Page 15 of When You Stayed
“So, you’re unemployed?”
Callie spat some of her drink out while Mom quickly jumped in to correct my blunder. “Sorry, she means?—”
“It’s fine. I essentially asked her the same thing,” Ford interjected.
He did, but I was surprised he was admitting to it.
He kept his shrewd gaze on me while he replied, “Construction, mostly.”
I caught how Wes watched our interaction, and when Ford said construction, his brows reached his hairline.
“So, you work for that jerk who’s ruining our small town with all those homes that are going up on the west end?” I asked, leaning on my palm. His stare was a challenge, and I absolutely accepted.
“Royce,” my mother warned, but I kept smiling.
Ford sipped his water before clearing his throat. “Do you know how many families in Rose Ridge would kill to have a newer home?”
No, I did not.
Ford continued, “People who have shown up at town meetings and zoning committees. People who are desperate to stay but need more family-friendly neighborhoods.”
With a sigh, I grabbed my drink. He was acting like he was single handedly solving homelessness in Rose Ridge, which he wasn’t, so I cut him off.
“And how many of those families will be able to afford those homes? I’m not naive enough to believe that those houses are going to go to residents first. Some out-of-state billionaire will buy them and rent them to Rose Ridge residents for triple the market rental rate. They’re not going to get those houses.”
His glare was glacial as he tightly gripped his fork. “That’s not my call.”
“Of course it’s not. You’ll build and build like a good little worker and make sure our town is ruined.”
“That’s enough, Royce.” My dad interjected with a tone that had me snapping my mouth shut.
The table was quiet for a long, awkward minute where the redness in my face seemed to grow. I didn’t regret what I had said, but I felt ashamed that I had said it all at the table full of his family and the people who were protective of him.
“Sorry, I was out of line. I apologize.” I softly spoke to the table,glancing briefly at Ford for a second before returning my gaze to my plate.
If Taryn were here, she would have backed me up. His question about the Hollow dripped with underhanded mirth, and yet not one person called him on it. Which was fine, I meant what I had said about his job. I hated all the homes being built because I knew for a fact the residents in Rose Ridge couldn’t afford to buy them. It would ruin our town if we continued to allow out-of-town wealth to swoop in and seize up all the property.
Callie spoke up about dessert, breaking the silence, and then Mom joined her, and the subject was changed. Once we finally finished eating, Dad went off with Wes while Mom and Laura continued talking. I had no clue where Ellie or Ford went, so I was left to wander around the house alone. It wasn’t like I hadn’t wandered the Ryan’s house a billion times before, but it felt drastically different to do as an adult. I meandered down the hallway that led to the mudroom. There was an entire section of framed photos dedicated to the Ryans’ old Great Dane, Maxwell, which had me smiling. I loved that dog. His regal pose in each picture made me smile as I remembered how often I would go to him when our family came over.
Maxwell was always present in my time playing at the Ryan house. I heard they’d had to put him down when we were in high school. I hadn’t wanted to come by because of what happened at Christmas with Ford. Things between us after that only worsened to the point where we could barely sit in the same room at the same time.
I had allowed my anger towards Ford to prevent me from supporting the rest of the Ryan family through such a difficult time. Regret pricked my chest, making my nose burn.
Suddenly, something warm and soft rubbed against my leg.
A stout, gray cat wound in and out of my legs while purring.
I bent down to pet him and found his name tag.
“Hi, Gus. How are you?” I scratched under his neck, loving how he kept purring. Taryn and I didn’t have pets growing up, but perhaps now that I was an adult, I should consider it.
“You’re so handsome.” I scratched behind his ears while pickinghim up. He was heavy, making my arms sag a bit, but I slowly made my way back into the living room where Ellie was on the couch, scrolling through her phone.
She glanced up at me as soon as I entered, “Oh, you found Ford’s cat.”
Disappointment settled in my gut as soon as she confirmed who he belonged to.
“How could such a magnificent creature belong to someone so horrible?” I said in a sweet tone, as if I were baby-talking to the cat. Ellie laughed along with me before holding her arms out for the feline.
