Chapter Nine
Tyler
“Your father looked so happy to spend the day with you two,” my mother said as we sat down for dinner.
“He looked happy?” Maryanne asked.
“Yes, I saw it on his face. I know he’s sick, but I saw the happiness.”
Neither Maryanne nor I was about to argue with our mother about seeing happiness on our father’s face, but I didn’t see it either. He had been asleep almost our whole visit and only reached out to hold my hand for a brief few minutes before drifting back to sleep. Happiness was not the emotion that came to mind when I looked at my father and how difficult his end-of-life journey was.
“Do you two feel up to talking about the property right now?” I asked.
“I’m not sure. It’s so overwhelming.”
“Mom, we don’t have to deal with it now if you don’t want to, but I’d liked to get a better understanding of what you want to do.”
“She’s selling it,” Maryanne chimed in. “We hardly do anything now and even rent out the entire back half of the property. It would be best to sell it to and we can live off the money. We can still keep the canning store.”
Mom burst into tears as Maryanne talked, and I couldn’t help but look at Maryanne like it was all her fault.
“Good job,” I whispered.
“What? I didn’t do it.”
“I’m sorry, kids. It’s just that I thought your father and I would have had this all settled by the time he got this sick. I didn’t want to have to tell you.”
My gut bunched up in knots at whatever this secret was my mother had been keeping. She was clearly emotional about it all, and that wasn’t how she typically acted. My mother was a rock, she was probably tougher than my father and I put together, so seeing her cry was heart-wrenching for me.
“What is it, Mom?”
“We had a big offer from Everett’s farm and your father and I turned it down. Now they rescinded the offer, and I’m sure they are just waiting for us to go bankrupt so they can steal off the property after your father has died.”
“First of all, we are making great money and won’t be going bankrupt, Mom,” Maryanne said. “Second of all, if you want to sell the property, Tyler can help you, and he’ll make sure you get an insanely high price. Won’t you, Tyler?”
Maryanne looked at me with a death stare that was so intense I had no other option but to agree with her. That was my sister; she was sweet and kind until she wasn’t sweet at all.
“There is no need to sell it at all. I’ll just give you the money, and you can retire, Mom. Please don’t stress out about money. That’s the one thing I’m actually good at,” I joked. “Women, not so good at, but money…that’s something you can count on.”
“I’m not going to let you just give me money, that’s ridiculous,” my mother said as she pulled herself together and sat up straight. “And from what I hear, you are pretty hip with the ladies.”
My sister and I both laughed at my mother’s old fashion language.
“Yeah, I’m hip.” I continued to laugh.
“He is pretty hip,” Maryanne joined in.
“Seriously, what would your ideal price be? Or what would you like to do with the land?” I asked.
“I’ve always hoped that the Sullivans would buy us out. That Kelsi loves ranching. She’s so good with the horses, but since you broke her heart, I don’t see her anymore and I’ve heard their ranch is going bankrupt soon. So, that’s not an option.”
“I didn’t break her heart, she broke up with me,” I defended as if I were still that 18-year-old boy who Kelsi had broken up with.
“They are going bankrupt?” Maryanne asked. “That really sucks. Kelsi is so tough. She and Clyde deserve to keep the ranch. She’s worked so hard and is so strong.”
“Who’s Clyde?” I asked.
My mother and Maryanne looked at each other like they had just let out a national secret. My eyes widened as I stared at Maryanne and waited for her to answer my question. Was Kelsi married? Did she have some sort of live-in boyfriend? Was that why she kept pushing me away and said there was no possible chance I would sleep with her? Something was going on, and by the look on my sister’s and mother’s faces, it wasn’t a secret they were going to be able to keep for very much longer.
“We should get back to talking about our land, Tyler,” my mother said. “I think we should look for some new buyers. Maybe someone out of town. I don’t want the Everetts to get a hold of this. Kelsi’s family won’t have a chance if the Everetts expand even further, but if another small rancher comes in that might actually boost everyone’s businesses.”
I didn’t respond and instead just continued to look from my mother to my sister as I waited for them to answer my question. There was no way they were going to just switch the conversation to something else. I needed to know who this Clyde guy was and I wasn’t moving on with our conversation until I did.
“Maryanne?” I said as I looked at her. “Tell me.”
“It’s no big deal. Really, I just thought she would have told you already. I heard the two of you were very cozy at the reunion. It really is nothing big.”
“If it’s not a big deal, why are you and Mom acting like it’s some sort of national secret?”
“Clyde is her son,” my mother said finally.
“He’s five and the most adorable thing I’ve ever laid eyes on,” Maryanne said. “She’s a single mother and raising him all by herself. Well, with the help of her family of course.”
“She has a son?” I asked as the conversations she and I had had played over in my head.
It was entirely possible that she had told me she had a son and I wasn’t really listening. Sometimes I just zoned out during conversations with women, but I didn’t remember that happening with Kelsi. In fact, I remember being zoned in on every word she was saying and I was almost positive she hadn’t mentioned a son at all. I would have remembered that.
“Yes,” my mother said. “Kelsi is a very strong woman. You two should at least be friends again.”
“We are,” I said softly as I thought about our long horse ride. “Things are good between us, but she didn’t mention a son. Do you think she was trying to keep him a secret from me?”
“No, I think she liked talking to you and reminiscing about easier days. She probably didn’t want to get into the whole sticky mess since you’re only here for a little while,” my mother said as she gently rubbed my hand.
“She was married?” I asked.
“No, he was a jerk and left her while she was pregnant,” Maryanne added.
“Really? What? Who would do that to her? That’s insane. Did she love him? Who was he? Why did he leave?”
I had so many questions that flooded through my brain. I genuinely couldn’t imagine any man leaving her, especially knowing that she was having his baby. It was beyond what I could fathom. Kelsi was the nicest girl I’d ever known. Even knowing that she had crushed my heart, I pretty much deserved it and she was still talking to me all these years later. Whoever this guy was, he had to be a giant ass for leaving her.
“I think you should talk to her if you really want to know the answers to all of those questions. But don’t get her all worked up, you’re going home soon, and she’s got her own life here to deal with. It’s not really any of your business.”
It was like a gut punch to think about all the things I really didn’t know about Kelsi. I didn’t think I deserved to know all about her, but for some reason, I did feel connected to her still. There was real emotion between the two of us, and it went beyond just sexual chemistry. We became adults together throughout our high school years, she and I shared so much back then, and we fell right back into that comfortable feeling while horseback riding. Yet, she hadn’t told me about her son.
I didn’t care if she had a son. Why should I care? Who was I to care if she had a son? We didn’t talk to each other for 15 years; of course she lived her life during those years, and so did I. Plus, I wasn’t going to stay around Rainbow, I had no say in what her life was like and it wasn’t right that I even felt slightly jaded by the news. The truth was, she had a whole life that I didn’t know much about at all, and I hated it.
Being back home was bringing up so many things for me. Not only was I dealing with losing my father, but just spending so much time with my mother had me facing the reality that I would lose her someday too. At some point, I realized my parents wouldn’t live forever, but there was such a comfort in having them there that I didn’t let my mind drift to their loss very often.
Emotions weren’t my thing. I didn’t get sad or even happy all that much. I was the level-headed businessman, and I analyzed situations and prepared for the worst. But could you really analyze the feelings you might have when losing the people who gave birth to you and raised you? I was doing a really poor job of working with my emotions.
“Yeah, I’ll talk to her. It’s no big deal, it’s just a little shocking.”
“Why? Because she fell in love with someone besides you?” Maryanne teased.
“Yes, actually I think that’s it. I know it sounds stupid, but I can’t imagine anyone else having a connection like the two of us did back in high school.”
“You’ve never dated a girl who you’ve had as strong of a connection with? Tyler, it’s been 15 years,” my mother said kindly.
Her words were sweet, and I know she meant no harm by them, but it rubbed me the wrong way, like it was my fault that I’d never found a woman to bond with. It wasn’t my fault if there weren’t women around me who were decent. I dated plenty of women. I was putting myself out there. The women weren’t the level of woman I wanted.
“Guess there’s just not any good women in Alabama,” I said as I blew off her comment.
“Don’t lie. You’re just screwing women. You’re not even dating them. Don’t blame the women just because you want a one-night stand. If you put even a tiny bit of effort into your dating life, you’d probably find that there are a lot of fantastic women in the world,” Maryanne said.
“And you know so much about dating?”
“I know women, and I know you, so that’s enough information for me to say you’re not even trying.”
I wasn’t going to keep arguing with my sister about my dating life. We were all on edge after visiting with Dad, and I knew it was time to take a little bit of a break from each other. Running my business for so many years had taught me a few things about myself, despite what my sister thought.
“I’m going to head upstairs and make some calls. Mom, we should sit down soon and discuss what you want to do. If you want to sell the property, I can make that happen, but if you really would rather just rent it out for now, we can do that as well. Whatever you want to do, I will make it happen for you.”
“I’m sorry for being a jerk,” Maryanne said as I started to walk out of the room. “I’m just angry, and it’s not at you. I don’t want you to think I’m a jerk.”
“Oh, don’t worry, I already thought that,” I teased as I smiled at her. “I know we are all sad about Dad. Let’s just take a little break for the evening.”
It was exhausting being around my mother and sister during all this emotional stuff. I was used to dealing with business all day, not emotions. Being home wasn’t at all like I thought it was going to be, yet I was really happy to be there. I would have felt guilty forever if I hadn’t made it home to say my goodbyes to my father.
“Hey, what are you up to?” I said as Kelsi answered her phone.
I hadn’t planned on calling her, but the second I got to my room I dialed her number. I wasn’t going to ask her about her son or anything like that, but I just needed to hear her voice and talk to her.
“Nothing much, just ranch stuff. What are you up to?”
“Just got back from visiting my dad.”
“How’s he doing? I really do want to get out there and see him. I’m just afraid I’ll ball like a baby and embarrass myself.”
“He doesn’t look scary or anything like that. He’s just sleeping all the time. I think you’ll do fine. What are you up to tonight? I could bring you over?” I said, knowing that Kelsi had already agreed to our blind date over Dating the Rich.
“I’m busy tonight. How about tomorrow?”
“Yeah, I’m sure we can work it out sometime soon. What are you doing tonight?” I asked with a huge smile on my face.
Soon enough she’d know the blind date was with me, but it was fun to play with her a little. Kelsi was a funny girl, at least when I had known her. Back when we dated she was always playing tricks on me and trying to prank me. I really hoped my little blind date trick turned out to be something she would laugh at and not something she got angry at me about.
I wasn’t trying to be mean-spirited about the whole thing, I really just wanted to spend some time with her on a real date. The awkward small talk wouldn’t have to be our thing, but sitting and enjoying a meal where she sat across from me while we talked, that would be a nice opportunity for me and her.
“Oh, you know, nothing too exciting.”
“I need to run, there’s another call buzzing in. I’ll talk to you later, though. Enjoy your evening,” I said.
“You too.”
As I switched the call to Mike, it was all I could do not to laugh at what was going on with Kelsi and me. She wouldn’t even tell me she had a date that evening, probably because she had refused to go out with me and didn’t want me to push her for a date. But soon enough she’d realized she was stuck with me for the evening.
“What’s up?” I said to Mike.
“Just checking in. How’s is chasing Kelsi going?”
“I think we are over that bet right about now.” I laughed. “Why don’t you just say I lost and you can take my jet on vacation?”
“So, you’re not even going to try?”
“I’m trying. I just don’t think I need a bet to make it happen.”
“No, no, no, I’m not going to let you give up and take a mercy win. You tell me the details when this whole thing goes down or if it doesn’t. That’s the only way I’m agreeing to the jet.”
“Like I said, let’s just say I lost. It was a stupid bet anyways.”
“No way, man. A bet’s a bet!”
Sometimes I really hated dealing with Mike. He still had that high school mentality, and it drove me crazy.
“I’m going to get going now. Was there anything else you called for?”
“Yeah, I was going to come back for your dad’s funeral. Would you mind that?”
“Sure, I think that would be fine. You know you could come back out before that and say your goodbyes to him. I’m sure he’d like to see you,” I lied. I knew my father wouldn’t want to see Mike at all.
Growing up, Mike had always been the one I was with when I got into trouble. My father wouldn’t really care if Mike came to visit, but I was pretty positive my father wasn’t pining away wishing Mike would stop by.
“Yeah, man, I’ll check my schedule and see if I can get out there. I’ll check you later.”
“Talk to you later. Mike, take care of yourself.”
“You know I will, man,” he said as if I was supposed to believe him.
I had barely hung up the phone when Bryce called me. It was like everyone realized I was talking to someone else and then decided they wanted to talk to me, too.
“What’s up?” I asked Bryce.
“Did Mike call you yet? He seemed a little off when I talked to him.”
“Yep, just got off the phone with him. He’s seemed like his normal self to me.”
“I don’t know, dude. He was talking about coming out here and visiting me. Said he wanted to stay here with me and the family. I’d let him if I had to, but my wife would probably kill me.”
“Oh, yeah, she totally would.” We both laughed. “Maybe times are tough. I’m not sure. But I’ll make sure he has a ticket to come back out here if that’s what he wants. He’d probably be happier out here than he is in Cali.”
“Sure, except he does those television gigs every now and then. But he blows through his money so fast out there, it would be better for him to be away from the casinos.”
“Hey, did you know that Kelsi has a son?” I asked.
“Yeah, I think he’s five or six. Cute kid. Why?”
“I don’t know. She didn’t tell me, and I heard it from Maryanne.”
“Oh, are you and Kelsi besties now? Was she supposed to tell you her entire life story while we were at the reunion?” Bryce laughed.
He had a point. I hadn’t told him about the horseback riding, but still. I shouldn’t have expected to know everything about Kelsi from a couple short conversations.
“I just thought it was odd.”
“Did you sleep with her yet?”
“No, geez. You’re not going to go on and on about that bet, too?” I said grumpily.
“That bet was stupid. No, I was just going to say if you slept with her, she should have told you by now. But maybe she’s ashamed. It was a pretty wild thing.”
“Her having a baby?”
“Yeah, she fell for some hot guy who worked at her ranch. She hardly knew him, though, and he left when he found out she was pregnant.”
“He was hot? So, you are rating guys now?” I laughed.
“No, you know what I mean. Relative to normal guys, he was good looking.”
“Yeah, now that I know you have a guy rating scale,” I continued to raz him.
“Oh, shut up, man. You know what I mean,” Bryce said, exasperated with me.
“I know. I’ll talk to her about the kid thing tonight. We are going out in Fort Worth. I was thinking of taking her to see that musical that’s in town.”
Bryce started to laugh and then stopped himself.
“You’re really going to start dating her? This seems like tricky waters to mess with. Maybe you should just sleep with her and move on?”
“It’s just dinner. We aren’t going to get married, and I might sleep with her.” I laughed. “I’ll talk to you later. Get that room cleaned out for Mike when he comes. He’s definitely not staying here with me.”
“I hate you.”
“You love me. I’m your only friend, and you know it,” I joked. “Let’s grab a drink soon.”
“Later.”