Chapter 12
Dakota
It’d been years since I’d had this much fun sitting around playing cards. We’d been through half a dozen games, and I’d won all but one. I could have won that one, but I wanted Johney to think he was good. “I’ll raise you twenty.” I tossed two white chips in the middle of the table.
“Nope. I’m out.” Bo shook his head as he placed his cards face down in front of him.
“I’m in—” Johney tossed two white chips into the pile, and then added a blue one “—and I’ll raise you $50.” His knee bounced under the table, and he scratched at his jawline. He was bluffing. I knew this, but I tossed the blue chip in.
“Too rich for my blood.” Ben folded his cards. Jeff checked out his hand again and his meager pile of chips.
“What about you? You in?” Johney raised his chin in Hank’s direction.
“Uh un.” He smirked. “I am definitely not in.” He tossed his cards down and leaned back. He knew I had this one, but I think he wanted to let Johney think he had a chance. “You gonna call, or keep flappin’ your gums?”
“Uh uh uh.” I wagged my finger at them. “I’m not done yet. Johney’s smile started to drop and then his eyes grew as big as saucers when I tossed two more blue chips in. “$100 more, boys. What’d ya got?”
“I’m out.” Jeff sighed before tipping back a beer.
“Well?” I eyed Johney.
“Fine.” He tossed his last two blue chips in. This was going to clean him out for the night. “I got two pair.” He laid his cards in front of him.
“Wow.” I sighed. “This sucks.” Johney’s eye grew wide. “For you,” I finished as I laid my cards down. “Royal flush.” I reached out with my arms and dragged the chips over. “Can I cash these out, Jeff? I’m getting kinda tired.”
“My pleasure.” He smiled as he handed over the wad of cash he’d collected when he passed out chips. I flattened the bills slowly, making a big show of it as I folded the stack in half and stuffed it into my pocket.
Johney watched as I stood up and stretched. “I gotta get back. Jack is in bed, and I don’t want to be away for too long. It was fun, though.” I winked as I stepped back from the table. “Walk me out?” I eyed Hank. He tipped his hat as he stood and followed me out the door.
Once outside, the darkness swallowed us up. I stepped into the tree line and then burst into laughter. “I think he was still in shock when we left.” I turned to face Hank.
“He needed someone to put him in his place. It’s even better that it was you.” He smirked.
“Oh yeah?” I stepped in his direction. I grinned as I draped my arms around his neck. “You liked that, huh?”
“I like seeing you. It’s good you came back. I missed this version of you,” he murmured. “At first I thought we’d lost you.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead.
“I’ve always been me. I just grew up,” I whispered.
“You seemed kinda lost.” He pulled back before leaning down and pressing a kiss to my lips. “Come to the creek tomorrow with me.” His lips brushed against the shell of my ear. “Bring Jack.”
I nodded as I stepped back from his embrace. “Ok.” I turned and started walking the stone path that led to the guesthouse. I glanced back over my shoulder once when I reach the glow of my own porch light. Hank was still standing there just inside the shadow, watching me. He used to do this when we were young. He always wanted to make sure I got home safe, even if it was only a hundred feet or so.
I waved goodnight and went inside, locking the door behind me. The house was quiet. I cracked open Jack’s door to find him sound asleep. I whispered a goodnight before making my way to my own room.
I tossed the money I’d won onto the dresser and slipped out of my clothes before making my way into the bathroom. After turning on the shower, I waited for the room to fill with steam. I was tired and sore from unpacking for days. A hot shower and a good night’s sleep sounded wonderful.
*****
I knew he was there before I even opened my eyes. “Mom!” He poked at my shoulder and whispered, “Are you awake?” My eyes slowly opened and I squinted against the bright morning light. He was mere inches from my face. “Can I go with the guys today? They’re harvesting corn. Grandpa said he’d pay me.” He was grinning and full of energy.
“Sure, buddy. Just listen to Grandpa.” I yawned.
He bounded off, slamming the door behind him as he shouted, “Thanks! Love you!”
I rolled to my back and stared at the ceiling. I was supposed to be meeting my dad to look at the books. He was wanting to purchase some new equipment, and I was going to see if we could actually afford it based on this year’s sales. I guess Mom could let me into the office.
I rocked forward and swung my legs over the edge of the bed. When my feet hit the wooden floor, it was warm from the morning sunshine. I rubbed my eyes once again before heading to the kitchen for some coffee. The sound of engines could be heard outside, and some muffled laughter. I watched out the window over the sink as Jack bounced around among the guys. They were laughing as they tossed hand tools onto a wagon. The tractor took off for the lower corn field and they piled into the pickup.
When my coffee finished brewing, I buttered some toast and sat down at the kitchen table. It was extra quiet today with Jack gone, and a bit of melancholy settled over me. This was what it would be like once school started. Back in New York there were always the sounds of the city to cover the solitude, but here in the middle of nowhere, quiet was everywhere.
When I finished my breakfast, I placed the dishes in the sink and made my way to the bedroom to get dressed. It was then that my phone rang. Louise’s name flashed across the screen. I smiled. I hadn’t heard from her since my first day back, but she was always busy so it didn’t surprise me. “’Lo?” I laughed as I clicked to answer.
“Hey.” Her voice sounded strained, but I knew she was always running around to take Amy to dance classes. She’d been dancing since she was three, and now she competed. “I was wondering if you’d want to meet for lunch.”
“Um, sure. I was supposed to help Dad, but he’s dodging me, so I can do lunch. Did you have something in mind?” I clicked the phone to put her on speaker as I slipped a skirt on, and looked for a top to match.
“Amy has class, so I was thinking maybe the diner in Myers?” Her voice trailed off. “I’m sorry I haven’t been by. It’s just… Charlie has been under a lot of stress, and we’ve just been busy.”
“It’s ok. I get it. We can catch up this afternoon.” I smiled. Louise and I were probably the closest of the five of us. I missed her dearly when I moved away and the idea of spending the afternoon with her sounded perfect.
“I’ll meet you there at noon.” Her voice was a mere whisper and then the phone went quiet. I didn’t think much of it. She was always quiet and reserved. Amy was the polar opposite. She took after her dad.
I slipped on a sleeveless blouse, tied my hair back, and then quickly applied some mascara and gloss. After slipping on a pair of sandals, I walked down the path to the big house. Mom was bustling about in the kitchen, cleaning up after breakfast. “Good morning, sweetie.” She smiled as she wiped her hands on her apron.
“Morning, Momma. Need any help?”
“You’re dressed much too nice to be doing dishes.” She smiled.
“I’m meeting Lou for lunch. I was hoping to look at the books before I left, if that’s ok.” I rocked back on my heels. “Daddy said he wanted to go over them this morning, but last I knew he was teaching Jack how to harvest corn.” I rolled my eyes.
“You know your daddy would rather be on a tractor than inside at a desk.” She smiled as she moved past me and headed to the office. Daddy kept it locked when he wasn’t in the house. Momma opened the door, and flicked on the lights before stepping back to make room for me. “Have at it if you can find what you’re looking for.” She shook her head.
“Thanks.” I scanned the room. It was a mess. There were two sets of bookshelves along the back wall. They were lined with books and folders. The file cabinet in the corner had several drawers opened with papers falling out of them. There were stacks and stacks of papers all along the top of the desk in the center of the room, which looked much smaller than it did when we were kids. I moved around and sat down in the large leather office chair. The desk lamp was covered in dust and I couldn’t help but laugh lightly. This room hadn’t changed much at all over the years. Daddy’s ledger was neatly tucked in the lower drawer, exactly where he kept it when we were kids. Being in here brought back so many memories.
“Daddy said he’d teach me to drive the water truck today.” I pouted. He’d left this morning before the sun was up, and I was not happy.
“Maybe he had an emergency.” Lou shrugged we made our way into the kitchen. Mom was making lemonade.
“You girls want some fresh lemonade?” She set two glasses on the counter.
“I should be driving,” I grumbled.
“I don’t think you can reach the pedals,” Gia piped up from where she was watching TV in the family room.
“Can too!” I shouted back. “Daddy promised!” I whined to my mom.
“He’ll be back for lunch soon. You can talk to him about it then.” Mom patted my shoulder.
Lou and I finished our lemonade and rushed off toward Dad’s office. He had this giant desk that we’d hide under to escape Gia. She never found us, and it was our secret spot. “In here.” I grabbed Lou’s hand and slowly opened the door. I was just tall enough to reach where he kept the key. I cracked the door open, and we slipped inside. “Over here.” I pulled her behind me as I rounded the desk. After pushing the chair back out of the way, we climbed underneath. “He has to come in here later. I’m gonna wait for him.” I sighed as I leaned against the dark wood.
At one point we could hear Gia calling for us, but we kept quiet, and she never came in. “I hope I have a desk like this one day,” I told Lou.
We spent the day hiding in the office, and when my father finally came back, he’d forgotten all about teaching me to drive the water truck. We spent the whole next day working on that, but he did promise me that one day this desk would be mine. Now as I sit behind it, I see that it’s really not that big, and I’m surprised that the two of us ever fit under it.
I spent quite some time just trying to organize the papers he had piled everywhere, and I secretly wondered how he was still doing all of this without a computer. Dad was always wanting to do things the old school way, but I needed organization. When I heard the hall clock chime that it was eleven, I turned off the desk lamp and locked the door. I needed to head out to meet Lou, and I was going to buy a laptop with QuickBooks to fix this mess. It would be so much easier to see exactly what was going on if we got it all input into a system. I could work on it from my place, and not need to come down here.
“Tell Dad I’m getting him set up with a system from the twenty-first century when I get back today.” I laughed as I headed out the door.
“Your daddy’s gonna fight you on that,” she called after me.
“And I’m gonna win this one,” I shouted as I climbed into my car. I’d talk to Lou about this today. If both of us said something to him, maybe he wouldn’t be so resistant.