With Olivia gone, and the Barcelona and now St. Barth’s deals almost to completion, I have a lot of time on my hands to think.
Having watched the downward spiral Olivia went through shook me to my core. I need to do something about Pierce, and not just pay some money to make that shit go away. I need to decide what the hell is going on with him and get him help.
The strain with Grant doesn’t help. My father is quiet about what went down that morning all those years ago, and Grant doesn’t talk to any of us long enough to tell us, so it’s time I get to the bottom of it.
I pick up the phone and I’m surprised when he answers since he’s avoided my last dozen attempts. “We need to talk.”
“I can’t.”
“Why did you do it? I thought we had a breakthrough.” I sigh into the phone.
“Just because I told you about Dad, just because I was there at the hospital, doesn’t mean anything has changed.”
“But to fuck with my business? To fuck with the family business?”
“I don’t want to talk about this. Go back to your perfect life with your perfect girlfriend and I’ll get back to mine,” he bites out.
“My perfect girlfriend. I just had to watch her struggle for her life, you asshole. Are you that spiteful?”
“I didn’t know.” His voice is low, remorseful.
“I know you didn’t. She’ll be okay, but having this happen made me realize a lot. I want my brother back. I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t ask for Dad to make me the CEO, nor did I tell him to disinherit you. You’re hurting me by doing this. Your beef is with him, not me. I just want my brother back.” I breathe. “Why won’t you let me in? Tell me what happened?”
“I can’t.”
“Please.” The phone goes silent for a minute and I wonder if he’s hung up. “I don’t want to lose you.”
“I’ll try.”
And that answers my question. Maybe it won’t be today when he opens up to me, maybe not tomorrow either, but this is a start and I’ll take it.
An hour later, I’m pulling up to the Lancaster compound in Connecticut. The main house stands proud surrounded by rolling acres of green. Future plots of land for the Lancaster heirs.
I’ve never imagined building a house for myself there, but now I can envision it all in my head. A mixture of contemporary lines and elegant features; a marriage of designs. I can’t wait to one day build it with Olivia by my side.
I shake my head. One day at a time. First she needs to get better. Then we can plan a future.
I drive down the long path to the main house and park my Aston Martin in the circular drive. When I reach the front door, I realize I didn’t bring the spare key so I ring the bell and, surprisingly, my mother answers. Usually, a member of the staff does.
“Spencer,” she says with a warm smile. The lines around her eyes grow deeper with worry. “What a nice surprise. We weren’t expecting you.”
“I need to speak to Dad.”
“And you couldn’t call first?”
“I couldn’t run the risk of you or him putting me off.”
“Oh.” She doesn’t say more, but I can tell she’s concerned by the way she bites her lip. “This way. Your dad is resting in the library.”
When I walk in, the air in my lungs leaves my body. My dad looks bad. Really bad. Old. Frail. “Hey, son.” Even the sound of his voice is different from the man I grew up with. I don’t know this man. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, it’s fine.” I don’t want to burden him anymore. But then I look more closely at him and realize that as with Olivia, or with her friend Lindsey, the future isn’t clear. I’m lucky Olivia is still alive. That I have no regrets hanging over me. But can my dad say the same? Can Grant? If something were to happen to my dad or Grant, would the regrets of their pasts always haunt them? I decide then and there, no matter how frail he looks, we need to speak.
I take a seat and say what I came here to say. “Dad, you need to talk to Grant.”
“And you need to mind your own business,” he mumbles.
“No, I have stayed out of it long enough. I have let you tear this family apart, but not any longer. I love you, Dad, but this needs to end. I don’t know what happened, and quite frankly, I don’t care. It ends before we miss more of his life.”
“I never told you not to have a relationship with your brother. That’s on you.”
“You’re right, you didn’t, but you sure as hell didn’t help. Whatever happened left a toxic environment for everyone in the family, and eventually it eroded Grant’s relationships with all of us. Fix it.”
“I can’t.”
“You have to. Don’t you want to meet your granddaughter?”
His face pales. “Of course I do.”
“Then make it right.”
“How?”
“That I can’t tell you, but it’s time you open your heart up. Be the bigger person and figure it out.”
He doesn’t speak for a minute then nods. He looks tired. Emotionally worn out from the exchange. After a minute I stand and take his hand. “I’m going to let you rest. Think about it.” I lean down and kiss his forehead. “I love you, Dad.”
I turn to walk away. “Spencer.”
I look back at him.
“You make me real proud.”
And for the first time in forever, I have hope for the Lancaster family.