Page 62 of The Man in the Cottage

We stand there for a moment, the candles flickering, the pasta getting cold. Then I pull back and look at her.

"I need to call her."

"Savannah?"

"Yeah." I grab my phone from the counter. "This ends now."

"Travis, wait." Kelly catches my arm. "Are you sure that's a good idea? Maybe we should just ignore it. Not give her the satisfaction."

"She came after you. She tried to destroy what we have with lies about my grandmother." I shake my head. "I'm not letting that stand."

Kelly hesitates, then nods. "Okay. Do you want me to leave?"

"No. Stay. I want you to hear this."

I find Savannah's number and hit call. It rings twice before she picks up.

"Travis. Finally." Her voice is honey-sweet, fake as always. "I was wondering when you'd—"

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

Silence. Then: "Excuse me?"

"The email. The email you sent Kelly, telling her I abandoned Grandma. That I have a pattern of using people and disappearing." I'm pacing the kitchen now, too wired to stand still. "What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking she deserved to know the truth."

"The truth? You told her I wasn't there when Grandma was sick. You know that's a lie. You know I visited her every single day."

"You visited, sure. But you weren't really there, were you?" Savannah's voice sharpens. "You were too busy playing hockey, too busy with your precious career. Grandma used to cry about how little she saw you."

"That's not true."

"Isn't it? I was there, Travis. I saw how lonely she was. I saw how much it hurt her when you couldn't be bothered to—"

"I drove two hours each way. Every day I wasn't traveling." My voice is shaking. "I put my entire season on hold. I played like garbage because I couldn't focus on anything except her. Don't you dare tell me I wasn't there."

"You missed her death."

The words land like a blow. I stop pacing.

"Yeah," I say quietly. "I did. Because I was in a meeting with lawyers, dealing with the mess from the fight. And you know why I was in that fight? Because some asshole followed me to the hospice and asked me if God was punishing me by taking my grandmother and my career at the same time."

Savannah is silent.

"So don't talk to me about not being there. Don't talk to me about abandoning her. I was there more than any of you. More than Mom, who showed up twice the entire time Grandma was sick. More than Dad, who couldn't even look at her because it reminded him of his own mortality. More than you, who visited once and spent the whole time on your phone."

"That's not fair."

"None of this is fair. But you don't get to rewrite history just because you're angry about the will." I take a breath, trying to steady myself. "And you definitely don't get to drag Kelly into your bullshit."

"She's using you, Travis. Can't you see that? She didn't even know who you were, and now suddenly she's your girlfriend? It's obvious what she wants."

"What she wants is someone who shows up. Someone who listens. Someone who doesn't treat her like a means to an end." I glance at Kelly, who's standing by the table watching me with worried eyes. "She's the best thing that's happened to me in years. And if you can't see that, then you don't know me at all."

"I know you better than anyone."

"No. You don't." I stop by the window, staring out at the dark yard. "You know the version of me that's useful to you. The one who pays for things and shows up when you need something. But you don't know me. You've never known me."