Page 64 of When I Come Back
I slowly reach for the envelope, wondering if this is going to break me further. Once it’s in my grasp, I decide I need to be alone to open it, much like Brooks. I quickly walk to my car, my purse getting stuck in the door as I try to close it hastily. I push it back open, pull my purse all the way in and throw it into the passenger seat before pulling the door shut again.
My fingers tremble as the sound of the breaking seal fills the car. Tears well in my eyes as I unfold it and see it’s a letter to Cary and me in Hazel’s handwriting. A letter we should have gotten at the reading of the will. A letter that was left for our eyes only.
My loves,
If you’re reading this, it means we didn’t get a chance to talk to you both in the same room before we passed. I’m sorry if that means this came as a shock to either of you. We always expected to have this conversation in person, but we needed to have a failsafe in case that didn’t happen.
Carrington — I am so sorry for any pain your father and I caused you. I am sorry we let our pride get the best of us. I say ‘we’ because your father and I are truly partners in this life. We should have reached out with more than just a yearly card. I should have called you and talked some sense into your father. You getting this letter means that never happened. I hope you never questioned how proud we are of you. Despite the distance, your father and I made sure to always read any article about you and your success. Our relationship being what it was is my life’s biggest regret.
Thea — I know I am not your mother, but I hope you know that I saw you as the daughter I never got to have. I don’t think you realize just how much light you brought back into our lives when you showed up on our doorstep all those years ago. You, my dear, pulled us from the wreckage and helped us become whole again. I hope our appreciation for everything you did was clear. I know how heartbroken you were, and I hope time has healed that wound. If it hasn’t, this probably feels cruel to you. I assure you our intention with this decision was to show our gratitude for everything you did. If we’re gone, you deserve to have a piece of what comes next. Owen was always very adamant about this business staying in the family when we were gone and this way, it will. I know you’ll do right by it. I know you love it as much as we do and won’t let any harm come to it. And as for sharing it with Cary… well, I knew you’d need some backup. And you two were too close to never speak again.
We love you both so very much. I hope you’ll lean on each other in our absence.
Please don’t make the same mistakes we did by never making things right with each other.
—Mom
Tears cloud my vision as I read it a second time, not quite believing my eyes. This existed all this time, and we had no idea. This is the answer to the question I kept asking myself. This was—shit.Cary. I need to send this to Cary. He needs to know how much they loved him and how proud they were of him.
My hands are so shaky I have to take the picture a few times before I capture one that isn’t blurry. I wipe the tears from my eyes as I attach the picture to the email. The subject just says ‘Read this…’ As I press the send button, I realize knowing their intent, knowing why they did it the way they did, makes RED feel more like mine. I assumed they only left me part of it as a way to pay me back for all the work I put in. I didn’t realize they split ownership strictly so it stayed in the family.
I just… didn’t think it was something as simple as that. It’d felt like a slap in the face knowing they’d trusted Cary with it more than me, but that wasn’t the case at all. That thought alone makes me feel like a terrible person though. Cary had proved he could run a restaurant and was more than trustworthy. I was just too close—too close to itallto see reason.
I put the car into reverse, eager to get home. I plan on spending the night letting myself cry and miss them. I’ll probably read the letter a hundred more times. And once Cary messages me or calls me after reading my email, I’ll tell him everything I’ve been holding back.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Carrington
Ityped out my daily text to Thea, sent it off, and tossed my phone on top of the sea of paperwork on the desk in front of me almost an hour ago. Even after two weeks of radio silence, I still hope one of these days the “read” notification will be followed up by a bubble indicating she’s responding. It hasn’t happened yet, but it doesn’t stop me from checking every chance I get.
I’ve commandeered Seth’s office at the back of Carina Cove to sort through all the restaurant’s finances, compiling reports for prospective investors and organizing the documents to help make the transition as smooth as possible.
I’ve been at this every day since getting back from South Carolina, and I’msoclose to having everything finalized. I reached out to Michael, my old boss, who put me in contact with an investment group that specializes in restaurants and the hospitality sector. After Seth and I met with them last week, they’ve shown interest and—pending the financial reports I’mworking on now—will move forward with taking over majority ownership, giving me an opportunity to step back and be solely a silent partner.
A big selling point for the investment group was that Dan, my sous chef, agreed to take over the executive chef position. I wouldn’t trust anyone else to head my kitchen. Dan has been with me since day one, helped me develop the menu, and was integral when we hired almost every other kitchen staff member.
As for Seth, he will be moving up to a general manager position, and the investors agreed that nothing will change without Seth’s input and final sign off. He himself is investing as well and will hold a share of ownership. It’s something I should have offered him a long time ago—he’s definitely earned a right to call Carina Cove his own.
Seth and I reached an unspoken truce after our fight my first night here. After a few tense days around the apartment, he tabled his animosity toward me so we could prepare for the meetings with the investors. I know he’s still unhappy with my decision to leave Seattle, but I can live with that. I hope he’ll learn there are more important things in life than work one day.
With any luck, this time next week, I’ll be back in Indigo Hill with Thea ignoring me to my face instead of over text. One issue at a time.
I put down the printed profit and loss statement I’ve been poring over and rub the heels of my palms into my eyes, trying to stave off the headache I feel coming on. After another minute, I heave a heavy sigh and reach to pick up the papers again when my phone pings with an email notification at the same time as a knock sounds at the door.
“Come in,” I call out, turning to the door, leaving the phone on the desk, email unread.
The door opens, and Dan pops his head in. “Have a second, Chef?”
“Of course, come in,” I say and drop the papers again. I motion for him to have a seat in the chair on the other side of the desk from me. As soon as he steps fully into the small office, I know I’m not going to like what he has to say. His body language is speaking volumes before he even makes it the couple of steps to the chair. His hands are fidgeting, and his brow is dewy with sweat. As he sits, his eyes refuse to meet mine. “What’s up, Dan?”
His eyes continue to ping around the small space, looking at anything but me. After a beat, I finally see resolve settle across his features, and he slides his eyes to me. “I’ve accepted an offer at Exodus. I’m here to give my notice.”
“I don’t understand,” I say, trying to keep my voice level to hide my panic. My mind is whirring with how this could possibly be happening. All of my plans to move back to South Carolina slowly start circling the drain.
“Someone must have talked about all the changes going on here, and they reached out to me. They’re offering me the head chef position but also ownership shares when their new restaurant opens in a few months. It’s a significant offer.”
I school my face so he can’t see just how much this is affecting me. My stomach has bottomed out, and I’m fighting down the anger that was first to rise within me. Dan is pivotal to the deal to sell to the investors. Without him, the deal will fall apart.
