There was a time during his senior year when he wanted to go to college to be a diesel mechanic, but his heart ultimately kept him home to work with Dad.
He even left his long-time girlfriend at the time, who was supposed to be going to the same college he applied to in Boston.
Since then, he hasn’t been the same, but he loves his job, no matter what it costs him. Maybe that’s the reason he goes through a different girlfriend every single month.
Losing something as important to him as Eleanor Davis has him searching for someone to fill that void.
Not to mention my mom constantly on him about finding a nice woman, settling down, and starting a family. She never tried those lines with me because she knew better. My attention was always put on my work, in and out of school.
She lost hope that I was going to settle down a while ago. But little does she know what’s going on with me right now…
If only my family would talk to me, then they would know that I’ve already started the process of finally making them grandparents. We all assumed Karl would be first since he dates so much, but of course, it had to be me…the one who rarely gets out of her apartment, let alone dates.
If anyone deserves this sort of opportunity, it’s Karl.
It doesn’t occur to me until this moment, seeing the panic and passion in his eyes as he looks at Ethan.
“Sir?” Karl asks. “What are you saying? If you aren’t selling to Jon, then…” Karl stops mid-question as it must click in his mind.
My father looks curiously between Karl, Ethan, and me. Maybe luck is truly on our side today. His curious look soon turns into shock as he pats Karl’s shoulder and lets out an exhausted sigh.
“Karl,” Ethan starts. “You have always been there for me when things go awry either at work or in my personal life. When Marcus took off on me, who was there? You. Whenever I needed something fixed at my house, you took time out of your days off to come and help me.”
As he continues down the list of all the good Karl has done, I can’t control my emotions as my eyes tear up.
As messy as he can be, he is a great human being.
Even when we would bicker, as most siblings do, he would forget everything the moment I needed his help.
There was a time one of my boyfriends had dumped me for another girl just because I didn’t want to sleep with him, and when Karl got wind, he paid him a little visit as if defending my honor.
When he got home with slightly bloody knuckles, I knew what he had done. But we didn’t speak of it, even when the boy confronted me at school the next day with a black eye. That’s the type of person he is, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.
“I’m saying,” Ethan continues, drawing the attention of everyone in the room once more. “Karl, would you do me the honor of taking care of Jones Construction for me? I can’t think of anyone else who could run it better than you, son.”
29
ELIZABETH
“I’m saying, Karl, would you do me the honor of taking care of Jones Construction for me? I can’t think of anyone else who could run it better than you, son.”
The moment the words are spoken, the demeanor in the room shifts. No one, including me, saw that coming from the beginning of the meeting today.
Although the smile from Jon tells me that he had an inkling of how this was going to turn out. He really pulled through today and helped me and my family.
The love I feel for him is only growing by the second.
My mouth nearly falls to the floor. I can’t wrap my exhausted brain around what is happening. After weeks of stressing and hiding things from everyone, one small meeting between Jon and Ethan, and it’s all fixed…
My mind is blown.
I look at Jon, who is smiling, and he winks at me. How did he manage to pull this off?
Before Ethan arrived, I saw him in his office, looking more defeated than I did. Was this a last-ditch effort, or has he been planning this since he found everything out?
This has to be his doing.
Shaking my head in disbelief, I look back at Karl, who is still silent from shock, but his eyes begin to well up, telling me that the news has finally sunk in. My father puts his arm tightly around Karl before stepping away and toward my direction.
