Xavier wiped his mouth with a napkin and tossed histrash in the bin. “We realize that you got a raw deal, but as all three of us know from our recent experiences, life isn’t fair. And one of the football-isms that has stayed with me over the years is that when you get knocked down, you’ve got to get up.”
Caleb nodded. He did believe that he was moving past one of the worst times in his life, but every now and again something happened to remind him of the past. And his own foolishness. He hadn’t expected Sophia to be the one to drag him down.
“You’re right. I just need to focus on inheriting Yukon Cider and making the decision whether to stay and run the company,” Caleb said.
“I’m going to say it again for the record,” Xavier said, looking back and forth between Landon and Caleb. “Regardless of what my future holds with True, I intend to make a unanimous decision with both of you. We came into this as the Three Musketeers and that’s how we’ll finish it.”
“I hear that,” Caleb said, his soul feeling lighter just knowing that he and his brothers were going to tackle this inheritance issue as a threesome. Nothing else made sense.
“That’s a relief,” Landon said, letting out a deep breath.
Xavier’s engagement to True had made things a bit more complicated, but, thankfully, the Brothers Stone would make a final decision as a unit. Stay and run Yukon Cider or sell the company to the highest bidder. By the time the decision was made, Hattie would most likely be gone. It was a sobering thought. A quick look at his brothers’ faces revealed that they were thinking the same.
A knock on his office door dragged all three of them out of their thoughts.
“Come in,” Caleb said, half expecting to see Hattie standing at his door. She had a sweet habit of coming tocheck on her grandsons and bounce ideas off them. Sometimes he couldn’t help but wonder what might have been if they hadn’t left Alaska all those years ago. Would his parents have reconciled? Would he and his brothers have pursued different career paths? Maybe Red would have been a solid part of their lives.
When the door opened, Sophia was standing there, looking every bit as stunning as always. His pulse still raced at the sight of her. His tongue felt thick inside his mouth, as if he might not be able to get actual words out. He had no idea what she was doing here, since her job hadn’t actually started yet.
She fumbled with her fingers, moving them around in jerky movements.
“Caleb. Can I talk to you for a moment?” She darted a glance at Xavier and Landon. “Alone?”
She had to give it to the Stone brothers. As soon as she made her request, they scrambled to pack up their things and exited the room after saying a quick hello to her in passing. Once they were gone, she found herself wishing that she had asked them to stay for moral support. Not that they would be on her side, but she might need a buffer against Caleb. He was staring daggers at her.
She shifted from one foot to the other. He wasn’t going to make this easy for her, was he?
“I’m sorry to crash your lunch, but I wanted to clear the air. I didn’t like how we left things earlier.”
Crickets. All he did was give her a slight nod.
She let out a ragged sigh. “Caleb, I know you’re ticked off at me. And I don’t blame you.”
He folded his arms across his chest. It was the ultimate defensive gesture. Ugh. She had a battle on her hands.
“I got a little carried away this morning, so I came back to sincerely apologize. What you said earlier made me think about the fact that I wasn’t considering how your time on the show affected you. Judging by the look on your face, that experience hurt you.” Her chin quivered. “I know what it feels like to be hurt.”
“Hurt people hurt people?” he asked, quirking his mouth.
“Umm, I guess so. I want our working relationship to be a good one, so we need to clear the air. I need to set things right.”
“Go for it,” he said, leaning back in his chair.
“I talk too much when I get nervous. Hattie makes me nervous. Not that she’s not amazing and delightful, but she’s also a strong and successful businesswoman who has accomplished way more in her lifetime than I ever will. This opportunity to work for Yukon Cider is life-changing for me and my daughter. And that reality stressed me out.” She crossed her hands in front of her and began to twist her thumbs around. Was she rambling? Nerves had taken over; she hoped that she was getting her point across without sounding pathetic.
She inhaled a deep breath. “And somehow all this time before I met you, I thought of you as a character and not a living, breathing human being. I know how wrong that was of me, because now that I know you just a little bit, I can see that you’re nothing like the way you were portrayed. I sense that you’re a good person and I should have kept my lips zipped.”
Sophia noticed the instant his features softened. He was way less intimidating now.
“I like you,” she blurted out. Oh, now that the words had slipped out of her mouth, she felt a little squirrelly. Theirgazes were locked, and she noticed a slight twinkle in his eyes.
A slow grin began to spread across his face. “You like me?”
Heat suffused her cheeks. “Don’t get all cocky about it, but I do. You’re kind and funny. You were supportive when we were trapped in the attic. I watched you with Hattie at the tavern, and you were so sweet with her. And you remembered my daughter’s name.”
“You’re definitely going to give me a swelled head.” He was more relaxed now, reverting back to the warmhearted version of himself.
She moved closer toward him, closing the gap between them in a few easy strides.
