Chapter 6
Chapter six
“I never thought we’d be making our own Thanksgiving dinner like this,” my brother Chase says as he pulls the wrapped meat from the fridge to prep for the smoker.
I would argue that all of us Riley boys are nice, but Chase is definitely the nicest out of the three of us.
But this year has also brought out a side of anger that is completely out of the norm for him—and I’m hopeful that he can find his way back to himself sooner than later.
Maybe anger isn’t even the right word, but it’s like the stress of everything dulled his light, right before my eyes.
“I think it’s a fair statement for most of our year, right?
” Tommy asks as he chops the ingredients for the stuffing.
Tommy would proclaim he’s the realest in the group, but he can easily skew darker.
I am much more pragmatic in my approach to things, which is challenging when dealing with so much bullshit at once.
I wasn’t sure how Forrest Falls would react.
We could easily be lumped in with our mother and cast out, but thankfully, people are able to separate us from our mother’s crimes.
The holidays are putting a giant spotlight on everything.
We just need to get through the holiday season and then we will have tackled our final significant firsts without our mother in our lives.
It would almost be easier if we believed the insanity plea, but my father, brothers, and I have all come to the same conclusion on our own.
She has a host of official diagnoses from her doctors, but it boils down to the fact that the woman that raised us is an egocentric narcissist who lacks empathy for others and still refuses to take any responsibility for her actions.
Even with her freedom taken from her, and locked away from society and her life, she still doesn’t think she did anything inherently wrong.
My mother is a psychopath.
And our family is trying to find our way forward together.
Regardless of what we’ve been through this year, the calendars still turn, and the holidays are still coming.
I offered to have everything catered in—I can easily afford it—but when Dad mentioned he wanted us to make new traditions and Thanksgiving should always be homemade, I couldn’t really argue with the guy.
None of us are great cooks, but there’s plenty of room and top-of-line appliances to try, and copious amounts of counterspace to hold our efforts.
Chase divides the meat into containers for the different marinades. “Did you guys stop at the house to see the renovations?”
Our mother was arrested after a standoff with the FBI—a thought I still can’t have without shaking my head in absolute shock.
The woman we thought we knew and loved was a facade of a manipulative monster.
We weren’t blind to everything she had done over the years; we just had no idea the length she was willing to go to get her way.
There wasn’t a trial because she quickly pleaded insanity, and her attorney secured her an indefinite stay at a mental institution.
Dad paid her legal bills and fulfilled his duty to take care of her in that sense, but the betrayal of being lied to for so many years was just too much for him to process.
Every time he visited her, it would follow the same pattern, and our mother would talk about what they would do when she was released, but that day isn’t coming.
Marcie Claire Riley will never experience freedom again, and sometimes, I can’t help but wonder if she really even grasps the severity of what she did.
I only visited her a handful of times, but all it did was stress me out more, and eventually, Dad admitted he wasn’t planning on visiting her anymore, which somehow let us off the hook.
Except Chase.
He only visited her once with me when she was being held by the FBI and has refused to visit her since. In his mind, it was all somehow his fault because the victims of her insanity included his high school girlfriend and the murder of her first husband.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Chase never visited her again. Despite what my brother thinks, he’s not culpable for her actions, and I don't blame him at all for being unable to deal with her.
“The new outdoor kitchen will be great in the summer,” Chase chimes in.
Previously, there was a sunroom at the back of the house, but this summer it was torn down—after we had one too many beers and took a sledgehammer to some walls.
The kitchen is being completely remodeled and extended into a combined indoor-outdoor entertainment space.
There will not be a single shade of light blue or cream in the entire house.
Dad hired Finn Callahan to do the renovation and Dad has been staying at Tommy’s house while the major structural changes take place.
We talked to him about just selling the house, but Dad insisted that we’ve had enough stolen from us, and he wouldn’t give up the dream home he built because of a nightmare.
He settled on extensive renovations of a few key areas of the house, including the kitchen, former sunroom space, master bedroom, and living room.
Finn suggested adding a poker area to the outdoor space and we’re all looking forward to the first game sometime in the new year.
I also hope the new year holds some joy for my little brother. He’s barely smiled this year. Chase has the best laugh out of the three of us and I miss hearing it.
“Guess who I ran into when I was in Oak Point on Monday?” Tommy grins as he mixes sage, thyme, rosemary, and black pepper together.
“Who was that?” I ask as I grab a fresh round of beers from my fridge.
When Jack wanted to build something in Forrest Falls, it didn’t take long for Lux to have a satellite office included in the plans.
Jack designed the top floor to be his personal residence then split the floor below his into two large lofts and gave Wells and I the option of each buying one.
Our lofts are mirror floor plans of each other, with a large primary space, two guest rooms, three and a half baths, and plenty of entertaining space.
The building also has an awesome—and private—rooftop space with an enclosed gym, a massive heated pool, and a spacious entertaining area.
Only residents of the building can access it, which is a really nice perk.
Living in the same building as my primary office location makes the commute to work easy, and I like having a secure place to get away from crowds—including the press.
The arrest and fallout were a public relations nightmare for Lux with Jack and I both having family members involved, and I will forever be grateful that our decades-long friendship was strong enough to weather such a vicious storm.
“Chloe Jones—a very pregnant Chloe Jones.” Tommy smirks. “I didn’t talk to her, but she saw me. She damn near ran away from me like a rat scurrying away from the light, but there was no missing that baby bump.” Tommy’s laugh echoes off the walls of my loft.
“The hell? If she’s pregnant, it’s not mine.
It’s not possible. I haven’t even kissed her since January, let alone anything else,” Chase insists as his face pales.
Chloe hooked her claws into Chase then faked a pregnancy, which convinced my brother to propose to her, even though he was planning on breaking up with her before her “announcement” was made.
It was less than two weeks before the truth came out that she had faked the entire thing, and the very public breakup happened in the middle of the local pub O'Dell's only days after our mom's arrest.
But thank God, whoever got Chloe pregnant is not one of my brothers. She is like claws on a chalkboard, both in personality and the screechy tone of her whiny voice. “More to be thankful for this year, right?” I raise my beer in cheers.
“The list is pretty damn short this year, but yeah, that’s on it,” Chase mumbles.
“Brother, no one blames you,” Tommy pleads for our brother to actually hear us—he won’t—but we won’t stop reminding him until he accepts that he isn’t at fault for our mother’s crazy.
“If Vivian Callahan and their entire crew assure you nothing is wrong, and her daddy, Murphy, is still best friends with our Uncle Frank, I don’t know what other evidence you need to release that guilt that you’re carrying. ”
“It’s not yours, Chase. It never was,” I add.
Chase just hums at us and keeps working on food prep.
The problem with having a heart as large as my brother’s is that he carries too much that isn’t necessarily his to pile onto his shoulders.
He’s a good man—and I won’t give up on making sure he knows it.
The smoker looks good as I double-check that it’s holding the necessary temperature.
I’ll baste the meat in an hour or so, but the evening is nice enough for me to enjoy the view from my covered patio with the outdoor fireplace going.
My brothers left to their respective homes and will be back here mid-morning tomorrow for what could be the weirdest Thanksgiving of my life.
I hope I bought enough beer.
Tommy
Just talked to Dad. I think it’s best if we avoid any talk of Mom tomorrow. She wrote him a letter and we just need to help him focus on the good.
Chase
What did it say?
Tommy
Just delusional chatter really but talking about where they could retire… then mentioned Cuba again.
Chase
WTH…
When everything came crashing down—or well, imploded is more like it—our mother ended up holding not only Vivian Callahan hostage, but our own father as well.
She thought she and dad could run off to Cuba to avoid extradition to the US for her crimes.
The fact she’d ever considered any of the Riley men running in any capacity just shows how long she’s been out of touch with reality.
Me
I think that’s a good guideline for tomorrow. Anything else we can do? Uncle Frank called me a bit ago and he’ll join us tomorrow too, maybe that will help.
Tommy
We’ve got this.
Chase doesn’t add anything, but that’s not uncommon anymore either.
There has been so much change this year, and I’m unable to stop myself from texting the one person that’s brought so much good to my life, even if she’s still fighting what we could have.
I’m not ready to give up on her. If there’s one thing I’ve learned this year, it’s that when you find something good and true, you fight like hell and hold on to it with everything you have.
I’m not willing to let go of Cara—not yet—and hopefully, if she lets me convince her, not ever.
Me
Hey, just a reminder if you change your mind, we’ll have plenty of food if y’all want to join. We’ll eat early afternoon, but you’re welcome anytime.
I hold my breath, not sure if I’m bracing myself for a rejection or being ghosted. Thankfully, she doesn’t leave me on read—even if it’s not what I want to hear.
Cara
Hi Max, that’s so kind of you. We’ll probably just hang out here. I invited Cami to join us because she didn’t have any plans but if that changes, I’ll let you know, ok?
Me
Cami’s welcome too. I promise, we have a lot of food… and some may even be edible.
Cara
Haha, ok, I’ll keep that in mind.
Me
If I don’t see you, Happy Thanksgiving, Cara.
Cara
Happy Thanksgiving, Max! Have a good night.
Me
You too, Cara. Sweet dreams.
My dreams will be sweet, but torturous, because they will likely once again feature the dark-haired beauty that’s filled with moxie and spice.