I felt that type of emotion for the past twenty-two years of my life.
I knew I had to leave Travis behind. At least long enough to screw my head back on straight. I needed to use this car ride to get into gear for the meeting ahead. I wish I had asked Hunter for more information on what prompted the meeting. Was Dad angry? Was he upset? Was he tired or frustrated? Did it have to do with the company or with a function that was coming up?
Whatever it was, I knew it wasn’t going to be good. Only this time, I wasn’t sure if I could run to Travis afterwards.
And that thought shoved a tear down my cheek.
Eighteen
Ava
I walked into the house and heard the fighting my family was already doing. I followed the sound of the raised voices, trying to stick as close to the wall as I could. The family lawyer sat on the couch watching everything unfold. This was a business family meeting, not a personal one.
I felt a bit of relief flood my veins.
“Hunter?” I said with a whisper. “Hunter?”
My brother looked over at me before he slapped Finn and Lorenzo. The three of them came over to my side as we stood in the doorway. The lawyer looked up at us, a stern gaze in his eyes as the four of us huddled in the doorway. My father rattled on about something to him while my mother sat in the corner, her back straight in her body poised.
Like the little trophy she was intended to be for the rest of her life.
“What the hell’s going on?” I asked.
“A business venture with the company is tanking,” Hunter said.
“That doesn’t tell me a damn thing,” I said.
“Dad’s trying to purchase some land in the area in order to lay a gas line through it. The company isn’t budging,” Finn said.
I blinked at my brother as my blood ran cold. Did he just say what I thought he did?
“What?” I asked.
“Ava, you’re not that stupid,” Lorenzo said. “Dad’s company is trying to purchase part of Kettle in order to lay a gas line through it. He wants to develop the town. Bring it up with his name written all over it. Why did you think we were here all summer?”
“I thought this was a fucking family vacation,” I said.
“Oh, language. I like it. Sass looks good on you sis,” Hunter said.
Holy shit. Our company was the company threatening Travis's family. My father was the one who wanted to tear up the mountainside and lay that stupid gas line. He was the one using all of the strong-arm tactics in order to get Travis's father to budge.
I was shocked, but the sad thing was that I wasn't surprised.
“How long has Dad been going at the lawyer like that?” I asked.
“Fifteen minutes. Apparently, Dad’s company is trying to get the government to play in our favor and he can’t. He has to establish the fact that this company has a monopoly of some sort or is going something illegal, and he can’t. He’s trying to find other ways to get them to sell,” Finn said.
“Why can’t Dad just lay the lines around the mountains?” I asked.
“It’ll cost him millions more,” Lorenzo said.
“So the fuck what? The company has the money. Why does he have to destroy the beauty of this place just to get shit done cheaper?” I asked.
“I don’t know. Why don’t you ask him?” Hunter asked.
I looked back at my father, who was red-faced and irate. The entire reason Travis was so upset was because of them. Because of us. Because of me. How in the world was I going to explain that to him? Especially after this morning? I had no idea if I was ever going to see him again, and I was never going to get a chance to explain myself. I didn't want my father tearing up the mountain side and I wanted things to be okay with Travis. It was too beautiful and I had too many precious memories in this town to see it disappear.
But between my father's disgusting business antics and the fact that Travis wouldn't even talk to me about what we were, I had no idea how to resolve this. I wasn't sure I could. But I knew I had to try. My voice was all I had, along with the business knowledge I had acquired from my books, so I was going to use it.