CHAPTER TWENTY
When they walked into the diner, it was half an hour before closing time.
“Just made it.” Katy walked over to them with menus as they took a seat.
Addy’s face flushed, and she tried to hide her blush behind the laminated paper. Trent had shown her just how smooth he could be. So smooth she would have gladly fallen asleep, naked, on the sofa at his office.
Maybe it was her state of mind, but the low-lit diner became one of the most romantic places ever.
Trent filled her in on his uncle as they waited for their food to arrive. His mother had found a local nursing home that could care for him. Trent had told her that her uncle hadn’t spoken since his heart attack, but that so far, most of his motor skills were still functional.
“He was lucky you were there,” she said.
“I’m the reason he is the way he is now,” Trent added with a frown.
“He’s the reason he is the way he is,” she corrected. “I ran into Trey the other day, and he filled me in on why you feel guilty. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I should have . . .”
“Trent, should I feel guilty about my father?”
“No!” He shook his head and reached for her hand.
“Then you shouldn’t feel guilty for what happened to your uncle. You did what was best for your family, and he was very lucky you were there to save him.”
Addy had let some of her own guilt go. She was right. If Trent shouldn’t carry guilt around, neither should she. But she knew who should feel guilty, and she had every intention of finally getting to the bottom of things with her mother.
“You never did tell me why you came to my office,” he said as he reached across and took the half of the burger she offered.
“Oh!” Her expression lightened. “I wanted to tell you about my meeting.”
“With your dad’s lawyer?” he asked and snagged a fry off her plate.
“Yes, he left everything to me. Everything he had.”
His eyes met hers. “Nothing for your mother?”
She shook her head. “No, everything went to me.”
“Which is?” he asked.
“I don’t know.” She pulled out the clump of papers she’d shoved into her purse. “I didn’t have a chance to look.”
She straightened the papers and moved closer to him so they could both look.
“Addy,” he said after scanning the document. “He left you everything.”
“Yes,” she said, her eyes tracking the words as well.
“No,” he said as she looked up at him. “I mean everything. Not just his personal stuff. Your parents’ house, the cars, his life insurance, everything.”
She blinked a few times. “The house? But . . .” She grabbed the sheet. “What about my mother?”
She’d had a hard time making sense of the document, given the memories of how the assets had come to her. Trent moved his empty plate aside, wiped his hands, then took the packet from her.
He flipped the pages. “Well, according to this, the house was his before they married. It appears it was his inheritance. He paid for the cars and your schooling out of his accounts, along with all the bills.”
“But that doesn’t make sense. She’s always bragged about all the money left to her from my grandparents.”
“She may have money too, but she didn’t use it on any of those things.” He set the paper down and watched her.
“What do I do?” she groaned.
“You’re asking me?”
“Yes.” She leaned back, looking into his eyes. Things had changed in the past few weeks, but one thing remained. “I trust your judgment. Should I tell my mother? And then what? Kick her out of her home? What if she doesn’t have any place else to go? Or, worse, any of her own money?” Her chest tightened the more she elaborated, and she felt her breathing hitch slightly.
Trent reached and took her hand in his.
“Hey, you don’t have to do anything tonight. How about you sleep on it for a few days before deciding?”
Since her head was swirling with a million new questions, she simply squeezed his hand in agreement.
They left the diner and headed back to her place. With the excuse that she had too much to think about, she kissed Trent good night and watched as he drove away.
Thoughts of her mother and her finances kept her up most of the night.
By morning, she’d made up her mind to make a visit to her mother’s place. She ate breakfast quickly and dressed even faster. Then she spent almost an hour coming up with a plan.
Addy drove through town and headed down the street to the house she’d always known as home. The two-car garage lay to the left as she pulled in the driveway.
She thought back to the last time she was there. Down the stairs via a smaller deck, a pathway led to her father’s private workshop. Images flooded her brain, and she had to pump the brakes and grip the steering wheel until the feelings passed.
She pulled in and parked near the garage, knowing there were two cars parked inside. A newer Buick town car that her parents drove to church and anywhere they went together, and an older Toyota sedan that her father drove on his own.
When she got out, she realized that her mother was watching her from the now-open front door.
“Come to kick me out?” she said.
Addy stopped and took a deep breath. “No.” She was relieved that her mother knew the stakes. “I’ve come to get a few things out in the open.”
She approached the door. Her mother turned and went into the house, not waiting to see if Addy followed her.
As she walked in, she noticed that nothing had changed. She didn’t know what she’d expected, but seeing everything still in place felt wrong somehow.
Her father’s reading glasses and the book he’d been reading were still sitting beside his chair in the living room. Sadness threatened Addy’s composure, and she had to look away.
“I heard you met with that lawyer. I don’t care what he says, I own this place.” Her mother crossed her arms.
“Well, no, I do, but that’s beside the point.” Addy moved over and sat down, then motioned for her mother to take her chair.
She hesitated for a moment, then sat.
“Beside the point?” her mother repeated. “I would think that after everything that’s gone on, that would be the point.”
Addy shook her head. “I’m not here to talk finances.”
“Why are you here?” Her mother shifted slightly and for the first time in her life, Addy realized that the woman looked nervous.
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe because you’re my mother.”
Her mother looked as if she’d been slapped. Still, she remained silent.
“Does that mean anything to you?” Addy leaned forward.
“Of course it does,” her mother shot back. “I’ve sacrificed a lot for you.”
“Have you?” Addy broke in. “Really? Name one thing.”
Her mother’s chin rose and her eyes narrowed. “You were always such an insufferable child.”
Addy stopped herself from jumping up and walking out. Instead, she held her ground. “And you were such a superior, hypocritical, self-righteous mother and wife. You never once really cared for me. Most mothers involve themselves in their daughters’ lives, enjoy their company. You, however, went out of your way not to deal with anything I did or desired. All you ever cared about was what you wanted. Do you want to know why your husband made sure not to leave you a dime? All you have to do is look in the mirror and ask yourself what kind of wife you were to the man.”
She stood up slowly, looking down at her mother. Looking deep in her matching blue eyes for a hint of remorse. Seeing none, she continued.
“I came out here in hopes that I’d see a shred of decency. But I can see now there isn’t an ounce of it in you.” She took a deep breath. “I’m not going to kick you out. I’m not like you. But I will demand several things in order for you to remain in your cozy domain.” She pulled out her list. Her hour that morning had been hard, but it had been worth it to come up with a plan of attack. She knew this was her one chance to get her mother’s attention—to change the woman and make her something better. She was confident that if her mother followed this list, she would become a woman Addy could like. “If these are not met on a monthly basis, you will be removed from my property. If they are met, you’re free to live here.” She looked around. “Free to continue your mundane existence.”
Her mother gasped as she took the list from Addy. “What do you mean ‘volunteer for eight hours a month at the local library’?”
Addy sat back down. “I mean that for one full day, you will drive yourself to downtown Haven, in a car that will now be in my name, and go to the library. You will read to the kids and stack or log in books or whatever other tasks Kim, the head librarian, gives you.”
Her mother’s eyes narrowed, and she looked back down at the list. “And ‘eight hours at the clinic’?”
“Yes, pretty much the same deal there. One day a month you will spend emptying bed pans”—her mother’s face grew slightly red—“delivering meals, or doing whatever else they need from you. The same goes for the vet clinic.”
“I don’t like animals.”
Addy tilted her head. “It’s high time you learned to enjoy them. I’ve provided phone numbers and contact information for each place.”
It wasn’t too much for one person to do, but she knew her mother had never worked a full day in her life. Still, she had been proud to come up with six things her mother could accomplish for the town while trying to broaden herself.
The fact that her mother was even looking at the list told her that she was more desperate for money than Addy had thought.
“I don’t know what this last one is.” She held up the paper. “‘Bonco’?”
“Every Thursday night, there is a group of women who meet at the library and play games. Bonco is an easy-enough game for you to learn, and it’s fun. Plus it will get you out of the house and meeting people your own age.”
“I know people my age. We’ve attended church since . . .”
Addy shook her head until her mother stopped talking.
“I know what it means to attend church with you,” she said. “You arrive on time, only speak briefly to the preacher and certain prominent families in town, then leave. The people you’ll be seeing here are far from the group you’re used to showing off for.”
“I won’t do it.” Her mother set the paper back down.
“Then I’ll expect you out of the house by the end of the month.” Addy stood up again. She knew she had to call her mother’s bluff and decided to play hardball. “I’ll have my agent put the house and cars up for sale . . .”
Her mother gasped. “You’ll do no such thing. This house has been in the family for generations.”
“My father’s family for two generations. I don’t intend to make it three.” She made her way toward the front door, leaving the list on the coffee table for her mother. “I’ll be checking in on you periodically,” she said without looking back. “And each contact has instructions to let me know if you don’t show up. Good night, Mother.”
She walked out and paused a moment on the front patio to take a deep breath. She smiled when she realized that suddenly she felt free, more empowered than she had her entire life.
This called for a gallon of mint–chocolate chip ice cream.
Being out in nature was one of Trent’s greatest passions. A few days after that memorable office meeting with Addy, he spent the morning flying his small plane over the next few sites that were ready to close up. He needed the bird’s-eye view to scope out the possibilities for the land.
The first site was due to finish in the next few months. A parking lot housed the work trailer, then there was the actual drilling site. The pumps would remain, but the massive drilling rig and parking areas would need to be replaced with trees and sod. Drilling was messy work, especially in the spring.
Then, before landing, he flew over his own land and couldn’t help but smile and dream.
Someday soon he’d have his house and driveway in. He had plans—not just for trees and shrubbery, but a spot for a garden and an orchard. Maybe even a small artificial pond to water cattle or horses. Which meant a place for a barn and corral.
In his mind, Addy walked through the garden and stopped to pat one of the horses. His dreams of his new home intertwined completely with the woman he hoped would share it. The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he got that she was slipping away from him. No wonder he had needed to escape his office—the memory of the evening they had spent in it together consumed his mind while he sat behind his desk. It had been too hard to focus on work, and he’d needed the fresh air to clear Addy from his thoughts.
When he landed, he drove down to the current project and pulled on his gloves to help his crew plant more than a dozen ponderosa pine and Douglas fir trees, each roughly six feet tall.
After quitting time, he pulled into the driveway at his mother’s place. His guard went up instantly as he parked behind a patrol car. He slammed his door and rushed into the house without thinking about the mud trail he was leaving behind him.
“What’s wrong?” he said, standing in his mother’s kitchen. He noticed Tony sitting at the kitchen table with a plate of food in front of him. There were even candles flickering and a table cloth.
His mother jerked her head toward him and frowned. “What’s wrong is the mess you’re making in my house.” She half stood up, then stopped herself and sat back down. “Now kindly go take those filthy boots off and clean up your mess on my newly mopped floor before I come over there and . . .”
He held up his hands and backed up slowly. “Okay, but what’s he doing here?”
“Tony is having dinner. He was invited. You were not.” His mother nodded. “Now go.”
Trent’s eyes moved to the man, whose cheeks turned bright pink, his gaze darting everywhere but Trent’s direction.
Trent made it back to the doorway and squinted. “Like . . . a date?”
“Go!” his mother said firmly.
He backed up, pulled off his boots, and took out the broom and the mop. He spent a few minutes cleaning up the dirt he’d tracked in.
At least he was pleased to know that he interrupted the rest of their dinner by cleaning up his mess. His eyes stayed glued to Tony as he cleaned. The man knew to avoid his gaze.
“There,” he said after putting the mop away. “Now can I get . . .”
“No, what you can do is go take a shower and let us finish our dinner.” His mother waved him toward his room.
He crossed his arms and was about to argue when his mother gave him the look. He turned and marched to his room without another word.
He showered in record time and dressed. But by the time he walked back out to the kitchen, Tony was gone and his mother was doing dishes as she hummed to herself.
“What was he doing here?” he asked again, leaning against the countertop and reaching for a slice of chicken that was left in the pan on the stove.
His mother looked over at him. “Tony is a dear friend. We were having dinner and catching up on old times.”
He focused on shredding the chicken piece smaller, to avoid meeting his mother’s eyes. “Was that it?”
“Of course it was, what else would it be?”
“Where’s Trisha?” He glanced around.
“She’s having dinner with Kristen and Tyler tonight,” his mother said as she finished putting the dishes in the drying rack.
“Was that a date?”
“I’m not sure what that was. I ran into Tony at the grocery store and he asked me to dinner. I offered to cook, so he came over.”
“You had candles,” he said, glancing over at the long white stems that were now blown out.
“Sometimes candles are nice.” His mother sighed. “It’s been almost a year,” she said, wrapping her arms around him.
“I know.” He ran his hand over her hair.
“Don’t be upset because I like a little attention.”
“I’m not,” he said. “I like Tony. Really,” he emphasized when she snorted. “It’s just . . . it’s hard to think about . . .” He shook his head. “Never mind.”
He howled with pain as his mother pinched his side. “There, now remember that pain every time you think about . . .” Her eyes narrowed.
He chuckled and rubbed the red spot.
“Now what are you doing here?” she asked, getting back to the dishes.
“I was here for clean clothes and a long hot shower, but I settled for clean clothes and a quick hot shower.”
“Trailer life not suiting you?” she asked.
“Addy has a lot of things to think about. She says she needs some space.” He tried not to let his frustration about being pushed away show on his face, but the fact was he was starting to lose his mind and patience.
His mother moved closer to him. “Well, while you’re here, you might as well eat these leftovers and talk about it. Grab a plate.”