Travis gave him a pointed look. “Exactly. She wouldn’t have hesitated to lay her sob story out for you if all she’d been after was a check. From what I can tell, the woman is a saint, Nate. I’m giving her the money she needs. And for what it’s worth, everything she said to you was spot-on. Dad wanted us to have that money and the company. I absolutely think it was an apology. The man wasn’t perfect. In fact, he was as far from perfect as anyone I’ve ever known. But everyone deserves a second chance, Nate. Even him. And especially you.”
It was a nice sentiment. He doubted Chloe would ever give him the time of day, let alone a second chance after the things he’d said to her. It had been seven years since he and Miranda broke it off and he’d spent every day of it being a bitter, solemn, distrusting asshole. He’d finally found a woman who gave him the peace he craved and he’d driven her away. Nate didn’t know how he’d get through another hour without Chloe. Days … weeks without her? Impossible.
“Nate? Did you hear me?”
His vision came back into focus as he shook himself from his thoughts. Travis was staring down at him, a furrow marring his brow. “What?”
“I said, if you give a dime of that money to Miranda, Noah, Carter, and I are going to beat the shit out of you. You hear me? Quit punishing yourself for things that weren’t your fault to begin with and crawl out of the fucking hole you’ve been living in for the past year. This isn’t about taking over Dad’s legacy, Nate. It’s about using the opportunity to leave one of your own.”
“Yeah,” Nate said. He peered down at his bottle. “Okay.”
“And for the love of god, fix things with Chloe. I might not know anything about her, but she must be amazing. I’ve never seen you so wrecked. Make it right with her.”
Nate didn’t answer. Couldn’t.
“I’ll call you tomorrow,” Travis said as he headed for the door. “You coming over for Christmas Eve dinner? Everyone else is.”
“Yeah,” Nate said without registering exactly what he was agreeing to. “See ya.”
The door closed behind Travis and the silence of his house swallowed Nate whole. Chloe’s absence gutted him, hollowed him out until he was nothing more than an empty shell. How could losing her scar him so deeply after knowing her for only a short time? Nate thought he’d felt all the pain there ever was to feel. Had experienced the gut-wrenching sorrow of loss. The anger of betrayal. The hollow ache of true heartbreak was a new and hellish torture, though. He hadn’t felt half of this when he’d found Miranda and his dad together. Did that mean that what he felt for Chloe was so much more than what he’d felt for a woman he’d been ready to marry?
Was he in love with Chloe?
Goddamn it, yes.
Travis was right. For years, he’d beat himself up. Blamed himself for Miranda’s cheating. Blamed his dad’s money for taking her away from him. And when he’d enlisted, that guilt carried over into everything he’d done. He tried to control every out-of-control situation. And when the one mission he’d thought would go off without a hitch went south, he’d blamed himself for that as well. Took responsibility for every single life lost. It was time to let go of the guilt that was slowly eating him alive. It was time to start living his life on his terms.
First things first, he was going to make things right between him and Chloe. Even if she didn’t want to see him, he’d make her hear him out. He refused to let her go, and he’d do anything to win her back.
Nate walked into the living room and grabbed his cell. He dialed and took a deep breath as he waited for her to answer. “Miranda, we need to talk.”
*
“You been cryin’, Chloe? Your eyes are all red.”
Chloe didn’t even have the emotional fortitude to feel embarrassed about the fact that she looked like a train wreck. She deposited Derrick’s duffle on the guest room floor. After a quick phone call to CPS, she and Derrick’s case worker both decided that it might be best if Derrick stayed with Chloe for a few days. Which was totally fine by Chloe. She needed the distraction. If she was too busy keeping her pint-sized houseguest in line, she wouldn’t have time to dwell on the fact that her heart was shattered into a million irreparable pieces.
“Allergies,” she replied. “Okay, kiddo. I’m going to order a pizza and then you are going to do homework. Got it?”
Derrick huffed. “Whatev. I’d rather be playing ball.”
“Think of it this way,” Chloe said. “You do well in school, focus on soccer and not shoplifting, and maybe someday you’ll get the chance to play on a college field. How does that sound?”
“Awesome,” Derrick said. “MLS would be better, though.”
“If we’re going in that direction, Spanish Premier League would be better,” Chloe teased. “Let’s take it slow for now, okay? Because I’m telling you right now, kiddo. If you get into trouble one more time, you won’t be able to participate in foundation-sponsored club ball. If that happens, you might as well forget about MLS. Got it?”
“I got it,” Derrick said, his gaze downcast.
“All right. Get settled in. You can do your homework at the kitchen table.”