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  “Why are we here?” Jacob asked.

  “Four years ago, you told me that when I had found someone to replace me, and the employees owned more than forty percent stock, you’d be done,” Aden said. He took a drink of his water before lifting it to Jacob. “Today is that day.”

  “What?” Jacob asked with surprise.

  “As of today, the employees own forty-two percent of the stock,” Aden said. “And I have finally found my replacement.”

  Jacob’s mouth fell open. He closed it for a moment before squinting.

  “You’re surprised,” Aden said with a grin.

  “Stunned,” Jacob said.

  “You’ve been really patient,” Aden said. “I wanted to take you out to celebrate and to say, ‘Thank you.’”

  When Aden looked at Jacob, he had tears in his eyes.

  “You believed in me when I didn’t,” Aden said. “My whole life is . . . Sandy, the kids, Rachel . . . It’s all because of you. I will never be able to thank you enough.”

  Jacob gave him an awkward smile. Aden looked confused.

  “What’s wrong?” Aden asked.

  “I’m just surprised, I guess,” Jacob said. “We’ve been so busy at work with all of the new developments and buildings. Home has been crazy. I guess I lost track.”

  Aden nodded. Trying to gain some footing, Jacob shook his head.

  “Who did you choose?” Jacob asked.

  “You’ll be surprised,” Aden said.

  “Surprise me,” Jacob said.

  “Bambi,” Aden said. Jacob smiled. “I wanted to give someone a chance like I’d been given a chance. I asked Rodney, and he didn’t want anything to do with it. Pete, DeShawn, and Jason wanted nothing to do with it. I talked to a few others who didn’t want the responsibility. Bambi asked me about it last Friday, and I realized she was perfect. She knows the company. Like me, she started as a day worker and worked her way up to being a site manager. Everyone loves her.”

  Moving into his comfort zone, Aden straightened his shoulders and cleared his throat.

  “We have a big task ahead of us,” Aden said. “Replacing you and your dad, I mean. We go from being Lipson Construction, with an emphasis on Lipson, to . . . I don’t know what. Bambi has been dedicated to help make that happen the entire time she’s worked at Lipson.”

  Jacob smiled.

  “You approve?” Aden asked.

  “She’s a wonderful choice,” Jacob said. “What will happen to Honey? She’s worked for Bambi since she was injured.”

  “Bambi insisted that Honey be given her job,” Aden said. “She made Honey’s advancement part of her employment deal. Of course, everything is up in the air with Honey’s treatments. But as soon as she’s ready, Honey will become a site manager in her own right. Bambi thinks she can handle the large sites, but we’ve never had a such young site manager take over such a big site.”

  “Honey can do it,” Jacob said.

  “That’s what Bambi says,” Aden said with a smile.

  They fell silent when the waiter brought them their drinks — coffee for Jacob and iced tea for Aden. The waiter set a basket of bread in front of them before disappearing again.

  “So that’s it,” Aden said. “You don’t ever have to return to the office again.”

  Chapter Three Hundred and Ninety-Five

  The Big Shift

  “My office . . .” Jacob started.

  “Blane came in to supervise packing up your office,” Aden said. “They’re doing it right now. It should be done before we finish lunch.”

  “Wow,” Jacob said.

  “It’s what you have wanted for a long, long time,” Aden said. “You’ve sacrificed your life to make this company work.”

  Jacob’s hazel eyes watched Aden in silence. Aden squirmed.

  “I’m sorry,” Aden said. “Have I done something wrong? I thought you’d be thrilled.”

  Jacob didn’t respond. He gave Aden the same unemotional look.

  “I don’t want to push you out,” Aden scrambled for the right words. “I certainly am not pushing you out. You can stay as long as you want. You’ll be on the board for the rest of your life. I mean, you’re Jacob Marlowe. Shit, I really botched this. You . . .”

  “I’m just surprised,” Jacob said, cutting him off. “That’s all.”

  “I . . . uh . . .” Aden scowled. “I feel like I should apologize.”

  Aden leaned forward.

  “It is what you wanted, isn’t it?” Aden asked.

  “I have,” Jacob said.

  “But?” Aden asked.

  Jacob took a breath and held it. He looked away for a moment before looking back at Aden.

  “This thing . . . has been my entire life — day in, day out — for . . . ever,” Jacob said. “It’s been my every thought, every waking moment, even when I’m rehabbing buildings. I spend all of my time problem solving some Lipson bullshit. And getting the employee buyout has been . . . a lot. My life is more entangled with this company than it is with Jill or my children. I . . .”

  “I know,” Aden nodded.

  “And, now it’s over,” Jacob said. “Just like that. It’s over.”

  “You still own more than fifty percent of the company,” Aden said. “Would you like me to call Blane? We can cancel everything and just go back to work. Let’s do that. I’ll call and you . . .”

  “You know what I mean,” Jacob said.

  Aden didn’t dare to even breathe. He nodded.

  “I do,” Aden said. Grappling for what to say next, he came up with, “How does that feel?”

  Jacob smiled at the phrase they’d had to practice for marriage classes. Aden grinned at Jacob.

  “It feels like being plunged into the Sea of Amber,” Jacob said in a rare moment of intimacy.

  The waiter appeared with their lunches. Jacob leaned back to let the waiter set his steak down in front of him. They did the dance of grinding fresh pepper and making sure they had the correct steak sauce. When Aden looked back at Jacob, the intimacy had passed. Jacob was grinning at Aden with his usual “I’ve got this” grin.

  They spent the rest of lunch laughing and talking as they usually did. When it was over, Jacob shook Aden’s hand and left for the Castle. Aden stood on the sidewalk for a moment watching him drive off. As Aden moved toward his future, he couldn’t help but feel like he’d missed something undefinably important. His cellphone rang with the latest Lipson Construction emergency. Moving into problem solving mode, Aden forgot all about Jacob’s confusing statement and the weird moment at lunch. He started his truck and moved into his future.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Wednesday afternoon — 2:15 p.m.

  Jacob woke up when the sunbeam shifted. He was sitting with his knees up and his back against the wall on the porch off the medical offices. He closed his eyes and tried to trace how he’d ended up here. After lunch, he’d wandered around the Castle for a while. The entire building was devoid of people. The twins were out with Edie, and the rest of the kids were either at school or downtown at the trial. Mike was in the garage, and Valerie had gone to help Sandy at the rape trial. Jill was out with Heather looking at a new project for their rehabilitation business. MJ and Honey were in New York. Even Delphie was having lunch with Maresol. Jacob had wandered from one silent room to the other before he’d found the porch off the medical offices. He’d sat down in the sunbeam and fallen asleep.

  Feeling movement, he looked to his left. Mike was holding out a bowl to Jacob. Taking the bowl, Jacob noticed that Mike had a box of Cap’n Crunch with Crunchberries tucked into his armpit so that his hands were free to hold the milk. Jacob grinned, and Mike shrugged. He gave Jacob the milk before sitting down next to Jacob. Mike pulled two spoons out of the back pocket of his jeans. They settled into the age-old ritual of filling the bowl, adding the milk, and dipping in the spoon.

  “Thought you might be full from the steak,” Mike grunted between bites.

  Jacob turned to look at his fr
iend.

  “Ever notice how Aden can be such a girl?” Mike asked.

  Jacob laughed.

  “I think I hurt his feelings,” Mike said in imitation of Aden. “Have some stones, man!”

  “What did you say?” Jacob asked.

  “What makes you think Marlowe has feelings?” Mike said with a snort.

  Jacob laughed.

  “He talked to Blane, too,” Mike said.

  “What did Blane say?” Jacob asked.

  “He’ll get over it,” Mike said.

  “He’s right,” Jacob said.

  “Of course, he’s right,” Mike said. “We’re men. Real, gen-u-ine men. We don’t care if we’re chucked out on our asses because . . .”

  “We can shit out something better than this,” Mike and Jacob said in unison — something Mike’s Commanding Officer had repeated uncountable times.

  They laughed.

  “That’s right,” Mike said with a grunt.

  As if to emphasize the point, they finished the bowl of cereal and poured another. They were halfway through the second bowl when Mike turned to look at Jacob.

  “No, really, are you okay?” Mike asked.

  “Yes,” Jacob said. “No.”

  “Same as always,” Mike said.

  They laughed. Jacob looked out across the yard. From this spot, he could see the snowcapped Rocky Mountains.

  “If I was smart,” Jacob thought. “I’d build some high-end condos on this very spot.”

  He stretched his neck while the plans for the condos came together in his mind.

  “Planning the high-end condos again?” Mike asked with a grin. His voice shifted to an imitation of a revival preacher. “You know, people are pouring into Colorado. You should seize the opportunity.”

  “How’m I going to get Delphie to sign over the property?” Jacob asked in joking earnest.

  “You could always kill her,” Mike said.

  Jacob laughed. Mike smiled. He held up the box, but Jacob shook his head.

  “I’m in training,” Mike said as he filled his third bowl.

  “Training?” Jacob asked.

  “Val’s talking about having another child,” Mike said. He loudly crunched his cereal. “I’m a supportive spouse.”

  “That why you answered your cellphone?” Jacob asked.

  “Fuck yeah,” Mike said. “I was hoping it was Val calling to tell me it was time to get it on.”

  “Really?” Jacob asked.

  “No,” Mike said. “I was on the toilet and the phone was in my pocket.”

  Jacob laughed. They sat in companionable silence while Mike finished his bowl of cereal. He set the bowl on the deck and burped. Mike grinned with pride at his burp, and Jacob laughed. When the levity died, Mike turned to look at Jacob.

  “What’s got your goat?” Mike asked.

  Jacob shrugged.

  “No, really,” Mike said.

  “I feel unappreciated, I guess,” Jacob said.

  Mike nodded in agreement.

  “I gave up my life, my entire life, to move back to Denver — irretrievable years of my life — and had to deal with every manner of bullshit and . . .” Jacob blew out a breath. “Then, it’s just the door. Time to go. We don’t need you. B-bye.”

  He waved with his right hand before tucking it under his other arm in an angry gesture of crossing his arms.

  “That’s not really what happened, right?” Mike asked.

  “No, it’s not,” Jacob said. “It’s just how I would feel.”

  “If you had feelings, that is,” Mike nodded.

  “Exactly right,” Jacob said.

  “I probably would, too,” Mike said. “If I had feelings, like, you know, Aden does.”

  Grinning, Jacob nodded.

  “Which I don’t, by the way,” Mike said.

  “I never thought you did,” Jacob said.

  Mike laughed. They watched the mountains for a while in silence.

  “There’s no way for someone to appreciate all that I’ve done,” Jacob said, finally. “Or even know what I’ve given up. They’d have to live inside my head to see it all. I know that. I also know that if I hadn’t been here, I wouldn’t have married Jill and met Katy and had the boys and had a chance to live with all of this joy . . .”

  “And made a shit ton of money,” Mike said.

  “And lost it all,” Jacob said.

  “Both,” Mike said.

  Under his breath, Jacob said, “Everything.”

  “But?” Mike asked.

  Jacob gave him an irritated look and returned to looking at the mountains.

  “What’s this about the Sea of Amber?” Mike asked.

  Jacob turned to look at Mike.

  “You really want to know?” Jacob asked.

  “Yes, I really fucking want to know,” Mike said with a nod.

  Jacob sighed. He opened his mouth to speak but shook his head instead.

  “I know that feeling,” Mike said. “I have plenty of experiences like that.”

  Jacob nodded.

  “It’s like if you start talking about it, you’ll never stop,” Mike said. “If you start feeling, you’ll never stop.”

  Jacob nodded.

  “No one’s here,” Mike said. “At the very least, we have a couple hours before anyone gets home. Jill and Heather are downtown with the kids. Aden was in the car heading there. No one will be home until after all of that bullshit is done and dusted.”

  Mike shrugged.

  “I can handle it,” Mike said.

  Jacob gave a slow shake of his head.

  “Hey,” Mike said. “You listened to me for days, months really — in the middle of the night, early morning, on the phone when you were at work, all night when you were in Maine . . . You were there for me when I threw up, hallucinated, yelled at walls, cried like a crazy person, and . . . Every single time. You were there. Let me extend the same. Trust me. I can handle it.”

  “How do you know I need to talk?” Jacob asked.

  “I can read it on you,” Mike said. “And . . .”

  Mike squinted and looked off in the distance.

  “And?” Jacob asked.

  “You haven’t been the same.” Mike gave Jacob a quick glance. “Since you came back, I mean. You’re harder, more cynical, less giving. More in control.”

  “Did Jill talk to you?” Jacob asked. “Aden?”

  “God, no,” Mike said. “No one’s said a thing. Not even Val. I guess they’re hoping they’re wrong and that you’re okay.”

  Jacob snorted in agreement.

  “I know you better than they do,” Mike said. “I know that you keep everything stored up inside.”

  “I leave some of it in the hockey rink,” Jacob said.

  Mike chuckled. They fell silent again. Mike waited for a while before running his shoulder into Jacob’s.

  “Talk to me,” Mike said.

  Jacob opened his mouth again and closed it again. Mike raised his eyebrows and nodded a “go ahead.”

  “I . . .” Jacob said. Shaking his head, he sniffed back his emotion and looked away.

  There was a noise behind them. Jacob and Mike looked up to see Blane standing in the doorway. Without saying a word, he sat down on the other side of Jacob. Blane put his arm around Jacob and pulled Jacob into him. Jacob broke down in earnest.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Wednesday afternoon — 2:15 p.m.

  “Can I have your attention?” the Victims’ Coordinator yelled from the front of the room.

  Tink reached over to hold Heather’s hand. Heather gave Tink’s hand a squeeze. There were so many victims that the large room was standing room only. The Victims’ Advocate’s office had limited them to one parent per child. Most kids had opted for their mothers. Because Sandy had Noelle and Nash, she was able to have Jill with her. Wanda was with her father Erik, and Frankie was standing next to his mother. Aden was there with Teddy because they’d agreed that Bestat’s presence would cause too much of a
stir. Dr. Bumpy and his wife, Dionne, were there to support everyone. Delphie and Ivy were standing next to them in the front of the room.

  Valerie was there to support Sissy and Charlie, who were watching via video conference on her tablet computer. Valerie had special permission to carry the tablet. There were two or three other people who had other victims on their portable devices.

  No one heard the Victims’ Coordinator. Samantha Hargreaves put her thumb and index finger in her mouth and blew a loud whistle. Everyone stopped talking.

  “This is what’s going to happen,” the Victims’ Coordinator said. “The Judge will read each charge and the defendant will plead guilty to each charge, one at a time. It’s very unusual, especially when there are so many charges. But that’s what the judge insisted upon. The Defense has agreed as a gesture of good will.”

  Tink looked around the room. Everyone stared at the Victims’ Coordinator in gaped silence. She looked from face to face. Most girls were terrified to see the defendant again. A few parents looked like they were ready to beat the young man to death.

  “We will begin as soon as you are settled in the courtroom,” the Victims’ Coordinator said. “We will continue until the defendant has pled guilty to every single charge. This process will take, at the very least, a few hours. We will take a break every ninety minutes to use the bathroom.”

  “The courtroom is sealed to anyone not directly impacted by the events of this trial,” the Victims’ Coordinator said. “But know this: If you chose to share what’s happening in this courtroom with anyone — say a reporter or on social media — your charges against the defendant will be dropped.”

  A few people groaned.

  “The judge is dead serious about this condition,” the Victims’ Coordinator said. “The trial is closed to the public. The defendant is going to plead guilty to every charge. Do not get in the way of this process until it’s over. If you want to tweet or whatever when we’re done, that will be just fine.

  “You will have to go through a metal detector,” the Victims’ Coordinator said. “You will also be hand searched. This is so that you will not be able to go all ‘Wyatt Earp’ in the courtroom. If you are carrying a weapon of any kind, I strongly encourage you to use this time to lock it in the trunk of your car. This includes knives. If the Denver Police find the weapon on you, they will confiscate your weapon, and only then will you be allowed to enter the courtroom. You will not get your weapon back. Period.”