“Well, I’m here now, aren’t I? I’ve been here for years,” I say.
“And Terrence has room to grow and learn,” he replies while Sheila gives me a smug smile. “Cole, please. Enough with the fighting and the bickering. I’m old, I’m tired. I’m not getting any better. I don’t want to leave you arguing and going for each other’s throats when you could all be working toward the same goal. Morgan Enterprises needs every hand on deck, and we have a weddingcoming up.”
“Dad, I… Deep down, you know that each of my concerns holds up,” I say, trying to reason with him. “Just talk to me; talk to Asher and Toby before you make any decisions.”
“Asher and Toby have repeatedly said they’re not interested in running the company,” Sheila chimes in. “All I suggested was a shift in the shareholding percentages to include Terrence, especially since he’ll soon start working for your father.”
“Just because Asher and Toby don’t want to run the day-to-day operations of our father’s company doesn’t mean they’re willing to relinquish their advisory or voting roles on the board,” I reply. “Know your place, Sheila.”
“Cole!” Dad snaps. “Enough. I’ll take your concerns under consideration, and I will take Sheila and Terrence’s concerns under consideration, as well. In the meantime, I understand we have a copious breakfast waiting for us in the den. Will you join us?”
I exhale sharply, my anger and pride getting the better of me, and I shake my head. “No.”
“The deeper you dig, the greater the chance that you will shake something loose and end up hurting your father more than you will ever hurt me,” Sheila says. “Come on, Cole. Have breakfast with us. Let’s try to be a family, for once.”
I know what she’s insinuating, and it only makes me despise her more. There are things best left in the past, and the fact that she’s threatening to bring them back to the surface tells me Sheila is ready for war.
What she fails to understand is that I have fought in an actual war. I have seen the battlefield. And she has no idea the kindof damage I can deliver, even if it costs me my relationship with my father.
“You three go ahead,” I say, hiding my anger under a tense smile. “Dad, I’ll be in touch. Sheila, do heed my warning about Willow. You too, Terrence. Don’t test me.”
I shake my father’s hand and walk out before the conversation veers back into unpleasant territory.
“Why did Cole warn you about Willow?” I hear him asking Sheila.
“Oh, it doesn’t even matter, honey. It’s just a misunderstanding,” she says.
My warning stands, though, and she knows it. Terrence knows it, too. Willow deserves better, and I intend to give her better, along with my brothers. A woman like her only comes around once in this lifetime, and I’ll be damned if I’ll let my stepbrother and stepmother hurt her again.
I’ll burn it all to the ground, if I have to.
7
WILLOW
Thornwood looks a hell of a lot bigger than it did in the photos. None of the images did it justice. Its east and west wings stretch across the estate with Art Nouveau archways and massive, stained-glass windows. Most of the original elements were preserved and restored over the years, and I can only imagine what the gardens look like in the summer, bordered by the deep woods leading to Chappaqua.
Inside, the old and the new meet like a friendly handshake. Vintage furniture, antique textiles, precious decorative items, and legacy paintings mingle with modern lines and upholstery, contemporary equipment, and state-of-the-art lighting and heating systems, which turn the cavernous estate into a warm and welcoming winter home.
“Right this way to the ballroom,” Ian says as he escorts me across the lobby and past the gigantic Christmas tree.
One look at this thing and my heart tingles as I imagine Cole, Asher, and Toby growing up here, spending their evenings gazing up at the twinkling lights, decorating the tree withtheir mother and father, hanging the baubles, getting tangled in the golden-specked garlands, maybe sneaking downstairs at night to catch Santa in the act.
“Oh, wow,” I gasp as Ian pushes through the ballroom’s glass doors. “It does look beautiful in this new light.”
“I agree, though I, personally, I still prefer the original fixtures,” Ian politely admits.
I give him a smile. “I only saw them in the photos, but they were beautiful.”
“Master Cole hopes they’ll go back up after the wedding. I believe he and his brothers are actively lobbying for that.”
“I’m not surprised,” I say and chuckle lightly. “They speak so fondly of Thornwood.”
“Their mother spent her final days here,” Ian says.
That hits me like a punch in the gut. No wonder Cole and his brothers are so hung up on this place, so eager to protect it from Sheila’s design quirks for an event as ephemeral as a wedding.
“The Morgans spent their Christmas holidays here, didn’t they?” I ask, my gaze wandering across the pristine white walls.
