Everywhere and Every Way - Jennifer Probst Page 0,123
gone so fast. They’d met again as strangers, at odds and in pain. Now they had managed to heal the brokenness and grown stronger. They were once again brothers.
“Gentlemen, congratulations. You’ve achieved the goal to the exact terms of your father’s will. Your profit margin was slim but impressive considering the setbacks you had on top of being forced to start at ground zero. Pierce Brothers will revert back to you in equal shares, effective immediately.”
Cal shared a look with Dalton and Tristan. Pride etched their features.
“Now, it’s up to you if you’d like to sell out your shares,” Dyken continued. “You’re no longer required to live in the family house. I’ll be happy to help you with any further paperwork needed. For now, I’ll let you discuss a bit. When you’re done, please see Tricia, my secretary, and she’ll set up an appointment. Congratulations.”
They thanked Dyken, and the door closed behind him.
Dalton let out a breath. “We did it. Who would’ve thought?”
Tristan leaned back in the chair and grinned. “Hell, that felt good. We did this without Dad. We actually worked together. And we made a damn profit.”
“I had no doubts,” Cal said.
Dalton rolled his eyes. “Sure, bro.”
Cal studied the polished sheen of mahogany and gathered his courage. “I guess it’s time to talk about what happens next.”
“What do you mean?” Tristan demanded.
Cal studied his brothers. “Well, Dalton told me he was going back to California. And, Tristan, you threatened to take the company from me.”
Dalton stood up from his chair. “Are we going back to this bullshit, Cal? Now that Pierce Brothers is safe, you want to push us out?”
Tristan jabbed a finger in the air, face contorted with anger. “I thought we agreed on what we were going to do with this company! We talked about a vision. You son of a bitch, are you backing out on everything we agreed on?”
“No! I want you to stay, okay? I don’t want to run this company alone anymore. I want to run it side by side with my pain-in-the-ass brothers and make it great on our terms. I want to hang out with you on weekends, and watch the ball game, and make fun of Tristan’s sissy wine, and rag on Dalton about his man-whore ways. I want you to stay right here in Harrington so you can be my best men for the wedding. I want you to help me build our dream house.”
Dalton’s mouth dropped open. “You guys are getting married?”
“Yes. For some reason, she said yes. I have to move fast before she realizes I’m not good enough for her.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” Tristan muttered.
“Well? What do you say? Do we do this together?”
Dalton nodded. “I’m staying.”
“So am I,” Tristan said.
They grinned at one another.
“This calls for a celebration, boys,” Cal said. “My Place?”
“Sounds good. Hopefully Hot Girl will be there,” Dalton commented.
“Let’s go pick up Morgan so she can join us. Congratulations, buddy. About time someone tamed your asshole ways,” Tristan teased.
Cal walked out of the conference room with his brothers at his side and a smile on his face. He knew the road ahead wouldn’t be smooth. No, there’d be twisted paths and dead ends. There’d be fighting and messy emotions. But there’d also be loyalty, and trust, and joy. Love.
And home.
acknowledgments
* * *
Yeah. It takes a village. Thank goodness mine is built on a strong foundation with room to grow!
A huge thank-you to my amazing team at Gallery/Pocket who make everything better. Lauren McKenna, you are perhaps the most gifted editor in the world and you are all mine! Special thanks to Kristin Dwyer for incredible PR and nonstop laughter. Thank you to Elana Cohen for being such a wonderful assistant and always having an answer to my questions.
Kevan Lyon, agent extraordinaire, thank you as always for your tireless work and dedication and belief in my talent.
Thanks to Jessica Estep at InkSlinger, Lisa Hamel-Soldano for keeping me sane, and the Probst Posse for their consistent support and cheerleading.
And finally, to my readers. What can I say? You guys rock!
Keep reading for a sneak peek of the next book in the Billionaire Builders series
any time and any place
Available this fall from Gallery and Pocket Books!
Fifteen-year-old Raven Bella Hawthorne watched the casket drop into the ground. The rain caused the hole to look slippery, almost like a mud hill. When she was younger, she probably would’ve looked at the slope as a great adventure, letting out a big war whoop while she hurled herself down the edge like it was a giant Slip ’N Slide. She’d climb out with a big grin, mud encrusted on every part of her body, and her father would shake his head and try to scold her. Meanwhile, his dark eyes would glint with laughter, and Raven would know she wasn’t really in trouble.
But now her father was in the hole. She’d never again see that sparkling humor, or hear his deep belly laugh, or listen to one of his lectures in that gravelly voice that reminded her of a big papa bear.
Because her father was dead.
Aunt Penny squeezed her hand but Raven hardly felt it. The cold chill of rainwater seeped into her skin and her soul, burrowing deep inside and making a permanent home to rest in. The crew of men in black suits with bowed heads recited a prayer as the casket disappeared for good.
People threw roses into the hole. One weeping woman clutched her rosary. The priest concluded the prayer service, telling Raven and everyone else not to grieve, because Matthew Albert Hawthorne was in heaven with the angels and was finally, mercifully, at peace.
Raven stared at the priest. At her mishmash of distant relatives she barely knew, and friends who seemed more focused on the scandal surrounding her father’s death than on her. No, other than Aunt Penny, she was truly alone. And she didn’t feel grateful, or happy, or humbled that her father was with God.
Instead, Raven was filled with rage.
Her beloved father, who had been her entire world, was a liar and a cheat. The man who dragged her to church on Sundays and lectured her on saving her body for love, and being kind to others and always believing she’d accomplish great things in this world, had abandoned his only daughter to run away with another woman. A stranger.
If it hadn’t been for the red light, her father and that woman would be in Paris, building a new life away from their children. Instead, they were both dead, lying in the cold, damp ground while she dealt with the stinging slap of betrayal. For the first time, Raven Bella Hawthorne knew what it was to hate.
She hated her father. She hated the woman who had stolen him away. She hated the three sons the woman had left behind, sons who spread evil words about Matthew luring their innocent mother away, painting him as a charming manipulator who cared nothing about the bonds of family.
Her father’s once spotless reputation now lay in tatters around her. People gossiped and stared and whispered behind raised hands about the single father who’d ruined two families by seducing the matriarch of Pierce Brothers Construction. Somehow, some way, Diane Pierce had become a martyr. Which made Matthew Hawthorne the only villain of the story.
So Raven hated and burned for revenge while she stood in the rain, nodding at well-wishers. She listened to Aunt Penny thank the endless line of people who offered food, prayers, and help in an effort to feel validated during someone else’s tragedy. Finally, Raven walked to the limousine and slid onto the smooth leather seat. As they pulled away toward her new life, Raven had only one thought:
Payback was going to be a bitch.
Life just gave her a 'do-over' . . . but will she take advantage of it?
A pair of unlikely lovers struggle to leave the past where it belongs—behind them—and embrace a bright future in this sexy, charming romance!
The Do-Over