Chapter Twenty
Haru stared wide-eyed at Hunter. He looked like hell, and he knew it. That’s what three minutes of sleep all night did to a guy. He’d tried to quiet his dark thoughts about Gentry, his dad, Sara, and Pure Foods, but they’d slid through his brain, burning like hot oil, until his head was so messed up he couldn’t do anything but stare at the ceiling and pray for relief.
By morning, he’d decided he’d be better off taking control of CTC than trashing his house or telling off his family.
“Do it,” he instructed Haru, whose shell-shocked expression didn’t stop him from forcing her to hit “Send” on a company-wide memo invoking his power as interim CEO. Jenna would come screeching into his office sooner than later, so he strolled on in and shut the door, welcoming the showdown.
Sunlight poured through the massive window behind his credenza, flooding the office—or command central, as he’d jokingly referred to it from time to time—with light. He scowled. Nothing about this day matched that kind of brightness, nor did command central inspire the confidence it typically instilled. Even the bubbling of his massive fish tank didn’t soothe him today.
He sat in his chair and turned on his computer, his gaze falling on the wedding photo on the corner of his desk. The loving image mocked him. Nearly a decade old—that time made obvious by the fact that their faces were no longer so young and innocent. Sara had been a breathtaking bride in her lacy gown and organza veil.
People had told him twenty-five was too young to marry, but he’d known at twenty that he wanted her for his wife. Waiting five years had shown remarkable restraint as far as he’d been concerned.
In the photo, her adoration shone in her eyes. Admittedly, he hadn’t seen that look for months, maybe longer. She’d become disenchanted, nitpicking the minutiae of their lives instead of looking at the bigger picture.
Her note had been a sharp, unexpected slap to the face. Last night, he’d planned to jump in his car this morning and drive down to Sacramento. But by dawn his heartache had hardened to anger.
She’d betrayed him and their love. Sneaked away and refused his calls. A bit hypocritical, too, after the way she’d complained that he’d left her when she needed him most. Not that she’d agree.
His office door slammed open, bringing an abrupt end to his musing. He didn’t need to look up to know Jenna now stood in the middle of his office, fuming. Ignoring her would be a fun but unrealistic option.
He flicked a bored gaze her way. “Can I help you?”
She held a printout of the one-paragraph memo with two fingers, the same way she used to handle Gentry’s dirty diapers. “What’s this?”
With almost nothing but misery in his life, he couldn’t pass up the pleasure of making her squirm. Wednesday night he’d held back for Sara’s sake, but he would make Jenna pay for her role in Gentry’s change of heart and its ramifications. As CEO, he could fire her now, and he might if she pushed too hard. “Sorry. I presumed you could read.”
“Don’t be a wiseass, Hunter.” She strode forward and slammed the page on his desk. “You can’t do this, you know.”
“I can, actually. And I did. Haru can send you a copy of the bylaws if you don’t have your own. Since you’ve never bothered to pay attention to the details, let me summarize. Given my father’s memory issues and the fact that he’s been advised not to work for at least another month, I, as CFO, am entitled—most might argue I’m required—to act as interim CEO until it is determined whether he can and will return. If, after one hundred eighty days, he cannot return to his role, then the board must appoint a permanent CEO. So, now that I’ve cleared that up for you, please leave. I have work to do.” He returned his gaze to his screen, wearing a bit of a shit-eating grin. In the midst of a hellish week, this little win was long overdue.
“Are you trying to break your father’s heart?” She crossed her arms. The desolate tone of her voice almost made him feel guilty, until she added, “Is this your way of punishing us because Gentry decided not to hand you her baby?”
Gentry decided, as if Jenna hadn’t persuaded her to reconsider. Did she think he’d forgotten her initial, strong objections? He’d bet his 401(k) that Jenna had been planting doubts in Gentry’s mind every day since she’d moved back home.
“No, Jenna. I’d never toy with CTC just to punish you, no matter how much fun that would be. I want CTC to survive and flourish. It needs leadership to do so, and without my dad here, I have to step up. I’m merely following the rules in place for the smooth transition of power when the CEO is incapacitated or otherwise unable to uphold his obligations.”
Seeing her squirm might make others uncomfortable. Not him. He relished exerting this power over her, finally. His dad had always given her more say than her position should warrant. Now she’d be restricted to weighing in solely on marketing matters. Nothing more.
“Let me know when the doctors think he can come back to work. Until then, if there isn’t anything else you need from me, please see yourself out.”
Jenna opened her mouth, but his mother’s surprise appearance stunned them both. “You two might want to lower your voices. I could hear you from Haru’s desk.”
“Leslie, perhaps you could wait with her until your son and I are finished.” Jenna gestured dismissively.
His mom held her ground. “I need to speak to Hunter about something important, so perhaps you could step out until I’m finished.”
“Something important?” Jenna mocked. “I didn’t realize you did anything important.”
Hunter shot from his chair, but his mother held up her hand. She approached Jenna, head shaking, eyes sober. “You never did. You’ve always thought that the only things that matter are careers and power and money and possessions. No one denies you’ve succeeded on those fronts. But while you were investing all your energy here with my former husband, I was investing mine in my children.
“You know my kids, right—the accomplished CFO and the former lawyer turned restaurateur? The ones who love each other and me? The ones who’ve proven they know how to love and commit to another? So let’s compare my ‘unimportant’ work with yours. How’s Gentry these days? Oh, wait, I know. Undereducated, pregnant by a man she doesn’t even know, still living at home, and breaking her brother’s and sister-in-law’s hearts.” She playfully punched Jenna’s shoulder. “Nice job.”
His mother lifted her chin just a touch when she finished her put-down—her beautiful put-down. Normally, he wouldn’t want her to insult Gentry, but he was out of charity for that sister at the moment. He couldn’t tame his smile, which only made Jenna’s red cheeks more flushed.
With no ready comeback, Jenna turned on him, grabbed the memo, and crushed it in her hands. “I know Sara and you are disappointed right now, but you’ll recover and find other options. Your father is sick, Hunter. Instead of supporting him, you refuse to make peace with Gentry, and now you’re stealing his job. It’s cold and heartless. If this stunt causes any setbacks in his recovery, you’ll answer to me.”
“If I’m cold and heartless, it’s a side effect of being forced to work with you all these years. As for betrayals, he and Gentry cornered the market on those before I got in the game.”
“You can’t unilaterally stop the sale. Even with Colby in your corner, you don’t have a majority of the shareholders,” Jenna spat.
“I can’t stop it, but I can slow it down. Don’t count me out so fast, Jenna. You have no idea what might be up my sleeve.”
He savored the moment of doubt in her eyes right before she grunted and stormed out of his office. He beamed at his mom, but her face didn’t reflect the victory she should’ve felt after their go-round with the enemy.
She closed the door and then sat across from him. Such a diminutive little thing yet surprisingly tough at times. “What are you doing?”
“Working,” he teased, folding his hands on his desk, temporarily buoyed by his fight with Jenna. “What are you doing?”
She shook her head. Instead of pride, her eyes filled with pity and disappointment. “Colby called me. Why aren’t you on your way to Sacramento, Hunter? Do you want to lose your wife?”
He sat back. Of course Colby had told her. Openness was her “new thing” these days. His muscles twitched. “Sara left me, not the other way around.”
“Does that matter? Is your pride so valuable?” Her cobalt-blue gaze lit with challenge.
The temporary high of his spar with Jenna ebbed. “Thanks for the concern, Mom, but I don’t want to discuss my marriage.”
“Look at me.” An authoritarian tone she rarely used lent steel to her words as she tapped her index finger on his desk. “Do not let this pile of bricks and those spreadsheets become more important than your family or the future you were planning. Be a better man than your father. Go be a husband to your wife.”
“I’ve been a good husband. I’ve loved Sara since the day we met and have done everything I know how to do to prove it. I’ve helped her family when they needed it. I didn’t complain when she quit working. I’ve agreed to be a foster parent, given housing to strangers, and gone against my instincts when it came to Gentry’s baby, and look where it all got me. Nowhere. I can’t make Sara happy. If she doesn’t love me for who I am, maybe I should let her go.”
Those last words emerged as a raw rasp, as if they’d scraped his throat on their way out of his mouth.
“Honey, I know you don’t mean that.”
He didn’t like being as transparent as the window at his back. Maybe he didn’t mean it yet, but he knew, on some level, it was the truth. “Mom, seriously, I don’t want to discuss this. And please don’t interfere. Leave Sara alone, and let me deal with my own relationship.”
She heaved a sigh and gripped her purse, which had been resting on her lap. “I could strangle your sister.”
“Get in line.”
His mom stared at him, waiting for him to engage. When he didn’t, she stood. “If you need anything, you call. I can bring you dinner—and don’t even start making fun of my cooking like Colby does—or I’ll help with laundry, or whatever, until you get your head on straight and bring Sara home.”
He walked around his desk and hugged her. “I’m a big boy, thanks. Besides, a little alone time might be exactly what I need.”
Time to reflect.
She didn’t look convinced. “You’re going to learn the hard way that being alone is just plain lonely. Don’t be like me, Hunter. Don’t give up on the person you love too soon or you’ll live to regret it.”
“What are you talking about? You didn’t give up on the marriage—Dad left.”
“I did give up. Instead of swallowing my pride and trying to work through things, I let him go. I believed he was wrong and I was right. I thought he’d miss you kids and me so much that he’d come running back once he realized his mistake.” She shrugged while wearing a wry grin. “You see how well that worked out for us all.”
“Mom,” he said, a little shaken.
“I love you. And you know I’ve always preached that real love means being honest. You’re a good man. You’re reliable, you have integrity, and you get things done. But you aren’t the most considerate son on the planet, and I suspect I’m not the only woman you take for granted. You might want to rethink your priorities.” She patted his cheek and then left him standing there as she waltzed out of his office.
For a second, he considered snatching his keys and jumping in his car. Then Haru buzzed his office. “Richard Cortland is on hold.”
Sara pushed her niece Daisy on the swing in Mimi’s backyard. Daisy’s giggle rang out like jingle bells. It was almost as adorable as the polka-dot ribbons tying her ponytail and her sunflower sweatshirt.
Her sister’s yard—actually, more of a tiny farm—would be any kid’s idea of paradise. A grassy area within the four-acre parcel contained a built-in sandbox and swing set. The other three acres consisted of gardens: multiple berry bushes, an orchard, rows of vegetables and herbs, and a chicken coop to boot.
Their California ranch–style house was small and a bit rundown, but Mimi and her husband Tom didn’t care about picture windows and quartz countertops. Their loud, gas-guzzling, rusty pickup truck had miles of love on it.
Her sister Katy, who lived in Reno with her husband and her daughter, Caroline, also led a relatively simple life like Mimi. Their baby sister, Kelly, was working at a public school an hour south of Sacramento, in Stockton, and dating a gym teacher—broke, but happy.
Everyone in her family defined success differently from Hunter. He needed to prove something to himself, his dad, and maybe even the world. And, apparently, he didn’t need Sara to do it.
Mimi came back outside with six-month-old Betsy on her hip, jeans stained with some kind of baby food.
Betsy’s angelic face, surrounded by golden curls, had ruby-red lips that broke into a wide, gum-filled smile. Sara’s heart could hardly handle the cuteness.
Mimi smiled at Daisy. “You having fun with Aunt Sara?”
Daisy nodded and kicked her little legs, leaning back for another push.
“We’re going to Grammy’s for dinner tomorrow,” Mimi said. “How ’bout we pick the last of the apples and make a pie?”
“Okay.” Daisy hopped off the swing and ran to the shed to get a pail.
“Gimme the little bundle of love.” Sara reached for Betsy with grabby hands and then smothered her face with kisses. Nothing in the whole world smelled as sweet as a baby. “They’re precious, Mimi. You’re so incredibly lucky.”
A small wave of envy threatened to ruin the moment, but she rode it out and let it wash away.
“I know.” Her face crinkled a little. “I’m really sorry about Gentry’s change of heart.”
“Me too.” Sara blinked twice to stop the tears from welling. “But it could be for the best. Hunter was never really on board.”
“Why do you say that?” Her sister leaned against one of the swing set posts. Her shoulder-length light-brown hair blew around her face. They were barely a year apart, and although Sara had been a high achiever compared with Mimi’s laid-back approach to life, they’d always enjoyed a good relationship.
“He went along for my sake, but he always thought it was too complicated, given the family dynamic. Looks like he was right.”
“That’s never easy to admit, is it?” Mimi stared off for a minute. “Then again, it’s been a while since I’ve had that problem.”
“Oh?” Her sister’s disgruntled tone surprised Sara.
“Well, you know. Tom’s laid off again. My part-time job at the yarn shop isn’t exactly keeping us flush. Thank God for all this food we grow, because things are tight. I keep telling him that he won’t find a new job by watching TV and moping.”
“I’m sorry, Mimi. I had no idea . . .” Sara felt ashamed for the excesses of her life with Hunter. “I wish you’d have told me sooner. I’m happy to help.”
Her sister waved her off. “I still owe you from the first time I borrowed money from you.”
“You don’t need to repay me. You’re family.”
“Thanks, but I don’t like owing you, or Hunter.”
Sara didn’t want to be beholden to Hunter on that score, either, but she kept quiet. “Now that I’m back home, I can help. I’ll watch the kids while you and Tom figure things out. Maybe I can help him find a job.”
“You can’t solve your problems by trying to fix mine.” Mimi raised her brows.
“That’s not what I’m doing.” She hugged Betsy a little tighter.
“If you say so.” Mimi glanced toward the tiny mobile home one hundred yards away. “So, what’s your plan?”
“I’m not sure. Leaving was impulsive, but I’d run out of solutions. Maybe I can find some consulting work in Sacramento so I can be closer to my family. Lease a small place in the area.” Sara stared off in the distance while kissing Betsy’s head. “See how it feels to be single.”
Mimi kicked her toe in the dirt and let a moment or two pass. “That can’t be what you really want.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s too sudden. You haven’t given yourself or Hunter time to talk through the options. And it’s pretty clear you’ve idealized what happens here in Sacramento when you’re not around. Let me clue you in. Everyone, including Mom and Dad, is busy with their own lives and problems. We aren’t still taking family camping trips all summer or doing the Sunday-dinner thing every week. Sometimes we go a month or more without getting together.
“If you move back here, you’ll be just as lonely as you say you are up there with Hunter and his family. Maybe even more so, because you’ll be sleeping alone.” She crossed her arms, her tone softening from lecture mode to something pleading. “Besides, I’ve seen the way Hunter looks at you. He might not get it right every time, but he’d do anything for you. How can you leave someone who loves you that much?”
How indeed? “Grand gestures can’t make up for the fact that I’m alone ninety percent of the time. When he is home, he’s barely present. He thinks he hasn’t changed, but he has in a million little ways that add up to a lot. And his animosity with Jenna is beyond unbearable.” Sara stroked Betsy’s hair and kissed her again. “The truth is, I’m not so sure he wants the kind of family I do. He’s perfectly happy with his busy life and no kids. Biking, work, and sex are his three needs.”
“Don’t knock the sex part.” Mimi wrinkled her nose. “Tom and I have stumbled on that one a bit lately, which sucks.”
So had Sara and Hunter, truthfully. The baby-making efforts had taken a toll, and even since the last IVF, they’d had their ups and downs in the bedroom—and his home office. “Bottom line, our priorities aren’t aligned. I want a real partner. A real family.”
Mimi reached for Betsy, whom Sara reluctantly released. “I bet he wants those things, too.”
“Maybe in some vague way. But CTC is his big passion—the center of all his decisions.”
“That’s nothing new. It’s always been his baby.”
Sara gaze drifted downward. CTC was Hunter’s baby. A living, breathing thing that he’d nurtured for years. A family legacy he meant to leave behind. His dad’s change of heart about its future had destroyed a part of Hunter just as sure as Gentry’s change of heart had destroyed a part of Sara.
Daisy careered back to the group, white-knuckled grip on her pail, and captured Sara’s hand. The exertion stained her chubby cheeks with a deep-pink hue. “Let’s go, Aunt Sara. If you lift me, I can pull them.”
“You two go ahead. I’ll take Betsy in and put her down for a nap.” Mimi moved Betsy’s hand to make her wave. “Bye-bye!”
“Bye, my angel.” Sara blew Betsy a kiss, then turned to Daisy. “You’re such a good helper.”
They strolled to the apple tree orchard and scanned the branches, searching for the last few apples. “I see a few.”
“Up!” Daisy shouted, dropping the pail to the ground.
Sara hoisted her to where she could reach all but the highest ones. If Hunter had been with her, he would’ve been able to raise Daisy high enough to let her pick those, too. No one would suspect how good he could be with children, particularly when engaged in a project or experiment. It seemed a shame that he didn’t have his own, even if he didn’t realize it. “I’ll get those last three.”
“Okay.” Daisy began methodically filling the bucket with the apples she’d picked.
Sara stole another glance at Lisa’s funky tiny home. “Do you like having Aunt Lisa live so close?”
Daisy’s nonchalant shrug suggested Lisa didn’t exactly relish her nieces. “Lucas is fun.”
Sara smiled, doubting Lisa would be happy to learn that her dog outranked her.
“When we were little girls, your aunt Lisa used to love to finger-paint. She painted everything. One time when no one was paying much attention, she painted Grandpa’s car!”
Daisy giggled. “I want to paint a car.”
“No, no!” Too soon she realized her mistake. She’d have to warn Mimi. “Stick to paper, sweetie.”
Daisy scrunched up her tiny face and held up the bucket for the rest of the apples. “Okay.”
“Aunt Lisa used to like to cook, too. Does she help your mommy with dinner?”
Daisy shook her head. “No, silly. But sometimes she comes and eats with us and takes our cookies.”
“Well, I suppose I can’t blame her for stealing your mom’s yummy cookies.” She tapped Daisy’s nose, but was surprised to learn that Lisa wasn’t spending more time with Mimi or helping with the kids.
When they returned to the house, Sara asked Mimi about it.
Mimi laughed. “We’re talking about Lisa, right?”
“I know she’s not the most proactive person, but when you ask, she’ll usually help out.”
“The way I see it, when you love someone, you should look for ways to help without the prompt. Especially if they’re letting you squat on their property for free.” Mimi shook her head as she measured the flour. “I’m tired of having to ask. She’s old enough to be able to anticipate—to know what I need and do it, you know?”
Sara conceded. She thought of how often she’d stopped in to visit her mother-in-law, kept the pantry stocked with Hunter’s favorites, bought birthday presents for in-laws without reminders, and tended to Jed when he got sick. “I know exactly what you mean.”
After rinsing the apples, Sara began peeling and chopping while her sister started making the pie dough. Daisy’s attention span didn’t last. Sara smiled, watching her wander into the living room to play.
“I see that look on your face, and I worry,” Mimi said.
“Worry?”
“I can’t imagine how it feels to face the challenges and losses you’ve suffered to try to have kids.” Mimi hesitated, and Sara could tell from her expression that she didn’t know how to finish her thought. “But is it possible that some of the trouble in your marriage has more to do with your emotional landscape than with Hunter’s behavior?”
“You think it’s my fault?” She set the knife down.
“It’s no one’s fault, Sara.” Mimi’s face shone with empathy. “For two years you’ve given everything you have to one goal, and now your tank is empty. The fact that you and Hunter are dealing with that loss so differently causes tension, which is made worse because you’ve got nothing in your tank.”
Mimi then walked over and slung an arm around Sara’s shoulder. “Could Hunter be more attentive? Sure. But isn’t it also up to you to refill your own tank? You could try grief counseling. Just a suggestion. Bottom line, if you love him and he loves you, there are other solutions you might try before calling it quits.”
Sara eased away, picked up the knife again, and peeled the apples with a little more force. They worked side by side in silence for a few minutes.
While her sister rolled out the crust, Sara’s phone buzzed. She wanted to ignore it but couldn’t. Not when her whole world had flipped on its head. Resigned, she pulled it from her pocket. Gentry’s name appeared on the screen.
She set the knife down again and froze. An image of Gentry sitting on the floor at Jed’s feet flashed, bringing up the pain Sara had been sitting on. She almost didn’t answer the call but then worried that something had happened to Jed, or Hunter.
She turned away from Mimi. “Hello.”
“Sara, gosh, I expected your voice mail. I mean, I’m glad you answered, but I assumed you wouldn’t want to talk to me.”
Sara didn’t have the strength to converse with Gentry about anything other than an emergency. “Is everything okay with your dad?”
“Yes . . . well, I mean, he’s basically the same. More upset today because of what Hunter pulled, but that’s not why I’m calling.”
What had Hunter pulled? She almost asked but then remembered she didn’t want to talk to Gentry. A conundrum, now that she wanted to know about Hunter.
“Colby says you left town. Is it true? Did you leave because of me?” Gentry’s voice cracked. “I told you I’m sorry. I never thought I’d get attached to my baby. I swear, Sara. I never meant to hurt you or Hunter. Now you’ve left, and he’s gone crazy.”
She couldn’t picture Hunter—the sanest, most controlled person she’d ever known—out of control. “What did he do?”
“Went all legal on Dad. Basically, kicked him out as CEO and took over. Something about bylaws and Dad being incapacitated—I don’t really understand. My mom’s furious, and Dad’s pretty unhappy, too.”
Hunter hated losing command of anything, yet he’d lost control of the adoption and of her. No wonder he needed to seize CTC. Even so, he’d regret humbling his father this way. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but one day.
He might be spiteful now, but Hunter loved his dad. He’d spent his whole life in service to Jed. The irony was that, as much as her husband probably believed he’d gained control of the situation, he didn’t see how he’d lost control of himself.
Sara pressed her thumb and middle finger against her temples.
“Sara, are you still there?”
“Yes.” She wanted to hang up, but something stopped her.
“Do you hate me?”
Her body flashed hot and cold. Only Gentry would put her on the spot that way. “Hate” was a strong word. One she never particularly understood. Betrayed, hurt, angered, sure . . . but not hatred. “No.”
“Thank you.” Gentry sniffled. “I know I’ve screwed up and hurt you, which is the worst, because, of everyone in my ridiculous family, you’ve consistently been the nicest to me. Will you ever forgive me?”
“Does it matter? I’m here, you’re there.” She projected ahead, picturing a future without Hunter, Colby, Leslie, and the rest. Wondering if they’d mend fences. Imagining not seeing Gentry’s child born or raised, and not being involved in Colby’s wedding one day, whenever that happened. Could she really live the rest of her life without seeing Hunter or his smile? Without knowing how he was doing or, eventually, whom he was seeing?
That last thought reached through her chest and gripped her heart.
“I thought you just needed to clear your head, not that you’d actually stay in California. Holy shit, Hunter will lose his mind if you divorce him. He’ll never forgive me.” Those last words came out as a frightened whisper.
Sara thought about what Mimi had said about Hunter’s relationship to CTC.
Even if her marriage ended, she didn’t want to see him destroyed. She didn’t even want to see him hurt. She loved him, after all.
As much as she’d been urging him to let go of the company, now she knew it would be wrong for him. Colby would vote with him, but he’d need Gentry’s vote to win. “He might forgive you if you don’t vote to sell. He’s given everything to CTC, Gentry. I understand how you’ve grown attached to your child. It’s your right to keep your baby, but don’t take Hunter’s baby from him, too. Trust him to make it flourish.”
“But my mom and dad—”
“Your parents have everything they could ever need, and so do you. Hunter will have nothing left if the company is sold.” Her throat ached. “I hope you’ll think about that, but I’ve got to go.”
“Okay.”
“Goodbye, Gentry.” Sara hit “End” before Gentry could say anything more. Her throat felt raw. She set the phone down and stared at it, forgetting that she wasn’t alone.
“You okay?” Mimi finished the latticework on the pie, carefully avoiding eye contact.
“I don’t know.” It hurt to learn Hunter was so distraught that he’d usurped his own father.
She had her family for support, but Hunter wouldn’t turn to anyone. Colby would reach out, but he’d shut her out, too, unable to see how self-destructive his actions were until it was too late.
“Sara?”
Then something she’d never considered dawned on her. Maybe he’d shove all his sorrow down so deep the only thing left would be a hollow shell. A visage of Hunter staring at her with absolutely no feeling in his eyes made her knees weak. She sank onto a kitchen chair. “I honestly don’t know.”