My thoughts were interrupted by a shuffling of feet stepping into the office. “Camila,” my papa boomed. “You’re home from school early today. Is something wrong?”
With a final squeeze of my eyelids in an attempt to dissolve my blatant hatred for the man behind the desk, I turned to face my papa with a smile. “Nothing’s wrong. It was a half day today.” I walked toward him and embraced him before kissing him on the cheek. “I hoped we could talk for a minute.” I kept my voice quiet as I dared a glance behind me to Thomas, who was getting up from the desk. When I turned back to my papa, I tilted my head. “Please.”
He pulled away and squeezed my hands before looking over at Thomas. “All set?”
Thomas walked forward with a slimy grin. “All set. I left the marketing folder open on your desktop so that you could go through each piece. You’ll find all the new branding on the menus, flyers, and signage proposals. It’s all there. Just holler if you need me.” He winked at me before walking past us. “I’ll be in my office for the rest of the day.”
The moment he was gone, I closed the door behind us and followed my papa to a small living room setup in front of a fireplace. That was where he sat to talk to anyone who joined him in his office, even informal visits like mine.
“Do we need your mom for this?”
“I asked her to pop in.” I looked at the door. “She should be here soon.”
Not a minute later, my mama opened the door and breezed in with a smile. Her bright-yellow dress was a clear indication that she’d just come back from an outing with her friends. She shut the door behind her, sat down beside Papa, and bent to kiss him on his cheek.
After thirty-eight years of marriage, they still loved and respected each other most days. Though there’d been a clear tension between them lately, it warmed my heart to see them together.
“It’s about Ridge Cross.”
Papa’s entire demeanor shifted. “What did the boy do now?”
Mama cut him a glare but remained silent.
Heat licked through me. The start of the conversation was a clear indication of the disaster that would happen if I didn’t word things in just the right way. “Nothing at all, Papa. That’s what I wanted to talk about. Ridge has been nothing but kind to me since he moved here.”
Surprise appeared on both of my parents’ faces.
“I wasn’t aware you knew the boy,” Papa said dryly.
“We live in a small town, Papa. Of course I know him.”
Papa shifted in his seat, while Mama stared back at me with knowing eyes. “What are you getting at, mija?” she prompted cautiously.
I took in a deep breath before letting it out slowly as my heart beat rapidly. “Don’t you think it’s time that the Bell family and the Cross family come to a truce? Don’t you want this rivalry to be over, Papa?”
He laughed heartily, as if my suggestion were a ridiculous one. “Don’t be absurd.”
“Just hear me out, please.” I waited for my papa’s laughter to die down. “Harold is a grumpy old man. Everyone in town knows that, but if that’s all he is, then it doesn’t make him any different from half of the old farmers in this town. And just like I’m heir to this vineyard, Ridge Cross is heir to that farm. Shouldn’t we end this feud now, before yet another generation is forced to suffer through it? Isn’t enough enough?”
My papa shook his head, sighing. “You have a good heart, mija, but that boy is troubled beyond repair. He comes from a broken home. His mama died, and his father never even wanted the boy.”
Rage swirled in my chest at the mention of Ridge’s mom. “His father didn’t want him? Or you didn’t want him and his mother living next door?”
Shock lit up my papa’s face, but I wouldn’t let up.
“I know what you did, Papa. I know you’re the one who had her removed from the farm. You’re the reason Ridge never had his father in his life, and now you look down on him for it?”
Papa’s face turned red as he sat up. “Now hold on a damn minute, Camila. I don’t know where you’re getting your facts, but I don’t appreciate the accusation.”
He blew out a breath and darted a glance at my mama, who was looking down at her hands before launching into his own version of the truth. “When Molly suddenly appeared on the Cross farm, she had been badly beaten. She had bruises all over, and they even paid the town doctor to come see her in private. The story was fishy from the get-go, so I kept my eyes on them. Years later, imagine my surprise when an official from the reservation paid us a visit with a list a mile long of all the indigenous women and girls who had gone missing over the years. Then I saw a photo of young Molly. Of course I told the man where he could find the girl. I didn’t know she was pregnant. The Crosses could have been the reason she went missing, for all I knew. But if I did such a bad thing, then answer this.” My papa leaned forward. “If Molly had been unjustly taken from Harold Cross, then why didn’t she ever come back, Camila? Why did she stay away and raise that boy on her own?”
I shook while taking in my papa’s version of the story. “And you never thought to talk to Harold? To ask?”
Mama was wringing the fabric of her dress, still not looking at me. Clearly, she wanted nothing to do with the conversation. Meanwhile, Papa coughed out a laugh and sat back against the couch. “Every damn time I tried talking to Farmer Cross, he raised a shotgun to my head and threatened to shoot me dead if I didn’t get off his property.” Papa pointed at me like he was driving his point home. “You want to talk about Ridge Cross? Apples don’t fall far from their trees, mija.”
I hated how insensitive my papa had always been to Ridge without ever taking the time to know him. Since the day Ridge had moved to Telluride, he hadn’t so much as gotten a parking ticket, but my papa would never see Harold Cross’s son as anything different from what had been ingrained in his head all those years ago.
“He’s never done anything to you.”
His eyes softened. “You’re a good girl, Camila. Always seeing the best in people. And maybe the boy has never done anything to me, but that doesn’t mean he won’t.”
I let out a heavy sigh. “You’ve been saying that for years.”
“And I will for as long as I live. History travels in the bloodlines, my Camila. He’s a Cross. There’s no stepping around that fact. Learned behavior doesn’t carry to the root. Learned behavior is a clever mask to all who want to believe. I assure you. The longer Ridge chooses to stand on ancient soil, his mask will crumble, slowly if not all at once.”
“I don’t believe that for a second. I won’t let this feud carry on. When I’m in your position, I will make things right.”
A laugh burst from my papa. “When you’re in my position, you’ll understand. It’s business, Camila. Plain and simple.”
I tilted my head, confusion bursting through me. “This is about business now? You treat the Cross family as if they’re competition. Harold Cross sells corn, alfalfa, and hay. None of which has an impact on the vineyard business. This isn’t business, Papa. It’s unsubstantiated cruelty, and I’d like to see it end. Harold Cross as our ally can only benefit us.”