Chapter 15
Dax
I know the guys think I wimped out with the baling. I was there and left before anyone else, promising to be back at sunrise tomorrow. The more I thought about Molly, the more I needed to talk to Kandace. It’s not only Molly but also Quintessential Treasures.
It’s not like I slept much last night. All night long, I tossed and turned.
At first, I was shocked. As the night progressed, pissed would be a better description.
It seems the whole damn world of Riverbend knows about my daughter and yet not one person—not even my grandmother—thought I should know.
In all fairness, besides family, Cory is the only one I’ve truly stayed in contact with.
And a text that said ‘your daughter lost her bottom front tooth’ would have sent my world spinning.
I would have thought it was sent to the wrong person.
The truth is that my world is spinning.
This morning when the sun rose, I drove out to Ricky’s farm.
For a few hours I was seventeen or eighteen again.
While playing softball may not be like riding a bike, working hard is.
Before nine a.m. the sweat was pouring off us and my blue jeans and socks were covered in burrs.
By noon, I’d drunk a gallon of water and could have eaten a horse, and by two, my back was on fire.
Not sunburn. I kept my shirt on. It was and is the muscles.
My personal trainer and I will have words when I get back to Chicago.
I don’t care about the pain. I plan to be back tomorrow.
After a shower—the water heater is finally working—and a sandwich made with groceries I purchased yesterday, I went to the closet upstairs and checked the storage totes. I’m not sure why I didn’t look at them last night, other than last night I spent hours staring at pictures.
I imagined being with Kandace as Molly grew. I woke up thinking I was hearing a baby cry. Molly isn’t a baby. Molly grew from an infant to a toddler, to a child without me, without a dad.
Though I spoke with Mom last night, I haven’t heard from her or Dad today.
Everything about being a loving father I learned from the man who lived in this house.
Finally, my thoughts settled on something that I hadn’t considered.
When I was born, my parents and I lived in Oakmont.
Grandpa and Grandma were here in Riverbend.
They visited and we visited, but it wasn’t until I was a young teenager that I started spending my summers with them.
Grandma Ruth never experienced with me what she got with Molly.
I began to change my focus from how my having a daughter affects me to how it affected her.
In the pictures of Grandma and Molly, my grandmother is full of joy.
It radiates from her soft brown eyes. Her smile is full, and I see the way she looks at her great-granddaughter.
Kandace chose to let Grandma Ruth be a part of my daughter’s life.
Molly knew the love of a great woman, more than one, but she was able to experience what I didn’t until I was older.
In the six years since Grandpa John died, Grandma Ruth lived. She loved. She had joy.
That revelation is something I want to thank Kandace for.
As soon as I opened the totes, I knew they contained the items Kandace was searching for.
I could let her know and tell her to get them.
There is the possibility that she could send Justin or her father.
While Mr. Sheers was always nice to me, understandably, he may have changed his mind. Justin obviously has.
Driving down the lane behind the stores, I found Quintessential Treasures. As a kid, I used the back door more than the front. Of course, the door was locked. That was when luck suddenly found me.
Joyce came out of the back of the Main Street Diner with a bag of garbage for the dumpster and asked me what I was doing.
My answer was genuine. “Trying to do the right thing.”
She smiled. “Are your eyes open?”
I nodded. “My ears too.”
“What do you need?”
I explained the totes and boxes I had in the trunk and back seat.
A minute or two later, she and a busboy from the diner were back with a key.
Quietly, the three of us took the containers into the back room of the store.
Beyond the curtain, we could see that the front was filled with patrons and Kandace and Chloe were busy tending to their needs.
Neither one saw us.
For a moment, I stood in the back room and took it all in.
In many ways, what I saw of Quintessential Treasures looked exactly as it had six or even fifteen years ago. In other ways, much like the house, there were changes.
After I left a note for Kandace, we all slipped out, and Joyce locked the door behind us.
“You didn’t tell me,” I said after the busboy went back to the diner. “She was there, and you didn’t say a word.”
“Not my place to tell you anything, Dax Richards. You’re a man. I’m happy you took the time to look and listen.”
“I think I’m scared.” I grinned. “I know I’m petrified.”
Joyce nodded. “Then you’re on the right track.”
“Tell me about Molly. Does she always eat breakfast with you?”
“Honey, the person with all the answers is in there.” She lifted her chin toward the back door of the store. “You just need to ask.”
That brings me to now.
My watch, which is now on the right time, tells me that Quintessential Treasures closed an hour ago. I’ve paced around this old house from room to room. I even checked my phone every five minutes in case someone gave Kandace my number. Unlike her, my number has changed from the number years ago.
Could that be why she never told me?
No. Grandma would have given her my new number.
I’m about to give up that Kandace is going to show and crack open the six-pack sitting in the refrigerator when the doorbell rings. There’s no way to explain what I’m feeling. It’s a mix of excitement and fear, happiness and sadness, highs and lows—in other words, I’m a fucking mess.
In hindsight, I’m thankful Kandace left last night, giving me time to think.
Taking a deep breath, I go to the door.
For a second, I hesitate.
It’s only a second.
Opening the door, I’m met with the woman who still takes my breath away. There’s exhaustion in her expression, yet her posture is straight and tall. Her hair is pulled back and her shirt says Quintessential Treasures over her left breast. I can’t let my gaze linger.
As the silence remains, I motion inside. “Please come in.”
There is more hesitation.
“You came,” I say.
“I came to thank you for bringing the holiday inventory to the store. I didn’t plan beyond that,” she says, still standing on the stoop. “I almost didn’t make it here.”
“I’m glad you did,” I reply with a grin. “Thank you for coming. And you’re welcome for the boxes and totes.” Again, I gesture inside.
With a nod, Kandace steps forward, but instead of coming into the house farther, she stops in the foyer as I close the door behind her.
“I have water or beer,” I offer.
“I need to get home.”
“To Molly.”
Her blue eyes meet mine. “Dax, you did your part. You don’t owe me or Molly anything.”
“How could you not tell me?” My question comes out harsher than I planned.
She stands tall, straightening her neck. “The last time I saw you, you told me you’d be back. That never happened.”
“Shit.” I run my hand over my hair. “You didn’t give me a chance.”
“I gave you six years.”
My tone mellows. “Molly is mine.” I’m not sure if that’s a question. I know the answer.
“No, she isn’t.”
It’s as if my heart drops from my chest. “She’s not? I saw the pictures of you pregnant. Who is her father?”
“I heard about the pictures.”
Of course she did. News travels fast in Riverbend. Still, I try to explain. “Grandma Ruth had a box in her closet with pictures back before Molly was born.”
Kandace’s lips come together as her head shakes. “She’s not yours.”