Chapter Twenty-Two
Nate
Even though my place is still under construction, I spent last night sleeping on a cot in one of the empty bedrooms—no way could I go back to the B&B—but I never got a wink of sleep. I laid in bed all night, trying to wrap my brain around the fact that Gram’s studio and the cottage we’d been trying to buy, are one and the same.
Apparently, Delroy Becker was Kira’s great grandfather, and it was only after Gram’s passing the title changed and it became Kira’s. I also tried to wrap my brain around the things Kira said to me. I can’t believe she thinks so little of me, would accuse me of doing something so vile. I scoff and shake my head. She might as well have reached into my chest and torn out my fucking heart. I guess it’s better to know that now, before I told her I loved her and asked her to stay.
I pace around the office, caught between a rock and a hard place. No way, no way in hell would I ask Kira to sell, and no way was I getting close to her to get my hands on the studio. But the fact remains—if I don’t secure the land, I can’t build the process plant and boost this town’s economy. After all the shit Hooked had done in the past, these people deserve that much from me.
My father left after the run-in with Kira, warning I needed to get this shit done or else. I guess “or else” meant losing my job. But if I get fired, everything goes down the drain—the business, the jobs…everything. He told me not to bother calling him until I had this fixed.
His lack of belief in me would have bothered me in the past. Now I don’t give two fucks what he says or thinks. What he did to Kira’s mother is unspeakable, and no fucking way am I a chip off the old block. I don’t want to be anything like the men in my family.
I’d always told Kira I was no different from the guys in my family, that I had no staying power, and the truth is, her not knowing my real position and then finding me at the studio must have looked pretty damn suspicious. I take a second and put myself in her shoes, and my stomach instantly clenches.
Goddammit. She’d been hurt in the past by men using her for one thing or another. Is it any wonder she jumped to conclusions, especially after what my father had done to her mother? She struck out from fear, from past hurts. Like me, Kira has always been afraid to put herself out there, to let someone in. But she let me in, and I let her in. I cringe to think of the way I shot back at her, but it gutted me to hear her say I was using her to get the studio.
Fuck me.
I grab my phone. Christ, man, we need to talk, but we need to do it face-to-face. If Kira would just hear me out, let me explain that I had no idea she was the owner of the cottage, it might smooth things over for us, but words are simply words. I somehow have to show her what she means to me, prove I would never hurt her.
The gut-wrenching sadness on her face when she walked away, killed me. I fucking let her go when I should have gone after her, because I was too goddamn stupid to understand where the crushing sense of betrayal was coming from.
Fuck, what can I do to get her to give me a chance?
What if she never gives me one?
My stomach squeezes, and the toast I choked down this morning threatens to make a second appearance. I take a drink of my cold coffee to wash down the thickness coating my throat. My phone pings, and I snatch it off my desk, but it’s Oliver telling me Kira keeps refusing the offers. I shake my head, and a garbled sound comes out of my throat. Of course she has. Some things are more important than money, and Kira has proven that over and over again. I text him back and tell him to stop the offers.
Someone kicks my door, and it burst open, hits the wall with a loud thud. I glance up and find Izzy, Jason, Sam, and Cody storming into my office, fists clenched, eyes enraged. Cody steps up to my desk and drops a box onto it.
“We’ll ship the rest to your place,” he says. “We only brought this because we needed to see you.”
I climb from my chair for the shit-kicking I’m about to receive.
“You hurt her, and you said you wouldn’t,” Izzy says.
“I never meant to. I’m in love with her, Izzy.”
“You have a strange way of showing it,” Sam says, his eyes dark and murderous. He takes a step toward me, and I hold my ground.
“You’ve been sneaking around buying up cottages to build a new processing plant. Did you think word wouldn’t eventually get out?” Sam asks.
“I wanted it to get out when I was ready for it to get out.”
Jason snorts. “Fucking liar. We thought you were different, but you’re nothing but an asshole.” He slams his fist into his left hand. “Now, let’s go outside so we can get this over with.”
When they circle me, I grab my coat, pull it on, and follow them outside. Right now, they’re not going to hear anything I say. Perhaps after taking out their anger with a few punches, they’ll listen.
Out in the cold, at the back of the building, a crowd gathers. No doubt the whole town hates me right now, siding with Kira. I’m glad to see them rally around her, even though they don’t have all the facts yet.
I square off against Jason, who’s obviously ready to tear me a new one. “Do you really want to do this?” I ask.
“Yeah, I’m going to mess up that pretty boy face of yours,” he says.
“I don’t want to hurt you, Jason.”
He laughs and throws a punch. I easily dodge it and slam my fist into his gut. Not hard enough to really hurt him. I just want to slow him down, so he’ll listen to me. He lets loose a loud oomph, and I hold him against me. “Let’s not do this,” I say.
“Fuck you,” he says.
“Jason, come on. Let’s talk. I love you guys like brothers.”
“A brother wouldn’t do what you did to Kira,” he says and pushes off me. He throws another punch but misses. Once again, I hit him in the gut. He bends forward, and Izzy rushes to him.
I throw my arms out. “I love her, you guys. I fucking love her. I had no idea the cottage we were trying to buy belonged to her or Gram. No idea. You have to believe me.”
“Why should we believe anything you say?” Cody asks.
“Because it’s fucking true.”
“Why didn’t you mention the plant? Didn’t want to start a riot before you cut jobs?” Jason asks.
“This is a small town, and rumors can get out of hand. You kicking the shit out of me is a perfect example.”
“What are you talking about?” Jason pulls himself up to his full height.
“You’re acting on misinformation. Kira doesn’t have her facts right.”
At the mention of Kira, Jason comes at me again, and as much as I don’t want to hit him, I dodge his fist and punch his side to slow him down.