Chapter 11 – Conner

Lena Contreras had never made sense to me. We weren’t exactly new to each other. Our families operated on opposite edges of this town for so long I couldn’t remember a time we didn’t know each other. 

But I’d never really known her. I scrubbed a hand across my face as I sat on the upper deck of the Handmedown. From here, I could see the entire marina in all its rugged glory. There was a reason I hadn’t wanted to come here. 

Fisherman wandered the worn and cracked wooden planks of the docks, coming in with their day’s catch. Next to us, a mechanic yelled orders to someone from the engine room—if it could be called that—of a small pleasure boat, one that looked like it had seen better days. 

This was a side of Superiore Bay I rarely saw. If we were at the Bay Club, a specialist would have already come to us, prioritizing our time over anyone else’s. We’d have been brought drinks and anything else we wanted from the restaurant. 

My eyes drifted to the Rusty Hook tackle shop at the center of all the activity. A small lobster shack stood beside it where people could walk up to a window and get all sorts of fried and greasy offerings. It turned my stomach just thinking about dockside food. 

This part of town had seen better days, yet it thrummed with life. 

Carter dropped into a chair next to me. “Enzo talked to a mechanic. We’re in the queue.”

“In the queue?”

“Yeah, like a line.” He eyed me. “It’s what normal people wait in.”

I tried not to let my exasperation show, but I really needed to get back to work. And there was no way I was leaving the boat here with my brothers. Father would never forgive me if I put Carter in charge. Conrad knew less about boats than me, and our cousin Harrison was off talking with a crowd of fisherman who’d greeted him by name. 

He wasn’t the only one. 

Lena walked along the dock, stopping to talk to everyone she saw, gracing them with the kind of smiles I’d never see from her. She stepped up beside Harrison, and the two of them started laughing about something. I found myself wishing I knew what had made her laugh. 

Harrison was an Ashford. Carter was an Ashford. Yet, with me, that was suddenly a dirty word. 

“It’s because you treat her like she doesn’t matter,” Carter said as if he’d read my mind. 

“What?”

“That look … you’re confused about Lena because she’s never this nice around you. I’ve been telling you for years she’s great. She’s just easy to rile up.”

“Don’t I know it.” I didn’t want to fight with her. I’d have even sold her the land if it were up to me, but it wasn’t, and she saw that as my fault. “Something about her always makes me say things I don’t mean.”

Carter laughed. “Yeah, she has that effect on people.” 

“I wish we hadn’t needed their help.” 

Carter stared at me for a long moment. “Conner … what they did for us was nice, like really nice. We derailed their afternoon. Did you see the cooler of food and drinks and the brand-new fishing gear? I don’t think they were planning to come back in before dinner.”

I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “But why? What’s in it for them?”

“Are you really so jaded you don’t think people help others without getting anything in return?” 

“Yes. That doesn’t happen.” Carter didn’t understand. I couldn’t accept charity from Lena and her brother. None of us should. I didn’t want to owe anything to anyone. 

Enzo walked toward us with an older man at his side. The man pushed sunglasses into his salt and pepper hair as he stared up at us. “You Ashford?” 

I stood and climbed down the steps to the lower deck. “Sure am.” 

“This is Scooter.” Enzo gestured to the man. “I explained what was going on to him.” 

Scooter nodded. “Air in the gas lines, eh? We can fix you up, no problem. I’ll do a check for anything else that needs serviced. Give me a day or so.” He handed me a clipboard. “Fill this out.” 

I scribbled my information down, not liking the informality of it, but at this point, I didn’t have another choice. 

Scooter took the clipboard and the keys then walked away without another word. 

“You guys need a ride?” Enzo asked. “I have my truck in the lot. The bed is empty.” 

Riding home in the bed of a truck held no appeal. “No, we’ll call for a car at the estate.”

Enzo shrugged before turning and heading toward Lena. They spoke and then walked toward the lot. She didn’t even turn to say goodbye. 

Carter ran after them and pulled her into a hug from behind. I couldn’t take my eyes away from the ease of their relationship as she turned and swatted him with a laugh. 

Bet she’d never push him into the bay. 

I turned away from them and called Ashford Estates to have a car come take us to the Bay Club where we’d parked before heading out on the yacht. By the time we made it back to the house, the sun had set. Conrad and Harrison went their own ways, so only Carter walked inside with me. I’d completely given up on getting any more work done and just wanted a shower and my bed. 

But when did I ever get what I wanted? 

Carter slipped into the kitchen where I knew the cook would have left some dinner for us in the fridge. I walked by the library, planning to pick up my laptop and get out, but my grandfather sat among the books, an unlit pipe in hand. 

“Going to smoke that?” I asked. 

Grandfather looked at the pipe as if he was surprised it was there. “Oh, no. Just smelling it for now and thinking.” 

Getting my grandfather alone without my father was a feat. When I was younger, I’d taken to sneaking down here late at night when I knew he was still up. It was something I’d stopped as the years went on. 

“Have a seat, Conner.” He pointed to my father’s favorite chair. 

“I was actually going to go to bed.” Even though it was too early for that, I was exhausted. 

Grandfather only raised one eyebrow and waited. 

Unable to deny him, I stayed. I didn’t take my father’s chair, instead opting for the couch. 

“You look tired, Conner.”

“I am. It’s been a long day.”

“I don’t mean physically tired.”

I sighed. “Am I … capable?”

“What do you mean? You’re the brightest young man I know.” 

I thought back to the boat, how I’d had no idea how to figure out what the problem was. I’d never felt more inept, and that didn’t sit right with me. I excelled at things, I didn’t bumble. “Yes, but life skills …” I knew what I wanted to ask, but it was hard. “Would I be able to make it in the world without the Ashford name and fortune?”

“Ah, the age old question.” He set his pipe on the table next to his chair. “The truth is, Conner, I don’t know.”

I started to respond, but he cut me off. “We only overcome the challenges we face, nothing more and nothing less. You can’t fault yourself for not facing challenges that aren’t yours, but at the same time, you need to be mindful of the incredible challenges others face who aren’t as lucky as you.” 

I rested my elbow on the arm of the couch and leaned my head on my hand, my fingers sliding into my salt-crusted hair. “What about when we’re the cause of challenges in someone else’s life?” I couldn’t get it out of my head. 

He smiled. “The Contreras girl?”

I nodded. “Father is trying so hard to prevent her from getting her hands on our land, land we have no use for.”

“Your father …” He leaned his head back. “Did you know the Ashfords and the Contrerases used to be close?” 

“I heard something like that, but it’s hard to believe.”

“It was before my time, but my mother used to tell me about those days when our two families were unstoppable. We would not be where we are if it was not for that partnership.”

“But what about them? They struggle every year.”

He gave me a sad look. “My father and grandfather took certain measures to hold them back.”

“Just like my father is doing.”

Grandfather looked at me for a long moment. “Your father took the rivalry to heart, something neither of his brothers did. But then, neither of his brothers stayed in the wine business either.” My uncles got out of the family business with the blessing of my grandfather and then stayed near town, a part of our lives but also not. 

My father hadn’t reacted quite so kindly to Conrad leaving winemaking or Carter and Jorgina showing no interest in it as of yet. 

“I don’t know what to do.” I rubbed my hand along the leg of my trunks. “Father wants me to do whatever is necessary to make sure Lena and her family never manage this business idea of theirs.”

“I can’t tell you what to do, Conner, but think of it like this: the worst thing that could happen is Lena succeeds, that she brings needed jobs and tourist dollars to Superiore Bay. Would that be so bad?”

“No.” But to my father …

“You should never hope for someone to fail. That is when you become the kind of person I don’t think you want to be.”

Our conversation didn’t last much longer and, after I showered, I crawled into bed. It should have been work on my mind, instead it was Carter’s words to me. 

Are you really so jaded you don’t think people help others without getting anything in return?

I wished I could say he was wrong, that my grandfather’s faith in me was well placed. 

If I wanted to make anything right about this day, I knew what I needed to do, even if it meant swallowing my pride.