Chapter 26
Open the Books
Lynn
“Miss Cakes,would you like some pancakes and bacon?” Snacks asks as I walk into the kitchen.
“Do you always make breakfast for everyone?”
“Most of the time. Scoot and Bam will eat mine if I don’t. Somebody has to feed these folks. Daddy and Jess will fix their own, but they work so hard. I like to help when I can.”
I smile. She looks so cute in her little apron, moving about as if this is her own kitchen. I think I like that she’s made herself at home in my kitchen.
“Thank you, honey. I’ll have whatever you’re making, but I need some coffee.”
“I’ll make you a cup and we can go sit on the porch,” Trevor says as he comes up behind me. I turn to find him in a T-shirt and basketball shorts. He’s sweaty, and his shirt is sticking to his skin.
I can’t for the life of me understand how he got up this morning and still had legs to go for a run. I groaned and threw a pillow at him when he tried to wake me to join him. The man is insatiable and spent the night ravishing my body.
“Good run?”
“Would have been better with you by my side, but it was decent. You just getting up?”
“Someone tried to wake me with the roosters, so I’ve been up for a while now,” I say.
“You said you run in the mornings. I thought we could start a routine together. I get up the same time every morning no matter what.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. I’ll be on the swing waiting on that coffee. Thanks.”
I go out to the porch and sit on one of the huge porch swings, tucking my legs beneath me. Turning my face up to the sun, I inhale. It smells like warmth, grass, and the morning sun.
I miss this. New York is so busy and filled with buildings. I don’t get to Nashville nearly enough to have this type of vibe. Not that I have a place like this there. This right here is something unique to being home.
“Here you go, darlin’,” Trevor says as he walks out with a cup of coffee and a plate of breakfast.
I take both, balancing the plate on my lap. My first sip of coffee is like heaven. Trev takes a seat beside me and leans to kiss my temple.
“I had a lot of time to think while running. I know we talked a lot about the past the other night, but I realized we haven’t done a lot of talk about the future,” Trev says as I dig into my breakfast.
Snacks made eggs to go with my pancakes and bacon. I hum around a mouthful of pancakes and eggs. The pancakes are so buttery.
I almost forget Trev is talking to me as the food transports me back in time. Pook and I are sitting in Nanna’s kitchen having breakfast and giggling about something silly. I shake the memory off as Trev places a hand on the back of my neck.
“I’m going to be honest. I came here thinking I’d get daddy set and place someone on the ranch to help out while he’s down, and then I’d be on my way back home.
“I wasn’t expecting this. You, the house, these feelings. I planned to get back on tour and go on with my life as I’ve been living it,” I say.
“And now?” he says and swallows hard.
“Now, everything has changed. I know you didn’t send that letter and that you love me. I know I don’t want to be without you again, and I know I feel safe here with you.”
“But New York is home.”
“Yes and no. I mean, it’s where I’ve called home for years, but this place feels more like home than anyplace has in a very long time. The more I’m here, the more I want to be here.”
“Then stay. I still want that life we talked about. This house, our children, I want to grow old and gray with you by my side.
“We’ll still spend plenty of time in New York. I’m expanding TAB and will have an office there. I know you’re not the girl who left here all those years ago.
“I’ll have to adapt to your life. You’ll have to adapt to mine, but I want to do this together. I don’t want you running from me this time.”
“I’m not looking to run. I want this as much as you do. I’m here, Trev. I want this to be our life,” I say as I look into his eyes, searching them to see if he understands I’m all in.
He palms the back of my neck and kisses my tenderly. It’s a really sweet kiss. He pulls away and pecks my nose.
“You’ve just made me the happiest man in Texas.”
“Good, now let me eat this breakfast. That little girl can cook.”
“You have at it. I’m going to go take a shower and get something to eat myself.”
“I’m going to finish this and then get to those books. I can’t keep putting them off,” I sigh.
“I’m here if you need me. I’m sure it’s not that bad.”
“I hope you’re right.”
Even as the words leave my mouth, I know they’re not true. I sit quietly musing as I finish my breakfast and coffee. Right when I finish my last bite, Snacks comes out of the house.
“May I sit with you, Miss Lynn?”
“Call me Cakes and come on over here. You’re better company than my thoughts.”
She breaks into a broad smile and hurries over to take a seat next to me. She has a chubby, girly version of Trev’s face and long dirty blonde hair that reaches down her back in thick curls. She’s very pretty and has an old soul air about her.
“Do you mind if I ask what you’re thinking about? Is it about my daddy and living here with us?”
I give her a smile. “Among other things.”
“I hope it’s good thoughts. Lord knows my daddy could use some joy in his life. I haven’t seen him smile like this in all my life.
“It’s a real smile. Not one to cover his tolerance for the mess. I’ve been wanting that divorce for him for a looong time.
“Something ain’t right in my mama’s head. Don’t take a genius to figure that one out. She’s hateful. Lord, if I eat a cookie in front of her, you’d think I scuffed down an entire cow by myself.
“Thank the Lord for my daddy, or my self-esteem would be in the toilet. He’s always been there to tell me I’m beautiful just the way I am. Then there’s Nanna. I’ve always wanted to do pageants.
“My mama laughed right in my face. When I went to Nanna crying, she put up her own money to get me started and has been funding me since.
“Boy, did that make Mama hot. I laughed as hard as she did when I won my first ribbon and the second and the third. Serves her right, like Nanna says, the Lord don’t play about me. Humph.”
She folds her arms under her chest just like Nanna does. I don’t know if I want to burst into laughter or tears. I’m gonna see that woman. That’s a promise if I’ve ever made one.
“Anyway, I say that all to say, please don’t give up on my daddy. He’s a good man and loves hard. He just needs someone in his life to love and love him back truly,” she finishes.
“I’m not giving up on him. I promise. Now about these pageants. When are we going to our first one together? I have to clear my schedule, you know.”
Her eyes round and her mouth falls open. “You would come with me? I gave them up this year because Nanna has been looking tired. I don’t want her doing all that traveling on account of me. She seemed disappointed for me, but she’s more important to me than anything.”
She reaches to cover my hand and pat it. “You’ll have time to settle in here and figure things out before I start up again. Then I’d love to have you with me.”
“It’s a date.”
She slides closer and rests her head on my arm. “I think you’re just what we’ve been waiting for. Peace, that’s what we need around here, some good old-fashion peace.”
Well, now I know why she sounds and acts so much like Nanna. My heart hurts for Trevor and these babies. I want to be that peace for them.
* * *
Trevor
“It’s going to be okay,”I say into the top of Lynn’s hair as she sobs and hyperventilates.
I massage her shoulders as I stand behind her. We’ve been looking over the financials for the Galveston ranch, and it’s a lot worse than I thought it would be.
“Darlin’, it’s bad, but it’s still salvageable. Let me call Cliff and Ann over. We can brainstorm from there. I already see where we can make some adjustments,” I say soothingly.
“No wonder he had a stroke. He’s been dealing with this. Why not tell me. He could have taken a loan from me, not some bank.”
“I don’t know, baby. This is Moses we’re talking about.”
“I can’t let this happen. If he loses the ranch, we lose our home. I’d never forgive myself. This is my family’s legacy. I have to do something.”
My chest swells as she calls this our home. The boys have already made two trips this morning to go get things from the rental to bring here as if I told them this is our new place. The rooms they’re staying in already look as if they’ve been here for weeks, not one night.
I’ll have to get after them to clean up once I get my woman to settle. She’s not hearing me. My words are going right over her head in her panic.
Elise comes over and pulls the books and Lynn’s laptop in front of her. She pinches her lips together as she examines what we’ve been looking over. Lynn places her head in her palms as she continues to sob.
“Okay, Cakes. Pull it together, honey. We can fix this,” Elise says softly.
“It looks like that loan is what’s eating all the profits, and it has a balloon payment coming up,” I say. “I’ll pay off the loan. Moses wouldn’t allow me to pay the extra property taxes this place created. I’ll take over that as well.”
“Trev, no. I’ve got it. I’ll pay it all. I just need to figure out how to get this place back in the black.”
I sigh. She’s as stubborn as her daddy. I don’t want this to be her burden alone.
Had I known this was happening, I would have offered my help sooner. Moses has been a big part of my life.
“Will you at least allow me to handle the repairs?”
“Yes,” Elise answers for her. “Please and thank you. Also, call Cliff over. We can brainstorm. It looks like a lot of revenue has changed, I’m assuming because of Mr. Galveston’s age.
“I want to see what we can bring back with fresh hands and backs. We need to see what happened with these oil contracts. That seems to be the start of all this. That and this year with the whacky feed numbers.”
I knit my brows in thought. “I remember something about an infestation in the feed room.”
“That would make sense. That was about two years ago, right? Mama had mentioned something about that to me, but I wasn’t paying too much attention to her gossiping,” Elise replies.
“Yeah, about two years ago. Cliff was worried about it, but Moses waved him off.”
“Well, the first thing I want to do is update this bookkeeping system. I’m going to get you set up with an app so you can watch things from anywhere, and I’ll be able to monitor and place orders when needed. You said you had a few guys that piqued your interest to promote to help out.
“I’ll need those names. I can interview them in the morning and have a point person to make sure things are being tracked properly. I’ll put on my calendar to be here on the ground at least twice a month,” Elise rattles off as she starts to make notes.
“Oh, Elise. You already do so much,” Lynn says.
“It’s my job to keep your life going. Let me do my job. Your daddy has been there for me too. I need to do this for him.”
“I need to make some personal changes,” Lynn says as if thinking to herself.
So do I. I won’t allow her family to lose this ranch. I know what it takes to run a place like this. We’ll make it happen.