The Escape Clause Read Online Free PDF

France…
    She sighed as she thought of it. Wouldn’t Pete think it was as lovely too?
    Pete…
    The thought of him made her heart race. In all her life his name could bring a smile to her face, but now—it was different.
    He loved her. He had told her he loved her.
    She loved him too.
    Looking back, how had she not known she loved him?
    Men had come and gone, but the fact was they’d always gone. She didn’t keep them. She didn’t want them.
    Pete, however, had always been there.
    They had celebrated every birthday, Christmas, New Year, and other significant event together for nearly two decades. Avery was as close to his parents and his siblings as she was to her own parents and her cousins.
    Yet, the lure of France tugged at her. The thought of getting to know the part of her family she’d never gotten to know excited her. Perhaps there was more to who she was than she could even imagine.
    Her mother was someone else once and Avery longed to know that life. The luxury, the freedom, the power.
    The timer she’d used on her phone chimed and alerted her that it was time to head to her parents’ house. It was time to face the changes she was about to make in her life and tell them about her plans.
     
    ~*~
     
    Simone Keller had checked her watch before pouring them each a glass of wine and handing Avery’s father, Curtis, a beer.
    “Never want to be accused of drinking too early,” she joked as they all walked out to the patio to sit.
    Avery, on the other hand, thought they could use something stronger than wine.
    “I put a roast in the oven for dinner. Can you stay?” her mother asked.
    “Pete was going to take me to dinner.”
    Her mother smiled when she mentioned his name and that in turn made her happy. They loved him too.
    “That sounds lovely.” Her mother sat down in the chair across from Avery and her father sat next to her mother. “So what is it you have come to tell us?”
    Her parents exchanged looks and underlying smiles. What did they think she was going to tell them?
    Avery took a long sip of her wine and a breath of courage as she lowered her glass.
    “I wanted to talk to you about the trip I took a few weeks ago.”
    Her mother’s eyes narrowed and her lips tightened. “The trip to France you neglected to tell anyone about.”
    “I told Pete.”
    “You should have told us. You should not have gone in the first place, Avery. You…” Her mother stopped when her father’s hand came to her thigh.
    “Simone, let her talk.”
    Her mother let out a huff. “Fine. Talk.”
    Avery sucked in another courageous breath. “Grandfather has invited me back.”
    “How generous of him,” her mother snapped. “In time you can go back.” The angrier she got the deeper her accent became.
    “Mother, listen to me. He invited me back because he has the vineyard.”
    “So? What does he know about vineyards? His business is in oil. That is what he should keep his mind on.”
    This was going to be harder than she thought. Her mother harbored such hard feelings for Avery’s grandfather.
    “He wants me to oversee the vineyard and the marketing of the wine.”
    It grew silent in the backyard of her parents’ home. It was as if even the birds were stunned.
    Color filled her mother’s cheeks. “You will not do that.”
    “I’m twenty-six years old. I can.”
    “You will not.”
    Avery set her glass on the table in front of her so as not to squeeze it too hard and break it.
    “I can do this, Mom. I can be what he needs me to be.”
    “You do not know him.”
    “You never let me know him.”
    Now her mother put her glass on the table and inched toward the end of her seat. “He pushed me away, Avery. His image was more important. I was a pawn in all his games. He turned me away.”
    “But he came back to see your success. Why can’t you be happy for his successes?”
    “This vineyard is not a success. It is a buy off.”
    “For who?”
    Her mother looked at her father and then back at her.