Page 137 of Everything Has Changed
“Promise me that after the dust has settled, no matter when that is, that you let me prove to you how much you have changed my life. And that we see if we can give us a chance again.”
Her lips purse and I think she’s going to tell me I’ve read this all wrong, until she nods her head. The side of her lips tipping up as her body visibly relaxes.
“Will you promise me something, too, then?”
I smirk. “I think you know the answer to that.”
“Don’t take too long.”
48
Logan
After Gwen left last night—and I kept myself from begging her to stay a little longer, but I knew it wasn’t wise while things were still in a weird place—I paced my apartment as my body surged with rage against my father.
All I wanted to do was race over to his house and demand answers. From both him and my mother, seeing as she was keeping this from me as well. I knew Gwen was right, that this was the ticket out of the mess he put us in. Even if it caused a few more issues to handle, it was better to take care of it now. Give this town a chance to move forward on their terms.
I was proud of myself for waiting until the sun began to crest over the horizon before I snatched up my keys and bolted to my parents’ house, not bothering to knock on the door when I wretched it open and shouted his name.
I expected him to pop out and demand to know why I was shouting, which doesn’t happen. What I don’t expect is my mother to come padding out of the kitchen, robe tied around her, and a cup of coffee steaming from her hand. Her face is free of makeup and a sleepy smile sits on her face.
“I had a feeling you would be here soon.” She jerks her head toward the kitchen and turns to retreat back to where she came from. “It’s not as good as Gwen’s, but I have a fresh pot brewed for you.” Not waiting for me to respond, she begins pouring a fresh mug, adding a generous amount of creamer before handing it to me.
“There’s more waiting if you need it. Judging by the manic look on your face, I’m going to go out on a limb and say Gwen paid you a visit last night.”
“Mom, why didn’t you tell me? This is seriously fucked up.”
She shrugs. “You already hated your father enough. I didn’t want to give you anything else to stress over.”
“You should have said something. That can’t be healthy to keep that in for as long as you did. The affair was going on for years. Those transfers started months ago.”
Her hand waves away my concerns. “I have a therapist. It wasn’t for you to worry about. And truthfully, I would have been willing to take it to the grave, if only to keep you from having to deal with it. I didn’t think it would do anyone any good to let that information out.” She releases a heavy sigh. “When I was told Gwen found a loophole in the contract, I knew it was time. Especially after hearing your speech at the meeting. If I wanted the best for you, that meant the truth needs to come out. I can’t let this town suffer because of your father. I couldn’t letyousuffer.”
“What about you, though? You’re going to suffer.”
“Logan, I don’t want you to worry about me, okay? I can handle whatever backlash comes, but I’ll be damned if I sit back and let that man walk all over us anymore. You are better than him. Better than me, too. And I’ll support you no matter what you decide to do, but at least now you can have a chance to make a choice for yourself. Though, Ihave to admit, you were quite the natural up there on stage. You have the mind to lead, but more importantly you have the heart.”
Taking a sip from her coffee, she watches out the back window before speaking again.
“I am so sorry for everything we put you through.”
“It’s okay,” I say, trying to stop her, but she continues on.
“Let me get this out. It’s been heavy on my heart since, well, forever. You never deserved the way your father treated you, especially after your brother died. I foolishly hoped he would wake up one day and realize how wrong he was. Day after day, though, he continued to get worse. Until it was too late and I had to lay in the bed I made for us. When the idea of Triton Resorts was brought up, and he had this plan concocted to bring you in to take over while he enjoyed his retirement, I knew I needed to act. I couldn’t sit back and let it go. So, I contacted an old friend from the paper, who sent someone out to do research. Apparently theState Chroniclehad a guy that was trying for years to bring down Triton, but was always too late.”
A lightbulb goes off for me. “Mitchell Shepherd.”
Mom smirks. “He’s really taken your girl under his wing to get to the bottom of this. When they found the clause, I knew it was time. And I knew she was the right one to handle it.”
Running my hand over my head, I try to hide my small grin, but my mom sees it and hers grows too. “Yeah,” I agree. “She’s pretty great, isn’t she?”
“You picked a good one, son.”
My shoulders slump. “Then I fucked it all up.”
“No,” she says with conviction. “Your father fucked everything up. We were all just collateral damage.”
“Well, let’s hope we can get past all this.”
