CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Addy’s excitement started to percolate as they drove toward Helena. She knew that she was taking a bigger step than just buying a new car. In her mind, she was coming closer to making a decision about her future.
The car dealerships opened around nine, which gave them plenty of time to get there and stop off for some breakfast.
At the restaurant, she pulled out a local paper and started scanning it for Jeep deals. Some of the smaller dealers weren’t online.
“When did you buy your last Jeep?” Trent asked her.
She glanced up from circling a white Jeep. “Three years, two months, and fourteen days ago.” She smiled. “You never forget your first.”
His eyebrows rose slightly, and her face heated at the realization of what she’d just said. She turned her eyes back to the paper and reached for her blueberry bagel.
“Do you want some help looking?” He looked down at the paper.
“Sure.” She handed him the next section. “I circled a few local antique stores too. You can see if they mention anything about having a Coke collection.”
She watched him frown, but then he got to work. He even pulled out his cell phone and called a few shops.
“How much?” he asked into the phone, getting her attention. “And how late are you open?” He nodded. “Okay, thank you.” When he hung up, she waited.
“Well?” she finally asked.
“How much are you wanting to spend on Mr. Thompson?”
She thought about it. “I guess it depends on how much I can talk these guys down.” She turned her cell phone screen around and showed him the Jeep she wanted.
“Let’s go make a deal.” He picked up their trash and walked over to toss it in the bin, then came back and gathered their stuff.
Something about watching him clear a table had her heart jumping. It was stupid, really. Most people she knew didn’t blink twice about leaving a messy table at a diner. Even some of the people she worked with didn’t clean up after themselves, but Trent . . . he was different.
“The grocery store is open again,” he said as he drove.
“I know, I stopped by the other day.” She didn’t tell him that it had taken her almost ten minutes before she had the guts to walk in.
Once she had, she was grateful. Everyone there rushed over to see how she was doing. Even the clerks went out of their way to check in with her.
Since she’d arrived, the people of Haven had done nothing but treat her with kindness and were making it harder and harder for her to hate being back in town. Something deep inside her wanted to find faults, but if she had to be honest with herself, there were only a handful of people she had problems with in town. Unfortunately two of them were related to her.
After almost three hours at the dealership, she drove her new white Jeep off the lot, following Trent’s truck as they headed toward the antique store.
She had more than five hundred dollars left in her car fund, which, when she pulled into the antique store, she knew she was going to spend entirely on the perfect treat for Mr. Thompson. One vintage Coke-themed restaurant booth later, she and Trent were on their way to deliver the gift to Mr. Thompson.
By the time she made it into her trailer after enjoying a few cold Cokes with the older man who had saved her, she was exhausted. The last thing she wanted to deal with was a phone call from her mother again. But there was the phone, ringing with her parents’ phone number.
This time instead of letting it go to voice mail, she answered it.
“What?” she said, allowing her frustration to come out in her voice.
“Addy,” her father whispered.
“Dad?” She hugged the phone closer to her ear so she could hear him.
“I wanted . . . I just had to say . . . I’m sorry. I know I disappointed you. I never meant to . . . things got . . . it doesn’t matter. I’m sorry. I can’t talk too long, but I wanted to tell you that I’ve always been so very proud of you, and I love you more than I ever could show you. I’m so sorry I never stood up for you.”
“Daddy.” Tears rolled down her face and she found it hard to breathe.
“I should have been a better father. There are a lot of things I should have done better. Just remember that I love you, sweetie.”
Something in her father’s voice had the hairs on the back of her neck standing up.
“Dad?” She gripped the phone. “Let me come over.”
“No, sweetie. Not tonight. I will always love you.” He hung up before she could say anything more.
Without thinking, she grabbed her keys. Gravel and dirt flew out from under her tires as she peeled out of the parking lot.
She punched in her parents’ home number and cursed when she got a busy signal. Her mother had never wanted cell phones around, so they still had only the landline. She tried it a few more times with the same results. Next, she dialed Trent.
“Hey.” The cheer in his voice sounded almost alien in the situation she was in.
“Trent, something’s wrong with my dad,” she cried out.
“What?” His tone changed to instant concern.
“He called. It was—it was off.” She jerked her wheel as she turned out of town. “I think he’s going to do something.”
“I’m heading there.” She could hear him moving around. “I’ll call Mike and meet you there.”
After she pulled the Jeep to a quick stop directly behind her mother’s sedan, she jumped out while the Jeep was still settling. All the lights were off inside the house.
She found the front door locked, and when no one answered the doorbell she rushed back to the Jeep to get her set of house keys.
By the time she made it back to the door, the front porch light had turned on and her mother stood inside the door, looking at her like she was crazy.
“Mom! Where’s Dad?” She rushed into the house.
“What? Adrianna, what on earth is going on?” Her mother tightened the robe around her waist.
“Where’s Dad?” she repeated, rushing toward her parents’ room.
“He’s not here,” her mother said, following her.
“Where is he?”
“He’s out in his shop.” Her mother nodded toward the back building her father had built when Addy was eleven. It had always been his domain. Even her mother never went out there or asked him what he did in the massive two-car garage at the edge of their property.
Addy hit the back door at a sprint just as the shot rang out in the night. Its sound, that instant, shocking crack, would echo in her mind for the rest of her life.
Trent held Addy as she looked off into the distance with owl eyes. The fact that her tears had dried up almost an hour earlier scared him. Her breathing was shallow, and he could tell that she had retreated into her own mind. Nothing could get through to her at this point.
He’d arrived at her parents’ house less than five minutes after her. Victoria had been on the phone in the living room, looking a little frazzled. When he’d rushed in, she motioned to the back door and he’d followed the sound of screaming to find Addy holding her father’s lifeless body, weeping great, wrenching sobs as if her heart would never heal.
Mike and Tony had arrived a few minutes later, and he had helped them remove Addy from the garage, her body limp in their arms.
“Take her inside. Get her cleaned up,” Tony had said with kindness. “There’s nothing more she can do here.”
Trent had taken her back into the house, where her mother had produced a change of clothes for Addy and suggested she go take a shower. Almost as if she’d fallen into a pile of mud instead of being covered in her father’s blood.
Addy didn’t fight him as he walked with her into the bedroom Victoria had pointed out, saying only “There’s fresh towels under the sink.”
He tried to find any hint of emotion in the woman whose husband had just taken his own life, but blankness looked back at him.
He didn’t even stop to register the tidy bedroom that must have been Addy’s growing up. Instead, he ushered her directly to the attached bathroom and started peeling off her soiled clothes, dumping them directly into the sink. Then, after helping her into the shower, he took a washcloth and gently wiped her face and hands free of blood before helping her change into the clean clothes.
“He’s gone,” she whispered. “I didn’t get to tell him . . .” She closed her eyes and tears slid down her face.
He cupped her face in his hands. “Your father knew that you loved him.”
She shook her head. “No, not that.”
“What?” he asked, pulling her closer to him.
“That I’m sorry.” She opened her eyes and raised them to his. “I said—I said terrible things to them. I didn’t get to say I’m sorry.”
She rested her head against his chest.
“I think he knew.” He caressed her back and wondered how he was going to be able to help her through this.
When they returned to the main room of the house, Mike was standing over Victoria as he talked to her, asking questions in a low voice.
“How is she?” Mike asked, pausing in his conversation.
Trent coaxed Addy into a chair nearby, leaving Mike’s question unanswered for the moment.
“I was just telling your mother,” Mike said to Addy directly, “that we found a note addressed to you.” He handed a crisp white piece of paper over to her.
Trent crouched next to her. “Are you up for this?”
She nodded, then closed her eyes and took several deep breaths.
She read it several times in silence as everyone looked on. Then her gaze flitted to her mother as she folded the paper back up and hugged it to her chest.
“I’d like to go home now,” Addy said, standing up. “Is there anything more you need from me?” She turned to Mike.
“No.” Mike shook his head. “We’ll contact you when we release your father’s body.”
“Thank you.” Addy looked at Trent. “Do you think you could drive me back home?”
He nodded. “Mike, can you have Tony take my truck home?”
“Sure,” Mike said, and Trent tossed him his keys.
“Thanks.”
“Adrianna.” Addy’s mother looked up at her, but Addy didn’t even acknowledge that she’d spoken and continued out the front door.
Trent drove them back to her place in her Jeep. Any other time he would have enjoyed being behind the wheel of a new machine like this, but now, his mind was too occupied with Addy.
When they got back to her trailer, his phone chimed. He glanced down and saw his mother’s number. He picked up the call as he parked.
“Hi sweetie,” his mother said. “Tony’s here and filled us in. My god.” He could tell that his mother took a deep breath. “Let us know . . .”
“Yeah,” he said, glancing over at Addy, not wanting to upset her further.
“Tell her . . .” His mother’s voice broke and he could tell that she felt like him. There were no words that could comfort Addy at this point. “Tell her we love her,” she said.
“Will do.” When he hung up, he got out and walked around to help Addy out.
“Slumming, McGowan?” Brian’s sarcastic voice sounded directly behind them just as they were about to go inside.
“Piss off, Brian, not in the mood.” He drew Addy into the trailer without another word to the man.
“I should . . .” Addy said.
Instead of letting her finish, he pulled her into his arms and onto the bed. He held her gently, the small space quiet except for the sound of their breathing.
He held her all through the night, not sure if she slept or not.
When the sun broke in through the blinds, she shifted. “I need to . . .” She sat up, tousle-headed, and looked around blankly. “I don’t know what to do next.”
“Take one day at a time.” He stroked the skin of her arm in long, soft moves.
She glanced over at the piece of paper she’d set on her table.
“Do you want to tell me what the note says?”
She retrieved the note and handed it to him.
“He called me just before. He told me he was sorry.” She closed her eyes for a moment and then walked into the small closet that he knew was her bathroom without a word.
He opened the paper and read her father’s words twice.
Addy,
Nothing I can say would ever come close to telling you how much I’ve loved you your entire life. I know I didn’t always show you the affection you needed, and I won’t make excuses other than telling you I was too weak to stand up and fight for what I loved.
My life didn’t turn out the way I had hoped. So here’s my advice for you. Follow your heart. Don’t let anything or anyone stop you from doing and getting what you want. Find someone who loves you for who you are, then never let them go.
I know there’s a mess I’m leaving behind. For that I’m sorry.
I’ve secretly kept my own will. I know your mother never mentioned it, but I’m the one who had the oil family inheritance. Your mother may have cut you off, but I never did. I hope you will look at this as your chance for a fresh start.
My only regret in life was allowing someone to make me feel less than I was. It made me a weaker person and father. Don’t let anyone drag you down.
I love you, Addy. I always have.
I’m sorry,
—Dad