Chapter Eleven
Taylor
I tried hard to contain my excitement at the prospect of seeing Dalton. I brushed at pretend crumbs on the table and on my skirt just to give my hands something to do. My pulse skipped around at the excitement of seeing my lover at the same time my mind was flipping out from the idea that we had to keep it from my brother. With a face like mine, I could never lie. Even jokes fell flat. My brother and I had always been close, and it just seemed so wrong to keep anything from him. Though, I have to say, I never did tell him about kissing Dalton. At the time, he had other things to think about and later, I just wanted to keep it to myself.
Henry’s secretary, Betty, showed me to the swank but old-school conference room when I showed up about half an hour before anyone else. I dressed conservatively in a black skirt and white top; sexy, but not. The mahogany conference table was oval and not too large, as there would only be the four of us, Henry, and his secretary, if she was going to be there. There was even a coffee server. Everything said upscale and classy, but laidback. No wonder Pops had liked Henry. I smushed my fingertips on the table, and sure enough, it picked up my prints from being freshly polished. I rubbed them out with my sweater. Where was everyone?
Walking to the coffee server, I poured myself a cup of joe. They had sugar cubes, so two of those, but no milk… was that cream? I splashed a bunch in there just to cool it off. My mind wouldn’t shut down.
Why was Dalton going to be here? Was this what he was so hesitant about last night? Why did Pops want him here? It seemed Henry showed up at the cemetery to make sure of it. There was something going on besides the obvious. My mind whirled with different ideas, picking up one, dropping it, and picking up another.
My journalistic mindset spidey sense was going off big time. Not only trying to keep my secrets but trying to find out what Dalton’s were was setting them on overdrive. I was so afraid of giving us away to Eric. Kris knew, but she’d keep it secret. That’s what good friends did. She wouldn’t do it forever. She was not one for being quiet, except about how she felt about Eric.
I got up, jiggled, and paced around the room. Eric was the first to show up, dressed extremely casual in a t-shirt and jeans. My brother had no sense of style.
“Really, bro?”
“What?”
“Jeans and a t-shirt. Did you even wash those?”
Eric shrugged. “I have to head back down to the bar afterward. Seemed silly to get dressed up, go home, change, and then turn around and come back downtown. The bar is like five blocks away.
He sat down next to me where I was hoping Dalton would sit. Damn.
“What’s with the grimace?”
“No grimace.”
“You’re acting really weird, sis. Something up? Besides the fact you are wearing makeup.”
I smacked his arm. “It’s just a solemn occasion, that’s all.”
“Naw, you wanted to look good for Henry.”
“Shut up. I’m just concerned as to why we all need to be here.” I shrugged. “Probably nothing.”
“You spend way too much time online. You need to cut the apron strings. Unplug, get a life.”
I smacked his shoulder. “At least you look like you’re sleeping. Only three bags of luggage now.”
Eric rubbed at his eyes. “Since Dalton’s been back, I’ve been feeling a lot better. He’s scanning everything over, and he’s finding some things I overlooked or just didn’t know about. He does have more experience with the office and finances than I do. I could learn quite a bit from him.”
We heard Kris before we saw her, singing to the latest tune. She had her earplugs in, I just knew it. And soon she crossed the threshold dancing, ear plugs in, carrying her helmet.
She saw Eric and cleared her throat embarrassed. “Ummm, sorry.”
She sat on the other side of me. So much for sitting on that side. I was hoping to be sitting here next to Dalton and caressing his leg with my foot. I felt my face heat at the thought. Remembered the stroking I had given and received last night. All night.
Kris caught my pinked ears and correctly assumed I was thinking about Dalton. She smiled and tucked her belongings away in her backpack and put her helmet on the floor.
The very last person, who was punctual on the dot, was Dalton. He finished up a phone call and put the phone in his back pocket. Those damning blue eyes bored into me for just a second longer than appropriate before he sat next to Eric. Damn, he looked good. His suit today was more casual with a navy-blue jacket. Even in high school, he was fashion model good looking. Age just emphasized that. His suit had a nice cut to it, and I knew it must have cost a pretty penny to look so effortless. It was worth every bit of it, as it showed off his broad shoulders and tapered just right. That man knew how to dress. My heart pittered as I remembered what he looked like without it and how he felt under my hands. Finding that scar and how it made him shudder when I ran my finger over it. Was the room getting hot, because I sure was.
We broke into boy and girl groups it seemed, and I talked to Kris about nothing while she looked behind me at Eric. I just shook my head. She caught me grin at her and smacked my leg. As a group, we were in an unsteady truce, even though we seemed to be getting along.
About five minutes later, as we were all just casually talking about life in general and staying clear of any topics which might cause any tension, Henry showed up.
He was in his late seventies and had been a lawyer longer than I've been alive, but I always felt like he was one of the good guys. When I was a kid, he had a sucker for me stowed away and a kind word as I got older. He made me smile as he adjusted those coke bottle glasses. I knew this was not one of those times, but it made me feel better that he was someone I felt comfortable with and had been a fixture at our home for Sunday dinners after my mom died, telling me what my dad wanted us to do with his assets.
There really wasn’t too much except for the bar and the house. We were always doing well enough except for the last few years with Pops out of commission, business slowing, and the medical bills. I didn’t know why it seemed more of a struggle, but I had faith Eric would figure it out and get us back on course. As long as we had each other, I knew we’d get through this.
Henry cleared his throat and took off his glasses, wiping them down with the ever-present white handkerchief.
“I want to thank you all for coming. Your dad wanted to do things a bit different. After years of having Taylor get on him about using technology, at the end, he went for it. Not only for you to know what he wanted but also, so you would know it was coming from him.”
Henry looked at Dalton, who seemed to nod back. My spidey senses were going off the charts.
The lawyer walked over to the wall and pushed a button. A quick whirring noise pushed aside a panel revealing a television set. He turned it on. He went to the intercom and called Betty down from her roost at the front door. That might sound harsh, but she always looked like a little chicken sitting there just waiting. She even wore fuzzy clothing, which should have looked odd in a woman of her advanced years, but actually made her seem more approachable.
Betty floated into the room holding a disc and a brown wooden box. She gave the disc to Henry and then found a chair in the corner where she could be there in case she was needed. Henry got the recording geared up and ready to go. He stepped back and clicked the remote.
Pops appeared. I gasped. I hadn’t expected to feel this jolted. I could tell it was near the end, as he had his oxygen on, and his skin was that horrid tea color. Mom’s quilt was on him, bringing a bit of bright cheer in otherwise dreary surroundings.
“Eric and Taylor, your father wanted me to record his last words, so I went to the house shortly before the end, so we could record this,” Henry began. “His illness didn’t affect his mind, and he was of sound mind when he made his will. He also wanted to read it himself, so you would know it came from him and not some old windbag like me. So, I give you the reading of Patrick Prince’s will being read by Pops himself.”
I took a deep breath. I put my hands on the table. This brought back all the memories of taking care of him. The countless days going up and down the stairs and helping the hospice nurses. Pops had wanted to be home with all he loved around him. His cherished friends came to say their last goodbyes to him and chat over the last few months when he was fading. The final end, with Eric and I surrounding him as he took his last breath in our arms.
Oh, my God, I don’t know if I can handle this. My eyes started tearing, and I must have made some movement to stand, as Eric reached over and grabbed my hand, steadying me.
Pops began speaking and hearing that quiet deep voice helped to settle me. It could always calm me down.
“I know you're all wondering why I'm doing this with a video instead of just having Henry read this piece of paper to you.” He waved it in the air. “I wanted you all to hear from me. Some of what you will hear will be shocking, as I’m sure you know I don’t like secrets, but I had some, like everyone does, and now you will need to know mine. The few that they are. They may paint me in a bad light, and I’m sorry if they do. I never meant to hurt any of you and thought this was the best way to bring everything into the open, regardless of what you might think.”
To emphasize that, he coughed and straightened up. “Let’s start with the simple things first and get them out of the way. The house where my family has lived for the last seventy years, that I grew up in, was paid in full many years ago. That home will be staying in the family and will go to both Eric and Taylor.”
He smiled a little bit. “It was paid off years ago by my dad and the life insurance will be split equally between you two. It’s not much, as I thought we had the bar to take care of most things.”
My stomach plunged. What was up with the bar?
“Kris, you were always welcome in our home and a breath of fresh air. We could never have enough hot cocoa and marshmallows for you. That old Chevy we have been working on for years has given me many happy memories. The beers out back, talking about life, and teaching Kris that a claw tooth was a hammer and a flathead was a screwdriver meant so much to me over the years. You are like my second daughter and because of that, I'm giving you the old Chevy, so that once you have it all fixed up, you’ll remember me and smile as you drive that old American heavy metal around.”
Pops took another breath on the video. He had not yet said anything about the bar. Eric and I looked at each other. I took my hand away and put it in my lap.
Dad sighed. It seemed he was right there with us and having a conversation instead of this being recorded.
“Eric, you have been the best son to me. Running the bar and seeing you grow into a man while you did so has made me so proud. I wish I could have taught you more and got you up to speed, but this damn cancer was so much faster than I expected.
“Taylor, you have been an amazement to me. You look so much like your mom and you grew that little idea of using the Internet to bring people together. It just fascinated me, and I never knew what it all meant. You obviously got your mother’s brains as well, as I’m just an old bar hand. What is it you always said?”
We said it together, me now and Pops on the video. “You’ve got to reach the market, Pops.”
He wiped his face with his hand. “I’m going to miss you so very much, my little tadpole.”
He cleared his throat. “Since I’m not there, of course, I am going to assume that Dalton is there with everyone. You’re probably wondering why I’ve asked him to come, considering he’s been estranged from our family for so many years. If you don’t know already, Dalton has done very well for himself and I wanted him and you to hear it from my own lips that I’m very proud of all he has done.
“Dalton, I’m sorry if I’m going to put you on the spot right now, but it needs to come out, if it has not already. Dalton is the owner of nightclubs called D&E, which are located across the United States and around the world. He wasn’t sitting so pretty when he left. He had it really rough for much of his life, and I think that had a thing or two to do with how things played out before he left a decade ago.
“Dalton, my dear boy, you spent the early part of your twenties in hell, trying to figure out what kind of man you were going to be. You made mistakes along the way, as we all do. I hope by now, you and Eric have made amends. It was always my deepest hope to bring the family back together again. To have everyone back in the house, running up and down the stairs, making noise and having fun.”
He looked off in the distance as if he was remembering. He took a few deep breaths and continued, “Since this may have been ‘on the down low’ as Taylor would say, I'll bring it up now. Shortly after he left us, Dalton was in a series of altercations in LA, which ended with him begin sent to prison for a couple of years on an assault charge.”
Eric glanced over at Dalton, a crease furrowed between his brow.
“During that time, I kept in touch with him, letting him know we are still family, and I was there for him. I hoped it helped a little bit, Dalton. We began writing back and forth. He was able to finish up his master’s degree, in a jail cell instead of a university, but he did it. A lot was said, and we continued the practice over the years as I never really got the hang of email and he didn’t have any. So, we had this exchange of letters over the time he was gone. At this time, I would like Henry to give these to Kris for safekeeping. I know she will know what to do with them.”
Henry walked over to Betty, and she gave him the brown wooden box she had been holding. I guessed it was filled with letters from Dalton. Henry gave them to Kris.
“In time, I would like them to go to Taylor, but for now, I would like Kris to hold onto them for safekeeping. They will explain a lot of what has transpired over the years, and you’re the only one of the group with a cool head. Take care of them. They hold the world.”
I glanced at Kris, and she just gave me a wide-eyed look as she put the box in front of her on the table.
“After Dalton was released from prison, he needed a new start. No one would hire him in a decent establishment, and he didn’t want to start working for people who were up to no good. I also did not want him to come home, yet. Taylor was in her last year of college, and I didn’t want everything in an uproar. It seemed best. At the time.”
I saw Pops tiring and he waved someone, probably Henry, away.
“Let me get through this, please. As I said, no one would hire him, so I gave him an investment to get him started with a nightclub called Dalton’s Fancy. It soon took off and before too long, it was incorporated as D&E for Dalton and Eric. Always a dream of mine that you would get your friendship figured out and go into business with each other.”
Pops stopped and rubbed his eyes. “It started off with me just trying to help Dalton, helping a friend just like I have helped many others over the years. Dalton was probably the best person I’ve ever seen in business outside of my own family. He takes pride in achievements and within a year, Dalton had paid me back and was well on his way to bigger and better things. Our letter writing changed into weekly phone calls.
“Years passed with him traipsing around the world and growing his night club empire, I was working on our little neck of it. Then something happened about two years ago. I don’t know what it was and, Eric, you are going to have a hard time hearing this. We started to have issues at The Boar and Brew. Visits from the health inspectors, even though we are up to code, inventory being stolen, electricity going out and spoiling all our food. Even tax bills not getting paid after we paid them. I didn’t know what was going on, but I had run short of money. Dalton offered to help. He gave me the money to keep us afloat for the last couple of years.
“The plan was to pay him back in time…” Pops chuckled. “Time had other plans. The problems the bar had didn’t seem to be going away and seemed to only be getting worse. I wanted to make sure the problems were handled with someone who knew the backend of bars, and I knew that you have not caught on to the all nuances yet, Eric. And I’m sorry for that. I should have done it years ago, but we all think we have lots of years ahead. The problems started off as little but seemed to keep getting bigger and bigger. I have not been able to find out where the problem is and what I’m not seeing. I’m not a worldly man by far and some things are just beyond my realm of experience.
“So, to that end, Dalton was made part owner with a fifty percent share, with the other fifty percent being split between Taylor and Eric. Taylor for her marketing mind, and Eric for his way with people. The bar was always meant to be run by family. Dalton, I hope by now you have found the tax bills and hopefully are getting a grip on the issues for all our sakes.
“Kids, I’m sorry you found out this way, but though my half of the business will go to the both of you, Dalton is the other owner of The Boar and Brew. With that being said...”
I could tell he was so very tired. He could barely keep his eyes opened.
“I love all of you. Please keep our family strong and find out who is trying to sabotage our legacy. I wish I could be there with you.”
He waved his hand for the video to shut off and then the screen just went black.
I could barely lift my jaw off the floor. Not only had Pops been in touch with Dalton while denying us any contact, he helped him out financially and Dalton helped him out. The kicker being that Dalton now owned half of our business. Was it intentional? Did Dalton want to get back at us all for Pops sending him away? Revenge for a slight?
All eyes turned toward Dalton. I think Eric summed it up for us all.
“What the hell!”