Page 33 of Entwined Hearts
“What am I supposed to tell work? Tim said he sent you an email about your bereavement leave, but never heard back. You’re not doing yourself any favors blowing off a partner.”
“Tell him whatever you want, Stewart. I don’t care.” And I truly meant it.
The last thing on my mind was the firm. My attention was here with my family, and the merger I promised to help with…and Weston.
“And what about us? You still owe me an answer.”
I wrenched my jaw, letting out a heavy breath. “I can’t think about that right now, Stewart. I just lost my mom, and my family needs my help. I need time. I know I should’ve stayed in contact, but it hasn’t exactly been easy here.”
“Fine,” he said, letting out a long breath. “I just worry you’re doing more damage staying there than coming home and moving on with your life.”
“How dare you,” I growled into the phone. My eyes burned, my body shaking with rage. “Do you hear yourself? My momdied, and you’re making it sound as if we couldn’t get a fucking reservation at Nobu. Fuck you.”
He sighed. “You know I don’t mean it like that. I love you, Savannah. I’m just trying to look out for you.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t need you looking out for me. I’ll call you when I’m ready to talk,” I said and hung up, tossing the phone onto the counter.
My eyes drifted shut, bracing myself against the granite, and I let out a heavy sigh. He’d never been so callous with me before, so insincere. It made me wonder if choosing him was the right choice. If he could speak to me like that without a care, dismissing something as heavy as my grief, then what else was he capable of?
11
Weston
Beau’s dining room table looked like a tornado had hit it. Blueprints, beer bottles, mood boards, and more were scattered all over it. Now that Savannah had taken care of all our legal messes, it was time for us tofinallyget to work on Golden Circle. Cavendish was chomping at the bit to start construction, and so were we.
And I had to admit, I was pretty excited. Since riding was on the back burner for now, I needed something to distract me, or I’d start freaking out, and this was the perfect thing to take up my time.
“So the new stables are going to go here,” Claire said, pointing at the farthest corner of the south pasture of Circle M. “There will be twenty stalls, a vet bay, a foaling stall, and a mounting station.”
“That still freaks me out,” Beau said, wincing at where Claire’s finger was on the blueprint. “Why can’t we just do it the good ol’ fashioned way?”
“It’s safer for the stallion and mare that way,” Joseph said, coming over to the table. “And it gives the vet the chance to evaluate the semen?—”
“Ah, yuck,” Colt grimaced. “I don’t wantanypart of that.”
“Oh, you didn’t know? You’re gonna be our designated cum collector,” I said, clapping his shoulder with a grin. He flipped me off.
Delilah snickered into her beer. “Yeah, Colton, better get your cum goggles ready. It’s gonna be like you’re at SeaWorld in the splash zone.” She wiggled her brows at him, and my grin widened despite that mental image making my stomach turn a little. It was nice to have a buddy to antagonize everyone with again, and Delilah was just as sick as I was.
Colt went green. “Stop before I puke.”
Anna let out an exasperated sigh. “Don’t worry, Hattie beat you to it,” she said, grimacing at her now baby vomit-covered shirt. She held the baby at arm’s length, waving her around like she was Simba, so she didn’t ruin her clothes too.
Hattie squealed, kicking her feet around in the air. It was the first time we’d all gotten together since Anna had her last week, and the first time I’d really been around her since she was born. She was a cute little thing, but also kinda looked like a wrinkly old man, but I knew better than to tell Anna that.
Savannah scooped the baby up, and something in my brain short-circuited at the sight. Our families weren’t speaking when Henry was born, so I never saw her with him, or any baby for that matter.
But now that I had…
Pretty sure the house could’ve exploded, and I wouldn’t have been able to tear my eyes away from them.
Savannah grinned at Hattie, running her finger gently along the baby’s little nose, and my heart clenched at the sight. “Did you get sick on your mama?” Savannah cooed. “That wasn’t very nice, missy, but you’re so cute, I don’t think anyone cares.”
“I care,” Anna grumbled from the kitchen sink.
Savannah held her finger out, and Hattie’s tiny hand curled around it. And a kind of longing I’d never experienced before hit me so hard and fast it made my breath catch.
I wanted to see her like that with my baby. Our baby.
