Last Resort (The Grayton Series Book 1) (22 page)

When Luke hung up the phone with Cassey, he sighed and closed his eyes for just a moment. His family and this job were going to kill him. What he wanted and needed was to be in Surf Breeze with Cassey, working on his own projects and helping Cassey with hers.

“
Luke?” His mother peeked into the office. “Oh, there you are. Your father was wondering how things were going.”

“
Fine, I’ll be there shortly to give him an update.” Even though his father had only said the word “Calvin” since waking, that didn’t mean he hadn’t demanded hourly updates. He still had full motion with his fingers and hands and typed faster than most secretaries. Luke was finding it hard to keep up. On several occasions, he’d thought about just leaving. Especially when his father would punch the keys and glare at him like he was stupid.

Since Luke was in control of the business, he’d made a few changes he’d been thinking about since his father had brought him on board almost a year ago. For the most part, his father had a handful of competent employees that could run the place smoothly, so he looked at it all as a great opportunity.

So far, he was seeing great success with his changes. The employees seemed to enjoy the flex shifts he’d implemented, and the office staff really enjoyed being able to work remotely. So far, their productivity was up by almost ten percent.

He’d yet to tell his father any of that, of course, since he didn’t want to cause him more stress.

They’d moved their father back into their apartment across from his and had a large hospital bed setup with several machines. Two full-time nurses came and went as well as a staff of physical therapists.

 
His father still had not regained his speech. He was learning to walk again, slowly, but his left leg dragged a little, causing him to stumble sometimes. He had to use a walker, which Luke could only guess pissed his father off no end.

His mother was treating the whole ordeal like it was some sort of family vacation. She kept a chipper tone and smiled entirely too much.

For his part, he was absolutely miserable. He missed the slower life of Surf Breeze. He missed his hotel project, which was moving forward without him. And mostly, he missed Cassey.

 
Talking with her each day wasn’t helping much. He wanted to hold her, to smell her sweetness, and to see her smile one of those rare smiles she had. He didn’t know how much longer he could hold out.

When he talked to his mother about it, she would just pat his arm and ask him to stay just a while longer. He thought she was just enjoying having him around. It was true she knew nothing about running the hotel or staff, but he was sure the place would get along just fine without him. He would leave if it weren’t for the guilty look she gave him every time they talked about his father.

His mother was staying busy putting up Christmas decorations everywhere. She’d even had a tree delivered to his place. For his part, he worked in his father’s office from morning to nightfall and then dragged himself back to his apartment, desperately wishing to be anywhere but there.

He’d stopped by and picked up his gift for Cassey and couldn’t wait until he could watch her open the small box.

Since his father’s stroke, he had known what he wanted more than anything in the world. So much had changed in the last few months since he had met Cassey. He no longer felt like he was alone in the world. She’s opened a whole new doorway for him to go through. No one had ever done so much for him in his life, except maybe Calvin.

Just then, his phone rang and his thoughts of Cassey and his brother were interrupted by more work. This time it was on his own project.

“
Hello?”

“
Hey, Luke. It’s Marcus. I’m just giving you a heads-up that the inspector will be here Monday. The cement work was completed today and we’ve got everything covered for the weather we’re supposed to have over the holiday weekend.”

“
Great. Sorry I can’t be there myself.”

“
Don’t worry about it. Oh, I’m opening an office above The Lunch Box. Rented the space out so I can hold meetings and all that. Might even get a secretary or two.” He chuckled.

“
That’s good to hear. Shall I meet you there and we can go over the plans in…” He looked at his calendar. “Say late next week?”

“
Sure. How’s the old man doing?”

“
The same.” He frowned.

“
Well, send him my best.”

“
Hey, Marcus?”

“
Yeah?”

“
I wish I could be there with your family this weekend.”

“
Next time.” Marcus chuckled. “That is if you can convince my sister to keep your ugly mug around.”

“
Oh, I plan on doing just that.” He smiled and looked down at the small box as a new plan formed in his head. “You know what? I might just make it up there for Christmas after all.”

W
hen Luke walked into his father’s office the next day, he was shocked to see his old man behind the desk. His mother was sitting in the corner quietly reading a book.
 

“
Mom.” He nodded to her and continued to walk across the floor towards his father. “Dad, what are you doing here? You’re supposed to be on bed rest for the next few weeks.”
 

His father’s eyes narrowed. He typed something on his computer and then spun the screen around so he could read it.

“
What have you done to my company? Why are half my employees working from home? Where are my weekly reports? What is this about discount meals for employees?”
 

He sighed and sat down across from his father and started to explain all the changes he’d implemented during his father’s absence.

When he walked into his apartment just over ten hours later, he was exhausted. Looking around the large space, he realized he had nothing here he wanted to move with him. All the furnishings, all the decorations had been picked out by the hotel interior decorator years before.

Walking into his bedroom, he thought that the only things he’d take with him were his clothing and a small box of items that had belonged to him and Calvin when they were kids.

He had been so busy all day, explaining everything to his father, that he hadn’t told them about getting married. It wasn’t as if it had slipped his mind. On the contrary, he couldn’t stop thinking about it—being with Cassey, starting a new life with her. It’s all he had thought about all day long while his father was reaming him for the changes.

Even after he had explained how productivity was up and employee costs were down, his father had undone everything he’d changed in the last few weeks. It was the biggest slap to the face his father could have given him. Even with all his hard work the last few weeks, his father still wouldn’t trust him to handle the business. Which only assured him that his move to Surf Breeze was the best thing he could have ever done.

He picked up the phone to dial Cassey, looking at his watch. It was a quarter to midnight and he knew that on a normal night she would be in the thick of things with still almost an hour until closing time. But since she was spending the holidays with her family, she may have gone to bed earlier. He hoped she would still be awake.

“
Hello,” she answered in a soft whisper.
 

“
Hi, I miss you.” He smiled as he removed his shoes and leaned back on his bed.
 

“
Me, too. How did today go?”
 

He groaned.

“
That good, huh?”
 

He chuckled. “You’ve no idea. I just don’t get how I came from someone like him. Can you believe that in one day he undid everything I worked hard to accomplish in the last few weeks?”

“
Even the flex hours?”
 

“
Yeah. Said that it was a nine-to-five life as far as office personnel.”
 

“
Did you mention that some of your connections are overseas?”
 

“
Yup.” He shook his head. “I guess my dad is just too old school to realize how big globalization really is.”
 

“
Well, just think, by this time next year you will be running your own business how you want.
Some of his employees might even jump ship and join the winning team.”
 

He smiled as he thought about it. “What did you do today?”

She sighed.

“
Don’t tell me you worked. You took a handful of days off and you spent them glued to the computer, didn’t you?”
 

She laughed. “No, actually, I spent a few hours kicking my brothers’ butts in basketball.”

“
I didn’t know you played.”
 

She chuckled, and he realized how much he missed hearing her laugh and seeing the smile on her lips. “I don’t. We were playing on the Xbox”

“
Oh.” He smiled. “I’m pretty good at those games. How about you see if you can kick my butt next time I’m up there.”
 

“
It’s on.”
 

They talked until the sun started to rise, and then he showered and got ready for another day of dealing with his dad and his high demands.

 

Cassey was miserable. Here it was the biggest and best holiday of the year and all she could do was sit in the living room at the big house and sigh. Her brothers were acting up and had been kicked out of the house by her aunt, who refused to let them toss the football around. She’d declined to go with them since she didn’t feel like losing and putting up with their cheating at the moment.

There was almost an hour before dinner was going to be served, and she just couldn’t stand to be cooped up any longer. Grabbing her jacket, she walked out onto the front deck and watched for a while as her brothers tackled one another and tossed the ball around. When they asked her to join again, she told them she was walking to the water’s edge. Their pond wasn’t as big as Mr. Orsborn’s, but it served its purpose and was an excellent swimming hole, nonetheless.

As she walked through the tall grass towards the water, she thought about everything that had changed in the last year.

Her business was still struggling, but she knew that with Luke’s plans for his hotel, and the plans they’d made together for her place, things were going to start picking up again after the holidays. It was just a matter of time.

She’d gone almost a whole week without Luke being around and still couldn’t figure out why it meant so much to her. She found herself getting more and more depressed.

Her place felt empty, which it had never felt before. Maybe she needed a cat or a small dog to fill the space instead.

She made it to the pond’s edge and sat on the large log that her brothers had rolled there one summer to use as a seat. This was one of her happy places. So many fun times had been spent here with her brothers and sister. If she closed her eyes, she could see them all in different stages of their lives. Young, early teen, adulthood. All of them except Marissa. Her sister’s image was frozen on the last day she’d ever seen her.

When she heard a snap of a branch behind her, she turned, thinking she’d see one of her brothers. Instead, Luke walked down the path towards her, his hands in the pockets of his worn-out jeans. His brown leather jacket was zipped up. His hair was messy from the wind and he looked troubled.

Immediately, she stood. “What? What’s wrong? Is your father—?”

“
No.” He shook his head. “Dad’s resting fine at home with my mother.” He stopped beside her and she noticed he didn’t reach out to touch her or lean down to kiss her hello. She felt like she’d been slapped in the face.
 

Instantly, her mind clouded with reasons. Then it dawned on her. He looked troubled because he was coming here to break it off with her. Her shoulders slumped and she felt like her heart stopped for several moments.

“
Are you hearing me?” He placed his hands on her shoulders and shook her a little.
 

“
Hmm?” She blinked a few times, clearing the
heartbreak she’d created in her mind and head.
 

“
Where did you just go?” he asked, dropping his hands from her shoulders. Instantly, she felt the loss of the warmth of his touch and wondered if she could continue living without it.
 

She shook her head and felt her eyes start to sting.

“
What are you doing here? I thought you couldn’t get away until after New Year’s?”
 

He shrugged his shoulders. “I had to leave. I had to come see you.” He turned and walked towards the pond and then stopped after kicking a pebble into the calm water. “If I told you something, would you promise not to freak out?” He turned towards her again.