“Yeah.” Jace tossed a couple of empty beer bottles into the trash bin. “He got an offer from a Sacramento developer. Apparently, Mitch is trying to raise funds so he could beat the other guy’s offer. Randy was straight with me…says he’s going to go with the highest bidder. If Mitch doesn’t come through in the next couple of days, Randy says he’ll seal the deal with the folks from Sacramento.”
Dan grabbed another beer from the mini-fridge. “How much are they offering?”
“Don’t know, but I’m guessing it’s close to asking. Randy wants what we want. Someone who’ll use the ranch for agriculture. But no one with cattle was interested and at the end of the day it’s business.”
“On our way out tomorrow, I plan to stop by and say hello,” Dan said. “I know this is killing him. All Randy ever wanted to do was ranch. Even when we were kids. Poor son of a gun.”
The conversation turned to Charlie’s store and Aubrey’s design firm and ultimately Jace’s upcoming wedding. Afterward, Sawyer’s mom asked him to take a walk.
He intentionally avoided the direction of Gina’s old cabin and they followed the creek to the horse barn.
“Big day, huh?”
“The only thing that would’ve made it better is to have shared it with Angie.” Wendy took Sawyer’s hand. “But tonight I will sleep. Do you know how long it’s been? I haven’t made it through a night since the day Angie disappeared.” She made a fist with both their hands and put it against her heart. “Oh, Sawyer, it’s a miracle. And you, Cash, and Jace worked so hard to find her. I’m so proud of you.”
She stopped and reached up to stroke his face. “Now tell me what’s wrong. You look tired…worn out. I don’t think that has anything to do with your sister. You’ve been moping around all night…looking blue.”
“No, I haven’t.”
“Sawyer.” She put her hands on her hips and cocked her head to one side. “I’m your mother and a mother always knows.”
Precisely. That’s why he didn’t want to have this conversation with her.
“I’m fine, Mom.”
“Is that why you call me every couple of days to ask about Gina? Is that why she calls me, pretends to act like it’s business and then proceeds to interrogate me about you? It’s ridiculous, Sawyer. It’s so obvious that the two of you care about each other. If we’ve learned anything from Angela it’s that time is too short to waste. If I could take back all the silly lectures, the criticisms, the yelling matches to spend even one more day with your sister, like I am with you now, I’d do it in a heartbeat.”
She paused and wrapped her arms around herself. “I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Despite Gina’s facade, she not as self-assured as she likes people to think. For all her tough talk, she’s not as strong as you.”
“She’s stronger than you think, Mom.” Most people would’ve folded under the pressure Gina had been under. No matter how many times circumstances knocked her down, she’d gotten up again. Hell, the woman was Tyson Fury.
“Not like you, my beautiful boy.” Wendy reached up on tiptoes, pulled his head down, and kissed him on the forehead. “If you want her, Sawyer, you’ve got to fight for her. Otherwise, she’ll let fear rule her and bury herself in the Gina DeRose persona she’s created for herself. Don’t let your fear do the same. You might miss out on something really special.”
They walked back to his loft, the sun setting low in a paint-streaked sky. No more words about Gina passed between them, just small talk. Sawyer’s dad met them at the loft and they spent the rest of the evening watching a movie together.
Afterward, Sawyer gave them his bedroom and took the couch. In the morning, they ate breakfast together. Cash’s parents came up just long enough to say good-bye before loading Wendy and Dan’s overnight bags in the car.
“We’ll stop by Randy’s on the way to the airport and wish him our best,” Dan said.
Sawyer went outside with them and waved good-bye from the driveway, then came upstairs and lingered over a second cup of coffee.
For lack of nothing else to do, he shuffled through theEsquirecontract on his desk, picked up a pen, then put it back down. For the rest of the morning, he paced and checked his phone over and over again.
At lunchtime he started to make a sandwich, decided he wasn’t hungry, and returned the sliced beef, cheese, and mayo to the refrigerator.
About one, he realized this wasn’t going to work. If he stayed home, walking the floor, he’d go stark, raving mad. He swiped his keys off the hall tree and jumped in his Range Rover.
The next thing he knew he was on Interstate 5, following the signs to Los Angeles.
Chapter 22
“Tell ChefAid I’m not interested.” Gina sat at her desk, turning down the third counteroffer since Tuesday from the company that had been so willing to ditch her when the chips were down. The CEO at ChefAid kept sweetening the pot and Gina kept saying “No.”
“This one seems too good to pass up,” Linda said.
After theTimespiece hit newsstands, her manager had been juggling offers faster than a circus clown. The story, “A Hollywood Horror Tale for the Ages,” gave a blow-by-blow of how Candace had attempted to torpedo Gina’s empire to enhance her own career. There was nothing like a phoenix rising from the ashes to excite exploitive corporate executives. They all wanted to hitch their wagons to Gina’s renewed stardom.
“Don’t care how good it is. Tell them to go fu—Just tell them to go away, that we’re not interested.”
