“Father,” I said without emotion. “How can I help you?”
“Nathan, I’m glad I caught you,” he said in a more than tired voice. “Look, I need to see you as soon as possible. It’s urgent. You know I wouldn’t call if it weren’t.”
“Well,” I said, trying to keep my irritation of his summoning to a minimum. “I’m on my honeymoon. Nick is in control of everything now. Have him get you whatever you need. He is more than capable of following strict and specific instructions.”
My father breathed heavily into the phone, and I couldn’t help but notice that his voice was ragged and tired, moreso than usual. I sat patiently waiting for his response, slightly curious as to why he would call me in the first place. I did understand that he had no idea I was on my honeymoon, but I could have been in his front yard and still wouldn’t have come running when he beckoned. I was no longer under his control, nor did I need to drop everything and come running when he thought it was important. Nick wanted to be the big man in charge so he needed to step up and do his job.
“Nick can’t help,” he said with a deep cough.
“Are you sick?”
“I’m fine,” he grumbled. “Like I said, Nick can’t help. He’ll only hinder this cause. In fact, he is the main reason for this call.”
I sat there silently, waiting patiently for my father to ease up and actually ask me for my help. He seemed to still be under the impression that I was at his beck and call. I was no longer a child, vying for my father’s attention, learning the ropes of the company, and hoping to be part of it one day. I had been part of it. In fact, it was my entire life, but my life had changed, and I didn’t feel as if I needed to ask “how high” whenever my father told me to jump. I had broken those chains months ago, and I was just starting to let drift away into memory.
“You need to return home now,” he said angrily and sick. “There is no time to lose in these matters. You’ll understand when you get here.”
“Will I?” I said with attitude. “Because it has been thirty-three years, and I still don’t understand you. I don’t understand where you develop the kind of audacity that you do. I don’t understand how you think you can call me like this and expect me to drop everything going on, which is my celebration of marriage by the way, and come running to you. I told you Ronni was the most important thing in my life now, not you, not Nick, and definitely not the company.”
“Why are you being so difficult? Can we just skip the games this time? I need you here and it is your responsibility—”
“Responsibility?” I scoffed. “Need I remind you that you not only erased my name from your will and took my job, but you blatantly disrespected a woman who loved you like a father figure. A woman who I am now married to. So, why in the fuck do you think I would drop everything and just run home? I am at no one's back and call anymore.”
With those words, I hung up the phone, trying to control my anger and not bash my phone against the wall. I turned and found Ronni standing in the doorway, looking at me with confusion. I didn’t want her to hear that, but I just got so angry, I couldn’t control the level of my own voice. I hadn’t been this angry since Nick threw Ronni on the floor. Only this time, I had nowhere to go with my anger. Ronni stepped forward and rubbed my shoulder, looking deep into my angry eyes.
“I heard the shouting from the other room,” she said. “What is going on? Who was that on the phone?”
“It was my father,” I said, sighing and sitting down on the bed. “He told me he needs me to come home. I told him to get his boy Nick to do whatever he needed, but he said he couldn’t because it was about Nick. Well, partially at least. He didn’t tell me more than that, but he had the audacity to summon me like one of his servants. He didn’t ask me. He told me, and I don’t owe him a damn thing. Even after telling him twice that I was on my honeymoon, he didn’t offer any congratulations at all. It was like he wasn’t hearing what I was saying. Same old situation.”
Ronni bit her lip and looked down at the floor. I could tell she was thinking about how to say what she wanted to say. From the look on her face, she was being careful because she knew I wouldn’t like whatever advice she was going to give me. But every time she gave me advice, no matter how painful, it always turned out to be the right thing to do. She took a deep breath and sat down beside me, taking my hands in her lap.
“Look, I know you don’t like how he treats you, and neither do I, but you have to admit it’s strange that he would call you,” she said. “You know your father, and you know how long he can hold a grudge. Whatever is going on has to be major enough for him to put aside his pride and dial your number. For that fact alone, it concerns me that he is calling. What if someone is hurt or ill? What if something has happened to Nick? I know what regret feels like, Nathan, and it’s not something I ever want you to feel.”
“What about him?” I said angrily. “Why can’t he step forward and say he’s wrong? Why do I always have to be the responsible one out of the three of them?”
“Because it is who you are,” she said, smiling. “You don’t do it because you feel they deserve it or require it. You show respect and strength because of who you are on the inside. I think we should return home.”
“But it’s our honeymoon,” I protested.
“Yes,” she said, running her hand over my cheek. “And in case you’ve forgotten, you are extremely rich. We can come back here, literally anytime that we want to.”
“Fine,” I grumped.
I changed my clothes back into a polo and slacks and went to work packing up our things. I called the hotel and let them know we would be leaving early but to keep the entire amount I paid them plus add a thirty percent gratuity for all the shifts the workers would miss when we left. They were very thankful, but I couldn’t kick the bitterness I felt on the inside. I had finally gotten the life that I wanted, and I had finally settled into it. Then out of nowhere, my father calls and turns my whole world upside down. Just from the sound of his voice, I could feel the calm and serenity I had been collecting slip right down the drain.
The staff came to help take our bags to the car, and I sighed as I closed the villa behind us. We were on our way to the airport and back to reality. This time, though, it was a reality that I had no interest in being a part of.
Chapter Twenty Six
Ronni
As the plane flew over the islands, I gazed out the window at the same bonfires I had seen the night before. I was really disappointed that our honeymoon was over, but at the same time, I was insanely worried about Nathan’s family. One thing I think Nathan forgot was that I’ve known him since he was a young boy, and I can read him better than anyone. Sure, on the outside he acted like he was completely at peace, and even relieved, to have separated himself from his family and company. But on the inside, I knew he wasn’t happy with how he left things. Who could be? Nathan’s father was a hard ass, and he had become a bitter and grumpy old man, but he hadn’t always been that way.
I could remember a time where he would pick Nathan up and toss him in the air, laughing at his stories about school. I could still see the man that coddled me in his arms after my parents died, letting me cry it out, wishing he could take the pain that I was feeling. That man, regardless of the last few years, would always hold a special place in my heart. Somewhere in my gut, I had a feeling that something serious was going on. It was my duty as Nathan’s wife to push him to do the hard things that I knew were best for him.
I was orphaned so young, and although the Landers family provided me with a home and an education, they were never tr
uly my family. I knew what it felt like to be all alone in the world and not be able to change that. Until Nathan came back in my life, that feeling still ran rampant in my chest. I would do anything I could to have my family back, even for just a little while, and I knew that if something happened to Nathan’s family, he would have some really deep regrets.