Page 72 of Something Old

ChapterTwenty-Four

Three weeks had passed since the wedding, since Delaney had ripped his heart out and stomped all over it again, in full view of his family and their friends. He should have known better than to trust her again. The winemaker and vineyard manager were going to take on more responsibilities. He would eventually have to hire additional staff for them, including an events planner, not to mention the usual harvesting staff. But, for now, he was letting them handle it as they saw fit.

Currently, he was relearning how to wear a suit every day. Perched in his glass office high above the Houston skyline, he found his gaze wandering more and more south and even out in the distance to the Gulf of Mexico, even though he could not see it, to find some breathing room from the claustrophobic feeling he had being in the city. Two weeks and he missed the open air and freedom he had at the vineyard. In Houston, he was sequestered with his father and various staff members from early morning until late at night in meetings, reacquainting himself with the business.

He was absolutely miserable.

Maybe if other aspects of his life were in a more positive place, he would feel better about his choice. When he thought he’d have Delaney waiting at home, he was more comfortable with the decision. Instead, his stepmother invited Cami over constantly for dinner and encouraged a more permanent arrangement. Never mind that he was still driving up to the vineyard on the weekends to help with the transition.

A knock at the door shook him out of his reverie. His father stood in the doorway, a folder in his hand. “Do you have time to review this account?”

Ethan sighed and gestured to an open chair. “I’m all yours.”

His father studied him for a long moment, then closed the folder. He laid it on the desk and sat heavily in the chair. “You’re miserable.”

Ethan quirked an eyebrow. “What gave you that impression?”

His father leaned back and folded his hands over his stomach. “The way you ran out of here Friday night for the vineyard? A couple of staffers even said they thought they saw skid marks from your car.”

Ethan stifled his irritation. “You asked me to come back, and I did. I have a responsibility to the vineyard, and you stated that you needed me here sooner rather than later. I’m being torn in two directions.”

“That’s not what I mean. Kira invited Cami to dinner again and wanted me to ask you to come.”

“Damn it.” Ethan slammed his hand on the desk before he could stop it.

His father’s calculated stare followed Ethan’s facial expressions without any reaction.

“I’m not coming.”

“I told her that,” William replied calmly. “I also told her you were done with her matchmaking.”

Really? Now there was a surprise. Ethan had thought William was pushing Cami as much as Kira.

He narrowed his gaze. “Why?”

William sighed heavily and stood to walk to the windows, staring out over the darkening sky. “You used to love coming to work with me when you were younger. You drove your mother crazy, begging to come to the office with me. I thought you loved the rush of the deal, the financial haggling. But now, I have to wonder if it was something else.”

Ethan noted the slightly slumped shoulders, as if the weight of the world was pressing on them. He didn’t think this was for show. He had been watching his father for the past two weeks and had even spoken with his sister, both of which confirmed that William needed to ease up on his schedule, had to relinquish control, something he was never very good at. Ethan had noticed something else, too. His sister had shouldered more of the duties and he truly didn’t care. If people second-guessed his ideas or sent him to Samantha, it was fine by him and didn’t bother him the way it once would have. The competition between them was gone, the rivalry that had driven them for years in school and work had dried up. Or maybe he just no longer cared.

“I liked spending time with you. And I liked the business, once.”

“But not anymore,” William finished his sentence.

Ethan nodded. “Not anymore. This just isn’t me, Dad. And I’m not interested in Cami, or anyone.”

“I told Kira that. I saw the way you looked at Delaney.” He turned and faced Ethan squarely. “I have to confess something and you can’t say anything until I’m done. Okay?”

Ethan nodded once, hesitantly.

William folded his hands behind his back and took a deep breath. “I’m to blame for your breakup back then and now. I had convinced myself that if she really loved you, I couldn’t have manipulated her like I did, but that was wrong. Delaney broke up with you because I told her it was destroying this family, destroying you. I implied that we could lose the business if she remained with you, both then and now. She had to let you go if she loved you.”

Ethan jumped up, anger pumping through his veins, heat rising in his face. “How could you? It was your mistakes that cost this firm the business, your misjudgment. Not Delaney or her name.”

“Son, you heard people at the wedding. They will never forget. And many of them are our clients. They would never trust you with their money.”

“Then they’re narrow-minded idiots and we don’t need them.” Ethan paced the small office, clenching and unclenching his fists as he tried to rid himself of the anger that rode him hard. He paused, a thought occurring to him. “You did this again at the wedding?”

His father shrugged. “It worked in the past.”

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