by Leanne Davis
“I can lift a lot of weight.”
“And can you shut up while you do it?”
He winked at her. “Of course.”
“Okay.”
“Okay.”
Nodding, they fastened gazes and then they both smiled.
As he turned to leave, she called out, “Go see your mother. Please. All those messages? She needs to know what’s happening. That’s an order, farm-boy.”
He groaned internally but saluted her. “Okay, boss. Fine. That’s my next stop. See? Look at me! Now, I’m following orders.”
“Hey, Mom. Dad.”
His parents whipped around when Hunter casually sauntered into their kitchen while they were eating dinner.
His mom, Kailynn, jumped to her feet and rushed to give him a huge hug. Her shoulder-length, thick hair was swinging around her face and she grinned at him. “Hunter. What are you doing here? On this average, ordinary weekday evening of all times!?” But he couldn’t answer for all the hugs she kept giving him.
He patted her shoulder and gently set her back. His dad was tall and lithe, and he also rose, giving Hunter a grin as he chuckled at Kailynn. “Give him some room to breathe, Lynnie.”
She tilted her head and stepped back as she hit his shoulder. A little too hard. “Why haven’t you answered me? I called and texted you relentlessly. For over a week. I’ve been so sick with worry. I was about to cross the state to find out for myself.”
They didn’t however. The times he’d seen his parents since his marriage five years ago were excruciating encounters between them and Francine. Any conversation started by his mother ended abruptly. Francine’s utter lack of response and interest made it evident there was no sense in continuing. His dad probably never said more than hello and goodbye to her, as far as he knew. Ian was quiet and reserved, only speaking when he had something to say or something in common with another. But Francine did not allow much opportunity for that. She didn’t care to get to know them, becoming rude and blatant in her apathy. She wasn’t welcoming in any sense so his parents never pushed it. They didn’t say anything. They left him to his city life and tolerated his snobby, spoiled wife who didn’t want anything to do with them or the ranch his family was so well known for.
“I’m sorry. That’s actually what I want to talk to you about. Shall we sit?”
Concern etched his mom’s face. “So everything isn’t okay? I knew I should be worried. You might put my messages off a day, but never as long as this. I knew it.” She flopped down, her hands tapping the table top.
“It’s nothing medical or anything like that. I mean, things will be okay.”
“What is it?”
He sucked in air for courage but mostly to stall. Their eyes were vividly riveted on him. Both of his parents were staring and wondering. Worried and expectant. He hated this. The failed state of his marriage. The crash ending of a life decision he insisted upon, but suspected they didn’t want for him or approve of.
“I’m getting a divorce.”
Stunned silence. They glanced at each other and then at him. Finally, his mom asked, “What happened? Was it coming on for a while? You never said anything. I mean, I don’t know her, so I can’t comment, but I had no idea you were having problems.” Yeah, the dig was subtle, and restrained, but he appreciated that they rarely commented. Francine hated the ranch and the whole area. She literally mocked it the one and only time she ever visited there and refused to return. Looking back, Hunter realized he should never have allowed her to act like such a spoiled brat. It was his home after all. Where his family lived. Both of which he treasured. She could have tried harder, if only for his sake. But she never did. He failed to put it into that context before. And his family wasn’t like other families. Running a resort with high quality accommodations and all the amenities right there for her to luxuriate in, Hunter’s family should have been good enough even for Francine’s snobbish taste.
How awful Francine’s behavior was. He knew Kyomi would never act like that. Not as a guest in anyone else’s home much less, his family’s.
“I didn’t know we were either. Looking back, I see most of the signs now. Things I might have done better. Including spending less time at work. But I didn’t know it was coming.”
His mom’s gaze sharpened on his face as she sat up straighter. “Oh, did she cheat on you?”
He snorted. “Yes. She did.”
“Oh, Hunter… how? When? I don’t know what to say.”
“The start of November, after I came home unexpectedly from out of town. I walked in on her with him.”
His dad jerked and blinked several times, showing his astonishment. Ian Rydell was adept at keeping his facial expression neutral and never visibly reacting. But this took it out of him.
“Oh, Hunter…” His mom’s sad expression said it all. She leaned over to touch his hand. “I know how much you love her.”
He nodded and gripped her hand. Then he lifted his head and saw their pitying glances before he voiced the rudest offense and the most shocking surprise of all. “Her lover? Her stepbrother, Stanley. They’ve been lovers since they were eighteen. All that time. Before we were married, during our dating and after we were married. I was their cover. Their stooge and patsy. They feared their parents’ reaction, as anyone would, so, they used me to make it seem she was normal, but in reality, she was always with him. Her stepbrother.” He shuddered as the fresh visions and words stung him again.
Their mouths opened in tandem. Hunter wished he’d recorded their reaction, it was so priceless, it was nearly comical. Mirroring each other, they opened their mouths and began gulping the air like fish out of water, with big eyes and absolutely flabbergasted expressions. His mom’s mouth opened but said no words and soon snapped shut. Shaking her head several times, she finally said, “I’m in complete shock.”
“Believe me, I am too,” Hunter replied.
“I-I don’t even know where to start. What that moment,” his mom paused to shudder, “had to be like for you. And her lover…”
“The stepbrother?” Ian interjected, his tone laced with disbelief.
He nodded. “Yeah, the stepbrother.”
“For real? She had sex with the kid she was raised with?”
“Yes.”
“For years?” Ian added for emphasis. Hunter knew how unusual and outrageous it was in the way of news, but especially now. His father usually accepted news the first time he heard about it and didn’t ask questions except to advance a conversation.
“Ten. Ten Years. A decade. Since they were kids at the age of eighteen.”
“How could they drag you into their affair? How could they do that to you? What did they expect would happen? They wouldn’t get caught? To keep you as their cover forever? She is… a…a…” His mom jumped to her feet as her anger rose and lines of anxiety showed on her face as she stuttered to reply. She scurried around the kitchen and seemed to be looking at the counter, the stove, and the microwave for the right words.
“Yeah. I think I called her all the nasty names you’re trying to think of right now.”
“You confronted her then?”
“Yesterday, I did. There’s more. I’ve actually been living at Asher’s for the past few weeks. I went there right after I found them together. I attacked Stanley, knocked him off her—”
“You pulled off the man who was literally in the act of having sex with your wife, his stepsister?” Ian clarified, shuddering at the word stepsister.
“Yes. In living, graphic details. I started hitting him; not my finest moment. She tried to block me, and get between us. It worked. I got away from them both. I took a picture and sent it to his… her… their dad. My boss. Then I shut my phone off. I didn’t turn it on until yesterday, when I finally saw your messages.”
“You were at Reed Ranch? Right down the road? All this time that’s where you were?”
“I’m sorry, Mom. I couldn’t face you. Or anyone else. It wasn’t about trying to hide
from you. I wanted to avoid everyone. And everything. I didn’t even listen to Francine’s messages until yesterday. I finally went back to grab some clean clothes. I left with only the suit on my back. I ran into her at the apartment. It didn’t go well. I yelled and all I can tell you is I haven’t handled any of this right.”
Ian grunted. “I have to say, I honestly don’t think anyone I know would have done any better. Including myself. If I walked in on a man with my wife… well, watch the fuck out. But a family member? It’s… there’s no code of conduct for that.”
“Alcohol was my answer. I doused myself in it. Laid around Asher’s house and he let me. He’s been great. But I’ve been useless.”
“Asher did that? He never said a word to us. We see him so often at work.”
“He knew I needed plenty of time.”
“Of course. It’s just… yeah, I guess I don’t know how one handles that.”
“What about work? Your job? You love that job. And your penthouse? You love all of it. She can’t just get it. Or take it. Abuse you and end up with it all? She hasn’t done anything to deserve it. She’s a lazy, spoiled bitch. Snobby too. I hated her. Could not believe my firstborn, smart, savvy son could be drawn to that. I’ll probably regret my words. You’ll end up working it out and never forget everything I said here.”
“I can imagine now what you must have thought of her. I appreciate you not ruining our relationship over it. I wouldn’t have listened back then.”
“We know. It really wasn’t our business. You didn’t ask us, and you’re an adult,” Ian added with a nod.
“But damn did I rant about my intense dislike for her.”
“Turns out Asher did too. I never knew. You guys were good. You both kept quiet about it. I wouldn’t have accepted anything anyone said, so I’m glad we didn’t alienate each other. But my job and life in the city? I don’t know yet. I’m not ready to face it. Their dad? My boss? How do I deal with that? Even if I still have a job, how do I go back to working for a family after I witnessed such a horrible scene? I can’t get my head back into the game. Into my life. Into anything. I’m kind of losing it, I think.”
“Seems fair to take time and figure it out. It’s a scandalous development. More than appalling, I have to say.”
“Yeah. Lucky me, huh?”
They all looked at their hands and contemplated the strange development. Finally, Ian said, “You realize you always have a place here. And a job. It would never be otherwise. We could find something for you to do. You’re welcome to stay here until you decide what you want to do.”
“Reed Ranch fits better now for me. I’ll continue on there for a while.”
They both nodded. “Okay. Just know we’re here for anything you need.”
His heart swelled. How could he choose a wife who so disdained the Rydells and their holdings? The people who shaped his character and let him take off and leave as if all they did wasn’t enough for him. He worried if his ambition made him come off like Francine.
“If I ever acted like I was too good for here, and you guys, and the life we have here, I’m sorry. I didn’t feel that way. I just had a burning ambition. I wanted to live in the city. I wanted the fast-paced life I never witnessed at River’s End. I wanted to try something different. To live my life more fully.”
“I did too.” His mom gave him a small smile. “I wanted more than this valley. If the fire hadn’t come through and drawn us back here, I think we would have stayed in downtown Seattle. Don’t forget, we lived there too for a short time. We were happy. It was a carefree, exciting period. Before the commitments of family and adult responsibility. Before this place. So we always understood.”
Ian studied him. “Did we ever try to stop you? Diminish your ambitions? They are big. Huge. I never really doubted the drive in you to make them happen. I only doubted your choice of life-partner to achieve them with. If you’d asked me, I would have told you she was the worst choice. She was weak, whiny and so easily cast her eye towards the next shiny thing, whether it was a jewel, a lifestyle, a job, a friend, a family member, or a man. But you didn’t ask anyone’s advice, and I knew your mom was right: you wouldn’t see it. We weren’t willing to lose you over her. But understanding you? Your ambitions and goals? Hell, that was never hard. We are proud of that. Of the man you are and what you have been and accomplished. And if you chuck all of that and come back to push a broom at the local school, we’ll be just as proud of you.”
Hunter smiled. “I have enough salary and finances even after the prenup is enacted so I won’t have to start my life over as a janitor. But I understand your point and thank you.”
He tilted his head, considering his mother. “Do you regret it? Leaving the city for the ranch? For the family? It wasn’t even yours at the time.”
“They were my family and I had a sense of home by then. And as for your dad? Never. Jack wouldn’t have survived that time in his life without Ian being here. Hard to imagine, I know, but there was a time when he was depressed and worn down, and he needed Ian here. Right here. Therefore, we had to return. I had my dreams. I got out. I came back with a different attitude and ability to care about my family.”
“I can’t imagine Francine ever feeling like that, but I didn’t realize it until this moment. She was shallow. No more than an inch deep in her ability to do things for others. For love. For honor. How could I not see that?”
“You loved her. I think that was the extent of it.”
“How could I love a girl like that though?”
“People often love the ones who aren’t worthy or deserving of them or decent or remotely good. Love just happens and there’s no way to explain whom it falls on. I was lucky your mother was gold,” Ian replied.
Hunter glanced from parent to parent. The one thing he knew, the straightest line of his entire life was: they were in love with each other. His parents had a solid, strong marriage based on a deep, abiding love and friendship.
“How could I marry a woman so far removed from what I witnessed in you two?”
“Love. Lovesick. Love blind. Now? If and when you ever love again, you’ll need to make sure she’s able to love you back and share a life that works for you. Not just the love.”
“Grow up, you mean?”
His mom smiled with a kind, amused look. “Something like that. Realize that love is never easy, but if you aren’t friends or companions? I just don’t see how a relationship can weather the hard stuff. And there will always be hard stuff.”
After his first day working for Kyomi, Hunter’s entire body was aching from his head to his little toe. She pegged it right, an hour workout in a fancy gym with a highly sought-after physical trainer was not, in fact, the same as eight hours of grueling, heavy, awkward, tedious ranch work. Kyomi’s kind of work.
She was a relentless boss. Far more than anyone Hunter ever worked for, including his own father. Ian Rydell insisted Hunter do chores until he was eighteen. He wasn’t lying when he told Kyomi that he knew ranch work. He’d taken his turn at driving nails into lumber and fencing, as well as cutting and hauling firewood, round-the-clock horse feeding and caring for the sick and injured ones. He spent his spare time after school and all his summers working in the various barns or riding tractors and harvesting alfalfa or picking fruit in the orchards. There was no choice in the matter, it was what his dad demanded. So he had a pretty good notion of what it took to maintain a ranch.
However, it was over a decade since he’d done that kind of work. As soon as he was living on his own, he refused to do ranch work of any kind. Nothing that involved tilling the land or caring for farm animals. He preferred not doing it for the rest of his life. And now? Here he was volunteering himself for free.
The cold weather made it a special degree of miserable. Later in the day, he took a break and flopped down on a hay bale in one of the barns. They were all overcrowded and smelled of animals. Appallingly old and in dire need of immediate repair too. It felt so good to get
off his feet but he wasn’t unhappy that he volunteered. The day passed by so fast. He enjoyed all the ribbing with Kyomi and her witty retorts were on fire today. She took a special interest in hearing about his conversation with his parents.
She scoffed, “You had such great parents and then you turn around and choose the Wicked Witch of the West to be your bride? You really are a moron. If my son were ever that stupid and turned away from all that loving support and reasons to be proud of what you do and who you are, I might tell him the truth. He was a horny, stupid idiot whose pretty head was turned by a set of rich—”
“Wow. Speak your mind much?”
“Yes. Of course, I do. But isn’t it the truth?”
Rolling his eyes, Hunter bit into the apple he brought. Chewing up a mouthful, he finally finished and shrugged, “Fine, you might have a point.”
Only now at the end of the day did he ask, “So what is your story? Why are you here? Why did you ever leave this place? What did you do when you were away from here? As a chick-cattle rancher when you were here, what did you do when you left here?”
“Chick-farmer. I only worked on ranches and farms.”
“Where were they located?”
“A few spots, most just beyond the Washington, Idaho border. One of my favorite places is a tiny speck on the map named Winchester.”
“Why didn’t you just stay here if you planned to do the same thing you always did?”
“Have you looked at this place? You thought you wanted to get away from home? Ha. Not as much as I did.”
“I think you’re hedging. You never asked Asher to come here, even though you could have used his help for a while. I have to conclude you’re either stubborn to the point of being stupid or hiding something. You keep avoiding something. I know you’re the farthest thing from stupid, so what is it?”
“It’s feeding time.” She jumped to her feet and was instantly crossing the space.