But I don’t answer, Tommy does. “The farm is in bad shape—”
“You piece of—” I advance against my dad’s hand but he holds me back.
“James reached out to me for a loan,” Tommy says quickly and loudly. “But I told him I wouldn’t do it unless he found a way to modernize the farm and bring in additional funds.Such as a restaurant.He didn’t make the restaurant because the farm is doing so well he wanted to expand. He’s making it because without it—or possibly because of it—the farm is going to fail.” I flinch against that word. “And not only that, but he’s gotten an offer that he won’t take.”
“Stop talking.”
He doesn’t. “Anderson Food Distributions has offered him anincrediblefive-year contract that will give the restaurant time to grow enough to be something that could support the farm. But he won’t take it because he’s afraid he’ll let you down, and he’s keeping all of this from you because he’s scared you’re going to drop dead from the sudden truth.”
“Dammit, Tommy! Why are you doing this?”
“Because the men in this family are too damn stubborn for their own good!” he shouts, a vein surfacing across his temple. “You’re all going to put yourselves in an early grave trying to keep all your secrets, and I’m sick of it. I gave you every chance to tell the truth over the last few months and you were never going to because you’re too proud. You are following in Dad’s exact footsteps over this damn farm and you can’t even see it!”
His words startle me enough to stop pushing against my dad’s hand.
Dad looks at me. “Is all of this true, James?”
I swallow against a lump in my throat. “It . . . it’s true. All of it.”
I can’t read my dad right now. His brows are pinched together, eyes searching mine, but he doesn’t look angry. I think it would beeasier if hewereangry. If he told me he never should have left the farm to me in the first place and reminded me of what a legacy it is.
Instead, he asks, “If you didn’t want the restaurant, why are you launching it? Seems like that would only tighten things more for a while.”
In my silence, searching for the right words, Tommy speaks for me. “Madisonchanged his mind. She was graduating, and by my calculations, he figured out a way to bring her home.” Tommy smirks at me. “You didn’t think I put it together, did you? Well, I did. Immediately. Because contrary to what you seem to think, I’m not an idiot.” My heart is pounding. “And by the way, if you ask me, I still think it’s a terrible idea to open a restaurant that you desperately need to do well with a chef fresh out of culinary school. And I told you I called and talked to the chef she interned with in New York, right?”No.“Apparently she has a track record of being overly emotional at work. Which is why I tried to get you to hire one of the other chefs, but—”
“That’s enough, Tommy.” This time it’s my dad who speaks, and with so much of an edge that even I wince.
But I forget all about Tommy and my dad when I look down the hall and find Madison standing motionless, lips parted in shock. She just heard everything we said. . . .
She pivots on her heel and rushes out the back door.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Madison
I’m running for my life—not in any particular direction, just running.
The nighttime humidity presses in, and James is right behind me, gaining ground every second. I need to outrun this feeling. These claws. This pain.
Tommy called Chef Davis. He knows everything. He never thought I should be the chef.
And James, he . . .
God, I can’t even think about it without wanting to hurl.
As he gets within arm’s reach, I zigzag through fireflies, pivot to the left, and take off again, repeating the cycle until my lungs burn and tears clog my vision. My legs are screaming, and it’s painfully clear James is in much better shape than I am and could do this all night. Damn him and Will and their morning runs.
So I finally give up and break.
Not expecting the sudden stop, he collides with my back. Hisarms wrap around me to steady us after the impact, but he doesn’t let go once I’m upright.
“Madison . . .” His voice is an apology. A plea.
I don’t relax into him. I can’t.
“Is what you said back there true?”
“Yes.”
