We sat around the kitchen table as Walt paced back and forth. He looked at Terry, then Harrison. “What happened?”
“I want you to stay calm,” Harrison said.
“Don’t do that.” Walt pointed in his face. “Do not tell me to stay calm because when you say that it makes me really fucking uncalm.”
“I proposed to Shea today,” Terry said. “At Asiago.”
Walt frowned. “Okay. Congratulations. I mean...did he say yes?”
Terry smiled, but it was slight. “He did. But I created the perfect storm. Shea put the restaurant on the market, he’s selling it to come here and work with you. Your father found out about that earlier, so he was already wound up. Then I proposed. I shouldn’t have done it there. Publicly. I screwed up. Because everyone cheered and clapped, but then of course word got around. Shea and I were heading for the yacht when your father showed up.”
Walt’s fist clenched. “What did he do?”
“He went after Shea. Grabbed him by the collar. Threw him on the ground. Said he wouldn’t allow it. That there was no way Shea was going to marry a man.”
“Oh, Jesus.” Walt sat and rested his elbows on the table, rubbing his temples. “Shea’s all right? You swear?”
“He’s fine,” Terry said. “He’s at home.”
“It was in public this time, Walter,” Harrison said. “It wasn’t even Terry that called the cops. Someone else did. But Dad resisted arrest. It’s a shit show. Now he’s in jail.”
“So what do you want from me?” Walt said.
“Shea wants to press charges,” Harrison said. “And I agree with him.”
Walt’s brows shot up, looking surprised. “You do?”
Harrison nodded. “It’s enough, Walt, don’t you think? He ruined all our lives. I won’t let him spoil Shea’s happiness. We can’t let him. It’s enough.”
“Wow.” Walt let out a breath.
“I’m serving as Shea’s attorney,” Terry said. “This could go a lot of different ways. We could hit your father big or we could give him a good slap on the wrist. Hope the public humiliation snaps him into shape. Wakes him up so his behavior changes. But Shea won’t do any of this without your consent, Walt. He said whatever happens needs to be okay with you.”
Walt was quiet for a long time, staring down at the table. I patted his shoulder. “You okay?”
He nodded. “Did you see him, Harrison?” he asked. “Did you see Dad in jail?”
“Yeah. I did.”
“How was he?”
Harrison shrugged his big shoulder. “Crying.”
Walt flinched. “He doesn’t get to cry,” he whispered. A tear rolled down Walt’s cheek and he swiped it way. “Right?” He looked at Harrison. “He doesn’t get to cry.”
“He shouldn’t. But he is.”
Walt’s head rested in his hands.
“He deserves to go down,” Harrison said. “Shit, Walt, he put you away when you were a kid. Sent you to that fucking juvie place. You didn’t deserve that and it broke my heart. It was his fault you were hitting other kids in the first place.”
“I know,” Walt rasped.
“It’s up to you now. This is your chance to put him away.”
Walt looked up at his brother. “Did Grampa hit dad? When he was a kid?”
“Why?”
“I want to know. Do you know?”
“Of course he hit him,” Harrison said.
“How do you know?”
“I was the first born, so I didn’t have any older siblings as an example to what happens when you challenge Dad. First few times he really whipped my ass I fought back, hard. I remember him telling me to think about how successful he was. How much money he had and how many businesses he owned. Said he owed it all to his father for beating his ass when he was a kid. For making him tough.”
Walt stared at the table again.
“Walt?” Terry said. “I know this sucks, but as Shea’s attorney, I really need an answer. I’m gonna need to talk to a judge.”
“Can we...” Walt looked at Terry. “Is there a way to force my father to get help? Maybe alcohol rehab that involves therapy or something?”
“Oh come on, Walter,” Harrison said.
“I’m the last person that wants to forgive him,” Walt said. “I don’t forgive him. And I want him locked up and I will personally turn the key if he ever bothers Shea again. But he was beaten as a kid, then he beat us. It has to stop. All of it has to stop.”
“You really think Dad would have a come to Jesus moment just because you put him in some nice rehab instead of jail?”
“I don’t know,” Walt said. “But that’s my suggestion. At least to start.”
“He won’t,” Harrison said. “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. And Dad doesn’t want to change. He thinks he’s perfect. Don’t set yourself up for disappointment.”
“You’re probably right, but I think it’s worth a try.” Walt looked at Terry. “So?”
Terry nodded. “I can look into that. And I’ll speak with Shea.”
“Okay, thanks. Harrison?”
“If it’s what you and Shea want, I’ll back it up.”
“What about Glenn?”
“He doesn’t care.”
Walt huffed. “Okay then.”
Terry stood. “Sorry to ruin your night. Shea said he’ll call you tomorrow, he’s shook up, doesn’t want to deal with anything else tonight.”
“No, you didn’t.” Walt got up and gave Terry a hug. “I refuse to let my dad ruin another second of my life. You didn’t ruin my night. And congratulations. I’m really happy for you and Shea. And I promise, no one is going to fuck with you guys.”
“I know.” Terry smiled at me. “Goodnight, Jude. Nice to see you.”
“Yeah, you too.”
Walt and I walked them to the door, and once they’d gone, he turned and grabbed me in a hug. I squeezed him tight. “You all right?”
“Yeah.” He nodded. “I actually am.”
“I think you’re doing the right thing.”
“I want my father to have this chance. But if he ever lays a hand on Shea again, I’ll testify against him and let him rot. But if I give him this one chance...at least I’ll know I did all I could. I don’t want him hurting anyone else. But I don’t want to drag the family through hell. We’ve been through enough.”
I stroked his face. “I know. You sure you’re all right?”
He grinned. “You afraid I’m gonna start punching things?”
I shrugged. “Do you need to go hit your bag or something?”
“You know what? I’m actually okay.” He leaned in and kissed me. “You make me okay. You make me strong.”
“Good. And since you’re feeling so strong, what do you say we go rip up that carpet? You have a hotel to open after all. Your hotel.”
“I want it to be our hotel.”
“What do you mean?”
“I know you love working for your mom and you love Beaver Tail. But when we got together, I swore I’d always be honest with you about how I’m feeling. I want you to come and run the hotel with me. Help me and Maggie manage it.”
I let out a breath. “Really?”
“It makes sense. You’ve got experience and you keep me grounded and I love you and it might be fun.”
I laughed. “Fun, huh?”
“Yeah! Lots of fun. Shea’s going to sell Asiago so he’ll be running the restaurant here when we open. I understand if you don’t want to change your life for me, and it’s okay. But I want you with me. I want you to work here and...I want you to live here. With me.”
I stared at him, stunned.
“That’s a lot, right?” He chuckled nervously. “I just showed my whole hand.”
I thought about my mom, and Lindy. And I knew that Beaver Tail would be fine, that they could run it without me. Our business was doing well, and they could afford to hire more people. They didn’t need me. And I could still help out if they did.
I’d spent my entire life there. Childhood. Adulthood. Never stepping outside that comfort. Never taking risks. Until Walt Cook came crashing back into my life. The first day I came here to pick him up for community service, he’d joked that he was going to go jump off the cliff if he had to deal with one more problem. I recalled thinking I wished he would.
And that seemed crazy to me now. Because now I wanted to jump off a cliff with him. This one that he was proposing now. I wanted to take this chance with him. The biggest chance. To close my eyes and jump. It was so weird, because it didn’t feel weird. I waited for the doubts to come, but they just didn’t.
In this moment, it all felt right. And I knew I was supposed to take this final risk. This final leap. Not just with my career. But with my life. With my love.
“Yes,” I said.
His eyes widened. “Yes? You’ll...shit, what are you saying yes to?”
“I’m saying yes to you. I’m saying yes to all of it.”
A laugh bubbled out of him as he grabbed me and lifted me up. “Applegate, I fucking love you.”
“I know.”
“And you love me. Shit, you really do, don’t you?”
I laughed as he put me down. “Yeah. I guess I really do. I want Peppermint Patties on my pillow sometimes, though. And I’m scared of your dogs, so they can’t sleep with us.”
His smile was enormous. “Fuck it, the carpet can wait,” he said. “I’m taking you to bed.”
And he did. As the night grew dark, I held onto his back as he moved on top of me. The ocean breeze cooled our sweat as we climaxed together. Through the open window, somewhere out on the sea, a foghorn sounded. I promised myself I’d always remember that sound, this moment. It was the most perfect happiness I’d ever felt. I would always keep it, as a reminder.
Because I knew there would be good days and bad days. There were in any relationship. And Walt and I weren’t exactly baggage-free. But I meant to hang onto this moment now, and carry it with me. Always. And if times got tough, I’d think of this. Lying here in bed while Walt stroked my sweaty stomach, then slid down and licked the cum off me, mumbling that he loved me. Asking me to stay in bed with him, to stay dirty, and hold him all night. To let the outside world wait until morning.
Out on the water, the foghorn sounded again. And I said yes. To all of it.