Chapter 31
Ty sat on Winnie’s back deck listening to the river roll over the rocks, late-afternoon spring sunshine soaking straight into his soul. This was the kind of life he wanted, but he frowned, keeping a tight grip on the knife in one hand and the wood he was whittling in the other.
It was an exercise Winnie had asked him to do to build strength in his fingers. And the reason he couldn’t seem to find even a vein of happiness was because his next physical therapy appointment would be with someone else.
“It’s fine,” he muttered to himself.
Salmon lifted his head at the sound of Ty’s voice. He loved being outside more than Rocky and alerted on every bird and movement in the backyard. Winnie had told Ty a dozen times she enjoyed coming home to find him in her house, but he still felt a little strange about it.
So, on evenings when he hadn’t planned to cook, he sat on the deck with the cats, read his scriptures, texted family and friends, did his physical therapy, or, like today, he whittled.
Winnie had told him he could stay at the house to take care of the cats—another reason for his grumpiness: She was leaving that evening to drive the three hours home to her parents’ house.
“Home is not the right word,” Ty grumbled as he reached down and stroked Rocky’s back.
The cat rubbed against his ankles and then settled at his feet, leaving Salmon to do all the reconnaissance work of keeping the backyard safe for the three of them.
The sliding glass door opened, and Winnie said, “Hey, there you are.”
“Hey, sweetheart,” he said, immediately putting a smile on his face. He didn’t want her to go, but her father had fallen and needed a fairly major surgery, and her brother and sister had been dealing with things for a week now. Being surly about it wouldn’t help either of them.
“You got Rocky out here,” she said, coming closer.
“He likes the outdoors. It just takes him a little longer to realize it.”
Winnie grinned, sighed, and walked past him to the edge of the steps.
“Hey, it’s gonna be fine,” Ty said. “It’ll be good to see your momma and daddy again.”
“Yeah, I know.” She turned back, a fierce look on her face. “I’ve only packed enough clothes to stay through the weekend. I’m going to get there tonight, get all my questions answered, assess a few things, and tomorrow, I’ll make sure he has appointments with the right people.”
Ty nodded and gestured for her to come closer. When she did, he took her hand, gently tugging her between his legs. “Sit with me, sweetheart.”
Ty could sometimes barely hold up his own weight, but Winnie didn’t protest or complain. She simply settled onto his right leg and curled into his chest. He’d never felt more like a man than he did in that moment, and he pressed a kiss to her temple.
“You’ll be back on Monday night,” he said. “And I’ll have dinner ready.”
She nodded. “I have to work Tuesday.”
“Maybe I should move my appointment, because I don’t really want to see Jerome.”
“Oh, please. He’ll be good for you,” Winnie said. “I think I’ve been babying you.”
“Give me a break.” Ty rolled his eyes. “You haven’t been babying me.”
Winnie giggled and pressed further into him. Ty wanted her to be happy above anything else, and he wondered if that was what love felt like. He’d thought he’d been in love before, but it hadn’t been this warm, wonderful feeling—this keen sense of missing, even though Winnie hadn’t left yet.
“Are you going to stay in the house?” she asked.
“I haven’t decided yet,” Ty said.
“You can. It’d be a lot easier with the cats.”
“I know.” He couldn’t quite articulate why it felt strange to stay at his girlfriend’s house while she was out of town, only that it did.
“It smells like something’s cooking,” Winnie murmured.
“Yeah. I put one of my curry chicken bags in when I got here. It should be ready in the next few minutes.”
“I suppose I should finish packing.”
“You’re not ready?” He grinned at her as she straightened. “I’m shocked by that.”
She grinned back and nudged his chest. “I’m mostly packed. I just need to get my toiletries from this morning.”
“I miss you already,” he said.
A softness entered Winnie’s face that told him she missed him too.
“So we’ll eat,” she said. “And then you’re going to kiss me goodbye and tell me everything will be fine.”
“I like that.”
“Then what are you going to do?”
“I’ll probably go by my parents’,” he said. “I want to talk to them one more time about that farm.”
Winnie’s expression crumpled. “I thought you felt good about the farm.”
“I do. Jerry should have the papers ready for me to sign tomorrow. I just want to ask my daddy’s opinion on a couple things.”
She nodded.
“And then, to be honest, I’ll probably go home, pack a bag, and come stay here with the cats.”
“I know they’d like it,” Winnie said.
Ty realized then that she wanted him to stay with her cats. He nodded and brushed his fingers along the back of her neck and into her hair.
“Do you miss me already?” he asked, needing to hear it.
“I do,” she whispered.
Ty pressed his lips to hers. Her mouth trembled under his, and he wished he could erase her anxiety and fears. But he couldn’t change her sister or her parents, and he told himself he didn’t need to try. Winnie was a grown woman; she knew how to handle her family.
“Maybe I’ll come on Saturday,” he said.
“It’s a long drive,” she said. “I’m going to be making sure my daddy has everything set up at home, so it’s really accessible.”
“Okay. I just want you to know that I’d come.”
“Of course I know that,” she said. “And you’ll tell your parents how sorry I am that I had to cancel dinner.”
“They understand.”
“It’s still frustrating,” Winnie said, frowning out at the river.
“Someone told me once that how we deal with the frustration is what matters.”
Winnie whipped her attention back to him. “Are you seriously quoting me…to me?”
He laughed and pulled her tighter. “Sometimes you say really smart things, sweetheart.”
“Sometimes?” she screeched, laughing.
Ty laughed too, glad Winnie relaxed in his arms and leaned her head against his chest.
“All right, we better get going,” she said a minute later. “Or I’m going to be pulling into Oklahoma really late.”
“You’ll text me when you get there?”
“Yes, cowboy.” Winnie slid off his lap and turned back to offer her hand. Ty didn’t need help getting up, but he slid his hand into hers and let her pull him to his feet.
“Don’t let your sister make you feel small,” he whispered. “Because you are mighty.” He swept a kiss across her cheek and tucked one against her ear. “I think you’re the most incredible woman I’ve ever met. Don’t let her make you think otherwise.”
Winnie sniffled and nodded, then stepped out of his arms, took his hand, and led him into the house for their goodbye dinner together.
An hour later, Ty pulled into his parents’ driveway, Winnie’s final goodbye kiss still burning against his lips. She might not have said everything in plain words, but the way she gripped his collar and clung to him told him everything he needed to know, at least for now.
He parked on the street in front of his parents’ house and looked at it. He’d lived here until very recently. His parents had been very, very good to him and always there for him no matter what. Now that he knew more about Winnie’s family, he realized how good he’d had it.
He sat with pure gratitude streaming through him. Momma stepped onto the front porch, clearly worried, and he grinned, waved, and got out of his truck.
“Winnie feels really bad about canceling dinner,” he said as he started up the steps.
Momma and Daddy had installed new railings when he’d first come home after being injured, and he still used them to this day.
Momma waved a hand and pulled him into her arms. “Oh, it’s fine,” she said. “It’s dinner. We eat it every night.”
“That’s what I told her, but she still feels bad.”
“She get going okay?” Momma asked.
Ty hugged her tighter, his emotions storming through him. “Yeah,” he said, his voice breaking.
She held him and waited him out; no questions, just Momma’s strong, steady heart.
“Is Daddy here?” Ty asked when he’d found his center.
“He’s on his way,” Momma said as Ty stepped out of her arms. “We ran into some trouble with Molly.”
“That can’t be true.” Ty kicked her a grin. “That horse is a saint.”
“Yeah, well, she was,” Momma said dryly, her gaze sharpening the longer she looked at him.
He’d come to ask Daddy about a few projects on the property he’d be buying tomorrow, but he realized he had a few questions for his Momma too. “Momma, you know I don’t like it when you look at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“With all those questions in your eyes.”
“I’m not doing it on purpose,” she said.
“I know.” He breathed in the comforting scent of home and faced her. “I’m going to be staying at Winnie’s while she’s out of town,” he said. “It’s just easier with the cats.”
“Of course.”
He blinked, then raised his chin. “Momma, how do you know when you’re in love?”
Her eyes widened, and her chest rose sharply.
“Wasn’t expecting that, were you?” he asked, a smile tugging at his lips.
“You think you’re in love with Winnie?”
“I don’t know,” Ty said. “But it hurt letting her go, and I don’t like that I won’t see her tomorrow, even though I know she’ll call me tonight and tell me everything. It just feels…like too much distance.”
Momma nodded. “Well, she might be a keeper then, Ty.”
Before she could say more, the back door opened and Carolina’s voice came inside. “Is Ty here, Momma? His truck is out front.”
Momma’s eyes flew toward the kitchen. “Yeah, he’s right here,” she called.
Ty gave Momma a nod that said he was fine. Then he turned as his sister came in. “I’m right here, Carolina.”
“I thought we’d watch a movie tonight.” Her brows went up, asking him if he’d stay and do that. Ty never wanted to watch movies, but his sister always did when she was sad and needed to be surrounded by people who loved her.
“Yeah, sure,” he said. “I’m always up for a movie.”
She moved in and hugged him. “What are you sad about, brother?”
“I’m just feeling anxious about a few things right now is all.”
“And Winnie left today,” Momma said.
Carolina gasped and pulled back. “Oh, of course. I’m sorry I’m here, Ty. I can go—”
“Why would you need to go?” he asked. “So I can have Momma all to myself? I don’t think I’m ready for that.”
It was Momma’s turn to scoff. She brushed past him into the kitchen. “Daddy’s gonna be here in ten minutes with pizza, so I suggest you treat me nicely.”
“Oh, come on, Momma,” Ty said, following her. “I was just joking.”
He hugged her again, both of them laughing. Ty had just settled at the counter with a Diet Coke when Bryan and Ellie walked in.
“Wow, Ty’s here,” Bryan said, and then he stopped. “What’s going on?”
Ty rolled his eyes. “For the love of eight seconds, I come home all the time.”
“Do you, though?” Carolina teased.
“Where’s Winnie?” Bryan asked, and Ellie nudged him, her eyes wide. “Oh—I mean, maybe you two aren’t—”
“It’s fine,” Ty said. “She had to go to Oklahoma. Her daddy fell, remember?”
“Oh, right,” Bryan said. “So you decided to join us for our midweek dinner?”
Daddy stepped in, calling, “All right, the food’s here!” before Ty could answer. Thankfully.
He didn’t want to be reminded he didn’t come around as often as his siblings, or that he was obviously still the black sheep among them. But in that moment, with them rallying around him and Daddy pulling him into a big hug, he certainly felt like he belonged.