JT set the open suitcase on the bed and considered what he’d need for the cabin that wasn’t already in the closet there. He hadn’t been to the cabin since the summer and couldn’t remember if he’d left any sweaters there. Might as well pack a few.
It would probably snow, so he added cold-weather hiking boots to the pile.
With each item he packed, he felt more settled in his decision to leave the DC area for the holidays. He usually enjoyed Christmas dinner at Lee and Erica’s, but this year, they’d invited friends with children to join them: Curt and Mara and their son, and Alexandra and her daughter.
He couldn’t avoid Alexandra if he wanted to spend time with the only family he had left, but it wouldn’t be fair to any of them for him to bring his Grinchy Scrooge self to their holiday gatherings.
He hadn’t enjoyed Christmas since the last one he’d shared with Alexandra anyway. This year, he’d go for a long walk in the woods around the cabin and pretend it was just another day. No tree. No lights. No gifts. No feast. And, most important, no family.
He’d miss Lee, who for nearly two decades had been his best friend in addition to being his former stepbrother. But Lee deserved to enjoy the holidays with his wife and daughter, and it was selfish of JT to resent how things had changed.
He could’ve had what Lee had. But he’d epically fucked up and driven away the only woman who could tolerate him.
The only woman he’d ever love.
He was happy for Lee. Erica might not believe it, but JT cared for her and was grateful for her role in Lee’s life. She’d given him unwavering love and a child he adored. His brother had never been happier.
But then, JT’s friendship with Erica—which had always been on shaky ground given how he’d treated her when they first met—had been strained since the night he insulted Alexandra in front of T&D’s top executives.
The fact that he’d gotten the call his father was dead an hour before the nasty exchange had helped Erica to understand his mental state, but she was still right in asserting there was no excuse for his behavior toward a woman who had done nothing but love and support him when he was being his most unlovable.
No one knew the full truth: he’d done it intentionally to set Alexandra free. He’d known his insult would sever all hope for her. But that didn’t mean he didn’t regret his decision.
Still, there was no going back and undoing the damage. He’d briefly hoped they could find a way to reconcile when he saw her at Erica and Lee’s wedding, but Alexandra had quashed that with her sheer and utter hatred of him.
He couldn’t blame her.
She was better off without him.
Now, she had the child he’d refused to give her. He still didn’t know where the kid’s father was, but it was none of his business. He wouldn’t even know the kid’s name if he hadn’t set up a trust that would pay for Gemma Vargas’s education and give her a large nest egg when she turned twenty-five. The age Alexandra had been when they’d met.
He owed her that much. Hell, he owed her so much more, but this was what he could do—and she couldn’t stop him. The money would go to Gemma whether Alexandra liked it or not.
And when he sold T&D in a deal that would close on New Year’s Eve, Gemma’s trust fund would grow exponentially.
JT wasn’t sure if it was irony or destiny that Calvin Moss—the executive whose gaze on Alexandra had been JT’s excuse to pick a fight that last night—was CEO of the acquiring architect and engineering firm. Moss had been understandably uncomfortable working for JT after that and had launched his own firm just months later—taking several of T&D’s biggest clients with him.
Now, JT was selling him the rest, and Lex’s daughter would be rich because of it.
Gemma Vargas wasn’t and would never be his kid, but there was nothing stopping him from making sure she and her mother had everything they’d ever need.
He’d stolen years from Alexandra. The least he could do was remove financial stress from parenthood and JT had more money than a single, childless, forty-seven-year-old man would ever need. Hell he had more money than a battalion of people with large families would ever need and he was about to get a lot richer.
He’d considered sending the documents to Lex as a Christmas present. He looked at the folder on his nightstand. He could drop them off at Lee’s on his way out of town.
But no. Any intrusion by JT would probably ruin their Christmas, no matter how costly the gift.
He tossed the file into the suitcase. He’d stop at the DC office and leave a note for his administrative assistant to mail it to Lex after Christmas. Or maybe he’d mail it himself when he left the cabin to return to DC for the closing on New Year’s Eve, because a stop by the office would add at least forty-five minutes to the drive.
He was tempted to leave tonight, as soon as he was packed, but he reminded himself that it could snow tonight on Catoctin Mountain, and the long driveway might not be clear of branches from previous storms. The last thing he wanted to do was remove debris in the middle of the night.
No, leaving tomorrow morning for the two-hour drive to the northern part of the state was his best option. Situated on the easternmost edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the cabin was high on the ridge, a twenty-minute drive down a rough road to get to the nearest grocery store.
His dad had purchased the land in the early ’80s. It was a few miles from the Camp David presidential retreat, which was enough distance to offer privacy in the wilderness.
He’d loved going to Catoctin Mountain with his dad and Lee when they were boys. Lee was five years younger than him, and it was a novelty having a little brother after ten years as an only child. It didn’t hurt that Lee had worshipped him.
He finished packing, then made himself a drink and settled onto the couch in front of the large TV and hit the power button.
“BREAKING NEWS” flashed across the screen with the chyron “Maryland State Police officer killed during roadside stop. Manhunt underway for suspect who fled the scene on foot.”
He hit the Volume button just as the reporter said, “The police officer’s identity is being withheld pending family notification, but Maryland State Police have just released the name and photo of the suspect.”
A photo of a woman filled the box on the screen next to the reporter.
JT’s stomach dropped as he looked at the face of the love of his life, while the reporter said, “Virginia resident Alexandra Vargas is a forty-one-year-old white female. Police urge caution as she may be armed.”