the liquor store to restock Mom’s wine.”
“It was really nice of them to rent a house for the summer,” she suddenly changes the subject.
She scrunches her nose, scanning the kitchen.
“But?” I invite her to share her thoughts.
“You know there are plenty of buts.” She shrugs, chewing on her bottom lip.
Abby doesn’t like when my parents spend money on her. She’s been part of our family for four years and hasn’t grasped the idea that my parents see her as their own. If they could, they’d adopt her.
“This is too much,” she waves her hand in the general area.
“You gave them no choice,” I say, opening the wine. “You decided to take a job in Tahoe for the summer.”
I pour the wine and give her a stern look. “To avoid going back home.”
“It’s not an excuse, Ahern. I need to learn how to be independent.” She grabs her glass taking a few sips.
“When I saw the bulletin with this job, I had to apply.” Abby walks around the kitchen grabbing a couple of bowls. She fills one with strawberries and the other with the gummy bears I brought her—her favorites.
“Kids Activities Coordinator at a lodge,” her voice carries a lot of excitement. “It sounded like so much fun.”
You could be independent at home. I study her closely.
“Why in the world would they rent a house because of me?”
“That’s the way they are,” I say sweeping away the conversation.
The truth is that renting a house out in Tahoe was my idea. A seed that I planted during dinner a weekend after Abby announced that she had found a summer job.
“Where is she staying?” I asked Mom, even when I knew the answer.
“The lodge?” She frowned, looking at Dad.
“What if we decided to visit her and there aren’t any vacancies?” I instigated.
“He’s right, Will. We have to find her a place where we can visit whenever we want,” she decreed.
Mom warned Abby on her birthday. Later that week she found a house, came to set it up, and mailed Sterling and Abbs a set of keys.
“This is a little too much, don’t you think?” she sighs walking toward the door to the backyard, carrying the snacks.
The Ahern wealth makes Abby uncomfortable. I wasn’t born with it, but I was too young when I arrived at my parents’ doorstep to remember living without it. After twenty-one years, I’m used to it. It became natural to live with luxuries that not many get to enjoy, like living in a big house with a swimming pool and an ice rink. Abby on the other hand describes everything as too much—and unnecessary.
“I love it, but it’s too much. We could feed a small town with the money they spent on my car,” she confided when my parents gave her the keys to her Land Rover.
Thankfully, she accepts their generosity with a wide smile. She might be uncomfortable when they gift her something, but she’s always grateful and polite.
I grab the bottle of Zinfandel, my glass of wine, and follow right behind her.
“At least admit that you love the house.” I say, sitting in the lounge chair, next to her.
She turns slightly toward me and smiles. “What’s not to love? I have the best view in the world.”
I’d have paid for this house with my own money just to see that face. It’s been four years since she came to us distraught and broken. I’ll never forget the first months at my house. She barely spoke, and she cried every night.
“Keep your parties to a minimum,” I warn her with a grin.
“Ahern, if I choose to have a party, you’ll never know,” she says openly. “How often are you going to visit me?”
“Every weekend.”
If possible, I’d try to stay around for weeks at a time. I can work remotely and be with her. Every day is getting harder and harder to be away from her. I’ve been working on a few prototypes and developing some billing software. If everything works out the way I plan, I’ll be quitting Ahern Inc. soon and opening my own company—closer to her.
Chapter Six
Wes
In the blink of an eye, I turned twenty-eight. Ten years ago, I promised myself that even though I was following my father’s advice, I’d be my own person. Two years ago, I wrote a business plan. A couple of months ago I was in San Jose searching for an office where I could start my own company. Today, I’m sitting in on a meeting where my father talks about