Casually, she slid her hand back between her and Sam’s chair and hoped Jake would see it. His hand immediately clasped hers and she knew he was just as nervous as she’d been a few minutes ago.
“Jake, you’ve always been like family to me and watching you learn the construction business always made me feel proud. I can’t think of anyone I’d trust more than you to take the business over and make it grow. Coleman Construction is yours.”
It was hard to hold in the gasp as Jake squeezed her hand ridiculously hard. Turning, she looked at him and smiled. She saw tears in his eyes and wanted to climb over the chairs to comfort him. Luckily, Richard was wrapping things up and within minutes, she was out of her seat and in Jake’s arms.
“I never…” he began, his voice soft and trembling. “I never thought he’d do something like that. I knew someone was going to take over and…and I thought he’d have someone lined up to buy the company. So many times I wanted to ask him about buying it because…well…I just always knew it was where I wanted to work. And to know it’s mine?” He stopped talking and buried his face in her neck and Mallory felt his tears. She held him tightly for several long moments and when they broke apart, she saw he looked a little more composed.
“You okay?” she asked.
Nodding, he gave her a soft kiss. “Sorry about that. I just…he did so much for me already that I never expected anything like this. It’s more than I deserve.”
“No, it’s not. You have been the one handling things for so long, I think you were the natural choice. Pops believed in you,” she said. Her voice caught and she took a minute to compose herself before she began to cry. “Now you need to believe in yourself.”
After that it seemed like everyone wanted to talk. Richard walked around and answered questions even as he handed out envelopes that held letters Pops wrote to everyone. Mallory had to hand it to him–he knew how to make an impact on his family even after he was gone.
“Oh, my gosh,” Parker said as she walked over with a big smile on her face. “Can you believe all of this? I mean…who knew Pops paid attention to so much!”
“What are you talking about?”
“Come on–leaving you the decorating place? That was awesome! And Jake and the construction company? Perfect!”
“I hate to say this, but…I sort of zoned out there for a while. What did Pops leave you?”
“That’s the beautiful thing–he didn’t leave me a business or anything here in Magnolia!” she explained excitedly.
“And…you’re okay with that?”
She nodded enthusiastically. “Oh, God yes! I know my parents want me to stay here and follow in their footsteps and all that crap, but I want to make my own decisions and I want to travel and now I can!”
“So…Pops left you….?”
“A trust fund that I get next year!” She told Mallory the amount he left in trust and she had to admit, she was impressed. For a man who had so much money, it was odd that he never flaunted it or even talked about it.
“That’s amazing, Parks. Really. I’m sure you already have a list of places you want to go and things you want to do, huh?”
“You know it!”
“Ugh…is she gloating over here?” Peyton asked as she walked over and joined them. “Because I have a feeling baby girl is gloating.”
“May-be,” Parker said with a big grin before smacking her older sister’s arm. “And what are you complaining about? You got Cafe Magnolia! You love that place!”
It’s true, Peyton loved cooking and had hoped to go to culinary school, but her parents encouraged her to get a “real degree,” as they called it. Looks like the business degree they forced on her could come in handy when running her own business.
“That is so cool, Peyton! Your own restaurant! Aren’t you excited?” Mallory asked.
Peyton shrugged. She was a couple of years younger than Mallory and nowhere near as studious or mature. If anything, she was the typical middle child who had done her share of acting out to get attention. Maybe having the responsibility of her own restaurant was a little daunting to her right now.
“I know Dennis is getting ready to retire,” Peyton said quietly, “and the timing is right for someone to come in and take over, but…I didn’t expect it to be me! I’m not ready for it.”
“I heard Dennis already found his replacement,” Parker said casually. “You’re going to have to go in there and start talking to everyone fast before it gets too chaotic. Too many changes at one time can’t be good for business, right?”
If Peyton felt half as overwhelmed as Mallory did, she was sure this conversation wasn’t helping. “What about Gertie?” she asked, changing the subject. “Like I said, I zoned out and missed most of the reading. When I looked for her after everything was done, she was wiping away tears as her granddaughter walked out with her.”
“It was nice of Mary Jane to come with her,” Peyton said. “You know Gertie can’t drive herself around much these days.”
Mallory wasn’t aware of that so she simply nodded.
“Remember how she always used to say she was going to retire in St. Thomas because that’s where her grandparents were from?”
She nodded.
“Well, Pops bought her a place there and left her enough money to make the move and retire,” Parker said with a sad smile. “It will feel so weird not to have Gertie around. Her cooking is legendary in this family.”
Peyton cleared her throat. “Um…I’m a good cook too, you know.”
“Not like Gertie,” Parker murmured.
Sadly, Parker was right. Gertie had been cooking for them their entire lives and just the thought of not enjoying any more of her meals or sitting around the kitchen talking to her just added a whole other level of sadness to the whole situation. She sighed.
“And did you hear what Mason got?” Parker whispered with a bit of a snarky grin.
Mallory shook her head.
“Oh, my gosh, his face was priceless!” Peyton said with a grin of her own. “I can’t even begin to imagine what Pops was thinking!”
“Mal?” Sam called out, interrupting the conversation. “C’mon, we’re going back to the house.”
“Okay, give me a minute,” she replied and was surprised when he stalked across the room and glared at Parker and Peyton before looking at her again. “Now. Mom’s upset and we need to go.”
Saying a quick goodbye to the girls, Mallory turned and walked out of the room with Jake right behind her. They were outside walking across the parking lot when he stopped her. “Maybe we should just plan on seeing each other later.”
“What? No, why?”
“Your mom’s upset and I’m pretty sure your aunt is the reason. I doubt she wants me hanging around to witness it all.”
He had a point, but…
“I still want you there and besides, you’ll be a good distraction when we get her to start thinking about all the changes she wants to make to the house. I have a feeling we’re going to have to get her to focus on that instead of how angry she is with Aunt Georgia.”