But now he was at a crossroads. True meant the world to him. Losing her would be devastating. He knew in the weeks and months ahead, he would be grieving the fact that she was no longer in his life. And it would be excruciating. He loved this woman with every part of his being, and these feelings weren’t going anywhere.
“I don’t want to be like Red, always running away from life,” he muttered.
It suddenly dawned on him that True had been right, despite the fact that he hadn’t wanted to accept it at the time. He was on the verge of repeating his father’s pattern. Running away from difficult situations. Wasn’t that what he was doing by trying to leave Moose Falls? Hadn’t Hattie told himthat it was Red’s way of dealing with life? Xavier didn’t want to be that way in his own life. He wanted to push past his fears and be present for the people he loved.
He jumped up from his seat and headed toward the door. While Xavier was deep in thought, Landon had just left his office, and he needed him to come back. In reality, Xavier needed Caleb and Hattie, as well as Red. He needed his family’s help so he could make things right with True.
“Landon!” he called out after seeing his brother in the corridor. “I need your help! I’ve got to fix things with True. Grab Caleb too.”
Landon grinned at him and flashed him a thumbs-up sign.
Xavier went back into his office and sat down. His breathing was heavy, and his pulse was racing like a thoroughbred at the Kentucky Derby. He was existing on pure adrenaline, and his mind was racing with a hundred different thoughts.
He wasn’t going to California. Gordon would just have to understand that it wasn’t the right move for Xavier. He would always love football, but he’d found something else he loved more. True. And his life here in Moose Falls was pretty amazing. He still had work to do on his relationship with his father. And Hattie wanted him here for her final days. Xavier couldn’t bear to leave the grandmother he’d grown to love.
He was going to head over to Northern Exposure so he could get his girl back. And if luck was on his side, she wouldn’t slam the tavern door in his face.
“Just say the word, True, and I’ll head over to Yukon Cider and give that weasel a kick in the pants.” Bonnie had issuedvarious statements like this all morning, and although True appreciated her fierce loyalty, it wasn’t helping True feel any better.
“I love you, Bonnie, but violence is never the answer.” She sent Bonnie a pointed look. “There will be no contact with Xavier. Understood?”
Bonnie folded her arms across her chest and made a huffing sound. “All right, if you insist, but as far as I’m concerned, good riddance. He’s too pretty for my liking anyway. If you’d ended up together, he would probably hog the mirror.”
True’s lips twitched. “Oh, really? Because you’ve been drooling over him ever since he came to town.” True let loose with a throaty chuckle at the outraged expression on Bonnie’s face. It felt really nice to laugh.
“I’m going to ignore that comment since I’m needed in the kitchen,” Bonnie said in a sassy tone as she sashayed out of True’s office.
Friends didn’t come any more loyal than Bonnie. True was so happy for her and Tucker. A few days ago, she had shown up for work with a sparkly diamond on her finger. Bonnie had agreed to marry Tucker after he showered her with a fancy proposal. Turns out Bonnie realized that she’d met her other half in Tucker and she didn’t want to lose him. “Why not tie him down?” she’d said, laughing wildly.
Although she was excited for her friend, True couldn’t help but think about what the future might have held for her and Xavier if things hadn’t crashed and burned. How could their love story be ending when it had barely started? She shook off the feelings of sadness, knowing that thoughts of Xavier would only serve as a huge distraction from work. And she had lots of events to plan, vendors to call, menus to discuss with the chef, along with a host of other responsibilities.
A sudden knock on her door caused her to let out a groan. What was it now? With all these interruptions, she would never get all her work done.
“Come in,” she called out, trying not to sound as annoyed as she felt.
The sight of Red and Hattie standing in the doorway caused True to let out a gasp. What were they doing here? She stood up so quickly, some of her paperwork fell to the floor. “Hattie! Red! I wasn’t expecting to see you.” She let out a nervous laugh. “Did I forget about a meeting or something?”
“Sorry to barge in on you, True, but my son and I have something important to discuss with you.” Hattie pointed to a chair and said, “Red, pull that chair out for me. I would like to sit down.” Red quickly pulled out the chair, then helped his mother sit down before grabbing another seat for himself.
A panicky feeling threatened to swallow True up whole. What was going on? Was shebeing fired? All she could fathom was that Red had decided to assume his role as owner of the tavern and she was being kicked out on her rear end. She sank back into her chair as a feeling of unease washed over her.
When it rains, it pours. Why did all the bad things have to pop up at once? She could barely handle being dumped by Xavier, and now this!
“Just get it over with,” she said abruptly, leaning across the table and locking eyes with Hattie. “Am I being let go?”
Hattie let out a rich chuckle. “What in the world, True? You’re not being fired, my sweet child. Your dream of owning the tavern is about to come true.”
“Huh?” True asked as she swung her gaze between Hattie and Red. They were both grinning at her, their faces radiating pure joy.
“A little birdie told me that you wanted to buy Northern Exposure, and although I appreciate my mother’s gesture in leaving it to me, owning a tavern has never been on my bucket list,” Red explained. “I have other dreams I’d like to explore.”
Hattie reached over and squeezed his hand. “Dreams are important.”
“You’re selling the tavern to me?” True asked. For a moment she felt breathless. Was this really happening? After all the years of hoping and dreaming, her wish was finally coming true.
“I am,” Red said with a nod. “We can work something out with the payments and structure them in a way that works for you. Whatever it takes, True. We believe in you.”
Tears were falling freely now, and this time they were born of joy. She almost couldn’t believe her good fortune. She lightly pinched her arm, half expecting to wake up and find out this had all been a dream.
