Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Lucille
The sound of nearby barking startled me awake.
“What…what time is it?” My eyes strained to open, hit by the sunlight that burst through my windows.
“Ahh.” I rolled to the side of the bed and grabbed my phone, checking the time.
“It’s not even eight,” I whined. I dropped my head and groaned into my pillow.
“Why am I even awake?” The barking outside continued.
“And whose dog is making so much damn noise?”
Wait. Is it Wimberly? Crap!
I lunged from the bed in a panic, remembering where I was. “Shit.” I dragged myself to the closed bedroom door and opened it. The smell of bacon damn near smacked me in the face as I opened the door and tried not to fall over. “Who the hell is making bacon?” The question was more of a shout.
“Lucille? Baby, is that you?” my mother’s voice called from the direction of the kitchen.
I stepped into the hall with wide eyes. “Mom?” My feet followed the heavy scent of bacon that wafted down the hall and to the kitchen, only to find my mom making breakfast. She was dressed for the day, wearing her old apron and smiling as faint music played from an old radio.
The small, humble kitchen table was fully set, adorned with a stack of pancakes, scrambled eggs, and even freshly picked wildflowers.
“Wow,” I breathed. “This is a bit much,” I joked.
It was hard not to smile at such a welcoming and nostalgic sight.
My mother spun around and nearly ruptured from happiness.
“Morning, baby!” Her face beamed as the morning sunlight filled the kitchen, making her eyes sparkle.
“You hungry? I made a little bit of everything for you!” She turned back towards the stove and gathered a plate full of bacon, adding it to the already overfilled table.
“I was wondering when you were going to get up, but you always were a late riser.” A kitchen timer dinged as she scuttled to the oven and retrieved a tray of biscuits.
“Perfect! Now—” She turned back to face me.
“How was the drive down here? I still can’t believe you drove almost two days straight!
Oh, how’d you sleep?” Before I could answer, a dog barked outside again.
“Oh that darn dog.” My mother rushed over to a kitchen window and swung it open.
“Wimberly! Quiet down, you old hairball! And leave that darn squirrel alone!” She shook her head and tried not to laugh.
So it was Wimberly I heard barking earlier. Which meant Forsythe had already come by.
I frowned at the very thought of him.
“You okay?” I forced a smile. “Sorry about all that barking. I bet you don’t have to worry about it much in the city, now do you?”
Not this early in the morning.
“You remember Wimberly, don’t you? Your brother’s dog? She was just a puppy when you—” She stopped. “Well, she isn’t a young pup anymore, no sir. But you wouldn’t know by the sound of it!” She joined me at the table, taking a seat. “Here, let me make your plate.”
I watched her closely, noticing the fine wrinkles that branched from around her eyes and along her smile lines.
It was weird seeing her this way, but I guess it was normal for someone to age after almost a decade.
Even still, with her long dark hair and brown eyes, she was beautiful as always. “Mom? What time did you get here?”
Her eyes wandered playfully. “Oh, around five? I wanted to be here in time to make all of this! Oh, I ran into Forsythe on my way in.” My smile fell again. “He told me he ran into you last night, and that you asked him to bring the dog up. You didn’t have to do that, you know.”
I scoffed, picking a tall glass of juice up from the table. “Yeah I did. Wimberly is Boone’s dog. As his sister, I should be the one watching her. Not him.” I took a sip.
My mother tried to ignore my tone. “Well, anyhoo, he also mentioned something funny about a critter messing up the front screen?” I nearly spat the juice from my mouth. She stopped and looked at me. “I’m sure you wouldn’t know anything about that now, would you?”
I shook my head, cleaning up the mess I made. “Nope.”
My mother made a face. “Well, he fixed it, so I guess it doesn’t matter. What does matter is you!” She paused. “How you doin’, baby? Did you sleep well?” She tilted her head and smiled.
My eyes fell to the overstuffed plate of food.
“I slept fine.” Truthfully, I didn’t even remember falling asleep.
I picked up a piece of bacon and took a bite.
“When were you going to tell me he was here?” I took a second bite and waited for her response.
“I don’t like it. Never did.” I took another bite.
“I know Dad always favored him, but he has no reason to be here.” I finished the bacon and noticed a distant look in my mother’s eyes. “Mom?”
“You don’t remember, do you?” I blinked, and her usually overly cheery demeanor instantly returned.
“Oh baby, Forsythe is just as much a part of this life as you or I. And your daddy welcomed him the same as you and your brother. He’s practically family.
” She giggled softly, but the statement made me sick.
“And whether you like it or not, he’s been the backbone of this place for over ten years.
Just like your daddy always wanted him to be. ”
My eyes nearly popped out of my head. “Ten years? But—but he left!” I nearly choked on my bacon. “He’s not his son!” My mother snorted as I gulped down the large glass of orange juice before me.
“Oh Lucille,” she cooed. “When will you learn to let that nonsense go? So much has changed since then.” Her fingers reached out and played with a piece of my hair.
“But you haven’t. Still so wild.” She sighed.
“Forsythe is a good man. He may be a little rough around the edges, but he works harder than anyone else on the ranch, even old Cooper. And you know how your daddy felt about him.” She dropped my hair and leaned back in her chair.
“Don’t go giving him a hard time. That man is the sole reason this whole ranch didn’t go under after your father—” She stopped herself.
“Well, anyhoo, just try to play nice, okay, baby?” She patted my hand and jumped up from her seat.
My brow furrowed as a familiar and unsettling feeling crept up my spine. “You said he kept the ranch from going under? What does that even mean?” I watched as my mother made herself a cup of coffee and ignored me. “What’s going on with the ranch? Is money tight? Mom?”
“Lucille, stop.” She huffed. “I don’t want to talk about it, alright? There’s enough negativity in this world, and I can’t go wasting my energy on any more of it.”
I stood up from my chair. “You can’t just ignore these kinds of things, Mom. Trust me. Money problems don’t just go away.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m serious. What happened?” Her eyes refused to meet mine. “Mom, please.”
She stomped her foot. “Oh, why do you have to go and spoil the mood!” She then brushed past me and sat back at the table, rubbing her head.
“After your daddy…well, things were fine at first, but eventually, I just couldn’t keep up with all the bills and such.
The new barn, paying the ranch hands, feeding everybody.
Hell, it’s a lot. And then one day your daddy’s lawyer shows up and tells me about these old bills and funeral costs, and the more he drawled on, the more I tuned it all out.
It felt endless. I thought I could muster through with small financial cuts and even sold some of our best livestock, but no matter how much I tried, I just couldn’t do it.
I got so swept up with trying to save everything that somehow I ended up just putting us back further.
” She took a sip of her coffee. “But that was years ago. You don’t need to worry yourself over that now.
Things are fine and how they should be. How he always wanted them to be. ”
Her last sentence left me uneasy.
I placed my hand on her shoulder with a heavy sigh. “If you need money, then tell me. It’s not much, but I’ve worked hard and have a little bit saved up. I can help. Boone can’t earn anything, and I’m sure his medical bills are an added stress you don’t need right now.”
My mother patted my hand. “I didn’t ask you here to give me money, Lucille. I told you, the ranch is fine.”
“What about Boone’s medical bills? How are you going to pay for those?”
She huffed. “Everything is fine, Lucille. It’s all taken care of.”
Taken care of? How?
“But Mom—”
“I said leave it, Lucille.” We sat in silence for a moment.
Things must’ve been really bad. Why didn’t she tell me? And why won’t she talk to me about it?
My mother lowered her head and sighed. “Finish your breakfast, baby. And if you’re up for it, you should go visit Cooper and the others. I’m sure they’d love to see you after being away for so long.”
I took a bite of the pancakes and nearly melted at how good they tasted. “What about Boone?” I asked. “I came all the way here to help you with him, not play catch-up with the old ranch hands.”
She giggled at my remark. “All in due time, baby. There’s no need to rush things. You’ve been away from home for so long.” She stood up and walked over, kissing the top of my head. “Just say hi.” She stroked my hair. “Can you do that for me?”
She’s still the same.
I reluctantly nodded. “Whatever you need, Mom. But promise me something?” I looked up and met her eyes. “Next time you need help, don’t be afraid to come to me. Okay? I mean it. I might not have always been around, but I’m here now. And I’ll do whatever I can to help.”
She smiled. “Okay, baby. Now, play nice.”
If I have to…but no promises.