely silent.
As I put my foot on the first step up to the porch, the front door swings open. Aiden’s dark face greets us without a word. I pause, not knowing what to say to him. He glances from me to Ethan and his brows knit together. Finally, he swings the door open and nods for us to come in.
Without a word, he leads us to the kitchen at the back of the house. I glance around, feeling like a stranger in my childhood home. He’s made so many changes that it might as well be a different house. We get to the kitchen and Aiden leans against the counter. There’s a big oak table in front of us, and Aiden motions to it.
“You know how I’ve been looking through Dad’s old stuff in the attic?”
I grunt in response, looking at the papers on the table. I take a step closer, frowning. They look like letters. I recognize my father’s handwriting on a couple of them, but most of them are unfamiliar. I pick one up, scanning it quickly and settling my eyes on the name at the bottom.
My eyebrows shoot upwards and I glance at Aiden. Ethan is staring at me, gauging my reaction. My mouth goes dry and my tongue feels almost too big for my mouth. I try to swallow and look at the letter again. I clear my throat.
“This is a love letter,” I finally say. “Addressed to Dad.”
Aiden nods. “It’s from Margaret McCoy. There are dozens like it.”
I glance at the table, picking up another letter at random. My heart is thumping against my chest and I frown again. I shake my head, then stare at the letters before glancing back at my brothers.
“I don’t get it. Were they having an affair? Was this after Mom died?”
Ethan and Aiden glance at each other. Ethan answers first.
“We’re not sure. There aren’t any letters that Dad wrote. The last one is here,” he says, picking a crumpled paper out of the stack. “It’s dated right after the accident.”
I take the paper from my brother and frown. “You knew about this?” I ask Ethan.
“I just found these a couple days ago,” Aiden responds. “I showed Ethan yesterday.”
“Were you planning on telling me?” I ask, suddenly angry at being left in the dark. Ethan nods.
“Of course. With you and Mara, and your contract with the McCoys…” His voice trails off, and I frown.
“I don’t get it. Why would I care about this? It’s ten years ago.”
“Just read it,” Aiden grunts. I look back at the crumpled paper and frown as I try to make out the faded writing.
My darling Calvin,
I’ve spent the last two days in agony, blaming myself for what happened at the river. I shouldn’t have suggested going down to the river, but I couldn’t bear to be apart from you for another day. Being near you is like a soothing balm on my soul. Stealing glances your way as our children played together is the sweetest joy.
Your last letter has shattered my heart. Knowing you want nothing to do with me is tearing me apart. You saved my daughter’s life, and I can never thank you enough. And now, I just want to be by your side for the rest of time.
Calvin, please, my Calvin. Don’t walk away from me.
Eternally yours,
Margaret
I read the letter three times and finally look up at my brothers. I shake my head.
“I don’t get it.”
“He broke up with her after the accident, I guess,” Ethan says. “That’s what I figure, anyway.”
“And then he got sick,” I say, looking back at the crumpled piece of paper.
“And Margaret McCoy bought out Dad’s company from underneath us,” Aiden replies. I glance up at his face, and I see a torrent of emotions passing over it. I pull up a chair and sit down, putting my head in my hand, staring at the letter.
“So, this whole thing…?” I breathe. “This whole feud, or whatever it is… it’s revenge? For Dad breaking up with her? She cheated on Tim that whole time?”
I glance up at my brothers and they shrug in unison.
“That’s what I can figure out,” Ethan says.
“That’s why Margaret can’t stand us,” I breathe. The realization hits me like a tidal wave. My eyes widen and I look at the dozens and dozens of letters on the table.
“She’s going to fuck you over,” Aiden says. He sighs, rubbing his forehead with his hand. “Even if Mara cares about you. Even if you care about her,” he says. “Margaret McCoy will fuck you over.”
I try to make sense of everything. I try to understand what this changes – if it changes anything. Margaret was cheating on her husband with our dad. He broke it off with her, and then he died – and she bought his business out from under us. She hasn’t been able to stand us since.
“Mara told me that her parents used her to do the deal with the luxury hotel. They married her off to the highest bidder, basically.”
“Sounds about right,” Aiden replies bitterly. He sighs. “Look, Dominic. I don’t care about you and Mara. I thought I did, but I don’t. I dated her when I was seventeen.” He sighs, tilting his head back and looking at the ceiling. He shakes his head and my heart races as he opens his mouth to speak.
“All this,” he says, nodding to the table. “It runs a lot deeper than we ever knew.”
“I don’t know if you should get involved with them,” Ethan finishes. I stare at my brothers and then at the letters. My shoulders slump. Mara’s face appears in my mind. I see her on my pillow, with her hair around her head like a halo, and the sweetest smile on her lips. I see the sunlight streaming through the window onto her perfect body, and I feel the happiness flood my veins when I think of waking up next to her. I glance at the crumpled letter in my hand, and I take a deep breath.
“I don’t know what to think,” I finally reply.