“We want people who will make Magnolia their home and visitors who can appreciate the charm and serenity a small town has to offer.”
Guilt spiked again but he clamped an invisible muzzle over it. Emotions had no place in business. His way of doing business had worked for so long now. It was the model his uncle and cousin had created within the company that gave Dylan his first taste of belonging. What good did all that small-town charm do if it didn’t pay the bills? Allowing emotions means vulnerability and that meant pain. He’d learned to live without emotions since he left Magnolia.
He could finally prove he wasn’t the troubled, worthless kid he’d been by changing this town into something better.
“The community will adapt on its own or be forced to change.”
“This place is special. I don’t care about rich patrons. That’s not why I paint.”
“Or maybe you want to take over your dad’s position in the town?” he suggested, grasping at anything to make her stop this gentle assault that stung like the bite of a whip. “You have talent, Carrie. Everyone knows that now. If things are managed right, you’re going to be a huge success, bigger than Niall ever was.”
“That’s not why I paint,” she repeated, her tone steely.
“It’s a good perk and will get you and your sisters out of the financial mess he put you in. This change in the town will only help with that. You and I can work together. You’ll see. This will be even better than your vision. I know I’m right.”
“It’s funny that you bring up my father, because you sound like him.”
“I do not,” he protested.
“Oh, yes.” She held her arms wide. “Niall Reed was the original ‘Father Knows Best.’ For his career. For Magnolia. For me.” She shook her head. “Even when his vision sent his life and everything around it spiraling down the toilet, he never wavered. He never let other people’s needs get in the way of his own desires.” She sniffed. “I shouldn’t be surprised things went this way. I was bound to have daddy issues. I guess since we didn’t get to play them out ten years ago, it had to end like this.”
“Nothing is ending. It’s a beginning. For both of us. You said yourself that you don’t want the responsibility that people around here have put on you. Yes, your dad made big mistakes. But they’re his. I’m doing this for both of us.”
“Lying to me and this community?”
“It isn’t that.”
“Sam had a different opinion when I talked to him.”
“This is for Sam most of all. He can have the best of both worlds. The benefit of small-town life and making sure the company will be as strong as I can make it.”
“He wants to pursue art,” she said like they were discussing what to have for dinner.
Except it felt like this might be his last supper. “Fine,” he agreed. “I don’t care if he takes art classes. But his future is the business. His family’s company.”
“And if that isn’t what he wants?”
“He’s a kid. He doesn’t know what he wants. His father had a plan, and it’s my job to execute it.”
“Nothing about these weeks in Magnolia changed anything for you.”
“Are you joking? I’ve shown more holiday spirit in the past month than I have in years. I’m fully invested in all this Christmas crap. I stayed up last night wrapping Sam’s gifts until almost midnight. I even found the new video game he wanted on a bootleg website and paid more money than I care to admit on shipping. I’m like the second coming of Kris Kringle.”
“Christmas isn’t about spending money. You’ve missed the whole point.”
“Spoken like someone who was never poor,” he spat, then hated himself when her eyes flashed with pain. “The best thing I can do for Sam is to make sure his future’s secure. This isn’t personal, Carrie. It’s business.”
“Bad business,” she murmured.
“What do you want me to do?”
She smiled, and he had a sudden flash of memory. She’d given him that same sad smile when she’d walked away from him ten years ago. He couldn’t believe it. He refused to believe this was ending. Not when he was trying to do the right thing. If only she’d open her eyes and see it.
“If you have to ask, there’s nothing to be done.”
“Carrie.”
“I’ll see you tonight.”
“Is it better if I don’t come to dinner?”
“You’re not getting off the hook that easily, Dylan.” Her smile suddenly