“But you can make a move easier if I’m not here looking over your shoulder. Yeah, that.”
Mari came back in carrying a tray of drinks. “We can stand here or go and sit in the lounge if you don’t want to head into the bar. It’s a bit noisy for discussing business I think.”
“Wherever suits you. Lead the way.” Christian followed her out of the construction zone with a wink for Ethan. His friend had a lot to answer for when they were alone.
Mari put the tray down on the table and sank onto one of the leather couches. Christian sat opposite her and pulled his notebook out, dropping it beside him, giving Ethan no option but to sit with Mari. Strategic on his best friend’s part? Hell, yes. But would he thank Christian for it or give him an earful when they were alone for meddling in his business?
“It’s been an eventful day for you and I have to say, Mari, you’re taking it remarkably well.”
“I’ve had far worse as I’m sure you know.” She took a sip of her beer and shrugged. “If there’s one thing my husband taught me, it’s that life is what you make it. You can let it define you or you can move on and make the best of it. I like to think that helps me cope with the days when all I want to do is crawl into bed and hide my head under the blankets.”
Christian reached for his beer. “Thanks for this. So, Rake. I was sorry to hear of his passing. He was too young to die.”
“Thank you. It was a horrible business. Some days it only feels like yesterday, it’s still so fresh in my mind.” She tucked her feet up under her on the couch. “He was a good man, Christian.”
“I always liked him. He was a damned good boxer. Did well when he went professional too. I bought myself a ticket once when he was fighting in Vegas. Boy, he had a great right hook. So fast, I’m sure half his opponents never saw it coming.”
She smiled, nodded, but didn’t say anything. It still hurt to think about his death even after all this time. So utterly senseless and easily preventable.
“You’ve managed a lot since we saw you last. I checked out your business online when you asked me to quote this job. Built yourself up quite a following, I see.”
“I did and it was all because Rake talked me into following my dreams. He was convinced I had the skills to build my own business and he was right. He’s also the one who convinced me I needed to come back to Cherry Lake once we learned of his diagnosis.”
“What was it he had exactly? The papers didn’t really say much.” Christian took a sip of his beer, placed it on the table and gave her his full attention.
“Chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE as it’s called more often. It’s caused from repeated concussions.”
“But didn’t he…”
“Take his own life? Yes, he did. It’s quite common among people that have this disease. They find it too hard to live with the effects of it and there’s no cure. Of course, it’s not easy to give a definite diagnosis until an autopsy but his doctors were pretty convinced.”
“Really?” Ethan wanted to know more but was a little bit scared to get into it and have her close up and lock him out when they’d only just managed to find a comfortable level even though he deserved answers. He shouldn’t have worried.
Mari was in a sharing mood.
“I wish I’d had more time with him. Known what he was up to.”
“I know you do, Ethan, but he wanted to hide away from everyone especially since your folks didn’t want him to be a boxer in the first place. I didn’t blame him either. It was a horrible way to live, a ghastly way to die. But, he knew how much I missed you all and, despite the issues he had with Jeff, he insisted this was still home. He wanted me to bring Noah here to raise him around family and for you to get to know him. Said the small country town would be a better place than the city. It was Rake that found the hotel for sale online. He started the purchase before telling me about it.”
“Seriously? He made that decision for you?” Ethan couldn’t believe it.
The Mari he knew had never been a pushover before. He couldn’t see anyone telling her what to do now.
“Doesn’t sound like the me you remember, right?” She laughed, a sound that went straight to his gut. “He knew me well—I have to give him that. Rake was convinced that if I had no choice but to come back and face what I’d left behind, I’d do it. I actually wonder if he felt a small amount of guilt for not sending me back here when I found out I was pregnant.”
“We’ll never know.”
“True. But I’m glad I came home. The hotel was the icing on the cake for me. Love at first sight, regardless of the flaws the old girl has. It took me a couple years to pluck up the courage to return but eventually I couldn’t stay away.” She looked at the two men, enjoying having someone to tell the story to. “Rake called them character-building choices and he was right.”
“Clever man.” Christian tipped his bottle toward her. “I’ll drink to his savvy marketing skills. You’ll do well here, I’m sure of it.”
“Thank you. It’s all I could hope for and more. Especially since my half-sisters are all here now too.” She dropped her head and ran her hand over the leg of her jeans. “I only have to face Mr. Benson and try to make things right there and I’ll feel like Rake’s achieved his dream for me.”
“And, on that note, it’s time I left.” Christian stood up. “Before I go, though, here are
