Let It Be (Butler, Vermont #6) - Marie Force Page 0,24
said.
“What’s that?” Linc asked as the others covered their ears.
“You were married for a year or so when we were born, yet you always said Hannah and I were conceived in a tent. Weren’t you living in the barn by then?”
“We were, but every dime we had was tied up in the barn, so other than the second summer we spent in Mississippi when your mom was expecting you guys, we took ‘vacations’ to our own backyard.”
“That’s so weird,” Colton said.
“It was fun,” Linc said, waggling his brows.
“Lots of fun,” Molly added, smiling.
“And the best part was she didn’t actually kill me when we found out she was expecting twins.”
“That must’ve been a shock,” Ella said, smiling.
“We laughed so much about how I doomed myself with that conversation on the bus,” Molly said. “And we laughed some more when we found out we were having twins again with the boys.”
Linc flexed his bicep. “She loved me too much to kill me. In fact—”
“Enough,” Will said emphatically. “Tell us about going to Philly and what happened when you got there.”
Linc’s heart sank when he recalled that trip, not to mention the reason this had come up again. He still had to decide if he was going to see his father.
“We drove to Philadelphia the following weekend,” Molly said.
“They must’ve been surprised to see you since they thought you were in England,” Charley said. “And again, I say you would’ve lost your shit if we did what you did.”
“They were, and yes, I would have,” Linc said. “My father was immediately suspicious and unfriendly to your mother. It was like he knew right away he wasn’t going to like what I’d come there to tell him—and he took it out on her, acting as if she wasn’t there.”
“Ugh,” Ella said. “That must’ve been awful.”
“It was,” Linc said, “but it only cemented my resolve. We met with my parents in my dad’s study. He wanted to know why I wasn’t in England. I looked at your mom, and I said because I’ve met the woman I’m going to marry.”
For the longest time after Linc said those words, there was only silence until his father spoke up. “You were hell-bent on spending a year in England, and we accommodated that request by shuffling the executive team around to cover for you. And now you tell me you’ve given that up for a woman?”
“That woman is my fiancée, Father, and I expect you to show her the respect she deserves.”
“I mean no disrespect to her,” Carlton Abbott said. “But this is absurd, Lincoln. You dramatically change your plans and don’t even see fit to tell us?”
“I am telling you. I’m telling you now.”
“Could we have a word in private with our son, please?” Carlton asked Molly.
Linc tightened his grip on her hand. “Anything you have to say to me can be said in front of her.”
“This is ridiculous. You come home from a summer volunteering at some do-gooder project in Mississippi and tell us you’re engaged and have given up your plan to study at Oxford, which was the only thing you wanted a few short months ago.”
“Things change. I met Molly, and now I want different things.”
“What different things do you want?”
“I want her, and… you should know, I’ve accepted a job with her family business in Vermont.”
His father’s complexion turned a worrisome shade of purple. “And what business is that?”
“It’s a retail outfit.”
“A retail outfit. In Vermont. Well, son, I have to give you credit. Your judgment is, as always, questionable at best.”
“How can you say that? I’ve done everything you asked of me. I went to Yale because that’s where you went. I got an MBA because that’s what you wanted me to do. The first time I do something I want, you say my judgment is flawed? My judgment is just fine. I love Molly. I’m going to marry her and live in Vermont and work for her family’s business, where I’ll be free to think for myself.”
“Is that what you think is going to happen?” Carlton asked with a mean sneer.
“It’s already happened. I’ve been working there for two months already, and we bought a house.”
“You bought a house. With whose money?”
“My money.”
“Ah, the money your grandfather left you, I presume. If I recall correctly, you used a big chunk of that to pay for the year in England that’s not going to happen now. Between that and the house you bought, you must be running kind of low, especially