He looked frightened.
I had never seen him frightened like that.
Part of me wanted to cross the room and pull him into my arms.
The instinct was almost unbearable.
Then I remembered Thomas’s letter.
I couldn’t save our son from the man he decided to become.
I remained seated.
The planning board deferred action on the disputed portion of the project pending clarification of access rights and related approvals.
It was not a final victory.
But it was the first time Richard Vale had been forced to confront the fact that the mountain was not his simply because he wanted it.
Outside the meeting hall, Jared approached me.
“Mom.”
I stopped.
He looked around nervously.
“Can we talk?”
Eleanor remained beside me.
“You may speak with your mother, but any discussion of the property should go through counsel,” she said.
Jared glared at her.
“This is between me and my mother.”
