Chapter Thirty-One
Cash
The Next Morning
I was on my way out the door to get my morning started, the taste of Hailey’s sweet mouth still on my lips, when the phone rang. I ran for it with dread settling heavily into my gut, already knowing who it would be.
“Hello?”
“Cash, it’s Dad.”
I held my breath, waiting for the news I’d been expecting since the last time he called. I’d talked to my mama once or twice since then, but Dad never called unless it was bad. They’d been in Colorado all this time, taking care of things as they presented themselves. Uncle Rog had gone home, but he was weak and needed constant care that his children weren’t prepared to give. Mama had been a nurse before she retired, and she’d been shouldering the better part of the responsibilities for her brother-in-law while Dad took care of getting Uncle Rog’s affairs in order ahead of the inevitable. No one was under any illusions about Uncle Rog making a full recovery. He’d gone home under hospice care. The idea was to make him comfortable until the end came.
“Uncle Rog passed this morning. He went peacefully in his sleep.”
“I’m sorry, Dad,” I said.
“He’s in a better place now, son.” He heaved a deep sigh. “He wasn’t doing too well at the end. I’m glad he’s at peace now.”
I didn’t know what to say to that.
“We have an appointment out at the funeral home later this afternoon. We’re looking at setting the service for Thursday evening.”
That was in three days.
“I’ll book my ticket, get Eric up to the farm to take care of things, and fly out today,” I said.
“Let us know when you’ll get in so we can pick you up from the airport.”
“I will.”
“Your mom sends her love,” Dad said. “We’ll see you soon.”
“Bye, Dad,” I replied, and put the phone back in its cradle.
I looked up to find Hailey in the doorway, just like last time. She was dressed in one of my oversized T-shirts, her curly blonde hair pulled back away from her tiny face and glasses not sliding down her nose for once, her open expression full of honest concern for me.
“Is it your uncle?” she asked in a whisper.
When I nodded, she entered the kitchen and gave me a hug, crushing her sweet-smelling body to mine. For once in the last two weeks, the feeling of her close to me wasn’t getting me aroused. I just closed my eyes, pressing my face into her hair, and enjoyed the comfort of her closeness.
“I’m so sorry,” she murmured. “What can I do?”
I looked down at her, ending our hug. “I have to fly out today to Colorado.” A thought occurred to me. “Shit, I need to call Eric right now before he leaves for work.” I actually had some time. It wasn’t even 6 o’clock yet. I’d been dragging a little the last couple days out of reluctance to leave my bed when Hailey was in it, so it wasn’t as early as it should have been.
I picked up the phone and dialed Eric’s number. Unlike me, he had a cell phone, and I knew he kept it right by his bed. It took him several rings to pick up.
“Hello?” His voice was muffled with sleep.
“Eric, it’s Cash,” I said. Hailey was standing right next to me, her blue eyes watchful.
“What’s going on?” He still sounded half-asleep. He wasn’t a morning person. Without at least two cups of coffee in him, he was useless. “Is it the farm?”
“My uncle passed away,” I said, and didn’t give him time to respond. “I need to leave today. I can take care of feeding and watering the animals this morning before I go. Can you take it from there?” I’d only need him to put them away for the night and then care for them in the morning again. I’d given them a full grooming yesterday and was thankful for that. It took a few hours to get through all the horses. He’d only need to brush them down occasionally while I was gone. He could show Hailey how to do that too to give her more fodder for her book.
“Yeah, of course. How quickly do you need me out there?”
“Tonight’s fine. Might take you longer tomorrow. I’m not sure how long I’ll be gone. Service is on Thursday.”
“I’ll take the rest of the week off,” he said. “I’ll see you when you get back. Call if you need anything.”
“Will do. Thanks, Eric.”
“Sure thing.”
I hung up the phone and turned back to Hailey, who’d been there watching me in silence the whole time.
“Do you want me to go with you?” she asked, eyes wide behind her glasses. It was dark in here. The sun was taking longer to rise in the morning the deeper we got into fall. The kitchen smelled like the flowery soap she used and the pot of coffee I’d put on after first getting up.
I almost told her to come—it might be a comfort to have her there—but my family had a way of chasing off outsiders. We were close-knit and not too interested in adding to our ranks. Not that we weren’t friendly, just that this wasn’t the time to introduce my parents to a new girlfriend. It would be stressful enough as it was. My mama would be happy to see I’d found someone until I mentioned that she was from three thousand miles away. That would cause another avalanche of questions about who she was and where she’d come from and why I hadn’t told anyone she was staying with me. My cousins were all sorts of nosey, and they loved to talk behind a person’s back. I didn’t want to expose Hailey to all of that just yet, if ever.
“Nah, it’s probably best you don’t come,” I said with a sigh, rubbing the back of my neck. “It’ll just be a quick trip, and you’ll be questioned to death by my family if I show up with you.”
She rose up onto her bare tiptoes to give me another hug, this time kissing me tenderly on the neck. “I’m really sorry for your loss, Cash.”
I gave her a weak smile. “My uncle wouldn’t have wanted this to be a sad time. He was a really great guy who loved to laugh and have fun with us kids. He’d want us to throw him a party, to have music and dancing instead of people sitting around crying onto their sad plates of food.”
“Do you want me to book your flight online?” she asked, lifting her thin eyebrows. “That way you can have everything ready to go when you get to the airport.”
“That’d be great.” I had no idea that was even a thing. I’d just planned to arrive at the airport with my bags and buy the next ticket out of town. Eric would probably laugh to hear that.
“Where do you need to fly into?” she asked.
“Denver would be the best. It’s only a short drive to Uncle Rog’s.”
She nodded. “You go do what you need to do with the horses, and I’ll get your flight taken care of.”
I dropped a nod, and she took off in the direction of the guest room. I hustled outside to free the horses from their stalls and get them into the corral. I’d planned to put them out in the pastureland, but this would make it easier for Eric to round them up after work. I fed and watered them and then did the same for the cows. I mucked out the stalls as quickly as I could and then laid down fresh hay to save Eric the trouble tonight. Once all that was done, I hurried back inside for a quick shower, then packed a suitcase with everything I’d need for the next few days.
Hailey met me in the living room. She handed me two sheets of paper.
“The top one is your itinerary. You fly out in three hours, which should give you plenty of time to make it if you leave right now.”
I nodded, looking it over. I switched sheets to look at what was on the second one. I looked up at her, confused.
“That’s your boarding pass. Since it looks like you only have a carry-on, you don’t even need to stop at the check-in counter. Just go straight to the gate.”
I grinned. “You can do that?”
She smiled too, looking radiant, her messy hair still wild and eyes half lidded from how tired she was. “Yep. Now get on your way, cowboy. You don’t want to miss your flight.”
I took her in my arms and kissed her long and deep, just wanting the taste of her to last me for the days I’d be in Colorado with my family.
“Thank you, Hailey,” I said.
“Call me when you get in, or I’ll worry.” She looked worried already.
“Yes, Ma’am.”
She smiled at that, and I had to grab my bag and walk away to keep from kissing her again. I left the house and climbed into my truck. She waved from the porch, looking small and beautiful in my T-shirt and nothing else. I waved back and then turned the truck around in the dirt driveway to get on my way.