“Well, of course, I would’ve been concerned, but you’re a survivor, Zane. I never doubt your ability to figure out how to find your way through a tough situation.”
The undertone of her comment was that he’d managed just fine in his teenage years when everything had gone south. It was nice to get that stamp of approval, although he knew that it was just his mother being a mom. “Thanks.”
“What took you down there? New marketing client in the Bahamas?”
“I went on vacation.”
“No!” His mother gasped, which turned into her musical laugh. “My son? Went away for fun?”
Zane had to chuckle, too. “Believe it or not, yes. I’ve been stressed, and I needed to get out of Falling Brook to clear my head.”
“Are things at work not going well?”
Zane took the turn onto Scott’s street. Scott and his wife lived in one of the original Falling Brook neighborhoods, which was seeing a revival. Older, stately homes were being remodeled and updated, with young families moving in. Zane saw it as a move in the right direction. This town needed some freshening up. “Actually, things at work are amazing. We’re too busy, but in a good way. We’ve reached the point where we’re turning away potential clients. That’s something I never even imagined six or seven years ago.”
“Then what’s bothering you?”
Zane pulled up in front of Scott’s house, a recently restored five-bedroom Tudor with a pristine putting green of a front yard that was Scott’s pride and joy. Zane put the car in Park and killed the engine, sitting back in the driver’s seat and running his hand through his hair.
“You’re being quiet,” his mom said. “Just come out with it. You know you can tell me anything.”
He knew that. It didn’t make his embarrassment over what he was about to say any less real. “It’s Joshua Lowell. I got sucked into some drama with him. Someone anonymously sent me a paternity test saying that he had a child he wasn’t willing to claim responsibility for. I talked to a local reporter who was working on a piece about him.”
“Have you lost your mind? Why would you get involved in that?”
“I don’t know. Revenge? Or as close as I’ll ever get to it? It doesn’t really matter now. It all backfired. The story ran, without that bombshell, and Josh Lowell ended up smelling like a rose, he and the reporter fell in love and now he’s getting married. He’s even leaving Black Crescent.”
She sighed heavily.
“I know,” Zane said. “The guy is golden. Everything he does turns out perfectly, and it makes me nuts. I know it shouldn’t, but it does. Just thinking about it is making my shoulders lock up.” He cranked his head from side to side, hoping to loosen the tension.
“You realize that people think the same thing about you. That you’re golden. That you can do no wrong.”
“You might say that about me, but other people do not. Plus, that isn’t the point.”
“But it is the point. It’s not just me who says it, either. Your father thinks the same thing. Your grandparents. Aunts and uncles. Your colleagues and employees. Remember when you invited me to your company Christmas party two years ago? All night long, all I heard about was how great you are and it’s not just because you’re the boss. I heard it from your clients, as well. I’m your mom, and even I got a little sick of it.”
Zane laughed, but he was astonished to be hearing this from her. He’d never seen himself as anything more than the guy who was still striving to get back on top.
“Look at your life,” she continued. “You have an immensely successful business. You own a beautiful home in one of the most exclusive towns in the country. You’re handsome, and people love you. Whatever it is that you think the Lowells stole from us or from you, it doesn’t matter. It hasn’t kept you from having it all, and it never will keep you from it. You need to find a way to move forward.”
“This isn’t just about what they did to me. It’s about what they did to our family. The Lowells are the reason you and dad split up.”
“You know, your dad and I had a drink a few weeks ago. We talked about it.”
“You did?” His parents’ divorce had been as acrimonious as they came. To Zane’s knowledge, his parents had only been in the same place twice since their split fourteen years ago, at Zane’s high school and college graduations, and they’d barely spoken to each other. “You didn’t tell me this.”
“He came to Boston for work, and he called me. It was nice. We had a chance to say a lot of things that should’ve been said a long time ago. The truth is that your dad and I were never going to make it. Of course, losing everything put a massive strain on the marriage, but the underlying problems were already there. We weren’t in love. I’m not sure we ever were. We would have split up eventually.”
Zane was struggling to keep up, but he couldn’t help but notice that it felt as if a weight was being lifted. A burden from his past was evaporating before his eyes. “Wow, Mom. You are kind of blowing my mind right now.”
“Does that help you see that you need to let Joshua Lowell do his own thing and maybe get out there and keep looking for your own happiness? You know, I’d like to have a daughter-in-law, maybe become a grandmother at some point.”
“Mom...”
“No pressure.”
“Oh, right. No pressure.” Zane glanced at the clock on his dashboard. It was seven o’clock and he didn’t want to be late. “Mom, I need to run. Scott invited me over for dinner and I’m sitting outside his house. His sister, Allison, is in town.”
“Oh, how nice. Say hi to them both for me. I’ve always adored those two, especially Allison.
