A Forever Love (8 page)

“You know what this deal means to TF,” Justin said. “We need this to close.”

“Somehow they seem to know that too. They’ve substantially upped their profit participation without giving us anything in return.”

“Can you make the numbers work?”

“I’m not sure. We’re damned if we do close and damned if we don’t. I think more damned if we don’t give them what they want.”

“You know I’m with you whatever you decide. We’ll make it work. Go worst-case scenario on both possibilities, and then whatever your gut and the numbers tell you to do, go for it.”

Leo nodded. “My thinking as well. Where the hell are you? That isn’t your office, and it’s definitely not your penthouse.”

“Business.”

“You left Devon in charge?”

“Not in charge, just taking care of things.”

Leo lifted an eyebrow. “You think that’s a good idea? We’ll come back and the entire office will be stripper poles and red velvet. You can’t leave him alone with the company for more than twenty-four hours.”

They all underestimated their little brother. But Devon’s group at Travati Financial continued to clear big dollars every quarter.

“You saw his quarterly,” Justin said. “He nearly beat my numbers.”

Leo tilted his head in acknowledgement and let Justin’s words go unremarked upon. Leo and Devon had been competitive with each other since birth. “Really, where the hell are you, and when will you be back?”

“Hudson, Kansas, and I don’t know when. Could be twenty-four hours, could be ten days. Depends on when I get what I want.”

“Kansas?” Leo squinted. “What the hell is in Kansas? We don’t have any interests in Kansas, do we?”

Justin hesitated. He wasn’t ready yet to disclose his son to his three brothers. Why? Perhaps because he’d only known about Max for two days and had yet to meet him. Or perhaps because his three brothers would have a load of opinions and he didn’t want to hear any of them until he’d already finalized plans for Max’s future. When the time was right, he’d let all three Travati brothers know that there was a new Travati. But that time wasn’t now.

“Don’t worry about where I am. I’m doing business, I’m reachable, and I’m here until I can leave. Just get those damn businessmen in that sandbox to close the deal. I don’t like walking around with my cock swinging in the wind, and until this deal is closed, that’s exactly how I feel.”

“Tell me about it, brother. Best to keep your cock in your pants unless, of course, there’s a beautiful woman involved.”

Even then, when a beautiful woman was involved, Justin knew now, best to keep your cock in your pants.

*

“The Kesslers are coming this afternoon for their tasting menu.”

Nina looked up from the stainless steel counter where she was reviewing her menu for the evening’s dinner service. “Okay …” Nina’s gaze raked over Aubrey. “I wasn’t sure if the tasting was still happening, I mean with—”

Aubrey shot her a warning look as prep cooks bustled around, getting ready for the service that evening.

“Everything is still happening.” Aubrey straightened her spine. “Just like it always does.”

“Good to know.” Nina nodded toward Aubrey’s office. They walked into the room, and Nina shut the door behind them. “Want to tell me what’s going on with Mr. Travati?”

That was the last thing Aubrey
wanted
to do. She sat at her desk and turned on her computer. “No.” Aubrey sighed. “But I suppose I have to.”

Nina leaned against the office door, dressed in her chef’s coat and checkered pants, a purple bandana holding back her thick hair. Nope, her little sister wasn’t letting her off easy, and she supposed once her father sorted out exactly who was in the Rockwater Suite, he’d have questions too. Aubrey tore her gaze from her computer and met Nina’s inquisitive stare. “He wants Max.”

A sharp inhale. “Well, he can’t have Max. We’ll get an attorney, we’ll take it to court, we’ll—”

“He has a right to know his son.”

“What right?” Nina’s eyes narrowed and anger lined her lips. “He abandoned both of you. When you came back from New York, you were heartbroken. If he wanted to know Max, what took him so long?”

Aubrey took a deep breath and lowered her eyes. The truth was almost too painful to share with Nina. “I never told Justin about Max.”

“What?” Nina stepped forward as though she hadn’t heard Aubrey’s words. “But you told us—”

“I never
told
you anything. You and Mom and Dad assumed Justin didn’t want me or Max in his life.”

“And you never
told
us otherwise.” Nina dropped into the chair in front of Aubrey’s desk. “Aubrey, are you kidding? You never told Justin you were pregnant? He didn’t know he had a son?”

Aubrey’s chest tightened. She shook her head and pressed her fingers to her temple. “When I found out—” She searched Nina’s face. How could she make her sister understand how alone and afraid and completely powerless she’d felt when she discovered her one night with Justin had gotten her pregnant? “Not telling him, at the time, seemed like my only option.” Her lips thinned. Now, looking back, of course she knew keeping this secret had been a mistake. Her bad decision had angered Justin and might even harm Max, but then, in that moment, there’d been nothing other than pure terror and the need to flee. To come home.

“No wonder he’s pissed off.”

Aubrey shook her head. “He wouldn’t have wanted Max back then. His life was all about parties and models and building his empire. He would’ve thought I’d gotten pregnant intentionally. There would have been pressure to end the pregnancy.” Her eyes flitted around the room until her gaze landed on a photo on her office wall of Max as a baby, grinning with his perfectly round head and drooling smile while she pressed her lips to the side of his face. “I just wanted to come home.” Aubrey pulled her gaze from the framed photo. “I suppose he has a right to be angry.”

“Yeah, but even if he’s mad, he can’t possibly think the best thing for Max is to yank him away from his entire life. His friends, his family, his home?”

“I don’t know what Justin thinks. He’s angry and he wants his son. But more than that, he wants to punish me for taking Max and for never telling him.” A strange mixture of shame and humiliation and anger with hints of heat coiled in her belly. How could she be attracted to a man who had shamed her? Did her psyche believe that she deserved his anger? “We need to have a rational conversation about Max’s future. I assume I’ll hear from him sometime today.”

“He’s booked the suite for three weeks.”

“Three weeks!” Aubrey’s eyes widened. “No way Justin stays in Hudson, Kansas, for three weeks. He won’t be able to stand this place for more than three days.”

Aubrey clicked her mouse. Justin needed to go back to New York before Max returned from Camp Willow. They would find some compromise. Perhaps in the fall, or maybe over the holiday break, she and Max would travel to New York so that Max could meet his father.

She pressed her lips together and took a deep breath. She could get through this. She
would
get through this. Work had pulled her through the dark months of doubt when she’d first arrived home and been pregnant with Max. Work would pull her through again. The calendar for today was clear until the tasting in the afternoon. “The Kesslers are at two. When does Cassidy get here?”

“Eleven. Best decision we ever made, hiring Cassidy once you forced me to accept weddings.”

“She’s awesome, isn’t she?” Aubrey’s best friend since second grade, Cassidy contained more effervescence and energy than a can of shaken soda in a hot car.

“Bob wants you to come up to the barn. He wants to talk to you about milk production and orders.”

“I’ll go deal with the cattle first. When Cassidy gets here, have her prepare the tasting service for the bride and the groom, and they’re each bringing their mothers.”

“That never goes well.”

“Not usually. They’re doing the cake tasting after.”

“That’s too much,” Nina said. “How can they possibly have room for cake after the tasting menu?”

“Their request. The groom will be in Texas until the wedding. This is the last day they could do it. Tomorrow we need to prep for the Stoddard wedding this Saturday.” Her gaze met Nina’s. “You know it’s two hundred.”

“Which is one hundred and fifty more than I like serving at one seating.”

“You like your fancy kitchen here at Rockwater Farms, and you still need the new freezer?”

“You know I do.”

“Then a wedding for two hundred on Saturday keeps the kitchen and gets you a new freezer. The weddings are pulling us into the black every month. The word is out that The Red Barn at Rockwater Farms is
the
place to get married.”

This was good. Lots to do. Work to accomplish. Meetings to have. Phone calls. People. Her gaze swept across her desk and out the large windows that looked out over the rolling grass hills that led to the Kaw River.

Her heart thumped faster. In blue jeans and a T-shirt, his black hair unmistakable, Justin walked down the green hill toward the timber. “What is he doing?”

Nina stood and looked out the window. “Maybe getting lost?”

“Don’t joke. He’s as city as they come. Why would he be heading in there? Alone?”

“Who knows, and I don’t care. He’s come to take my nephew, so I hope he falls in a ravine.”

“Nina! You can’t say those things.”

“What? He’s causing all kinds of hell. I can see it in your face what with the puffy eyes and the circles. You look like you didn’t sleep at all last night.”

So she looked bad as she felt. The scalding-hot shower and the three cups of coffee before coming down to The Barn hadn’t hidden that she’d awakened in Max’s room at two a.m. and not been able to get back to sleep.

Nina turned from the windows and walked toward the office door. “There’s fresh coffee. Have a cup before you go see the cows.”

Aubrey nodded and met Nina’s gaze.

Her little sister’s brows were pulled tight, and worry etched lines around her mouth. “You’ll let me know if I can help.”

Aubrey fought the tears heating the backs of her eyes. There was nothing Nina could do. She and Justin needed to have a rational, adult conversation and come to a reasonable compromise, but last night, when Justin had said he’d come for his son, there certainly hadn’t appeared to be any kind of compromise that he was willing to entertain. Only a complete victory would satisfy him.

“Okay.” She pushed herself to standing. “Up to the barn to see the cows.” She followed Nina out of the office, grabbed a to-go cup of coffee, and walked to the back door. She slipped off her shoes and pulled on her green Wellies. At least the cows wouldn’t have anything negative to say to her about her past, her present, or her future.

She opened the door and Scout jumped to attention. He wagged his tail and shook his entire body. Thank God for a happy dog. A smile curved over her lips with Scout’s joy. “Good boy. Let’s go see the cows.” He hopped and pranced and ran toward the far hill, then turned and looked back as though to say,
Come on, lady. Let’s go!

“We got the sweet butter grass just coming in,” Bob said. He placed his hand on the rump of one of Rockwater Farms’ Holstein dairy cows. “But I wanted to check with you because once I start feeding it to the girls, you know the flavor of the milk changes and that changes everything for Nina.”

Aubrey waked over to the stainless steel holding tank where all the milk was transferred by giant plastic hoses. A metal paddle stirred the whole milk so the cream wouldn’t separate. Giovanni, Rockwater Farms’ cheese specialist, would arrive in an hour, and he’d supervise the separating process. Rockwater Farms had just begun crafting cheese, and Giovanni had moved from Italy to help them build their artisanal cheese-making business.

Aubrey took a silver cup from the wall and dipped it down into the giant vat. The milk was still warm from the cows’ udders. She took a long drink. Thick. Pure. Fresh. This was milk the way milk was meant to taste. With a satisfied smile, she took another long drink. Smooth. Rich. Wonderful. She pulled the stainless steel cup from her lips and Bob grinned. He’d thought she was crazy when she told him she’d wanted to start a dairy cow herd in Kansas. Cows in Kansas were for beef, and while Rockwater Farms had those too, Nina and Aubrey had wanted to use fresh Rockwater Farms ingredients, and that included fresh milk, butter, and cream.

“You got yourself a real good mustache right there.” Bob laughed.

Aubrey pressed the back of her hand to her mouth and smiled. Yes. This was right. This was what she wanted. What she’d missed living in New York City and working in the financial markets. This was tangible; you could see your success, taste your success. This success wasn’t a number blinking from a computer screen or some transaction that worked but of which you’d never see the real elements. No. Here, standing amid a small herd of dairy cows, they discussed the taste of fresh milk and how sweet grass would impact Rockwater Farms’ new cheese-making endeavor, and the baking that went on in the restaurant, and the butter, and the milk, and all the things that Rockwater Farms made that included milk as an ingredient.

“I’ll check with Nina. She loved the taste last year. Check with Giovanni to see what he thinks. I don’t know if they have anything similar in Italy or how he feels about the taste for cheese.”

“Will do,” Bob said. He stroked the cow’s back. “They love that sweet butter grass. You know I can mill some of it for the chicken feed too.”

Aubrey quirked an eyebrow. “That’s a thought. You think it’ll change the taste of the eggs?”

“Not sure. Never did try it before. You want me to give it a test run? Separate out some of the hens and see if we like it?”

“I’d love that.”

Bob had come a long way. He had his own farm three miles from Rockwater, and he hadn’t thought much of what she and Nina were trying to do over here on their land. What with the no pesticides and no chemicals and a dairy herd and farm-to-table restaurant, Rockwater Farms had been considered as odd as a two-headed chicken when they first started. But Aubrey had needed the help, Bob was good with livestock, and he’d needed the additional income. What had first been a tenuous match was now a solid working relationship between two people who both loved the land.