CH 2 - #timeforachange
#timeforachange
Madison
Song: “The Time I’ve Wasted” by Lori McKenna
“Ty, I don’t give a damn about what you think. Bella and I are going to Amarillo to see my mom and dad. She misses them and so do I,” I told my ex-husband.
“Yeah, what are you going to do for a whole month there? Learn to ride a horse? Milk a cow? Yee-fucking-haw!”
“It’s pointless talking to you.”
“How do you expect me to see my daughter?”
“Our daughter. You can fly from DFW airport straight to Amarillo and rent a car. Or you can make the five-and-a-half-hour drive in the latest demo car you snagged from the dealership.”
“That isn’t fair. I’m the only one who’s being put out.”
I huffed. “If anyone has been put out, it’s me. Remember, you fucked around on me and killed our marriage. I don’t owe you an ounce of consideration, you dipshit car salesman.”
“I’m the top one at Burgess Mercedes-Benz, so I’m not a dipshit. I know what I’m doing. I do it well, too.”
“Except for fucking.”
“Go to hell, Madison!”
“Been there with you. Got a T-shirt.”
As usual, Ty hung up on me because he didn’t like what I said. The truth in my words was too much for his fragile ego to take.
I was still staring at my cellphone, shaking my head in disgust about this entire messed-up situation when I heard Bella say “Mommy” from behind me.
“Hey, sweetheart,” I said, turning around to face her.
“Were you talking to Daddy?”
“Yes.”
“Did he yell at you again?”
I walked over to Bella and knelt in front of her on my bedroom floor, taking her tiny hands into mine. “He did, but don’t worry about it. I’m tough and can take it.”
“I don’t like Daddy yelling at you.”
“Neither do I, but that’s what he does sometimes when he’s upset.”
“Was he upset just now?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“He doesn’t want me to take you to Amarillo.”
“But I want to see my GiGi and PaPa.”
“You are and for longer than a weekend. We’ll be at their new ranch house for quite a while. You’ll get to pet some cows and maybe some horses. Doesn’t that sound exciting?”
“Yes!” Bella said, jumping up and down, happy.
“Come on, I’ll make a bubble bath for you.”
THE NEXT DAY
“It is so good to see our youngest girl and grandgirl!” my mom said, her arms outstretched as she and my dad walked toward my car’s open driver’s side door, smiling from cheek to cheek.
“Oh, it is so good to see you two!”
I kissed and hugged them both, then my dad got Bella out of her car seat.
She was my parents’ only grandchild. Even though my older sister, Meredith, had been married for two years, she and her husband, Tanner, hadn’t gotten pregnant yet despite trying.
My fingers were crossed for them to give Bella a little cousin to play with sooner rather than later.
“Look at you! You have grown some more,” my dad said to Bella.
“I’m getting tall.”
“Yes, you are.”
“And where is my grandgirl kiss and hug?” my mom teased her.
Bella turned her head away, grinning mischievously.
It was a game she played, acting like all she wanted was her PaPa.
My mom started tickling her and making her laugh, then she pulled her from my dad’s arms and held her, kissing her all over her face, making her laugh even more.
I loved watching my parents with her. They adored her.
“Madison, let’s grab your suitcases and get you and Bella set up in the ranch house,” my dad said, pulling my attention to him.
“I can hardly wait to see the inside of it. The pictures you sent me of the outside don’t do it justice. This place is amazing.”
“Your mom and I like it a lot already. The property, too.”
“Have you taken a ride all over the acreage?”
“Not yet. Three hundred acres is quite a bit to see.”
I glanced at the ones surrounding us. “I get the impression it all starts to look alike.”
“It does.”
“It is pretty out here, though. Never thought I’d say that about flat, mostly treeless land.”
“Wait until you see the sunset.”
My dad and I carried my suitcases to my designated bedroom while my mom took Bella to the kitchen for a glass of black cherry Kool-Aid, her favorite.
“What do you think about the interior?” my dad asked.
“It’s all rustically gorgeous. Do you really think you and Mom will be happy retiring here?”
“Yes, but if we become unhappy, we can always sell the ranch and move somewhere else.”
“Like Colorado?”
“Nah, we’re never leaving Texas, but we will continue to visit the Rockies. It’s only a seven-hour drive, compared to the thirteen-hour one we used to make from Dallas.”
“How’s it going with the ranch hands that you kept on board?”
“Great! All of them are hard workers, especially the two brothers, Luke and Hayden.”
“I’m relieved they agreed to stay and keep things running until you get a good hold on everything.”
“I appreciate them a lot. I feel sorry for them, too, having lost their family’s place. They were born and raised out here. Generations of their family were.”
“Do you happen to know what the deal was with their father and the debt he got into?”
My dad shook his head. “I didn’t ask. It isn’t my business. I just wanted to invest in a ranch and live on it.”
“Well, you picked a beautiful one. After supper, would you be up to showing me your financial records on this place? I’ll comb through them to be sure everything is on the up and up.”
“It can wait until tomorrow or even the next day. Don’t be in a rush. Your mom and I want you to take the time to take in everything here. Enjoy it, especially the scenery.”
I smiled. “Okay, Dad. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“I really appreciate you and Mom not minding Bella and me staying with you.”
“You and my grandgirl stay longer than a month if you want. It’s your home as much as it’s your mom’s and mine.”