Then, Ginny had finally broken down her exterior walls and gone to Old Ember’s. She’d repaired some of their bridges, and while she’d always been talking to Drake, she now spoke to Harvey and Elliot about their families as well.
Standing in the hallway at her house on New Year’s Eve and looking at the cards and notes from her nieces and nephews had reminded her of what was most important. Family. Loved ones.
Her heart pinched as she slid into the booth next to Harvey. “Evening,” she said, barely looking at him. Across from him Elliot sat against the wall, and they were still waiting for Drake, who’d take the spot directly across from Ginny.
“Evening,” Harvey said just as formally.
Elliot nodded at her, his dark eyes missing nothing. “You look tired, Ginny.”
“Yes,” she said, and that was all. She hated that even within her own family she struggled to let her guard down. She picked up her silverware and unwrapped it, carefully laying the dark blue napkin over her lap.
A waitress arrived, offering wine or whiskey, and Ginny waved her away with, “I’ll take a club soda with lime, please.”
“Do either of you want another drink?” she asked Harvey and Elliot, and they both ordered another shot of Dark Horse, which was their preferred brandy. She almost found it comical that none of them drank whiskey.
Her father had been notorious for his consumption of the stuff, and Ginny hurried to lock the door on those memories before they could stain her mind again.
“How’s Janice?” she asked Harvey, who smiled.
“She’s doing well,” he said. “The surgery is complete, finally, and she should be back to eating solid foods fairly quickly.”
“That’s wonderful,” Ginny said. “Did you get the soup I sent a few days ago?”
“Yes.”
She could feel the weight of his eyes on the side of her face, and she turned toward him. “I’m glad.”
“She didn’t text you?” Harvey’s eyes flashed so much like Daddy’s had. He was the spitting image of their father, and Ginny had a hard time looking at him sometimes.
Ginny shook her head. “It’s okay. I’m sure she was in a lot of pain.” Ginny would’ve been had she just gotten dental implants, after three other mouth surgeries to get her to the point of being able to get the implants.
“She said she would. I apologize,” he said. “I would have had I known she didn’t. It was delicious. Even Carlisle ate it.” He smiled, and Ginny felt something crack inside her. She wasn’t even sure what it was.
“I’m glad,” she said again, her voice dropping in both pitch and volume. She cleared her throat as she let her gaze fall to the tabletop too. “I’d love to see Carlisle. How is he enjoying his new teacher?”
“I’ll bring him by tomorrow,” Harvey said, grinding his voice through his own throat. “Elizabeth’s been dying to show you how she can make crepes now too.”
Ginny’s eyes filled with tears. She didn’t know how to walk away from her family. She didn’t know how to cut them out of her life completely.
“What’s wrong, Ginny?” Elliot asked, his hand coming across the table and covering both of hers. She hadn’t even realized she’d knotted her fingers together until the warmth from her brother touched her skin.
Elliot was taller than all of them, and he’d inherited more of Mother’s slanted nose and high forehead. He had long limbs and keen eyes, and his children were polite and personable. She missed them too, and she hated that she’d let business come between her and her brothers for so long.
“Let’s wait until Drake gets here,” Harvey said. “She obviously won’t want to explain it twice.”
Ginny didn’t even want to explain it once. At the same time, she had things to say to the two of them that Drake didn’t need to hear. He’d sided with her on the employee salaries, and they’d been getting along fine all this time.
“I want to apologize to the two of you,” she said. “We shouldn’t let business come between us the way we did these past several months.” She looked up, her tears miraculously staying in her eyes. “You’re my brothers, and I love you. I’m sorry.”
Ginny had never been one for long speeches, and none of the Winters were either.
“It’s okay,” Harvey said, glancing at Elliot. “We’re to blame too. We should’ve come to you before unilaterally trying to take the company in a new direction.”
“I understand your position,” Elliot said. “In the end, Ginny, you were right.” He gave her a smile that turned wry quickly. “As usual.”
“I am not always right,” she said quickly, glancing from him to Harvey.
“No, but you think differently than we do,” Harvey said. “It’s not always about numbers on a paper. It’s about people too.”