Chapter 11 #2
Apparently, Aunt Dahlia and Ariel didn’t discuss everything after all. “That is just about the last thing I expected you to say.”
They rode in silence for the space of a minute, Ariel’s mind spiraling as they rode out of the woods, her father and Ethan’s pumpkin fields now on both sides of the road. The bright noon sun loaned its warmth and did its best to bring a sense of brightness and levity to the conversation.
“Why haven’t you spoken of Mr. Augo before?” Good lands, would she soon have to call him Uncle Augo?
“Be happy I’m speaking about him at all. You’re the only person I would share this with.”
Attempting to take in the information and its implications, Ariel focused on her docile mare’s steady gait. So much like her own mare, Arpeggio, on their Nashville ranch—dependable, safe. Predictable.
“We met at my recording studio,” her aunt said, her eyes turning misty. “I was breaking in, and he played for George Strait. I took one look at Augo and knew there’d never be another man for me. We saw each other every day until George went back on the road, and I stayed behind to record.”
Aunt Dahlia settled into silence Ariel didn’t dare break. How far Ariel had come from her humble beginnings. Sort of like her aunt’s East Tennessee cabin roots.
“We never could make our schedules mesh, especially when my career took off, and I had to go on the road for months at a time. I believed the Lord gave me this career, so I decided I was married to music.” She paused, her tone turning wistful.
“After we broke up, I never heard from Auggie again until we got to the island.”
“Auntie, I can imagine your shock, seeing him at the inn that night.”
Aunt Dahlia gazed at the road ahead, seeming not to notice the sky as blue as her eyes, the colony of little yellow lady’s slippers in the meadow. “Neither of us had married, and I didn’t date anyone all those years.”
“But why, when you had such a beautiful romance?”
“Back then, we never thought our separation would be permanent. Every week, I expected things to cool down and people to get tired of hearing me sing. But they didn’t. I expected to work maybe five years and then we could get married and have a few kids.”
“Five years is a long time to wait.”
“That’s what we found out. In the end, we realized long-distance romance didn’t work for us. So we put it on hold, thinking we’d pick it back up after we stopped traveling. Auggie left the biz a year or so later, but I stayed on the road and stayed single.”
“So all the love songs you wrote were about Mr. Augo.”
“Yes, and some of them that I didn’t write but just recorded—I interpreted them to be about him too.”
Nothing would surprise Ariel after this.
However, something felt wrong in her story. Something was missing. “But why couldn’t you work it out? Make your schedules mesh? Find a band that would include both of you, or start your own band together? If I fell in love, I’d make it work.”
Would Ariel’s musical career be worth it too? Could she sacrifice love for success? “Auntie, do you regret choosing a career over love?”
The older lady was quiet so long, she might not have heard Ariel over the voice of her own memories.
“The more honest question is whether falling in love with only one man in my lifetime was worth the pain of losing him.” Her aunt turned in the saddle to face Ariel, her eyes glistening.
“The answer is yes. Knowing and loving my Auggie is worth the deep pain of giving him up. And the deeper joy of finding him again.”
Giving him up…
Would it be worth it for Ariel? She didn’t know. Long ago, she’d decided never to marry a musician. But unlike Aunt Dahlia, Ariel wasn’t in love, although her feelings for Caleb could definitely trend in that direction if she let them.
For whatever reason, people had started calling Ariel the sweetheart of country music. But would the sweetheart end up alone?
“Auntie, I think you want me to stay single too. But I should make that decision.”
A shadow fell across her aunt’s still-pretty face. “I know things about men and show biz that you don’t.”
“Like what? I’m not a child.”
Aunt Dahlia blew out a big breath, seemingly lost in her thoughts.
“I’m going to tell you something no one else knows, not even Auggie.
” She kept her gaze on the paved road before them, her shoulders slumping a little.
“When I came to Nashville from my parents’ little mountain cabin at nineteen, I didn’t know anything.
So when a certain manager offered to take me on as a client, I jumped right in.
Didn’t know I should check him out first or that lots of men in Nashville call themselves managers when they’re just lechers. ”
Ariel saw where this was going, and it crushed her heart. She looked away, across her father’s field. “It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me the rest.”
“No, but you’ll understand more when you know that, after what he did to me, I couldn’t trust any man.”
“Even your Auggie.”
They rode in silence, Ariel watching the little brown birds in the trees and listening to their songs.
“So I kept you hidden. At least, as much as a woman of your importance in the music world—and your beauty—can stay hidden. I did it for you, because when something like this happens, life never gets back to normal.”
She did it for Ariel.
Maybe the Lord orchestrated it for her good. Still…
“Auntie, I love you dearly, but if Caleb asks me out, I’ll say yes.”
A look flitted across Aunt Dahlia’s face—one Ariel had never seen in her. Fear? Terror?
“He’s not like your old manager. He’s a fine man. He won’t hurt me.”
They rode in silence until the farmhouse came into view. “What about Earl’s song? Did you rethink your decision?”
“I thought about it a long time last night. I haven’t changed my mind.”
As Ariel expected.
They started up the long dirt drive, watching for their nephew to run outside and meet them. The house looked the same as ever, with its pretty gables and big front porch.
Ariel watched for Sam, hoping he’d meet them in the yard as usual, but he didn’t come outside. Ariel dismounted and, holding her reins, grabbed Aunt Dahlia’s reins as well as she swung off her horse.
“Hey, little sis. Aunt Dahlia.” Red-haired Ethan, having changed from his dark jeans and button-down to his Carhartts, strode toward them from the barn and gave them each an awkward side hug. Then he led the horses to the nearby stable, presumably to give the animals their water and hay.
Sometimes Ariel felt like jumping into her brother’s arms just to see how he’d react to genuine sisterly affection.
Mama came outside then, barefoot and wearing straight-leg jeans and a lightweight brown sweater, both her slightly disheveled hair and her Paula Deen “Bless Your Heart” apron dotted with flour.
Apparently, she’d been baking, frying chicken, or making milk gravy.
Or all three. “I’ve got chicken on the stove and biscuits in the oven, so come in the house. ”
She hugged Ariel then Aunt Dahlia, clearly mindless of her own state of adorable disarray.
“I’d like to talk to Ethan first, Mama.” Ariel headed toward the barn.
“Take your time. My baby and my aunt are here, so it’s a happy day at the farm.” She led the way up the steps to the old house’s porch. “I made your favorite Sunday dinner, so don’t be long.”
Yes, she could smell the fried chicken from here.
In the barn, she found Ethan measuring out feed for Reba, who stuck her soft nose into the trough. He glanced at her, then dumped more feed. “Sorry I didn’t call back the other day.”
“I know you’re busy.”
“It’s not that I didn’t want to…”
She understood. Love and closeness didn’t always go together.
“Could I ask a favor? Would you come to our concert?”
He spread another scoop of feed in the trough. “Uh, yeah. That should work.”
Not exactly the enthusiastic answer she’d hoped for. “It would mean a lot if all of you could come. I miss you. I miss my family.”
Ethan turned from the horse and gave her a half grin. More like a one-quarter grin. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Might as well change the subject, since he clearly wouldn’t give a straight answer. “How’s Sam?”
Her brother shrugged. “Not good. He didn’t want to move home. Mom and Dad baby him too much, and with Dad in the process of retiring, he’s lost interest in the farm.”
“Which puts all the weight on your shoulders.”
Ethan didn’t answer. Naturally.
“Do you know Harry, the thirteen-year-old carriage driver in town?” she asked.
“Sort of. He’s a good kid. Knows horses.”
“I’ve become friends with him. See, I thought he helped his grandfather with the wagons and carriages in order to earn tips for spending money. But I recently discovered he lives with his elderly grandfather, and Harry hands over his tips to help make ends meet.”
Ethan looked up from the trough. “He’s becoming a man pretty young.”
“Yes, and I thought what a different life that family would have if the grandfather didn’t have money worries. That made me think about Sam.”
“What about him?”
Ariel stepped over to the stall and leaned against its wall. “I never knew how to tell you this, so I kept it to myself. But when we found out Sam has Down syndrome, I started a trust fund for him. He’ll always be taken care of after we’re gone.”
Ethan dropped his scoop on the floor, seeming not to notice. “You did that for us?”
“I should have told you sooner, to relieve your worries.”
He stepped closer and gave her a hug that carried visible awkwardness for him. But even the seconds-long connection made her believe he cared.
In the house minutes later, Aunt Dahlia chatted Mama up, who stirred green beans and onions cooked in bacon grease, and turned chicken in her big iron skillet.
Ariel hadn’t smelled that heavenly aroma in a long time.