Chapter Thirty-One
Chloe
"Get up! It's Christmas!" Parker jumped on my bed and shook me awake like he did when we were kids.
I threw my arm in the air, trying to swat him off of me, but missing entirely.
"What time is it?" I rolled over and groaned. "Parker, It's five in the morning. We're not kids anymore."
"I am. Get up. It's time to open presents." He jumped on my bed again, and this time I got him, grabbing him and rolling over on top of him.
I pinned him to the bed and breathed in his face.
"Dad! Help! Dad!" he screamed, and I rolled off, grabbing my robe and trying to trip him as we ran down the hall.
I couldn't remember all of a sudden why in the world I hadn't been home for Christmas for the last few years. Me and Dad being at odds was one thing, but my little brother was growing up alone without me. I shouldn't have stayed away, and I never would again.
"Chloe, what are you doing to your brother?" Dad looked up from his stance in the kitchen with a mysterious look on his face.
"What are you doing in the kitchen is the real question." I moved up to him and pulled him into a hug. "Are you cooking something?"
"Yeah, Parker and I figured out your mother's old breakfast casserole recipe. We ran to the store and made it while you slept on the couch."
"You guys didn't watch The Grinch?" I turned and lifted my eyebrow at Parker.
"What do you care? You were snoring at nine-thirty." He laughed and started organizing the presents by the fireplace.
"Why do you guys not have a tree?" I looked back at my father.
"I don't know. Just seemed like another thing to do, and Parker never asked for one." He handed me a cup of coffee. "Why? You want one? We'll go get one after we open presents."
"No, it's too late this year, but next year you're going to have to put up a really big one to make up for this sadness." I pointed to the empty living room.
"So you're coming home next year?" He turned to me and smiled.
"I'm not leaving. I think this should be home from now on."
"Are you shitting us?" My brother stood up from the other side of the bar, his eyes wide with excitement.
"Parker. Watch your mouth, boy," my father reprimanded him and then turned back to me. "Are you sure this is what you want?"
"Well, a really cute guy in town told me that if things didn't work out here, it wasn't the end of the world. You just move onto the next place and start something new." I reached out and brushed my hand over my father's arm. "Can I stay here with you guys?"
"Forever." He pulled me into a hug and kissed the top of my head. "Now, get in there, and let's open up presents."
I fixed my coffee and sat beside my brother as he tore through far too many packages. Every electronic that had come out that year was sitting at my brother's feet by the time the morning was over. I almost said something, but I didn't have room to talk. I had gift cards to most department stores, a few sweaters, several new pairs of shoes, which my father did really well on picking out, and a set of keys to a brand new jeep. The old one was getting traded in, or so my father thought until Parker begged for it.
"Is that it?" Dad asked and got up, leaving as the timer on the oven beeped over and over. "Breakfast will be ready in ten minutes. It needs to cool."
"I'm going to try out these new games. Save me a piece." Parker piled everything in his arms and disappeared down the hall.
I stood and pulled one of my new sweaters over my head, wondering if I couldn't make something better that had pockets. The thing was so cute, but functionally defunct.
"Chloe, can you come here for a minute?" Dad moved to the kitchen table, and I realized I hadn't gotten his nontraditional gift yet.
"Sure." I sat down and took a quick sip of my coffee before giving him my attention. "What's up?"
"I still have two things for you." He smiled and pushed two cards toward me.
"Dad, you've already gotten me way too much. I don't need anything else."
"Yeah, but these are more than Christmas presents. Consider them a graduation gift, too."
I smiled, realizing that one of them was most likely the money to start my new clothing line. One thing that I realized was that I could still create something new and exciting for people living in California without having to live there. It was a convenience I would miss, but there were so many more reasons for me to stay in Colorado for now.
"Open the pink one first." He smiled, and I shoved the white one back. "Okay, now remember, if you're not interested in it, just give it back. It's a project, but I think you'll love it."
I opened the card and unfolded the deed to a property. "The Vanning Place. What is it?"
"It's a beautiful old mansion at the edge of town. It's been here since I was a boy. Clark and I used to always talk about gutting it and turning it into a ski lodge for families. I've wanted to do it since I was little, but time just got away from me. I figured if you were staying here, you might want to start investing in something of your own. It's a beautiful building, and I should have bought it year ago, but it never felt right until recently." He smiled and tapped the table. "If you're not comfortable with all the work that nee..."
I cut him off. "Daddy, I love it."
He pushed the other card toward me, but I was breathless over the first gift. I hadn't seen the place, but if my father thought we could build a lodge out of it, then Finn would probably feel the same way. I couldn't wait to tell him.
"Open this one now."
I opened it and found a check for half a million dollars. I handed it back to him. "I don't want this. It's ridiculous."
He slid it across the table back toward me. "It is not. I told you that if you did what I asked you to do that I would give you the money to start you own clothing line. That's it."
"It can't cost that much." I picked up the check and balked at it.
My father had been wealthy for most of my life, which meant that I hadn't ever really wanted for much, but it was his money, not mine. This was a check made out to me. It seemed like it was way too much.
"It does and sometimes more." He reached out and touched my hand. "I love you so much. Forgive me for all the years of being bitter. I didn't even realize how bad I'd gotten until you ripped my heart back open this last week. I'm so sorry."
"Me, too." My vision blurred, and I figured it was as good a time as any to ask for a few more favors. Seemed my father was in the giving mood. "Dad..."
"What, pumpkin?"
"Can I use this money to help renovate the property?"
"Of course. It's yours. Do with it what you like."
"Are you okay with me still designing under your line?"
"Yes. I'll start buying the designs I like off of you, and that can be a way to help support your spending habits, too. You might want to eventually get your own place, so we'll work out a deal between us, and I'll introduce you to a few of the other guys in our line of work. You might find yourself with more business than you can handle. But, it's a good place to be."
"One more thing." I smiled, already so insanely overwhelmed by how generous my dad had been.
"What?"
"I know you don't like Finn, but he's been wanting to build a lodge for families his whole life, too."
He smiled. "He gets that from his old man. It was our dream as boys."
"Can I split this with him? It will still be mine, but can we draw up papers to give him half of it?"
My father stiffened, and I realized I was asking a lot of him, but I loved Finn and knew that this would light his world on fire.
"You really believe this boy is going to become your husband? The father of your children?"
"I have no doubt at all." I picked up the deed. "Can you help me with it?"
"Well, it is yours to do with it what you want, and you're a grown-ass woman."
I laughed, and he joined me before we got up and finished getting breakfast together. After we shared one of our favorite meals that my mother used to make, Dad and Parker went to his room to work on a new robot that Dad got him, and I packed a bag.
I stopped by Parker’s room and leaned against the door. "I'm going over to Mr. Warner's."
"Have fun, sis. Merry Christmas." Parker looked up and then back toward his pile of screws and metal parts.
"Be safe. Take the old jeep until I can get chains around the tires of the new one." Dad stood, walking toward me and pulling me into a warm hug. "Tell them I said hi and make sure Clark knows that I'll be coming over this week. Okay?"
"Thanks, Dad." I lifted on my toes and kissed the side of his face.
"No. Thank you, baby. For giving me parts of my life back."
I nodded and walked from the house, wishing that I would have expressed my heart like I should have. It was me who should be thanking him. His bossy, overbearing nature brought me to Colorado and because of it...my whole life was changed, and I couldn't be more thrilled to see where it was headed.