Chapter Eight
Tyler
I wiped the sweat from my brow as I hauled a box of old magazines and mail from twenty years ago to the large recycling bin sitting in my parents’ driveway. The box wasn’t particularly heavy, but it was the tenth one I’d hauled outside on this warm afternoon.
But all I could think about was the look in Mae’s eyes when I told her I’d had a crush on her so many years ago.
In hindsight, it was a dumb move. She obviously didn’t have a clue that I”d followed her around like a lost puppy dog all those years ago.
Other than a few flippant comments she made today about my looks, I couldn’t tell what she thought of the idea.
Sure, I held her in my arms for a few minutes before we walked up the trail, and she went her way, and I went mine—to here.
Where I’d been beating myself up since.
Mae was right, though. She didn’t know me. I’d kept in touch with Brad and still considered him one of my closest friends, but I never contacted her.
I also knew how Brad felt about me dating his sister. He’d made that clear years ago, and I always kept the thought close, so I respected his boundaries.
Heaving the box into the bin, I grunted my frustration, only to hear my mother call my name from the porch.
I spun around as she glared at me. “I told you not to toss that box away.”
“No. This was the box you said was fine to toss.”
Her frown deepened. “You’re such a liar, Tyler. No wonder no woman wants you. It’s why you’ve never amounted to anything. I want that box, and I want what’s inside.”
Anger flashed deep inside me. I’d done so well letting the under-the-breath comments slide right off me, but this was different. I didn’t know why, but I wanted to fight back.
“Tell me what I threw away, and you can have it.”
The truth of the matter was that this mess was a fire hazard. Boxes all the way up to my hips were stacked in my brother’s old room. Mildew had deteriorated most of the pages of the magazines and old papers. I didn’t need my parents’ home igniting in the summer.
She took a step off the porch. “Tyler, I will make your life so miserable…”
“You already have,” I shot back and instantly felt like the smaller person.
I’d spent years compartmentalizing all the nasty names I’d been called by my own flesh and blood over the years. The list was long—loser, good-for-nothing, ugly, terrible, cheap, nasty, a mistake…
And I’d spent many more years trying to overcome them all and grow from my past.
Yet, in less than forty-eight hours, I faced the greatest challenge of my adult life.
To be decent when my parents were less than decent to me.
It was why I never returned so many years ago.
Because I knew I couldn’t trust myself not to go low, and I was itching to go low. I wanted her to hurt like she’d hurt me so many times.
Countless times.
But then I’d just be as cruel as she was.
I took a deep breath and walked toward my mom.
“Listen, Mom. I don’t know when I’ll be back out here. I’ve got a guy to fix the porch coming out this week. House painters will be out on Wednesday to prep and Thursday to paint. It’s a fire hazard inside that house, and I don’t want anything to happen to you or Dad.”
She didn’t say a word before spinning around and going back inside. The door smacked shut behind her, and I closed my eyes, feeling the pressure build between my temples.
Coming back to Marigold was a mistake, but I’d be damned if I’d make it twice. I blinked my eyes open and glanced around the yard full of weeds when I heard the creak of the front door.
To my surprise, my dad stood with his walker and looked at me.
“I’d help you get rid of those damn magazines if I could,” he told me. “I’ve been trying for decades. Your mom’s such a pig.”
My breath caught in my throat.
What happened to these people?
Had life been so cruel to them that they”d stopped being decent?
From all appearances, my parents always had good jobs. Their bad habits made us struggle, making my parents’ tempers flare.
Or so we told ourselves as kids.
As I stood waist-deep in a yard of weeds, I sighed and looked up at my father. “Don’t call your wife names, please. It’s not needed.”
Maybe most sons would have come to their mom’s defense more, but I no longer had it in me.
I had to reconcile the fact many years ago that neither parent was the victim and that I didn’t care for either of them.
My mind flashed to Mae and her family, and guilt suddenly pummeled through me.
Yeah. It had definitely been a mistake to tell her how I’d felt so long ago.
How I was feeling now.
She deserved better.
So much better than this mess of a family.
I wasn’t even sure you could call it one. We all tried to avoid one another, and I’d spent a lifetime searching for answers.
I didn’t need to bring that kind of negativity to Mae or the rest of the Evans. They were good people. I couldn’t say the same for the rest of us.
“Listen, bud. I was hoping you could spot me a few hundred.”
My insides tensed. No wonder he was attempting to make nice, or his version of it.
“For what?” My brows lifted, but I already knew the answer.
“Does it matter?” he snapped. “I’m your father.”
I shook my head. “No. It really doesn’t. I’m just curious since you can’t leave the house, and I wired money the day before I got here.”
“You want us to go hungry?”
“Not at all.” I gritted my teeth, knowing it was easier to give in than worry about where the money was going.
I already knew it was headed to some online gambling site.
“I’ll transfer some when I get inside. I need to finish a few things out here.”
“That’s not going to work. Don’t you have your phone? Can’t you do it out here?”
“Fine,” I said curtly, pulling my phone from my back pocket and opening the bank app.
“You’re a good son, even if you are a pain in my ass.” He closed the door with a thud, and my stomach turned in my stomach.
It was these games that I couldn’t handle. A pain in his ass? A good son? My brother and I had been the best kids we could be under the circumstances. It was like my parents liked to play pretend, as if they were upstanding guardians, and it was us wily kids up to shenanigans again.
When the truth was that my parents were lucky my brother and I both owned such a successful business and were both single and could afford to send them money that they could gamble away.
The ghosts of this house, of my past, were threatening to swallow me, and the bead of sweat edging my forehead was no longer from the sun.
I just needed to get out of here.
I despised this place.
Pulling the keys out of my pocket, I climbed into the rental truck I had, transferred the money to my parents’ account, and texted my brother a quick I can’t handle it here message.
It wouldn’t surprise him. He sent me the same texts when he was here last.
But the difference this time was that I was done.
Really done.
I’d paid the painters directly, and the guy to rebuild the porch.
And then that was going to be it.
No more money.
No more enabling.
They made more money in their retirement than many did working.
I think on some crazy level, I came back to Marigold searching for something. Perhaps it was closure, or possibly some childish fantasy that my parents would come to their senses. I didn’t know, but I felt foolish for bothering.
Pulling out of the driveway, I glanced back at the depressing house and wished I’d never set foot on Marigold again.
What made me really annoyed was that I”d swung by Mae’s house and led her on. I shouldn’t have. It was selfish. That became very apparent after the last ten minutes. There was no way I could stay here for any extended period, not as long as my parents lived on Marigold, which was a shame.
I actually loved this island. It was quaint, warm, and welcoming… until you pulled into my parents’ driveway. That was when it felt like the house of horrors.
Following the windy two-lane road back to town, I let out a deep breath, feeling like I could start to breathe again.
The crazy thing was that what I’d experienced in the last thirty minutes was tame. It was nothing compared to the verbal insults they were capable of, and now it made complete sense why I”d loved being anywhere but at home growing up.
Whatever I thought I was searching for on some subconscious level wasn’t possible.
But as if I couldn’t resist her pull, I followed along the main street into town and pulled directly in front of Mae’s coffee shop. I sat in the cab, gripping the wheel, and looked inside to see a bustling afternoon crowd.
Maybe a cup of coffee or an Americano would make things better.
I couldn’t spot Mae, but I did see another employee inside. It must have been the woman Mae referred to earlier.
Someone pounded the truck bed, and I nearly broke my neck by shooting off my seat and thumping into the top of the cab. When I glanced in the side mirror, I saw Mae’s friendly face smiling back at me, and I chuckled as I rubbed my head and opened the door.
“Hey there, stranger,” she said coyly. “Thirsty?”
I smiled. “You could say that.”
Her eyes stayed on mine. “You kind of look like death warmed over.”
“That’s comforting to hear,” I said, laughing.
“That came out wrong. It’s just this morning, you looked…” Her lips twisted into a baffled pout. “less stressed.”
“Perceptive, as usual.” I climbed out of the truck and glanced at the coffee shop before returning my gaze to hers. She looked as stunning as ever. “Just stuff at the homestead.”
“I’m sorry about that.”
I stepped forward, catching the sweet smell of soap or perfume. “I’ve learned to expect the worst, but somehow, that doesn’t work either.”
She chuckled and shook her head, reaching for my hand and quickly squeezing it. “I’m headed to meet the family for dinner, but make sure you tell Steph it’s on the house.”
I shook my head as she let go of my hand. I missed her touch instantly. “Not a chance. I didn’t come here to mooch off all my old friends.”
Mae smirked and kept her eyes on mine, and I felt like every cell in my body was on alert. She was gorgeous, caring, and everything I needed in this particular moment.
But I couldn’t stay on Marigold, and she was very much engrained in Marigold. It wouldn’t be fair to her.
“Speaking of, how about a drink after my family dinner?” She shrugged. “Unless you have plans.”
I laughed as her eyes sparkled. “My schedule is pretty free these next few days. I’d love that.”
“The place you’re staying has a pretty good lounge. Wanna meet there?”
“Sounds great.”
She patted my shoulder and smiled wider. “Perfect. Then we can sort out the details for tomorrow.”
Before I could protest, she looked both ways and jogged across the street, where I spotted Brad already heading into a restaurant. One thing I knew for certain was that I didn’t want either Mae or Brad near my parents. My friends didn’t deserve that.
My stomach knotted into a tight mess, and I walked into the coffee shop, wondering what to do next.