4. Ford
CHAPTER 4
ford
I stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows of my living room overlooking the lake. On the other side of the glass, out on the back deck, Lula turned her head up and howled like a wolf.
“Hey.” I tapped on the window. “Knock that off.” She was upset that I’d put her outside. But she kept nudging Peyton out of the way any time I got near her. I pointed for Lula to back away. She was smudging the glass with her wet nose. “Go.” I raised a brow. “Now.” She tucked her tail and slunk off the deck.
“Aww, you made your girlfriend cry,” Peyton teased.
I sat down on the couch next to Cash, content, grateful for good company, and ready to be alone with Peyton. But right now, Cash had one of my guitars on his lap, ready for a lesson. He grabbed one more Hershey Kiss from the candy dish on the coffee table, quickly unwrapped it, and popped it in his mouth. I kept them just for him.
Peyton sat across from us in the recliner but kept eyeing the dishes on the counter.
I quirked a brow. “Chill.”
She held her hands up. “I am chill.”
“I see you glancing at the kitchen like you have a date with the pots and pans.”
She sighed and dropped her hands to her lap. “You know I hate clutter.”
“I know you hate to sit down.” I tipped my head at Cash. “Your boy is learning to play. We’ll worry about the dishes later.”
She relaxed, propping her chin on the heels of her hands, her elbows on her knees, watching Cash. How Braxton had ever looked at anyone else, I’d never know. I had a hard time seeing anyone else when she was around.
Cash cleared his throat and I realized I’d been staring at her again. It was hard not to after two months away.
“All right,” I said to him. “You gotta be gentle with it, not death-grippin' like you're trying to strangle a chicken."
Cash nodded, brow furrowed in concentration, as he loosened his hold on the neck of my Gibson J-45. “Okay, okay, I got it.” He gave the strings an experimental strum, wincing a bit at the twang.
“It’s not you. It’s the guitar.” It had sat idle too long. I reached over and tightened the peg on the G string. “Try again.”
He did and smiled at the sound. A lock of his wiry hair fell into his eyes and he brushed it back.
"Now try hitting a few open chords,” I said. “Let’s start with G and move to D.” It wasn’t our first lesson. He’d memorized the notes. He just needed some encouragement to move on to chords.
He got his fingers situated and strummed a few clumsy changes. He changed from G to D and back to G, his tongue poking out the side of his mouth. Then he looked up at his mom proudly.
“Cha-ching.” She grinned, playing on his name.
His pointer finger pushed down like he was opening an old-timey register.
I laughed. “Look at you. You’re a prodigy already.” Now, if I could only get him to sing. He was in choir, but getting him to sing with me? It hadn’t happened yet.
He grinned and tried again, more confident and with more flare. “Who taught you to play?” he asked.
My throat tightened and I cleared it. “My grandpa. A long time ago.”
“You miss him?” he asked, moving to the C chord.
“You bet I do. He was a good man…and my best friend.”
Peyton and I made eye contact. She’d helped me see that losing my grandpa at age ten had triggered my life-long battle with depression.
We all perked up when the front door opened.
“Ford?” my sister-in-law Tally called.
I glanced over at Peyton. Ashton, Tally, and the kids weren’t supposed to be home for two more days. I hopped up and jogged to the foyer to meet her. Right before the door shut, Lula shoved her head through the opening. But Tally knew the drill.
“Back, Lula,” she ordered.
My lab whined but sat on the porch obediently. Tally gave her a scratch on the head and shut the door. Then she walked toward me, looking jet-lagged but happy.
“What’re you doing here?” I asked. “Aren’t you supposed to be in Paris eating macaroons and sipping onion soup?” Sweat beaded along her hairline. “Did you walk here?”
She nodded, eyes bloodshot.
I attempted to put an arm around her shoulder and help her to the couch. She swatted me away and walked past me with purpose. “After that flight, I needed to stretch my legs. And get a break from the kids.” She blew her hair out of her eyes. “The airline canceled our flight home. Our options were to either come back early or stay an extra day. The kids were done. They said those Europeans eat weird food and they missed the ranch.”
“Where’s Ashton?”
“He crashed the minute we walked in the door. He doesn’t sleep well on planes. Calls them glorified sardine cans.” She beamed when we came around the corner and she saw Peyton sitting in the recliner. “Hey, girl.”
“Hey, you.” Peyton hopped up and met her with a tight hug.
“Is Ch-arlie awake?” Cash’s voice cracked. Charlie was Tally and Ashton’s fifteen-year-old daughter. I clamped down on the grin that wanted to break loose. Cash shrugged cooly but his knee bounced uncontrollably. “Or Theo?”
“Charlie’s up.” Tally fought back a smile. “Bickering with Theo and wrestling over the remote.” She twisted her lips, annoyed. “He’s dying to watch the latest Star Trek episode. ‘Can we please watch something normal for once?’” She mimicked Charlie’s high-pitched voice. “‘Something that doesn’t involve little green men and weird space languages.’” She cleared her throat. “‘Take that back.’” Now, her voice was deep like Theo’s. “‘It’s a cinematic masterpiece.’” Tally huffed. “I’m with Chuck. Been married to Ashton for over five years and I still can’t stomach that show.” She winked at Cash. “My guess is she lost the argument. She’d probably love some company. Maybe someone to play a board game with.”
“Sure, I can do that,” he said in a blasé tone. He carefully set my guitar back in its case and then stood and sauntered out of the room. The kid had natural swagger. I liked it. The three of us glanced at each other, silent, until Cash closed the front door.
I chuckled and Tally laughed. But Peyton looked worried.
“Poor kid.” I sighed. “He’s got it bad.”
“Crushes are torture,” Tally said.
“No.” Peyton’s hands twisted around each other. “Torture is watching your kid have a crush when he won’t admit it.” She massaged her temples. “I just want him to talk to me about it.”
“Nah. That’s not what teenage boys do.” I folded my arms across my chest. “They save face. Gotta look tough. In case it never comes to anything. Besides, mom is the last person you want finding out. She’ll gossip to all her friends. Start stalking the girl on social media.”
“Pfft.” Peyton blew out her lips. “I’m a cool mom.”
“Yeah.” I tossed my chin up. “That’s what my mom thought too.”
They both giggled at that.
Tally slid an arm around Peyton’s shoulder. “Just think. One day, we might be in-laws.”
“Oh, you will be.” I clucked my tongue. Then I winked at Peyton. “Soon.”
Tally giggled.
Peyton gave a slight head shake. “What happened to saving face?”
“Oh, I’m way past that. I’m at groveling level.” I punched a hand into my palm. “Forget dignity. Nike and I have the same motto: Just do it.”
Peyton squinted one eye at me and tapped her foot.
Tally sighed. “Oh, I’ve missed you all.” She glanced at my cupboards. “Ford, please tell me you have something I can eat. I cleaned out our fridge right before we left.”
“Let’s see.” I tapped my chin. “I have bacon. And shrimp. And pork barbecue. And milk?—”
“Wow. I’m impressed.” She laughed. “You’ve been studying up.”
I had. Turned out Tally was Jewish. She hadn’t been able to practice her religion once her family had entered Witness Protection. But even once she, Ashton, and the kids were out of the program, she’d made no mention of it, for fear of what my parents would say. Of course, Ashton had known all along. Tally was right to be worried.
With Ashton at her side, she’d told everyone at Sunday supper the day before they left on vacation. Mom had been gutted that Tally never came to Sunday service with Ashton and the kids because she didn’t believe Jesus was, well, Jesus. She said he was a regular old guy with some nice ideas.
“I’m not a kosher Jew,” Tally said.
“Dang it.” I snapped, feigning disappointment.
“How’s Jenny taking it?” she asked with a worried expression.
“Still bleary-eyed.” I’d tell her Mom would get over it, but I wasn’t sure she would. I nodded toward the fridge. “Picked up some Honey Crisp apples today. There’s peanut butter in the pantry.”
“Bless you.” She raised her hands to the roof. It was her favorite snack. She’d want them sliced up so she could dip them.
“I gotchu,” Peyton said before I could do it. “Have a seat.” She quickly cut the apple for Tally and scooped some peanut butter into a bowl. Peyton was a caregiver. It’s just who she was.
We sat next to Tally on the bar stools while she recanted the highlights of their trip between mouthfuls of her snack. I was glad Ashton and his family were home, but every few minutes, my eyes drifted to the time on the microwave. It was 7:45. Peyton wouldn’t stay longer than 8:30. Cash had school tomorrow and she had to teach barre at 7 a.m.
A few minutes later, Tally slid her plate toward me. I swiped an apple slice and dipped it in the peanut butter. “Did you hear back from that one producer yet?”
Ashton and Tally’s spy romance series, Spy vs Sigh , was optioned for film.
Her lips twisted. “He said he’s going to pass.” She shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal but I could feel her disappointment. “Less than two percent of novels optioned for film ever get made into a movie.” She slid her stool back. “Well, I better head home. Gotta get these kids in bed.” She giggled. “Ash isn’t going to do it.”
I didn’t want Tally walking the half mile to their house. I’d drive her even if Peyton would see it as a chance to escape.
Before I could offer, Peyton hopped up. “Let me give you a ride.”
Tally gave me a sly, sideways grin. “No. Don’t worry about me. It feels good to walk. If I get tired, I’ll call Theo to come get me.”
“You sure?” I asked. She waved me off.
I left Peyton in the kitchen and saw her to the front door.
“Have a lovely evening,” she whispered in a knowing tone. “You should propose again.”
“Why? So she can turn me down for the two hundred and twenty-eighth time?”
“Don’t lose hope. If you keep shoving the World’s Most Beautiful Ring in her face, she’ll cave eventually.”
“She’ll cave eventually? That’s the story we want to tell our kids someday. ‘Dad, tell us how you won Mom over again,’” I said in a girl’s voice. “Oh, you know,” I said in a deep caveman tone. “Just groveled, begged, basically threw every speck of dignity out the window.” Honestly, that had been my M.O. before rehab. “I thought your ring was the World’s Most Beautiful Ring.” I chuckled like my chest didn’t ache from the wanting.
“Fine. The second prettiest ring then.” Tally hugged me and stepped back. “She loves you. I can feel it. The way she looks at you…”
“Hmm.” I wondered how Peyton looked at me. It was the same way she’d always looked at me. Like I was a complete nuisance. “That’s why she keeps swatting me away.”
Tally let go and gave me a bright-eyed smile. “It took Ashton nine years to get through to me. You just need to find out what’s holding her back and then help her realize that fear is never going to happen.” She patted my cheek like I was three. “Keep us posted.”
“Always do,” I said, my limbs feeling suddenly heavy.