Cassie’s always been independent. Unless she’s not feeling well, or she’s sad. That’s when she follows Lee or me around like a little duckling behind her parents. Today is definitely one of those days. She’s clinging to Lee as if she were her lifeline. Of all the days that I need her to ignore us and beg to go outside, ugh, I sigh.

“Sweetheart, why don’t you go out and play?” I suggest.

She glares at me but doesn’t say a word.

“There’s plenty of snow to make snowmen,” I try to persuade her.

“We already made a few at Grandpa’s,” Cassie answers, sternly.

“Should we go home?” I ask since the kitchen looks clean, and it doesn’t seem like they’re making any candy.

“No, I want to stay with Lee,” she insists, wrapping her arms around Knightly’s waist.

Kid, you’re killing me. We don’t have much time left before Lee leaves us. I have a non-established relationship to save. Then, I stare at Kingston and Bishop who are here too.

“What are you doing here, Hops?” I ask exasperated.

It’s like the entire universe decided to fuck with me this weekend.

“Chloe’s packing her things. I don’t want to be there,” he explains.

Great, fucking great. “Shouldn’t you be at your apartment, making sure that she’s only leaving with her stuff?”

“Lee made sure to label everything earlier today,” he explains. “The movers know not to take my things.”

Will he ever grow a pair and stop depending on his baby sister? I glare at him.

“You seem edgy, do you want to hit the gym?” Kingston proposes.

“Daddy, when can we go to the woods to choose the Christmas trees?” Cassie looks at me. “Christmas is in two weeks.”

I arch an eyebrow and exhale loudly looking at Lee. “Probably next weekend. We’ll have to coordinate with Grandpa and your uncles.”

“Friday’s good for me,” Bishop says checking his phone.

“We can discuss it later,” Kingston offers.

“Lee?” I bring her into the conversation because she hasn’t said a word since I arrived.

She shrugs one shoulder and avoids my gaze. Fuck, if she was pissed yesterday, today she can’t even stand me. I narrow my gaze when I notice her blotchy eyes. Has she been crying?

If Cassie weren’t literally attached to her hip, I’d ask Bishop to take her for ice cream so I could be alone with his sister. I know my daughter, she’s not going to leave Lee’s side. If I try, I might make things worse. That’s a risk I won’t take today.

What happened to Cassie?

“Sunday,” she mumbles. “I think Sunday might work.”

“What’s the plan for today?”

“I’m going to the gym,” Kingston says, standing up. “Do you want to come?”

“You should go with Uncle King,” Cassie suggests. “Lee can take me home and put me to bed when it’s time. She promised to read me a story.”

“What have we told you, Cassie?” Lee presses her lips and gives her a chiding gaze.

My kid’s so independent that sometimes she thinks she’s old enough to make her own decisions. Lee and I keep reminding her that she’s still a kid and has to follow the rules.

“Right, sorry,” she apologizes and pouts. “Daddy, can I please stay with Lee, so we can make candy? If you want, she can take me home after dinner.”

Lee kisses the top of her head. “Much better, sweetheart.”

“If it’s okay with you,” Lee says, casually.

My two girls seem to be in a mood. Though I want to stay and make sure they’re all right, I leave because it’s clear that neither one of them want to do anything with me. Kingston and I hit the resort’s gym. We work out for about an hour. I take a shower, and then, I go to his office to have dinner with him.

“Knightly mentioned that you’re toying with the idea of buying the vineyard.”

“It’s a thought,” he says with indifference as if we’re playing poker and he has an ace up his sleeve. “The McCalls want to move south. They brought it up to us, in case we want to make an offer.”

“You don’t have the cash flow,” I remind him. “The resort is just starting to pay back what we invested.”

“Do you want to back out from our agreement?” His nostrils flare.

“No, we have a deal. Actually, I want to stay in business for longer than ten years—as per our current contract.” I stop dancing around the subject. “We’ll discuss it later though.”

A couple of years ago, he came to me because the lodge was losing a lot of money. The rest of the family businesses were solid, but the hotel wasn’t bringing in enough guests. If he renovated it and marketed it as a ski resort, he’d be able to turn it around. To do that, he needed my help. I had to convince Lee to sell the B&B and for her to focus on the other businesses.

I not only hated his plan, but I also wanted to break every bone in his body for even thinking about taking the Victorian house away from Lee. Instead, I lent him the money to renovate the lodge. I would be his silent partner for the next ten years. Once the contract expired, he’d pay me back—with interest.

Long term, it’d be more useful for my family if I keep that fifty percent ownership that’ll pass directly to my kids. After all, we wouldn’t break tradition, it would all stay within the family.

“What happened to, ‘I’ll be a silent investor’?” He glares at me.

“I’m keeping your secret, aren’t I?”

“You’re still butting into my business, and now you want to take the vineyard.”

“Holden’s retiring from the Airforce, he might want to invest in that—and I’d help him. You’re not financially stable enough to make that kind of move.”

He swallows and stares at me for a couple of seconds. “I see. The hero comes back home, and you would have a cozy place for your big brother.”

I nod and stare at him. What’s his problem?

“If I acquire the vineyard, it’d be part of the family business,” he explains as if trying to persuade me not to do it.

“Bishop and Lee would be part of it. Hops seems to like the idea since it’d be a perfect complement to the cider business,” he says carefully. “We’d have to apply for a loan. Harris Estate is in good standing. We have assets.”

“You can’t put the resort up as collateral, nor the B&B,” I remind him.

“It’ll boost our business. We can sell cider to the liquor stores that buy the wine,” he explains agitated. “That’s another push to help not only the Harris name but the town. What do you want from me, Miller?”

“To even consider including you in the vineyard transaction,” I say, grinning, “you’d have to change some things. I’d no longer be a silent partner. You’ll have to come clean to your siblings about my role in the resort. Last but not least, if, and only if Holden is okay with that, we’ll make you a partner in the vineyard.”

“Since when did you become an asshole?”

I stand up, getting ready to leave. “The day that you tried to fuck with Lee. They’re your family, not pawns to move around.”

“You’re supporting the wrong Harris. She’s leaving.” He grins with satisfaction.

I narrow my gaze, my mouth tasting like bile.

“Are you the one who pushed her to leave?” I fire the question, holding myself because I want to punch the grin off of his fucking face. “Did you do it so you can have her share of the estate?”

“No, but her leaving helps us,” he responds with a victorious smile. “I can make a few changes to the house. You can only fit so many guests as it is now.”

The fucker’s going to add rooms and take away the historical element to the place.

“While she’s in New York, she’ll learn how to run a big hotel. I want her to run the resort.”

Oh, fuck. Why didn’t I see this yesterday? Whatever he used to play with her mind and get her out of here must be eating her inside. King isn’t a bad person, he’s just too focused on his goals to pay attention to others.

I chuckle, rolling my eyes. “Enjoy your little victory dance while it lasts.”

“What do you mean?”

“Lee’s right, you can be so obtuse.”