“Are you sure you want to give him another chance?” He asks quietly. There’s no judgement in the way he looks at me, or in how he asks me. But he’s concerned, and who can blame him. “Would you think me stupid if I said yes?” His opinion matters, but I also know he’s biased, subjective when it comes to my parents. But he also knows my dad isn’t the villain in my story, and for all I know, he could’ve been nothing more than a puppet. I never did ask him why he divorced my mom, but it might be a conversation worth having. In time. “Be honest with me, please.”
“Well, I find it suspicious that we just so happened to hire his construction company,” he says. “Don’t you?”
“No, I think that was just a fluke. I know my dad, he wouldn’t try insert himself in my life like that. When he said he wanted to be part of my life again, I think I believed him.” After crying, and soaking in the bath, I replayed what he said, and how he said it, in my mind, over and over again until I came to the conclusion that there was nothing but sincerity and regret in his words, his actions. In hindsight, signing those emancipation papers is the best thing he could have done for me, and the only way to get me away from my mom. Maybe I was remiss in thinking it was easy for him to do that, or that he did it as willingly as I suspected. He protected me by letting me go, but I can’t help but feel there’s more to the story, things I wasn’t privy to growing up.
“Ugh,” I groan. “There’s so much going through my head right now, I don’t know what I want, and that makes me feel weak. I don’t like feeling weak.”
Thorin brushes my hair from my face, brushing his thumbs under my puffy, red eyes. “You’re not weak, Reese, and wanting your dad back in your life doesn’t make you a fraud. It makes you human.”
I lick my lips, and swallow. “If I decide to give him another chance, will you be willing to do the same? Or at least try, for me?”
“I just don’t want you to get hurt, again. You’re everything to me, babe. So, for you, I’ll try.” Oh, this beautiful, wonderful man.
I lean my head on his shoulder, and allow his warmth, his strength, to seep into my bones, my marrow, my soul. “That’s all I’m asking for, Thorin. That you’ll try. And of he hurts me again, that you be there to piece me back together.”
He kisses my head, and inhales. “Anything for you. Always.”
“Can we still take Eli to see the horses, and have that picnic? I could use the distraction.”
“Are you sure? I thought maybe you’d rather stay in, and we could watch that show you’re obsessed with on Netflix.”
“That does sound good, but locking myself away for the rest of the day isn’t going to help me, it’s not healthy. I’d much rather spend some time outside, with you and Eli.”
“Okay.” He stands, and pulls me to my feet, giving me a long, lingering kiss. It soothes me in ways other things can’t, it tells me he supports me, and that’s what I need most. “Whatever you want.”
That’s what he gives me, a day with him, and Eli, and the horses, and a picnic under an oak tree. And long after the sun has set, and Eli’s been put to bed, Thorin touches me with care, loves me with devotion, and wordlessly promises me that whatever happens next, we’ll get through it together.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Thorin
He has to be here.
I look around Jameson’s, searching for a dark head of hair amongst a thick crowd of youngsters gathered inside. A few people pass, say their hello’s, and thankfully no one asks me for an autograph. I’m never intentionally rude to fans, or people from my hometown, but I’m on a mission. Since her dad’s arrival, Reese has been a little more subdued, and thrown herself into work, and her upcoming launch. We haven’t spoken about her dad again, I’ve given her space without her having to ask, but the truth is, I want to know Mr. Hayes’ true intentions. No one else finds it suspicious that his construction company just so happened to be hired, but Benji received a call from Andre, Mr. Hayes’ partner, said he’s letting Mr. Hayes take over because he has other projects to see to in Dallas. Awfully convenient, given the timing. Which is why I’m here. After my eyes roam the faces in the crowd, I spot him at a booth in the far corner, eating dinner while watching sports on the television mounted on the wall. The version of him I remember is a far cry from the man I see now, not that I saw him much growing up. And when I did, he usually remained quiet while his wife ranted and raved about something. He carried more weight back then—Reese is built just like him—but now he’s lean, and muscular, his hair peppered with grey and his skin less youthful. The man looks good, I admit, but the lines on his face, and its leathery appearance tell me he’s been through the wringer. Nevertheless, I sought him out for a purpose, and if Reese knew I was here, she’d be pissed. I asked Mya to keep her busy, though. That girl is as loyal as they come, and when I told her where I was going, she had no qualms keeping my secret. She wants to know why Reese’s dad is really here, almost as much as I do. Reese asked me to try and give the man a second chance, for her, but I want him to give me reason to.
I stop beside his booth. “Mind if I join you?”
He looks up at me with eyes so much like his daughter’s, and where I expect to find surprise, there is none. He gestures for me to take a seat. “Took you long enough,” he says, wiping his mouth. “Drink?”
He’s relaxed, and more astute than I gave him credit for. He was obviously expecting me, and much sooner, by the sounds of it. He’s only been in town three days, but hasn’t set foot on the ranch again, even though he’s taken over our construction.
“Whatever’s on tap is fine.”
He signals for the waitress, and orders two beers before pushing his empty plate away. He leans forward, and folds his arms on the table. From my vantage point, I can see parts of Reese in his features—his mouth, his eyes, his chin, his nose. In fact, she looks way more like her old man than she does her bitch of a mother.
“Name’s Walker,” he says. “We never really got introduced when you were in high school with Reese.”
The waitress brings our drinks, sashays away to another table. I take a sip, and hum, never breaking eye contact. When I don’t say anything, he continues. “You want to know why I’m here.”
I put my glass on the table, lean forward. Gotta give the guy credit, despite my size he doesn’t flinch. “I believe Benji when he says he had no idea it was your company we hired, but having you show up unannounced isn’t sitting well with me, especially now that you’re in charge and your partner was called back to Dallas.”
“I’ll be honest with you, Thorin, and whether you believe me is up to you. Andre was called back to Dallas, something went wrong on one of our job sites, and since it was his project, he had to handle it. Coming here wasn’t an easy decision, which is why I called your mom first, but since it’s my company, I had little choice in the matter. The tough part was deciding whether to see Reese, or not.”
The fact that he called my mom irks me some. “Why’d you call my mom? I wasn’t even aware you two knew each other.” From what Reese has told me, our parents had little to no contact when we were in high school. My parents did what they could to help her, protect her, but as outsiders, they couldn’t interfere in what happened in the Hayes’ household.
“I reached out to your mom after my divorce, that’s how I know Reese was at Auburn, how I knew she came back to Horseshoe Bay after she graduated. Her emancipation prevented me from contacting her, an explicit condition I don’t even think she knew about. Maggie kept an eye on her for me, filled me in when I called just so I knew she was doing okay.” He exhales. “I’m not the monster you think I am, but I made my mistakes, and it cost me everything.”
I search his gaze for an untruth, some kind of ruse, but his words are honest, and behind it all, I hear the sorrow, the heartache, the grief. I don’t want to feel sorry for this man. “Why didn’t you ever stop your wife from breaking Reese? Why’d you let it go on for as long as it did?” These are questions that R
eese should be asking, but they’ve been burning a hole in my gut for three damn days, and I have to know.
“Before Reese was born, Constance, her mother, was a different person. We were high school sweethearts, and I’d have given her the world if I could, that’s how much I loved her. But never in a million years did I think she’d become what she did. When Reese was born, Constance suffered from postpartum depression, to the point where she wouldn’t look at or even touch Reese. She refused to breastfeed her, refused to show her any kind of affection.” What the ever-loving fuck? “I didn’t even know about postpartum depression back then, but I sent Constance to a therapist to help deal with her feelings, and for a while, I thought it was working. While I did almost everything for Reese when she was a baby, Constance slowly started trying, and for a year things were better. I thought we’d finally gotten through the worst of it, but the older Reese got, the uglier her mother became. I thought maybe if we’d never had her, Constance wouldn’t have been like that, but that would imply I regret having my daughter, and I don’t. Not for a single second.”
“And you never thought about leaving?” I can’t help but sound incredulous, because hell, who’d put a baby through that kind of hell?
“I thought about it many times, but the part of me that believed things would get better was bigger than the part that wanted to leave. Love is blind like that, Thorin, and no matter what, I loved my wife.”
“More than your daughter, obviously.”
“No, Reese was—is—the best thing that ever happened to me, but the love you have for your child, and the love you have for your spouse is different, something you’ll understand one day. And to be frank, the idea of raising my little girl alone terrified me. My parents died shortly after Reese’s first birthday, and Constance’s parents died when she was in high school. She was raised by her grandaddy, and he was a hard man. When I sent Constance for therapy, it became clear that she lacked that maternal instinct most women are born with. She didn’t have a woman in her life to show her how to be a mother, and when it came to Reese, she had no idea what to do. Shutting Reese out was easier, and being hard on her, the way she was, was all she knew because that’s how her grandaddy raised her.”
I sit back, and let out a heavy breath. When I came here tonight, hellbent on getting answers, this was not what I expected. And, however wrong it was, it makes sense, the way Reese’s mother treated her. Doesn’t excuse it, though.
“And those fat camps her mother sent her to? You expect me to believe you didn’t allow it?”
Walker shakes his head, and for the first time tonight, he looks embarrassed, shamefaced. “I didn’t know Constance sent her until Reese was already gone. She told me she was worried about Reese’s health, and being the fool I was, I thought her concern was genuine, and that maybe, she finally started caring. But after the third camp, when I realized Constance didn’t care at all, that she was just embarrassed by how Reese looked, it was too late. Reese already had it in her head that she was unlovable, that there was something wrong with her, and I didn’t know how to fix it, and when she tried to kill herself, I just about lost my mind. I hated that Reese believed she wasn’t beautiful, or that no one would love her just because she didn’t look like the girls she went to school with. I only understood how deep the damage went when they called us to the hospital, after you saved her life.” He lifts his head, his lashes wet, and wipes his face with a napkin. “I never thanked you for that, for saving my little girl.”
I want to hate this man, I really do, but I just can’t. Sure, I’m angry with him, but I pity him more than anything else. In my mind, it was cut-and-dry, he hurt Reese and didn’t care. But I’m so far off the mark, a blind man can see Walker Hayes isn’t the monster I’d painted him out to be in my head. This man gave up his daughter to protect her the only way he knew how, would I be able to do the same thing if I were in his shoes? “You weren’t the only one who fucked up where Reese is concerned,” I confess. “I blamed myself for that night for years, and it was only until I came back that I faced what I’d done.”
“You love her,” he states. “That much is plain as day.”
“I do, which is why I will do everything to protect her.”
“I’m not here to hurt her, if that’s what you’re worried about. In fact, I had doubts about seeing her again, I was afraid she’d want nothing to do with me, and Lord knows I wouldn’t blame her. But it was Maggie who persuaded me to try.” I’m going to have words with my mom about this. She should have told me.
“You mentioned that you and Mrs. Hayes got a divorce after Reese left. Is that why you sold the house here, and left?”
“Yes. A month after I signed Reese’s emancipation documents, I couldn’t take it anymore. I knew if I stayed with Constance, I’d never have a chance to be part of Reese’s life again, and that outweighed any love I had left for my wife. So I left her, and moved to Dallas. Been there ever since.”
“And why come back now? Surely you know how it looks, given the circumstances.”
“I do, but I had no idea Andre had taken you on as a client until he asked me to take over, he didn’t have a chance to brief me. I don’t blame you for questioning my intentions, either, given the timing of it all, and I won’t lie and say I didn’t see an opportunity. But if this is the only chance I get to be a part of Reese’s life again, I’m going to take it.”
At least he’s honest, I can respect that. “Have you told Reese about her mother?”
“I wanted to give her some time to get used to the idea of having me around again, but I was going to tell her when the time was right. It’s going to upset her.”
Not going to dispute that. “If she’s ever going to let you in and trust you again, she deserves to know.”
I check my phone for the time. It’s not too late, and Reese will still be up. I contemplate how to do this, and decide it’s best to grab the bull by the horns. “You’re staying at the inn down the road, right?”
He nods. “Until your construction is done, maybe longer if Reese lets me.”
Decision made, I stand, and drop money on the table. “I hope I don’t regret this.”
Walker’s brows furrow. “Regret what?”
“Just come with me.” I turn around, and walk out. I spot Walker’s Rover two cars up from my truck. “Follow me to the ranch.”
This can either work out, or blow up in my face, but I’m doing this for Reese. She deserves to know the truth. Walker and I climb into our cars, and I pull out into the street. I have ten minutes before we reach the ranch, so I take my phone from my pocket and call my mom.
“Hi, sweetheart. It’s a little late for you to be calling, is everything okay?”
“Hey, Mom. Everything’s fine, but I need to talk to you about something.”
“Of course, what’s on your mind?”
“Why’d you never tell me you’ve been talking to Walker Hayes?”
She goes quiet for a beat, and I hear her sigh. “How’d you find out about that?”
I tell her everything, and when I’m done, she clicks her tongue on the other end of the line. “Thorin, that man has been through hell, and when he called me, there was no way I was going to tell him to stay away from his daughter. Whether Reese wants him in her life or not is her decision. She forgave you, didn’t she? So why is it wrong for him to want to try and make things right with her? We raised you better than this, you are in no position to cast judgement.”
That stings, but she has a point. “He told me about Mrs. Hayes,” I tell her.
“Honey, that woman was a piece of work, and I don’t, for a single second, believe Walker meant any harm to Reese. He made his mistakes, but we all do that. He’s no less deserving of a second chance than you are, Thorin. Remember that.”
“I’m just worried she’s going to get hurt again, Mom. We’re finally in a good place, and I don’t want Walker to screw things up. Reese has been through enough.
“Thorin,” she cl
ucks, and I can tell she’s not pleased with me right now. “You can’t protect her from everything, but you can be supportive, and let her make this decision on her own. Has he told her about her mother, yet? I know he wanted to.”
“No, but we’re on the way to the ranch now. I figured if he doesn’t tell her now, he’ll just chicken out and leave again. Am I making a mistake?” I stop in front of the ranch gates, open them with the remote and then drive in, parking in front of the main house. Fletch’s new truck is in the driveway—he said he was tired of sharing with Benji and Carson—which means he’s here. Probably visiting Mya.
Ugh, one thing at a time.
“Only if it feels wrong, baby.”
“It doesn’t, but I don’t want Reese to hate me after this.”
“She will never hate you. She might be a little mad, but she’ll know it’s coming from a good place. You’ll call me tomorrow, and let me know how it goes?”
“Yeah, I will. Thanks Mom, I love you.”
“Love you too, sweetheart.”
I end the call, climb out my truck, and wait for Walker to follow me to Reese’s house. Without knocking, I walk in, and find Reese curled up on the couch with Eli next to her, fast asleep.
“Hi, I was wondering—” She stops talking when she sees her dad behind me. “Dad?”
I close the space between us, and lean down to whisper in her ear. “I need you to trust me, okay?”
“Okay?” She stands, looking between me and her dad. She purses her lips, and crosses her arms across her chest. “This feels like an ambush, Thorin.”
Well, damn, I guess it is. “Just…listen to what he has to say, and then you can be mad at me.”
Under The Same Sky (Horseshoe Bay Book 1) Page 22