Secrets Behind Those Eyes

by S. M. Donaldson

  I lay the last of the greens in the dishpan. “Well, maybe he’ll be home around Christmas.”

  She shrugs. “Yeah he’s supposed to be.” She looks sad.

  She doesn’t know that I’ve talked to Gable and they are playing a gig up in Hilton Head this weekend. I’ve worked it out with him for us to come up and see him play. I’m going to tell her tomorrow at dinner. It’s just about killed Gable and I both to keep this secret. She’s missed him so much and Gable constantly keeps in touch with me checking in on her.

  I wrap my hands around her waist. “Hey do you know how sexy you are?” I move her hair and start ravaging her neck.

  She squeals. “Stop. That tickles.”

  “Ryder, leave the girl alone she’s trying to work. Did you get them collards washed up?”

  I turn around to see nana standing there with her cigarette in one hand and her other hand on her hip. “Yes ma’am they’re right here in the dish pan.”

  She nods. “Okay well now you can start getting these pumpkins ready for cookin’. We ain’t got no time for you to be playing Casanova of the damn Kitchen.” She pops my arm as she walks out on the back porch.

  Scarlet is laughing. I pop her on the ass. “I’ll spank you for laughing at me later.”

  She giggles. “Oh I’m so scared.”

  I pinch her side and she leans over giggling. “You better be.”

  “Ryder! Get your ass out here now boy.” My nana calls out from the back porch.

  Scarlet chuckles as I walk out the back door. “Yeah Ryder get your ass out there.”

  I duck my head and walk out the back door to help nana.

  ~*~*~

  After spending the day helping my nana get the food prepped for tomorrow Scarlet wanted to go check on Button. So needless to say I’m tired by the time we get in the house. I look over to her as we sit down on the small couch in my room to watch a movie. “I’m tired babe. I think hanging out with you and nana today was more work than working on the farm all day.”

  “Are you saying you can’t handle two women Mr. Abbott?”

  I shudder. “Don’t say shit like that.”

  She giggles and then smiles. “Come on I’ll draw you a bath and if you are nice I might join you.” She’s pulling me from the couch.

  “I think you deserve a bath too. I mean you did a lot of prep work at nana’s today. By the way did I tell you what she said to me when we were on the back porch?”

  She shakes her head as she’s filling the tub. “No. Do I want to know?”

  “She asked me when I was going to move you in over here permanent.”

  “She cracks me up. We’ve been dating what almost three months now? Nana is ready to have me move in. Wait did she mean get married and move in or just move in? I never can tell with her.”

  I slide down in the tub and watch her while she undresses. “I don’t know. With Nana some days she all rebel without a cause and then at times she that’s not what a good Christian girl would do.”

  She steps over into the tub sitting down with her back on my chest. “She’s funny she told me today that she couldn’t wait to see me big a pregnant in the kitchen with you.”

  I choke for a second. “Pregnant.”

  She laughs. “Yeah imagine my surprise too. I told her that was a long time away.”

  We both laugh and lay back relaxing in the tub. It’s only later when the water gets cold that I realize we both dozed off. I kiss her shoulder. “Babe we gotta get in bed.” She turns on her side and mumbles something against my chest. I kiss her forehead. “Hey beautiful come on. I need you to lean up and then I’ll carry you.”

  She finally leans up so I can take her and myself to bed. Placing her gently on my bed I slide in next to her and she cuddles against my chest. My heart feels like it is going to explode. I love her and I really do want to go to sleep and wake up like this for the rest of my life.

  ~*~*~

  I hear my Nana’s voice from the porch. She’s talking to Scarlet and Naomi while Dad, Nelson and I watch the turkey. “I don’t know why they didn’t come up with frying turkey’s sooner, at least this way men would’ve been helping out longer. Give them something with fire outside and all of a sudden cooking turns into ‘doin’ man shit.’”

  I chuckle. “Nana I’d be happy to let you take over out here if you’d like.”

  “No I’m good up here. I don’t want to get all sweaty before my company shows up.”

  “Who in the hell is your company?” My dad asks.

  “Well, Mr. Beck and Mr. Fitzgerald are going to be having dinner with us.”

  “Nana really two guys at once! And you always talked about me.”

  Scarlet looks at me and points. “Ryder it’s really none of your business. If Nana wants to invite half of the damn town out here.”

  Naomi and Nelson are both snickering and my dad is just standing there with his hands in his pockets. Nana looks at me with a death glare. “Ryder Abbott I am 80 years old and I didn’t say that they were my dates. I said they were my company. Now they are both widowers who have children that have moved off and left here. I know that they are both sweet on me and I can’t help that, but I’ll be damned if that stops me from feeding them. When you get to be my age companionship and friends can be your lifeline.”

  “Name I’m sorry, it’s just weird sometimes. Dad and I go out into town and these two old men are sending you everything from vegetables to homemade shine.”

  “I know sweetheart, but when you get old you like to give stuff to the people who mean the most to you. You like to do nice things for them. I have you, your daddy, Judd, Naomi, Nelson and now the lovely Scarlet to do things for. But those two old men don’t have anyone but me and the rest of our senior citizens group. So they share with all of us, they share vegetables and moonshine with their buddies at the VFW just like they do me.” She sits back in her rocking chair. “Now I know I’m a catch, but really I just think they are being friendly more than anything else.” She slaps her hand on the chair arm. “And speaking of doing things for people that you love. Naomi I made some peanut brittle to send to Judd.”

  I shake my head. Naomi smiles. “That’s sweet nana. I’m getting is Christmas package together now. I vacuum sealed some cookies and banana nut bread already.”

  I tilt my head up to the porch. “Momma N. I’ve got some stuff to put in that package too. I’ll give it to you tomorrow.”

  The mood has suddenly shifted. I can tell that everyone is thinking about Judd. I miss him so much. Growing up without siblings he was the closest thing that I had to one and with all the other weird shift that happened in my life he’s always stood by me. This year will be the first Christmas that we won’t be seeing each other.

  “Ryder! Did you hear me boy?” I didn’t realize that I’d spaced out.

  “Sorry Nana I kinda zoned out for a minute. What were you saying?”

  “I was saying that when you take the stuff to Naomi tomorrow I have some canned fruit to send him.”

  “Nana this canned fruit. It wouldn’t happen to be homemade wine would it? You know he can get into trouble for that.”

  She sits there rocking in her chair laughing like rules don’t apply to her. It’s according to the jars look like actual canned fruit then he might get away with it but if not I’ll never tell her I didn’t put it in there.

  Chapter 25

  Scarlet

  Watching Ryder interact with his family and talk about Judd makes me miss Gable. I feel bad because I know that there is no comparison to what Judd is doing, but I still miss him. Spending yesterday and today with nana has been the greatest time, even without Gable being here. I hope I get to spend more time like this. As much as I wanted to admit it I was never this close to Dustin’s family. They saw me as more of an employee which was technically true, but in the same respect I was there son’s girlfriend too. I was never invited to family functions like this.

  After the guys finish the turkey we come back in
to the house. Naomi and I start setting the table. I really like Judd’s momma she is so sweet and caring. She treats Ryder like he’s her son. Nana’s friends have arrived and are currently arguing about some show on T.V. they are funny. After we get everything on the table Mr. Abbott calls everyone in there. Ryder grabs my hand motioning for me to sit beside him.

  Mr. Abbott sits down at the head of the table. “Before we eat let’s bless the food.” We bow our heads, Ryder and I hold hands as his father speaks. “Dear Lord thank you for the many blessing you have given this family, thank you for wonderful friends. Help us remember the loved ones who have gone home to be with you Lord. Be with Judd as he protects this great nation we call home. Please bless the food we are about to eat and the people who helped to prepare it. In Jesus name Amen.”

  I look up to see Nana and Naomi wiping their eyes. Mr. Abbott looks at everyone and says, “Alright y’all let dig in.”

  As everyone is wrapping up with their food Ryder suddenly stands up. He looks down at me. “I have a surprise for you.”

  I can feel the heat creeping up on my face. “Okay.” Everyone is staring at me now.

  Nana speaks up. “Ryder son, you are making her nervous.”

  “Oh sorry. I didn’t mean to. It’s just I can’t wait any longer to tell you this.”

  I’m really freaking out now.

  He puts his hand on my shoulder. “Scar it’s okay. I know that you’ve been missing Gable a lot lately. So he and I have been texting each other. The band is playing up in Hilton Head this this weekend and we are going to see them.”

  I jump up out of my seat and wrap my arms around him. I’m crying big tears. “Oh My God! Ryder I love you. I have missed him so much, I can’t believe you two have been working on this together.” Suddenly I remember the rest of the people at the table. “Oh I’m sorry.”

  Naomi smiles. “Don’t be. Its sweet how much you love your brother and Ryder that was so sweet of you.” She stands up and walks over to him and hugs him. “I’m so proud of you and the man you’re becoming.”

  ~*~*~

  Ryder and I have spent so much time together over Thanksgiving break. He’s convinces me to spend every night with him, or he keeps me there so late that I fall asleep. I’m so excited that we are leaving this morning for Gable’s show. I’m curious to see how Gable is doing, he’s been so quiet on the phone lately. There is something going on and I intend on getting to the bottom of it when I see him.

  My alerts that I have a text from an unknown number. “You should have learned by now to keep your mouth shut.” I don’t know who it’s from, but my phone dings again with a pic of Gable’s car after the wreck.

  I’m scared. I’ve been having a bunch of hang-up phone calls lately from unknown numbers and I’ve tried to play it off. The other day on my way out to Ryder’s I swore I thought someone was following me and now this text that I know for a fact was sent to me. But what would I need to keep my mouth shut about?

  A knock at my front door startles me. I look through the window and see Ryder. I open the front door and hug him. He chuckles. “Hey I could use greetings like that all the time. You ready to go?”

  “Yes!” Maybe while I’m out of town I can figure out who sent me that message.

  I read my kindle most of the way to Hilton Head because Ryder is on the phone with Nelson trying to figure out why some of the smaller cows are sick.

  We arrive at the hotel the band is staying in. I knock on Gable’s door expecting him, Stoney or Keeg to answer the door, but it’s Ivie the bass player and Gable’s singing partner. She’s in one of his t-shirts, I know it’s his shirt because I bought it. What the hell? She smiles. “Hey Scar Gable’s in the shower.” As if she can sense I’m trying to figure this out, she looks back at me. “The hotel was short on rooms last night so Gable bunked with me. Normally he and I both get rooms to ourselves.”

  “Oh okay.” She’s trying to steer clear of something. So I’m just going to leave it for now. About that time Gable comes out of the bathroom in a towel and Ivie slips by him with her overnight bag into the bathroom.

  He tightens his towel acting a little uncertain I can tell, but he steps over to hug me. “Hey baby sister, I’ve missed you so much.”

  I smile hugging him tightly. “I’ve missed you too.”

  I point to the bathroom door where I can hear the shower running, “You wanna explain more about that?”

  He shakes his head. “No we are in the same band we crash in the same room sometimes.” He shrugs his shoulders. “Hotel was out of rooms normally we get three because I’m not sleeping in the room with Keeg and Stoney. Neither is Ivie. They are always dragging some skanks back to the room and they both are messy as hell.”

  I laugh thinking about the kind of women those two would bring back. I also notice that although both beds look like they’ve been messed up only one looks slept in. I shake my head I’m not going to pry anymore. I know Gable is private, but damn he knows Ivie has issues. I mean don’t get me wrong she’s been in their band forever, she’s an awesome singer and bass player, but she has this way of finding crazy. I’ve only heard stories about her exes and her parents, but it’s enough.

  Gable slides on some boxer briefs under his towel, pulling the towel off he steps over and shakes Ryder’s hand. “Hey man how was the drive up?”

  “It was good man. Didn’t get much time to talk to Scar because I had to deal with some business calls, but she got some reading done.”

  Gable flops down on the bed. “So, what do you guys wanna do today?”

  I flop down next to him. “I don’t care, I’m just excited to get to spend some time with you.”

  “Well I have to be at the venue by three so we can go grab some lunch and just hang out.” He stands up to slide on some jeans. “I wish I had more time, but I’ll see you in a few weeks at Christmas. I’ll be home for a few days then.” Walking over he taps on the bathroom door and Ivie cracks it open. He steps inside and shuts the door. I hear them speak in a hushed tones. He steps out and she closes the door back.

  I look over at him with a cocked brow. “What was that all about?”

  “Nothing I was just telling her where I’d be, in case the guys ask.”

  “Oh alright well let’s go.” I have a feeling that is utter and complete bullshit but my thoughts are interrupted by my phone ringing I look down at it. Unknown again. I ignore it for now. I’ll talk to Ryder about this later. Right now I want to spend time with Gable.

  Ryder looks at me. “You good?”

  I smile. “Yeah guys lets go, I’m starving you didn’t feed me this morning.”

  “You said you weren’t hungry.”

  I push his shoulder. “Whatever. Let’s go dill weeds.”

  Gable pulls me into a somewhat headlock. “Why are you calling me a dill weed? This is the first time you’ve seen me in months and I’m taking you to get some food.”

  I hug him around his waist. “You’re not. Let’s go.”

  He kisses me on top of the head. “I’m glad you’re here kid.”

  “Me too.”

  Chapter 26

  Ryder

  Scarlet seems to keep staring at her phone. She’s keeping something from me. I can see it in her eyes. They always say that the eyes are the windows to the soul, hers definitely the windows to whatever is going on with her.

  “Sir what can I get you?” The waitress breaks me from my thoughts.

  “Oh you two go first.”

  Gable laughs. “We already did.”

  “Oh shit. Sorry. I’ll have a sweet tea and the French dip with steak fries.”

  Gable laughs. “Dude are you here with us?”

  I chuckle. “Yeah just think about work.”

  Scarlet grabs my hand. “Is Button okay? Is he one of the cows sick?”

  I shake my head. “No baby. I’m sure Nelson would have told me.”

  Gable looks at us. “Who is Button?”

  Scarlet gives her big be
autiful smile. “Button is my baby cow. Well kinda anyway.”

  Gable looks at me with confusion on his face. I explain. “When some of my cows had calves a few months ago, Scarlet fell in love with one that had to be bottle fed. So I gave him to her.”

  Gable rolls his eyes. “So you gave my sister a cow? I guess steak is a pretty awesome gift.”

  Scarlet looks at him like he just told her that Van Gogh was a two bit hack. “Excuse me. My Button isn’t steak. He will never be steak. He is going to die from old age.”

  Gable shakes his head. “Man she’s got you over a barrel on that one.”

  “Hey I don’t care as long as she’s happy. I give her twenty cows to keep as pets.”

  Gable shakes his head. “Never thought I’d see the day.”

  Scarlet looks up at him. “What day?”

  “The day my little sister actually fell in love and had some poor guy all in knots about her.”

  “Hey man I never thought I’d see the day that a girl even had me near in knots, but there is something about Scarlet. She has this power over me.”

  Gable laughs. “Obviously. You followed her ass all the way to Cade’s place. How did that meeting go?”

  I laugh. “Well I have to admit when his big ass answered the door, I was a little intimidated. But he’s a cool guy and his friends were awesome.”

  Scarlet smiles. “They hit it off. Don’t let him fool you though, he drooled over Cade and his friends once he figured out they were some kind of football Gods or something.”

  Gable laughs. “Yeah Cades pretty cool and his friends are awesome. We didn’t know him during all the football stuff so I guess it’s weird for us how people think he’s some sort of star.”

  “Dude a star? No people thought he and his friends were all going to be first round draft picks. I can understand why they decided not to be though. So yeah they were awesome.”

  Gable and Scarlet laugh at me getting so worked up.

  We wrap up lunch later and head to the hotel so Gable can get to the venue on time and we can get checked into our room.

  ~*~*~