Page 79 of Call It Home

Chapter31

Cam

“This is good,”Mac commented and shoveled another forkful of the lasagna into his mouth.

“You don’t have to sound quite so surprised,” I answered, a wry grin forming across my mouth. I knew I wasn’t the best cook. Mostly, we ordered takeout and brought it to his cabin, but sometimes he cooked something simple while I helped with something that didn’t require heat.

I took another sip of my wine and then told him, “I got an interesting phone call today.”

His eyebrow arched. “From who?” he asked after he swallowed a bite from his second helping.

I hadn’t even been able to finish the first half of my serving. I was excited to share the opportunity with him.

“From Connor Dunham.”

“Who?”

“He’s a multimillionaire. He and his brother own a hotel chain. Really nice ones. I stayed in one once for one of my dad’s races.” It had been one of the last times I’d visited my dad to see him race before he died. I had to push back the lump in my throat. This was about good news.

Green eyes met mine across his beer mug. “And he wants you to help him decorate one of them?”

“Not exactly.” I explained about The Laurel Ridge Hotel. “It’s not a done deal or anything, and I don’t know exactly how it would work, but I’m excited about the chance.”

I took another sip of my wine, curious why Mac stopped eating and was pushing his fork around in the sauce on his plate. “It will be great for you, too. If we can make it work, I thought maybe you’d like to be the project manager on it. It would be a huge promotion. You’d be equal to Will. He’d stay here, and you’d focus there.”

There was still no response. A sense of unease settled, layered in between the dinner in my stomach.

“Mac?”

Finally, he looked at me with a smile, but it wasn’t the kind I’d grown used to over the past few weeks. This one didn’t reach his eyes with their usual sparkle of pride. “I think that’s great. It would be a great opportunity to continue to put Sterling Construction on the map. You don’t have to have the full crew already. Negotiate hiring more people as part of your terms. You’d be amazing at the job, just like you were back at Grandview, only you wouldn’t have to do the work yourself. Just create the design and oversee it. Do what you really love.”

I nodded. “That’s true. But I want you to be part of that team. You know how I think, how I work.”

His fork clinked to his plate. He leaned back in his chair, the movement only creating a slight difference in the distance between us, but suddenly, I felt like there was a divide as large as the Grand Canyon between us. “I can’t do it.”

“What? Why not? This is a great opportunity, almost as big asRenovation Station. Bigger because you’ll have an even bigger promotion. Like you said, I can work it into the budget as part of the negotiations with Connor. He specifically mentioned liking the design of the table you made out in Colorado. Obviously, we’d have to hire a crew. A huge one. And you’d be in charge.”

He kept staring at his plate, not saying a word.

“Think of how you can build your own reputation, either as a construction expert or as a carpenter.” I forced a laugh, not understanding why he wasn’t more excited. “Pretty soon, people will ask for you directly. You could end up being my competition.”

I was rambling. I wasn’t even sure any of what I was saying was true. But when he still didn’t laugh—still avoided looking at me—my words dried up, their remnants feeling stale and bitter on my tongue.

After a brief silence that rang like a death bell toll, he said, “I wish the best for you, Cameron. I really do. But I won’t be here for it.”

Cameron.We were back to using my full name. A coldness such as I’d never known settled on me. “What do you mean?” I questioned hoarsely. “Are you going somewhere?”

He ran a hand across his face, blowing out a sigh as he did. “Yes.” Then he shook his head. “No. Or rather, maybe.”

“Which is it, Mac? It can’t be all of them.”

“I have an opportunity to buy a piece of property in Virginia.”

“I don’t understand. You can buy property here. My friend Teagan is an agent. She’d love to help you.”

He shook his head. “I’ve already put in an offer. I’m not sure exactly when, but I’ll be moving there.”

I was stunned. He did all this without saying a word to me? My eyes burned as I glared at him, my heart twisting with a sickening mix of hurt and betrayal. How could he keep something so important from me? My voice was barely a hoarse whisper as I rasped out the question burning in my chest. “When were you going to tell me this?”

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