He shook his head. “Not at all.”
“Or that I was betraying your father’s memory somehow.”
He couldn’t help the short snorting laugh that escaped him. “I think Dad forfeited any right to that kind of loyalty a long time ago.” The words came out more bitter than he intended.
She looked at him sharply. “What do you mean by that?”
He sighed. “Nothing. No, it’s not nothing.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Dad wasn’t exactly the model husband, was he? The late nights, the business trips that seemed to go on longer than they should have.”
Her face lost some of its color. “You knew about that?”
“I wasn’t blind, Mother. Or deaf. I heard the arguments.”
She looked away. “I never wanted you to know.”
“Kids pick up on more than parents think.” He leaned forward in his chair. “Look, I’m happy for you. Really. Jonah seems to treat you well. Better than Dad ever did.”
“Your father wasn’t always…” She stopped, seeming to reconsider her words. “Theodore had his failings, but he provided for us.”
“Is that enough? Just providing?” He hadn’t meant to get into this, but now that they were talking about his father, the words kept coming. “He made you miserable half the time. Made me feel like I could never measure up.”
She looked at him in silence for a long moment. “I know things weren’t always good between you and your father. I should have done more. Should have seen how much his words hurt you.”
The simple acknowledgment felt like the lifting of a weight he had carried for decades. “I spent years trying to prove him wrong. That I wasn’t worthless, that I could amount to something.”
“Is that why you’re so determined to build this development? To prove something?”
He hesitated. Was she right? Was this project just another attempt to show his father—even in death—that he was successful? That he mattered?
“Maybe partly,” he admitted. “But I also genuinely believe it would be good for Magnolia Key. The town needs to grow, to have a stable economic future.”
His mother nodded slowly. “I’m beginning to understand that you see it that way. I don’t agree with the specific plan, but I believe you when you say your intentions aren’t purely selfish.”
Coming from his mother, this was practically a full endorsement. He felt something loosen in his chest. “Thank you for that.”
They sat in silence for a moment, the conversation having taken them places neither had expected to go.
“So,” he said finally. “You and Jonah. When’s the wedding?”
A small smile touched her lips. “We haven’t set a date yet. Something small, I think. Nothing elaborate. And fairly soon. We’ve waited a long time for it.”
“Makes sense.” He paused. “Does he make you laugh?”
The question seemed to surprise her. “Yes, he does. Quite often, actually.”
“Good. You rarely laughed when I was growing up.”
Her eyes softened. “Perhaps I didn’t.”
He stood up. “Well, I should get going. I promised Tori I’d help at the theater this morning.”
His mother rose as well. “You’ve been doing a lot to help people after the storm.”
“Just trying to be useful.”
“It hasn’t gone unnoticed.” She hesitated, then added, “I’m proud of you for that, Cliff.”
The words stunned him. When was the last time his mother had said she was proud of him? Had she ever?
