Chapter 24
We’ve been in Penny’s kitchen since eight a.m.
Aunt Ashley stands at the counter, basting the turkey, while Penny chops celery next to her. Mom is setting the table, and to someone on the outside, I’d bet we look like a normal family.
But I’ve noticed Mom jumps at the smallest sound, and her cuticles are picked raw.
Yesterday, she and I spent some time together, just the two of us.
Conversations were awkward, tripping over our words like tree roots on the ground, but it’s a start.
Therapy seems to be helping her. The distance from my father is helping even more.
And she’s had fun decorating Austin’s house as her own.
My father never allowed her to work, wanting all the control, meaning my mom has no income.
She confided in me she’s been looking for a job, but having no skill set is making that difficult.
She’s solely relying on my aunt for transportation, and Austin for money.
I know how he is. He’d happily support her the rest of her life.
But she doesn’t want that. I make a mental note to talk to my aunt about that situation.
“Cass, can you check the rolls?” Penny asks without looking up. “My oven never cooks evenly.”
Cracking the oven open, a delicious yeasty aroma hits me in the face. “I think two more minutes.”
“Perfect.”
I set the oven timer for two minutes. We’ve already burned one pan because we were distracted.
“How much longer until people start arriving?” I ask.
And like an answer to my question, the door opens and Tyler strides in. He gives us all quick hugs and turns to Penny. “What time is she coming?”
Penny laughs. “There’s something you need to know about Josie. She’s never on time. I told her five thirty. She’ll be here at six.”
He nods just a jerk of his chin and heads back outside.
Curiosity has me dying to know what’s going on between Tyler and Josie. Penny has her lips sealed and Tyler has kept the rest of us in the dark. The group chat between Penny, Josie, and me has been silent too, which is highly unusual.
From the corner of my eye, I see Tyler on the driveway pacing back and forth.
“You guys, he’s a basket case.” All heads look up, and I point outside just as the timer goes off. Grabbing a potholder, I retrieve the rolls.
“He really is. I’ve never seen him like this,” my aunt observes.
I walk over to my phone charging on the kitchen table. It’s 5:25. Tyler still has thirty-five more minutes of purgatory. My eyes drop to the text icon, and my heart sinks when I see no new texts. Liam and I haven’t talked since Friendsgiving.
Maybe today he’s happy. Maybe he’s eating enough, smiling, giving Mutt plenty of belly rubs and table scraps. I wonder if he’s thought about me at all.
“Cassie, you good over there?” Penny’s voice pulls me from my thoughts.
I blink and realize how long I’ve been standing staring at the blackened screen. “I’m good. Just checking my messages.”
Penny gives me a knowing look, but she doesn’t push. Instead, she holds out a serving spoon. “Can you stir the gravy?”
By the time Josie arrives, Penny’s house is wonderfully chaotic.
A football game plays on the television, and we’re gathered in the living room.
I’m sitting with my aunt, telling her about the podcast episode I listened to yesterday about a bank heist in the ’80s.
The case went unsolved for over a decade and it turned out the guy who did it had been working there the whole time. He was right under their noses.
I fall silent when Josie walks in, followed by her kids and Tyler a second later. Tyler takes a seat with Uncle Brad, drumming his thumb against his thigh, leg bouncing.
Grabbing Josie by the hand, I pull her down next to me and continue my podcast stories, but she can hardly pay attention, so distracted by Tyler’s presence.
The timer beeps from the kitchen, and Aunt Ashley stands, signaling it’s time to eat.
Dinner is exactly what most family gatherings tend to be.
Loud and cheerful with a side of awkwardness.
Penny orchestrated the seating, and I don’t miss how she made sure Tyler sat next to Josie.
There’s so much conversation happening around me, it’s easy to forget for now that there’s still an aching silence between Liam and me.
The men are in the kitchen doing dishes, when out of nowhere, Tyler is back, a muscle in his jaw ticking.
Those of us still at the table all watch in stunned silence when he leans down to Josie and in a low voice informs her they need to talk.
My eyes connect with Penny’s, and she stands, ushering Josie’s kids to the living room.
Mom, Aunt Ashley, and I look at each other, and for a moment, no one speaks.
Then Austin steps into the room and breaks the silence. “What the hell just happened?”
Austin and I are at the front window before either of us can think better of it, ears pressed to the glass.
“We should give them privacy, right?” I whisper.
“Should we, though?” Austin whispers back, grinning.
We’re interrupted by the sound of Tyler’s voice. I can’t make out most of what he’s saying, but snippets carry through the glass.
“…my daughter…”
“…deserve to know…”
My heart leaps to my throat. “Did he just say daughter?” I hiss to Austin.
Austin’s eyes are as round as my own. Wordlessly, he nods.
Realization hits that this is so much bigger than I ever imagined. “We really should give them privacy.”
Austin and I make our way back to the kitchen to help with clean up, keeping our lips sealed at what we just heard. Every so often though, when no one else is looking, he’ll mouth, daughter, to me with comically wide eyes.
Tyler is outside saying goodbye to Josie and her kids while the rest of us sit inside, restless and curious if he’ll spill it or keep it to himself. We’re a close-knit family, but everyone keeps parts of their lives private.
But when he returns to the living room ten minutes later, he sits down heavily in a chair and drops his head into his hands. I guess he’s gonna spill it.
“Fourteen years ago,” he begins, voice rough, “I came to Alabama with my roommate Jason. His cousin was graduating from the university about thirty minutes from here, and they dragged me to a frat party.”
Across the room Austin catches my attention by moving his arms like he’s rocking a baby. I roll my eyes at the same time Penny pinches him hard enough he jumps.
Tyler talks about the night with a far off look, but finally, says the words Austin and I already overheard.
“I’m Abby’s father.”
To my left, Aunt Ashley wipes at her eyes with the back of her hand, so I jump up to grab some Kleenex, mind still reeling.
But when I step back into the living room, my eyes land on Penny’s front door, and I think back to last month, the picture of Abby and Jay on Halloween, standing in that very spot.
I’d had that odd feeling Abby favored me, but it was gone as quick as it came.
Now it all makes so much sense. Abby looks just like Tyler, who I also happen to favor, but who on earth would have thought to put two and two together? Josie is divorced from Jay’s dad. I’ve never asked many details about that, and she doesn’t share them.
I’m pulled from my thoughts when Penny lets out a long sigh.
“This won’t be easy, Tyler,” she warns. “Josie’s expectations for men are appallingly low.”
I barely hear the rest. My mind’s already running ahead to what this changes. For Josie, for Abby, and for my cousin who now has a child he never knew about. I know Penny is worried for Josie, but right now my concern is for Tyler. He’s loyal to a fault. I just hope Josie doesn’t break his heart.
We’ve all parted ways, and I’m unwinding with a glass of red when I glance to check for messages one last time. Still none from Liam, only random texts with Black Friday coupon codes.
Pulling up our text thread, I begin to type:
We were right. Tyler and Josie already know each other.
The text shows as delivered, so I wait. One minute. Two. Five minutes pass with no response. No read receipt, no text bubble to show he’s typing.
Without thinking I type out another: Will we ever be okay again?
I stare at the text a good thirty seconds before I begin deleting. Patience, Cassie. That’s what he needs right now. But I miss him like a physical wound.
Happy Thanksgiving.
There. That’s enough for him to know I’m thinking of him. Before I hit send, I add in a turkey leg emoji to keep it lighthearted. Setting my phone on the coffee table, I pull a blanket up to my chin and close my eyes, falling into a wine-induced sleep.