Chapter 4 - The Road to Colorado)
The Bellacortes left before dawn.
Mark drove.
Claudia sat beside him.
Noah was strapped into the back seat with the wooden airplane hidden beneath his winter coat.
He had hidden it because Claudia had tried to take it again at breakfast.
This time Mark stopped her.
"Leave it."
Claudia stared at him.
"He'll show Richard."
"I know."
"Then why let him bring it?"
Mark looked at Noah in the rearview mirror.
"Because if we take it away now, he'll cry all weekend."
Noah lowered his eyes.
Mark smiled at him through the mirror.
"We want Grandpa to see what a happy boy you are, don't we?"
Noah nodded.
Claudia turned toward the window.
For the first hour, nobody spoke.
Mountains slowly replaced the city.
Snow thickened along the road.
Noah watched pine trees flash past.
He tried to imagine Richard opening the present.
In his imagination, Grandpa always smiled.
Richard did not smile often.
That made the imaginary smile more valuable.
At nine seventeen, Mark's phone rang through the car.
He glanced at the dashboard.
DANIEL PRICE.
Claudia saw the name.
"Don't answer."
Mark declined the call.
One minute later, it rang again.
He declined it.
A message appeared.
CALL ME REGARDING YOUR FATHER.
Mark's grip tightened on the steering wheel.
Noah saw nothing unusual.
Claudia did.
"He knows."
"Stop saying that."
"Then answer."
"Not with Noah in the car."
Noah looked out the window.
He understood enough to know they were talking about him again.
Claudia lowered her voice.
"We should turn around."
"And tell my father what? We suddenly changed our minds on his seventieth birthday?"
"We say Noah is sick."
Mark looked in the mirror.
Noah immediately pretended to be fascinated by the snow.
"No. That looks worse."
"Then what are you going to do?"
Mark's jaw shifted.
"Control the weekend."
Noah heard the word.
Control.
It was one of his father's favorite words.
At a gas station outside Silverthorne, Mark went inside.
Claudia stayed in the car.
Noah waited until his father disappeared through the doors.
"Mom?"
"What?"
"Is Grandpa mad at me?"
Claudia turned.
"Why would he be mad at you?"
"Because of my money."
Her face changed.
"Your father told you not to talk about that."
"I know."
"Then don't."
"But is Grandpa mad?"
"No."
"Are you?"
"Noah."
He touched the airplane beneath his coat.
"What?"
"Stop asking questions."
She faced forward.
Noah waited.
Then quietly:
"Can I live with Grandpa?"
Claudia turned so quickly her earrings swung.
"What did you say?"
Noah instantly knew he had made a mistake.
"Nothing."
"You asked if you could live with Richard."
Noah stared down.
"Why would you ask that?"
"I like his house."
"You have a house."
"He doesn't yell."
Claudia went silent.
Noah continued before he realized he should stop.
"He lets me sit in his office."
Claudia reached back and grabbed the airplane from beneath his coat.
Noah cried out.
"No."
She held it.
"You listen to me. You do not say anything like that when we arrive."
"Give it back."
"You do not tell Richard you want to live with him."
"I want my airplane."
"And you do not talk about yelling, punishments, trusts, money, or anything else that belongs inside our family."
Noah reached toward her.
She pulled the airplane away.
The gas station door opened.
Mark approached.
Claudia quickly placed the airplane on the center console.
He got into the car.
"What happened?"
"Your son asked if he can live with your father."
Mark stared into the mirror.
Noah pressed against the seat.
Mark did not speak for a long time.
Then he picked up the airplane.
Noah's eyes followed it.
Mark placed it in the glove compartment and locked it.
Noah began crying.
Mark drove.
"Stop."
Noah tried.
He couldn't.
"Stop crying."
"I'm sorry."
"Then stop."
Claudia looked toward Mark.
"See?"
"Not now."
"He is going to say something."
"I said not now."
Snow struck the windshield.
Noah cried quietly for another ten minutes.
Then exhaustion took over.
He fell asleep.
Mark waited until his son's breathing changed.
Then he called Daniel Price.
The attorney answered immediately.
"Mark."
"What does my father know?"
Daniel's tone cooled.
"You should ask him."
"I'm asking you."
"I represent Richard."
"My name is on the trust."
"And that is exactly why this conversation should happen with your own attorney present."
Mark gripped the wheel.
"Did he accuse me of something?"
Daniel said nothing.
That silence gave Mark the answer.
He ended the call.
Claudia whispered.
"What now?"
Mark watched the snowy road.
"We get through the weekend."
"And after?"
"I'll handle him."
"You mean Richard?"
"Yes."
Claudia laughed bitterly.
"You've spent your whole life trying to handle your father."
Mark's face hardened.
"Be careful."
She looked toward Noah.
"Maybe that's your problem."
"What?"
"You think if you're hard enough, eventually you'll become him."
Mark stared at the road.
Claudia continued.
"But Richard doesn't have to tell people he's in control."
Mark said nothing.
He drove faster.
Several hours later, the lodge appeared among the trees.
The Bellacorte property stood above a frozen lake, its stone walls and huge windows glowing amber against the snow.
Noah woke.
His face brightened.
"Grandpa's house."
Mark looked at him in the mirror.
"Remember what we talked about."
Noah's smile disappeared.
They entered through the side drive.
A caretaker named Paul Wheeler helped unload the bags.
"Mr. Bellacorte won't arrive until tomorrow morning," Paul said.
Mark stopped.
"Tomorrow?"
"Storm delayed his meeting in Denver."
Claudia and Mark exchanged a look.
Noah did not see it.
May you like
For them, Richard's delay meant one thing.
They had an entire night to make sure Noah understood the rules.
