Page 27 of Discerning Blake

And I dedicated ten years of my life to our marriage.

“It’s this or I get a lawyer and push to have all our assets sold. No house, no business, we both start from scratch with whatever money we get from it.”

“We want the house,” Charlotte whispers into Ethan’s ear.

“Damn you,” he says. “You know that house is built on family land. You’re just doing this to spite me.”

“No. I’m really not. I’m doing this because this business is the only good thing, aside from Chase, to come out of our marriage, and I really want it. You take some time to think about it. Decide what you really want and let me know. That is if you don’t want me showing up at your doorstep with the police because you won’t let me enter my own house.”

I don’t wait for an answer.

I get up and walk out of the room. And then because I’m too wired and proud of myself for finally sticking up for myself, I grab my bag and walk out of the office. I don’t want to spend another minute with them bringing me down.

Chapter Seven

Blake

“What are you thinking, Blake?” Henry Young stands next to his topless Jeep, arms crossed over his chest, scrutinizing me.

The grass reaches our knees, and we can barely make out Coco, Henry’s Labrador retriever, and Rusty, Bryce’s vizsla, which I offered to take with me on the walk, jumping through the weeds.

“I want your opinion. How much work would it be to renovate this place?”

We face the wooden farmhouse with the broken porch and sunken roof.

“Depends what you want to do with it.”

Henry, Wyatt’s father, owns a construction company in Dogwood Grove. He’s mostly retired these days, leaving the business in the hands of Luke, his manager, but I still want his opinion. He’s also this property’s closest neighbor.

“We’re pretty far off from the main road. Will that be an issue with bringing in supplies?”

“Depends what you want to do. Depending on your persistence and budget, you could always petition the town to asphalt the dirt road. But there’s no guarantee they’ll do it. And it always helps when you offer to cover some of the costs. So come on. What are you thinking here? You’re tired of living above the bar? Looking to build your dream house.”

I laugh.

Living over the bar isn’t so bad, but it does involve making some sacrifices. For example, having to borrow Bryce’s dog because I can’t have one of my own.

“I want to build a brewery. Mayor Anderson’s pulled the plug on the bar expansion. They don’t want to change the architecture of the old town. She made it clear that the only way I could move forward was outside of town. And well…” I wave my hand to encompass the house, abandoned fields stretching in all directions, and the mountains looming overhead.

It’s a beautiful place. But it also makes my stomach churn. “We already own this land, so…”

“I’m not going to lie, it may be easier to buy a newer house closer to town. This kind of project could take years. But if you want, I’m happy to sit down with you and talk numbers. Luke would go nuts over a project like this, and it’s hard to get Luke excited.”

“Don’t tell him yet. Don’t tell anyone yet. I’m still thinking. But I’d love to show you the project we drew up for the pub and see what could be done here.”

He may be right about buying another property that’s less work. But there’s nothing like that close to Dogwood, and I don’t want to go any further out.

Besides, the longer I stand here looking at the view of the mountains I used to spend all my time observing as a kid, wondering if I could climb them and escape, the stronger the need inside me grows.

I want to burn the farmhouse down and create something new. I want to erase all the ugly memories and replace them with joyous ones.

Henry drives us back into town, the dogs riding on the back seat, their tongues out into the wind.

I bring Rusty back to Bryce’s house, a small two-bedroom right at the entrance of town with a small fenced-in yard, which he shares with our brother Brody, before heading to the Den.

The bar is practically empty. Just a few regulars who prefer to have their morning coffees here than at one of the cafes.

“Did you have a nice walk?” Bryce asks, both eyebrows raised.