37
MITCHELL
I take the wheel with Bryn in the passenger seat. My foot drops like an anvil on the gas pedal with only one thing in my mind: to get back to Dunford ASAP. I use Siri to call Levi’s phone, but it goes to voice mail. I call Cody next, but he doesn’t pick up either.
My mind races faster than the Mini Cooper’s speed in anticipation of what we might roll into in a few hours. Victoria couldn’t describe much about the state of Dunford, except it looks like the work has been going on for a few days. There’s actual dirt being dug up.
My knuckles are white gripping the steering wheel.
Fucking Levi.
I glance sideways at Bryn. She’s speaking softly and patiently into her phone, giving her sister her full attention. Victoria is inconsolable; I can hear her voice above the noise of the road.
This is why I love this woman. Despite trouble brewing miles in front of us, she knows her priorities, her current focus, which is no doubt her family. It’s all the more reason for me to protect her, to protect what we have built. Levi is my brother, but all the facts don’t have to be in front of me to know whatever he’s doing is wrong.
My mama must have pulled some strings in heaven, because not a single accident stops traffic on the road. We weave through truckers who happily make room for this tiny box of a car. Two and a half hours later, I turn down the exit off Highway 50 leading to Golden. Normally, the view of the wide expanse of the countryside and the mountains behind it is enough to relax me. But not today.
Bryn hangs up with Victoria as we drive through town. We sit silently until we pull up the road to Paraiso.
“No, he didn’t.” Bryn’s tone is ominous as we turn into Dunford’s gravel drive.
It’s the scene of a major construction zone: a backhoe, a trailer, a white construction van.
“What the fuck is going on?” I say, despite the obvious, and I barely have time to stop the car before Bryn scampers out of it, following the now gaping trail leading from the driveway to what looks like a small parking area, just behind Paraiso’s guest house. Graveled, the opening is marked by flags. Large enough for five cars to park side by side.
When I get out of the car, it takes all of me not to scream. I grab my head with both hands, looking at the damage. Land dug through, grass pulled from the ground. And Bryn, my Bryn, in the middle of this new parking lot, hand covering her mouth, as dumbfounded as I am.
While we were away living our dream, hers was marred.
The parking lot destroys the view she cherished so much, destroys the privacy she sought. From the deck of Paraiso, she will see Dunford’s customers and hear the sound of engines.
Worse—the worst of it all—I told her none of this would happen. I trusted my brother and I gave Bryn my word.
“I’ll fix this,” I plead.
She laughs maniacally. “Really, Mitchell? How? Look at this.”
“It’s my fault.” A voice comes from behind.
It’s Levi in a black polo shirt, with the Dunford family crest embroidered on the right side of his chest. Behind him are Joel and Joey. Everything around me turns cold, from being taken off guard. Now the camera is trained on the wrong person. On him.
Joey hands Bryn and me our mics, reluctantly. I clip it to my clothing, hands shaking with anger. Bryn’s fumbling with the equipment—she’s so pissed.
I hate that I can’t not be streamed. During this entire month of filming, this is the first time I wish I could walk away. “What’s going on?” I ask, with a control that surprises even me.
“There was work to be done, brother. Do you like?”
“No, Levi, I don’t. What the f—”
“Mitchie.” He cocks his head toward the camera, reminding me it’s a family show. “Business didn’t stop because you decided to take a vacation. I’m leaving soon, we’re on a timeline, and the trucks were available. I thought I’d get started on it.”
“We didn’t agree on this.” I cut my eyes to Bryn. “I swear, I did not agree to this.”
“Yes, you did technically. You said not to touch any of the common areas, and I didn’t. I might have not waited for your agreement to the start construction, but I worked within the parameters you set.” Levi turns to Bryn. “Sorry. But we do own the place. I checked the lease and there’s nothing that prevents me from doing what I need done on my side of the land. Don’t you think this will alleviate the parking situation, especially once we have guests?”
A flare of light from the camera lens hits me in the eyes, and I turn away. My brother is technically right, but wrong in every way that matters.
Bryn’s lips press into a thin line as she approaches my brother, hands clutched at her sides. I step between them, preventing her from going toe to toe, but now she’s in my face. “This was completely out of line and nefarious. I can’t believe you would do this to me.”
From over my shoulder Levi laughs. “You mean just because you’re dating my brother? C’mon, Bryn. You’re an experienced businesswoman. That’s all this is—business.”
“Don’t mess with me, Levi.”
“Oh . . . those are fighting words, my dear.”
“Shut up,” I warn my brother.
She holds a hand against her forehead. “God. I should have known. I should have known you’d keep pushing, Levi. My instincts told me the fight wasn’t over, that you were pretending to concede. This is my bad.” She glares at me. “Well, there’s no more pretending. For any of us.”
“Bryn,” I plead against her foreboding tone. A slice of cool wind cuts between us ominously, because it feels like she’s not just talking to Levi now. What she’s about to say is going to change everything. “Don’t. Please. Calm down.”
“Don’t? Calm down? Because why—because you all have been honest? Well, I am done. I’m done being used, then pushed to believe you all had my benefit and my business in mind, too. Yet here we are again—with you taking his side. This is not okay, and I won’t keep my mouth shut.”
“I’m not taking his side.”
“Yeah? Then why are you standing here, placating me, telling me to calm down?” She barks out a laugh, then turns back to Levi. “Truth, right? The truth is this. I fell in love with your brother. We fell in love. It didn’t start out that way with this arranged relationship you insisted we be a part of. We did it for the money, and now I don’t give a damn about it. Because it’s not worth this betrayal. Not a single cent.”
Her words sucker punch me and I can’t recover, can’t formulate a response. And because I’m a dumbass who doesn’t have the balls to stand up to my brother and to the camera, she takes the lead in our final act.
Bryn flashes her beautiful face to me, pulls the mic off her shirt, and stuffs it in my hand. “We’re done. Show’s over.”