A Stonecreek Christmas Reunion. Michelle Major

Trevor.

      Dave Stone hadn’t done either of his boys any favors with his preferential treatment of his younger son. Instead, he’d subtly pitted one brother against the other. Griffin had loved the vines, but Trevor had been the company’s heir apparent.

      Now that things were changing, Griffin understood it was a difficult pill to swallow. He also appreciated Trevor’s dilemma. As angry as Griffin had been when his dad had all but kicked him out of their lives, it ultimately had been something of a blessing. He’d had a few years to make his own way in the world. He’d joined the army and then worked in construction around much of the Pacific Northwest. When he finally made his way back to Stonecreek, despite his varying emotions about this place, he knew in his heart the choice to stay would be his.

      Trevor never had that choice.

      “Maybe your plans are bigger than what Harvest can hold,” he suggested quietly.

      “Because you want to get rid of me?” Trevor’s lip curled into an angry sneer.

      “Because I want you to be happy.”

      Trevor’s head snapped back like Griffin had punched him. “Why do you think Dad acted the way he did with the two of us?” he asked after a long moment.

      Griffin sighed. He’d only recently learned the whole truth around the start of their parents’ marriage. “Mom got pregnant with me to trap him into marrying her.” It pained him to say the words, both because of the shadow it cast over his mother’s character and what it said about how wanted he’d been as a baby. Which was not very much, at least by his dad.

      “But he loved her,” Trevor said, shaking his head and looking suddenly far more sober than he had a few minutes earlier. “Why would it matter how things started? And you had nothing to do with any of that.”

      “I don’t quite understand it,” Griffin admitted, “and Dad isn’t saying much from beyond the grave.”

      “Damn, Grif,” Trevor muttered.

      “It wasn’t easy for Mom to share it with me.” He took another drink of beer then laughed. “Although it was better than the explanation I’d come up with on my own, which basically boiled down to questioning whether Dad was my real father.”

      Trevor made a face. “You look like Mom, but you’re a chip off the old paternal personality block.”

      “Maybe, but I’d had fantasies as a kid of some Clint Eastwood–type guy showing up and claiming me as his own.” He shrugged. “I could imagine every moment up until the point where I had to leave Harvest. Then it got fuzzy.”

      “You left anyway.”

      “Dad and I would have torn each other apart if I’d stayed.” He blew out a long breath. “I’m sorry you felt like you didn’t have a choice in the path your life took, Trev.”

      His brother massaged two fingers against his forehead. “It seemed like one rebel in the family was enough.”

      “You do have a choice.” Griffin sat up straighter. “I’m not trying to push you out. If you want to stay at Harvest, we’ll find a way to run the business together. But Calico might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. No one would blame you for wanting to do something for yourself at this point.”

      “You want to check with Mom before you start making promises?”

      “I don’t need to,” Griffin insisted. “She’s not like Dad. You know that. She wants you to be happy, no matter how that looks or where it takes you.”

      Trevor leaned back, crossed his arms over his chest. “I always figured the family business was my only option. Dad made it clear—”

      “He’s gone,” Griffin interrupted then shook his head. “The old man did a number on both of us, but I have to believe he meant well in his own narcissistic way. You can’t let everything that came before dictate what comes next for you. You have big ideas and you’re damn good at what you do.”

      “I love it,” Trevor said softly. He looked down at the drink in front of him then added, “But I want more. I want to take the job.”

      Griffin nodded. “We’ll talk to Mom in the morning, explain what’s going to happen. She’ll understand. We’ll make sure of it.”

      “Thank you.” Trevor’s gaze lifted to Griffin’s and there was a mix of anticipation and relief in that familiar gaze that made Griffin’s chest ache. Why hadn’t they talked like this before now? They’d lost so many years... Griffin had wasted so much time on anger and resentment. He hated himself for it, but all he could do now was vow to change.

      “You ready to head home?”

      Trevor rolled his eyes. “I’m not going to end up passed out on the sidewalk.”

      “Let me walk with you anyway. I have some big brothering to catch up on.”

      “Fine,” Trevor grumbled but he didn’t seem upset by Griffin’s insistence. “I’m holding you to the offer to be there when I talk to Mom. She’s going to freak out.”

      Griffin thought about their mother’s calm reaction when he brought Joey home with him. “I think she’ll handle it okay,” he told Trevor with a smile.

      They each climbed out of the booth, waved to Chuck and headed out into the cold December night.