Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 105921 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105921 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
I was done saving Elliott. I'd been done for a long time. Elliott was going to have to save himself.
August, Thatcher, and I had our lives to live, and we were going to do it far from Elliott's bad decisions. We were going to live a new life here, where we were loved.
My hand met Tenn's, my fingers twining with his. He smiled at me, his expression soft, transforming gradually into a grin, his eyes sparkling as he asked, "How do you feel about s’mores before bed? Thatcher looks like he's starving to death and August never got any."
A bit of sweet to balance the sour of saying goodbye to their dad. I was willing to meet Elliott halfway if he wanted to see the boys, but I didn't have much hope he'd bother. Yeah, bedtime and junk food aside, my guys could use a little sweet.
"Sounds good to me," I said to cheers from the back seat. "Let's go home."
Chapter Forty-Four
SCARLETT
Bright and early the next morning, Forrest Powell arrived at Heartstone Manor to plead his case. He must have ice-cold blood in his veins. Not a single person in Griffen's crowded office looked happy to see him. Most of them could easily have been planning his murder. Given Griffen and Hawk's background and our relative isolation on the Sawyer Estate, I would have been terrified I was going to end up disappearing in the mountains surrounding the house.
Forrest just sat there, his face neutral, his eyes on Sterling. For her part, Sterling sat on the sofa furthest from Forrest, her sister Parker beside her. They wore identical expressions of composed disinterest as if nothing said in this room could possibly affect them. Expertly applied makeup hid the circles beneath Sterling's arresting blue eyes.
I wasn't betting on Forrest winning her over. No one liked being played for a fool, and I'd seen them together. Sterling had liked him. A lot. If I found out Tenn was just using me? My chest burned with fury at the thought. Yeah, if I were in Sterling's shoes, I could only hope I'd be able to manage icy disregard. More likely, I'd set him on fire with my torch.
And yes, I'm aware I was using Tenn for access to his house when we first met—not so different from Forrest—but Tenn knew I was up to something from the beginning. Sterling had no clue.
Griffen's face was a thundercloud. He sat behind his desk, Hope beside him, her usually kind smile replaced by a solemn mask. Except when her eyes moved to Sterling. Then, they were soft with compassion and worry. When she looked at Forrest, all she showed was anger. She wasn't alone.
Glancing at Griffen, Forrest raised an eyebrow. Griffen scanned the room, maybe checking to make sure everyone was here.
Forrest sat in an armchair slightly in front and to the side of Griffen's desk where we could all see him easily. I was next to Tenn on the sofa, Royal on his other side. Finn and Hawk flanked the cold fireplace, Hawk's alert eyes fixed on Forrest, Finn lounging against the mantel, appearing half asleep though it was mid-morning. West leaned on the door frame, separate from the family but close enough to hear every word.
No one spoke, the silence growing heavier until Griffen finally broke it. "We're all here. Say what you need to say so I can throw you out of my town." I hadn't known Griffen long, but I'd never imagined he could sound so hard.
Forrest sat up straighter until his spine looked like it had been fused to an iron rod. His eyes on Sterling, he started to speak. "Before I tell you who I am and why I came back, I just need to say—" His calm dissolved, anguish suffusing his moss-green eyes. "If I could go back to the beginning, I would have told you who I was. Who I am. Because getting what I came here for isn't worth losing you. Nothing is, and I wish I'd known that in the beginning. But I didn't." He leaned back a fraction, glancing around the room. "I didn't just come here for the job or the bust. I was here for revenge."
Revenge? Revenge for what? I glanced around, wondering if this was inside Sawyer info I wasn't privy to, but everyone else looked just as clueless as I was.
"I know Griffen remembers Alan Buckley." Forrest paused, glancing at Griffen, who drew in a breath, comprehension and confusion warring on his face.
"I don't," Parker said, her voice clear and crisp. "Who was Alan Buckley?"
Griffen sighed, rubbing his palm against his jaw before answering, "Alan Buckley was Dad's partner in the VoIP business."
"The one you fought over?" Tenn asked. "Wasn't that part of the reason Dad threw you out?"
Griffen looked at Forrest. "I want to know who he is before I say anything else."