Chapter Twenty

Even though Franklin kept reminding himself that he made the right decision to not go into his and Kira’s personal dispute, several times in the last hour, they’d been in the room together and he wanted to say something to her. They were busy, but he kept his eyes on her every chance he got.

He was pleased that Ben had called the folks from Goodwill and Salvation Army to come and take away the old tables. Now, someone else could use them. He and Ben would install the new ones as soon as the last person left the dining room that evening.

He went to the other areas and noticed that progress had been made. Everything was coming along except his and Kira’s relationship, which in his mind was at a standstill. He couldn’t wait until later, so that he could make his intentions clear and find out what hers were.

As he headed toward the reception desk, he saw his brother Aaron walk into the inn. It was a small thing, but to see one of his relatives in that building was a big deal.

“Aaron, what’s up, man?”

His brother gave him a hearty embrace. “Pop told me you’re staying. Man, you don’t know how happy I am to hear this,” Aaron said.

Franklin guided him into the sitting room not far from where they were standing. He put his finger to his lips. “I haven’t told Kira yet.”

“I get it. I was in the area, and I wanted to tell you how happy I am in person. I’ve got so many ideas.” Aaron looked around, and his eyes fell on an antique buffet table. He walked over and inspected it. “This is a beautiful piece of furniture.”

Franklin joined him. “There are several pieces in the attic. I hadn’t had a chance to fully inspect them, but this place holds a lot of history.”

Aaron leaned closer. “Yeah, I bet Pop’s been all over this inn.”

They both laughed.

“Man, I’ve got to get back to it. I’ll talk to you later,” Franklin said.

Aaron patted him on the back. “Check you later.”

As soon as his brother was down the walkway, Franklin turned to get back on task—and ran right into Kira. “Was that Aaron I saw?”

“Yes,” he answered.

“That’s a first,” she replied, then gave him a big smile.

“Yeah, I was glad to see him.”

“I was actually coming to look for you,” she said. “I just got off the phone with the Metropolitan Historic Zoning Commission.”

“Are they trying to give you a hard time?”

“Not exactly.”

“Let’s go to your office and call them together. You can explain on the way.” Franklin placed his hand in the small of her back as they walked toward her office. Since their argument, their relationship was strained, yet he yearned to be close to her. It felt good to feel the warmth of her skin radiating through her. He was satisfied with being able to move closely beside her.

“I filled out the landmark application, but I also have to fill out the rezoning one.”

“You’re already zoned commercial. That’s okay, we’ll get it straight.”

“If all I have to do is fill out the form, I can do that. I just wanted you to know.”

They were already on a rocky road, so Franklin wouldn’t push things. Kira could handle it. “Okay.”

“Thank you, Franklin.”

“Always.”

…

Kira’s aunt Mary Louise didn’t have time to come to the inn today, and she guessed that she might be a bit put aside with her. That couldn’t be helped. She wasn’t going to allow that situation to disturb her. She had another, more important one that she had to deal with tonight.

Just before seven o’clock, the doorbell rang. She rushed to the door but stopped halfway to calm herself. She believed that it would be okay, since Franklin was a logical man. He never struck her as the unforgiving type. He seemed fine at work earlier, too, so she’d rest easy.

Leaving the negative behind, she opened the door. Once again, she could feel the intensity of his presence fill the space. He wore a dark, open-collared, button-down shirt with black jeans and black shoes.

“I’m glad you came,” she said, standing back, opening the door wider.

Franklin walked past her, leaving his scent behind.

“Would you like something to drink?” she asked, closing the door.

“No, I don’t want anything to skew my thinking this evening,” he replied.

Skew your thinking? What?

His features were relaxed, his body language the same, so Kira needed to get her own emotions and facial expressions in line. She wanted what he wanted, so she went over to the sofa where he was and sat down.

She only let a few moments go by before she spoke. Why was she waiting for him to take the lead? She didn’t know. Fear of what he was going to say. Maybe?

“I hate what happened between us and I felt so bad,” she said.

“You saw your aunt Sophia’s connection with my father in the photo and thought everything you’d heard was true.”

She hated that she’d voiced that sentiment and felt even worse when Charlie told her what actually happened.

“The words jumped out of my mouth.”

Franklin shifted in his seat. “What had you planned to do with the information?”

Kira hunched her shoulders. “I hadn’t thought that far ahead.”

“I think you are so busy trying to prove yourself to your family that you hadn’t thought about how your actions affected my father, which in turn affects me.”

Kira was taken aback. Franklin might as well have slapped her in the face, his words stung so badly. Her heart sank and confusion filled her. “What are you talking about?”

He turned his body toward her more, so that their knees touched, and looked her in the eye. “When this whole thing started, you told me that you wanted to prove that you could handle the inn.”

“True.” It had been her number-one goal since the day her aunt Mary Louise handed her the keys. “I don’t see anything wrong with it. It’s a long tradition that I wanted continued success.”

“Of course, I went along with everything, because I thought the feud was ridiculous, too.”

“That has nothing to do with it, Franklin.”

“That feud has everything to do with you running that inn. You then talked to my father behind my back, knowing that we have a complicated relationship. And to think I had to hear him say repeatedly that I was putting your family before my own.”

“But, Franklin, it wasn’t like that, I promise you.” Kira reached out to him. “Your father contacted me.”

“He told me that, but you could have called me, Kira.”

“If you knew that he spoke to me, how is this my fault?” Her fears were coming true. All that aside, she wasn’t about to allow Franklin to put everything on her because he had a strained relationship with his father. He played a role in the situation as well.

“Did it ever occur to you that I’d want to hear what he had to say? You know, be a part of the conversation.”

She’d told herself that she should have called him, but she’d moved ahead, anxious to hear from his father. Possibly end the feud once and for all. “I was so surprised that he called, I jumped at the chance. But yes. It had crossed my mind.”

“Then why didn’t you? It hurt me to think that he wanted to share his experience with you, a Davis, instead of his own flesh and blood.”

Kira jumped up from her seat. “That’s not my fault,” she exclaimed.

She had never seen Franklin angry in all the time she’d known him. He had always been gentle, in a straightforward kind of way.

“You didn’t stop him, though,” Franklin replied. He pointed at her. “All you had to do was suggest that we both meet with him, but you didn’t. It was probably about you proving that your family was right. Like you said to me in the attic. Your family’s truth.”

Kira couldn’t believe what she was hearing. He wasn’t shouting, but the baritone in his voice sounded like it was tearing the roof off.

He stood. “You’ve felt so out of place in your own family, you sacrificed mine to prove your point.”

“Sacrificed your family? How did I do that?”

“You hired me knowing the depth of the situation. It resurrected that feud. All the ridicule I endured, even after I asked you if your aunt was okay with me working there.”

“You could have walked away at any time, Franklin. I wasn’t holding you hostage.”

“You pretended to be on my side. Then, the first chance you got, you blamed my father in the same way your family had all these years.”

“Wait, wait, wait a minute,” she said, cutting him off before he could continue. “You’re right. I did say that the facts speak for themselves. But let’s get this straight. You’re the one that chased me down so that you could get the job. So I think we both had some responsibility for you working at the inn. You can’t blame all of this on me.”

“You got what you needed out of me, and I was dumb enough to continue to stay on to support you. You never listen to anyone even after you’ve been warned many times.”

“It was only for a short while, but I thought you were happy working at the inn.”

Franklin dropped his head. “I should have known that you were like the rest of your family…” His voice trailed off.

“You would have what?” Kira tried to approach him; her heart was breaking. “I thought we were doing this together. We were going to mend the families’ wounds.”

“I thought so, too, but that ended when you met with my father without my knowledge.”

Kira stared at him long and hard. She wanted to ask him what his father said to him. The conversation they were having now was hard to digest. It was so out of character for him.

“Franklin, let me ask you a question.” She waited several seconds, and when he didn’t respond right away, she continued anyway. “I didn’t crucify you when you took me to your parents’ house that evening for dinner without telling me we were going.”

Franklin stood silently a moment, and she figured it was because she’d made a point.

“I took you there because I wanted them to know that I cared for you. Not because you were a Davis, but because I thought you were a beautiful person who happened to be a member of that family. Someone I wanted to get to know and have a relationship with.”

Kira was taken aback by his words. “So are you saying that we don’t have a relationship anymore because I talked to your father?” The conversation was getting worse by the minute.

Franklin threw his hands down to the side. “It felt like I’d been stabbed in the heart. I can’t say what we have after this.”

“Trust,” she shouted. “You’ve been leery of me and my family since the beginning.”

“And you haven’t?”

“If we don’t have trust, then we don’t have anything.”

“I guess not, then,” Franklin mumbled as he walked to the door.

Her heart was breaking, and she didn’t know what else to do. But she was a Davis and they were resilient. After a few moments of silence, she and Franklin didn’t make eye contact. He walked out the door and, as far as she was concerned, out of her life for good.

Kira blew her bangs from in front of her face. This damn feud has destroyed yet another couple.