Chapter 5
Colton
“Moments slip by whether ya grab ’em or not, might as well hold on with both hands when ya can.”
~ Papa Duke
“Just go.” Cara stood in front of me with her hands on her hips. “You’re practically crawling out of your skin over here in the corner. I know you’re counting the seconds until Trace and I leave so you can go find her. So go.”
“It’s your wedding. I’m not leaving early.” I wasn’t my parents. I wasn’t going to bail on her. Even if I did feel like I was going crazy since Bella left the reception.
She’d only been out of my sightline for a few minutes when Cara was cutting the cake, but that was all it took. She slipped out. That was twenty minutes ago and Cara was right, I’d been counting the seconds until she and Trace left so I could send her on her way and then jump in my truck and drive straight to her Papa Duke’s house. I’d overheard her saying she was in town to get his affairs in order.
Duke Connor had died almost seven years ago. I think the entire town had been shocked when Bella hadn’t gone to his funeral, I know I was. Rumors had swirled that she’d stayed away because some of her family members were upset that he’d left her everything, but I didn’t believe that for a second. Bella loved her grandfather. There was no way she’d miss paying respect to him because of some bad blood or jealousy.
“Colton, you’re leaving. It’s not up for debate. Remember? What you promised? It was my wedding present.”
Damn. “First it was walking you down the aisle, then it was the dance, now you’re making this your wedding present?”
“Yep.” She nodded firmly. “I’m squeezing this thing for all it’s worth.”
“Cara.” I crossed my arms and spoke in my most authoritative tone. “I’m not leaving your wedding early to go find my ex-girlfriend.”
“Colton,” Cara lowered her voice to mimic me. “That’s exactly what you’re going to do.”
I grinned and shook my head.
She smiled up at me and continued, “Just go! And text me to tell me what happens.”
“It’s your wedding night,” I pointed out as she ushered me out the double doors.
“Oh right.” She waved her hand dismissively. “Okay, well then tomorrow. Before your flight. Text me.” With those instructions she gave me a quick hug and pushed me, literally, out of the reception.
Before the doors even closed behind me I was halfway to my truck. Now that I’d been released from brother-of-the-bride duties I was on a mission. When I got to my destination though, I saw that I had been blocked in. I considered going in and borrowing someone’s car, but that would lead to questions about where I was going. People in this town might mean well, but the gossip mill was always turning.
The last thing I needed was rumors starting and spreading about me visiting Bella. I didn’t care what people said about me, the stories they made up for their own amusement, I had nothing to lose. But Bella had a husband and a daughter. She had a family. I didn’t want to cause any trouble for her. Discretion was the only way to ensure that I didn’t.
Since driving wasn’t an option, I was just going to have to walk. If I stuck to the main roads Connor’s farmhouse was about five miles away which would take me over an hour on foot, but if I cut through Old Man Spratt’s field it was probably closer to one mile which cut down the time considerably.
The field it is.
My long strides ate up the road as my mind raced with what I was going to say when I saw Bella. She might think there was nothing to talk about, but she was wrong. There were a lot of things I needed to tell her. For starters, how sorry I was for my behavior the last time we saw each other and especially the last time she’d called me.
Being seventeen years old and not knowing how to deal with my emotions properly wasn’t an excuse, it might be a reason but that didn’t let me off the hook. With hindsight being twenty-twenty, as an adult I could clearly see how much damage I must’ve caused her. And she’d already been through so much.
She’d lost her father. Her mother was troubled and she’d been forced to stay with relatives that mistreated her. Some people in town had tried to step in, Tami Lynn and her husband Emmitt and Mr. and Mrs. Briggs all looked into adopting her, but with her mother still alive at the time and insisting she stay with her Aunt Lenora, it looked like it was going to be impossible.
Her Papa Duke, who was living in a nursing home at the time, had a sister in Washington that heard about what was going on and offered to take her in. He managed to convince her mother, Carol, to let Bella go. It had been the best thing for her. It was a chance for a new start away from the painful memories this town held but it also meant leaving me. I hadn’t been able to see past that at the time. I was ten months away from being eighteen and I’d wanted to believe that as soon as I was legally an adult, I’d be able to save her. To get her out of her Aunt Lenora’s house and marry her. But I knew deep down that wouldn’t happen, and there was no way that I could put her through three years in a house with horrible people using her as free child care for her six young cousins just because selfishly I’d wanted her here.
So I’d made a decision that I knew would hurt her, but was the right thing to do to get her on that bus to live with her Aunt Ruby.
We didn’t speak for months, then when she finally did call, I’d basically hung up on her. It was the day that Cara was diagnosed and I was angry and scared. I’d been so cruel and she didn’t deserve any of it. I needed to apologize and I had to do it tonight. It couldn’t wait until I was back from my press tour. It was already thirteen years overdue.
I reached Spratt’s Field in less than five minutes. As I looked across the great expanse of land, I had a moment of pause. Old Man Spratt had gotten Genghis, a purebred bloodhound, a few years back for security because kids kept using his field to do exactly what I was planning to do now. He had been known to pull out his shotgun when he discovered trespassers. I didn’t need to add staring down double barrels to the night’s events, facing Bella was going to be tough enough.
Thinking of seeing her beautiful face again served as enough motivation to end my hesitation. I hopped the fence and landed on the other side with a thud. As I straightened I was relieved when I didn’t hear a hound dog howl. The night was calm and still with only a chorus of insects as a soundtrack.
Carefully, I maneuvered through the rows of corn, doing my best not to disturb the crops. I was glad Cara and Trace had insisted on the groomsmen sporting boots instead of dress shoes, this was hard enough to navigate in tux pants. With only a few curse words uttered beneath my breath, I reached the far west side of the property that sat catty corner to the Connor farm in under ten minutes.
When I saw the fence that separated the property from the main road I let out a sigh of relief. I was almost there. I placed my hands on the top board of the fence to hop over but froze when I heard the distinct click of a shotgun cocking.
“This is private property!” Old Man Spratt yelled out. “You’re trespassing!”
I could see the roof of the farmhouse. I was so close I could taste it. Part of me wanted to take my chances and jump the fence. But I wasn’t sure how good Spratt’s aim was and I didn’t want to end up in the ER from being shot in the ass.
With a sigh, I lifted my hands in surrender, my back still facing him. “I know, Sir. It’s me, Colton McCord.”
“I know who it is. I got them cameras installed and saw you trampling through my crops in that fancy suit of yours. Don’t make no difference to me if you’re the Queen of England, this is private property.”
My heart was beating fast even though I was pretty sure that he wouldn’t actually shoot me. Pretty sure. Slowly, I began turning around, with my hands still up in the air. “I know this is private property. I’m sorry. I was at my sister’s wedding and my truck got blocked in.”
When I was face to face with him I saw that Genghis was lying beside him, nodding off. Apparently an intruder wasn’t enough action for him to stay awake. Not exactly guard dog of the year.
Moonlight bounced off of Spratt’s dark, beady eyes as he narrowed them. “Where are you so hell bent on going that you had to break the law?”
“I’m going to the Connor farm.”
“Connor farm? As in Duke Connor?”
I nodded. “Yes, sir.”
He readjusted the gun so that my fear was realized and I was staring down the barrels. “Well now, he’s been dead and gone for years, son. What business do you have there?”
I may not want to add fuel to the gossip train, but I did feel that not getting shot was a good enough reason to breach my discretion. “Duke’s granddaughter, Isabella, she’s back in town. I was goin—”
“Bella? Little Bella is back in Wishing Well?” Spratt lowered the shotgun, looking as stunned as me and half the town had been earlier tonight.
“Yes, sir. She is.”
“That Bella, she’s a good girl.”
“Yes, sir. She is.” I repeated.
Grabbing the handkerchief that was hanging out of his pocket, he rubbed his forehead. “Not like her mama. That one was trouble from the get-go. Carol was wilder than an acre of snakes. Her daddy, though, Duke’s boy Lee, he was a good man, just like his father. Never did understand what he saw in Carol. But they did make a beautiful baby, that Bella was a livin’ doll.”
“Yes, sir.” She still was.
She’d always reminded me of the china dolls my mom used to collect, so perfect and fragile.
“She’s been gone for a month of Sundays.”
A year of Sundays was more like it.
“Didn’t you two used to run around together?”
“Yes, sir.” I clarified, “When we were kids.”
“Oh well, now, what are ya doing shootin’ the breeze with me? You better get over there and see your sweetheart.” Spratt removed his ball cap and shooed me away with it.
I thought about correcting him, but decided not to. It didn’t matter to me if she was married with five kids, she’d always be my sweetheart.