Chapter 27 - The Groundbreaking at Cedar Hollow
By November, the crisp southern air of rural Georgia was filled with the sound of carpenters' hammers, heavy machinery, and the cheerful laughter of a family reclaiming its roots.
The renovation of Cedar Hollow was underway. The old brick farmhouse had been expanded and modernized while retaining its rustic, timeless charm. The stables were filled with new thoroughbred horses, and the sprawling pastures were fenced in clean white oak.
On a bright, cool Saturday morning, Vincent, Sloan, and three-year-old Willa stood near the massive oak tree behind the house where Samuel Brooks and Clara rested.
Willa crouched down in the rich, dark Georgia soil, holding a small plastic shovel, helping her father plant a row of white hydrangea bushes right alongside the trunk.
“Are these my flowers, Daddy?” Willa asked, looking up with those unmistakable Hale eyes, her face smudged with dirt.
“They’re yours,” Vincent smiled, kneeling beside her and wiping a smudge of soil from her cheek with his thumb. “And they’re going to bloom every single year.”
Sloan stood a few feet away, leaning against the wooden fence, watching them with a quiet, abiding peace that she had never known was possible.
Marcus Vance walked up behind her, holding a tablet with regional logistics updates. “Sorry to interrupt your family morning, Mrs. Brooks, but the Atlanta board conference call is scheduled for ten minutes.”
Sloan smiled, shaking her head. “Tell them Mr. Brooks is currently unavailable, Marcus. He’s busy in the dirt.”
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Marcus chuckled, locking his tablet. “Understood. Though I have to say... the board still doesn't quite know what to do with a chairman who takes weekends off.”
“Let them get used to it,” Sloan said smoothly. “The empire runs just fine when the man running it finally remembers what he’s living for.”
