Page 204 of Sing with Me

“That’s the plan—if you want me to do this.” Riley nodded. “That’s how it goes when we have school-aged children. Our careers might revolve around them, like it or not.”

Diehl didn’t counter her with his own thoughts, that he wanted his career and life to revolve around God’s plans instead of man’s plans.

What was God’s plan for his life?

Diehl was surer than ever that it included Skye.

He was also certain that if he missed his opportunity with Skye, he might never be able to love a woman this much again.

At the same time, he was fully aware that Dad was winding down. Mom had told Diehl over time that Dad wanted to retire full time, although he kept leaving the golf course to keep an eye on Diehl and the company. Now he would have help with Riley.

Her kids were older than Diehl’s. She could commit more time to the company.

Diehl’s kids were younger and required more supervision. Therein was the problem. If he moved his kids to St. Simon’s Island now—living on the neighboring Seaside Island—he would be a single dad with a full-time job. In the first year, he’d be busy transitioning Brooks Properties to its new office on St. Simon’s. Who was going to watch his kids? Mom would be in Atlanta. Brinley would have her own baby to care for.

Diehl would have to hire a nanny.

Lord, what do I do?

It seemed to Diehl that setting aside what his heart wanted, the logical thing to do was to sell Brooks Manufacturing, but keep the rest of the company where it was—mostly in Atlanta—until Riley could move to Atlanta and take over from Dad.

Could Diehl endure the eleven-month-long separation from Skye? Still, he knew he had to do the right thing, even if it meant personal pain.

Dad sighed. “Does anyone have anything else to add before we adjourn the meeting?”

“This is a major tectonic shift in our family business,” Diehl said. “Why don’t we pray over it this weekend and see if we missed anything?”

“Good idea.” Dad looked at the screen on the wall. Riley nodded as well. “I’ll call Xavier. His legal team can get started on the transition.”

“Tell him to send me something I can sign,” Riley said.

After Riley hung up—it was late in Berlin—Dad didn’t leave the office. He sat there at the same spot on the couch.

“I’m going to miss this place,” Dad said. “I remember the day when my father moved Brooks Properties to Atlanta, subsequently putting it under the Brooks Investments banner. I was so excited about working for him. However, I had just met your mom at the commencement—can you believe it, the last day at college? She graduated with a bachelor in art history, and I had my MBA. She was heading to Boston, and I was heading to Atlanta.”

“How did you make it work?” Diehl asked. He couldn’t remember the last time Dad had told the story.

“We didn’t. We didn’t meet again until ten years later at a fundraiser for UGA.”

“I remember now, but you rarely talked about those ten years.”

“It was tumultuous. I knew she was the one, and yet she wasn’t the one for ten years, you know?”

“How did you know she was the one?”

“It was love at first sight.” Dad smiled.

“Is there such a thing?”

“Of course. Just ask around. I knew I was going to marry Rose the first time I ever saw her.”

It had taken Diehl a few weeks to know his own feelings for Skye. How could Dad’s love for Mom be instant?

“Fifty-two years,” Dad said. “Could have been sixty-two, but we lost ten years chasing careers.”

Why was Dad telling him all that?

“We can’t go back, Dad.”

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