“Whatever it takes. They only get that farm over my dead body. I want you to file suits immediately for my brothers, my daughter, my son, and myself. We are suing for our percentage of Sunbridge, all that family’s holdings. Every goddamn thing they own. When you’re done, don’t bother telling me where the dead bodies are either. Families shouldn’t do this to each other, but since they made the decision to file this suit, I am not going to let them steal my brothers’ home right out from under them. They worked all their lives for that spread, and no money-hungry person or persons are going to take it away. You just do whatever you have to do to make sure they don’t lose the farm or the horses.”
“I hear you, honey.”
Nealy sighed. She knew she was in good hands.
In another state miles away, the weather was just as hot but dry, temperatures in the triple digits. Riley Coleman looked at his wife, then looked away. “There was no other way,” he said.
“There’s always another way. I cannot believe you . . . you and the others did what you did. How can you rip their home away from them? You didn’t even talk to me about it. How could you do that, Riley? We’ve always shared the good and the bad. You did this without even consulting me. That’s unforgivable.”
“Jesus Christ, Ivy, if there was any other way, I would have taken it; so would the others. It came down to them or us. Since we don’t really know them, I had no other choice but to opt for us. Us, Ivy. The family. This will all go to Moss someday,” he said, waving his arms about. “No one is going to take this away from him.”
“When he’s old enough to understand, he won’t want it knowing how it came to him. I rather think that other family is going to feel the exact same way you feel about their home. The only people who win in cases like this are the lawyers. You made the biggest mistake of your life, Riley. Undo it now before it’s too late. Drop the case. You don’t want this on your conscience,” Ivy pleaded.
“It’s too late, Ivy. I just heard from Val a little while ago. The papers were served on all of them today. It’s going forward.”
“It’s never too late to do the right thing. Do you want to know something, Riley? That day we all met in Kentucky, when I looked into Nealy Coleman’s eyes, I saw something that scared me. She’s like your grandmother Billie. That is a good thing. She’ll fight you till hell freezes over, and then she’ll fight you on the ice. That’s what Billie would do to protect her family. She did it so many times I lost count. She would be ashamed of you for what you’re doing. I don’t want any part of this. I won’t be a part of this. I’m taking Moss, and we’re going to my parents. I am so disappointed in you, Riley, I could just bawl my eyes out. Damn you! Damn you for doing this!”
“Ivy . . . Wait!”
“No.”
“Will you . . . will you call?”
“No.”
“You can’t take my son away from me. I won’t allow it!”
“Why don’t you sue me,” Ivy said, stalking off, tears rolling down her cheeks.
Riley kicked at the parched ground he was standing on. A cloud of dust spiraled upward.
He hadn’t lied to his wife. He’d begged, pleaded, and practically sold his soul to find another way. Now he was going to lose it all. He could feel it in his gut. His shoulders slumped. Losing it all because of drought and other terrible things was one thing, but losing it all in a court of law because he was greedy was something else. Ivy was right, how in the damn hell was he going to live with himself?
Riley headed for the house just as the Bronco roared past him. He was about to wave, but the cloud of dust settling over him made it impossible for Ivy to see him. He trudged into the house and picked up the phone. “Sawyer, it’s Riley. Ivy just took Moss and left me. I don’t know what to do. Val called and said the papers were served today. I feel like shit.”
“You should feel like shit. This was all Cole’s and your idea. Adam isn’t speaking to me either. Does that make you feel any better? I tried to warn you. That woman is going to fight you to the death. She’s like Billie, Riley. Even Maggie saw that. Ivy will come back. I don’t know when, but she will.”
“No, she won’t. I committed the unconscionable sin of turning on family. You didn’t have to vote with Cole and me. You have a mind of your own, Sawyer, and a mouth to match.”
“I did what you and Cole wanted. I’m not happy, nor am I proud of it. Stop whining and let’s see if there’s a way to make this right. I’m going to call Maggie.”
“Don’t bother. I think she’s washed her hands of us. She’s sitting over there in her island paradise while we bust our asses so we can send her the checks she so graciously accepts.” Bitterness rang in Riley’s voice at his declaration.
“That’s not fair, Riley. You take that back. My mother works just as hard as you do at Billie Limited. She offered to sell the company. For all I know she might have done it already. Billie Limited is the only thing that’s solvent in this family, and those monies go into the Coleman coffers, so don’t go blaming my mother. Look to yourself and Cole. You two are the problem, not us women. I’m going to hang up now before I say something I’ll regret. I am sorry about Ivy leaving. You should have seen it coming. Good-bye, Riley.”
Riley looked around the neat, tidy kitchen. It was so like Ivy, bright colors, green plants, colorful rag rugs on the floor. There was even a fresh pot of coffee waiting for him. His wife had just left him but she made a pot of coffee for him before closing the door behind her. It was so like Ivy. A sob caught in his throat.
He picked up the phone again to call Cole. He wasn’t surprised to hear his cousin pick up on the first ring. He tried to calculate the time difference in Japan, but his brain was too numb to function. “It’s Riley. Val called, and the papers were served today. Ivy just took Moss and left me. Sawyer said Adam isn’t speaking to her, so there’s trouble there. We need to get out of this. We never should have done it, Cole. Sawyer as much as said our brains were up our asses. Ivy said something that scared the living shit out of me. She said Nealy will fight us till hell freezes over, then she’ll fight us on the ice. She said, and Sawyer and Maggie both agree, that Nealy Coleman is like Grandma Billie. If that’s true, Cole, then we need to pack it in now and go back to scrounging for money. I cannot believe you let my grandfather’s billions slip through your fingers!”
“You’re blaming me for the fucking stock market! Get off it, Riley. We both know those black suits your grandfather had in place call the shots over here. They just let me think I’m doing it. Don’t go down that road, cousin. You sound just like Sumi. She’s ready to kick my ass back across the Pacific and the Atlantic. She’s been out looking for a job! If that’s all you called to tell me, then I’m going to hang up and go back to my doodling.”
Riley slammed the phone back into the cradle. He poured himself a cup of coffee. Maybe he should take one more crack at the Thorntons.
The phone and Ivy’s address book were in his hands a minute later. He punched in the number with shaking fingers and waited for Sage Thornton to come on the line. Sage was the one he’d felt a special affinity for, and they’d gotten on well the few times they’d met.
“This is Riley Coleman, Sage. I’m sorry it’s not a social call. I need to ask one more time if your family can help us out of our present difficulties.” He pressed the phone so tight against his ear he got an immediate headache.
“Riley, it’s good to talk to you. I spoke to Mom and the others, and right now there is no way. We’re mortgaged to the hilt ourselves with the new casino we’re building. Our money is so tight at the present we’re not taking salaries. I’d tell you to try Ruby and Metaxas, but they’ve aligned themselves with Nealy and her brothers. I heard about the suit. I wish you could have found another way. I’m really sorry, Riley. We’d help if we could. I want you to know that.”
“Thanks, Sage. I sold off the last of the cattle yesterday.”
“Jesus, that had to hurt. What about the horses?”
/> “They went last week. The money went to pay the back interest. I feel like bawling.”
“Then do it. You might feel better. I’ll put my ear to the ground and see if I can scare up some money for you. Whatever it is will only be a piss in the bucket, but I’ll give it a try. Maybe you should rethink that lawsuit. My mother was really upset when she heard about it. If there was one thing she instilled in us as kids, it was this sense of family. She drilled it into us. I guess it rubbed off because all of us feel the same way. I’d hate like hell to be walking around in your shoes right now. I know where you’re coming from, but Christ, Riley, wasn’t there another way?”
“If there was, I would have taken it. What would you do if someone threatened to take away that mountain you live on? Would you just sit there and let it happen?”
“I honest to God don’t know.”
“I gotta go, Sage.”
Riley stared at the phone until he felt his eyeballs would pop from his head.
“There’s no other way,” he mumbled. Maybe it was time for a trip up the hill.
24
“Is it really time for you to leave, Ken? It seems like you just got here. I’ve never seen two weeks go by so fast. So much has happened lately. Normally things are pretty quiet around here. I hope you call me from time to time. Are you sure you’re feeling okay?” She was babbling and didn’t know why.
“I feel fine, Nealy. I go in for my checkup Monday morning, and if everything is okay, and I think it is, then I can go back to working half days. According to my doctor, I won’t be doing any extensive traveling for a while, though. I hope you can find the time to come to New York for a visit. I keep an apartment in the city and stay there during the week, but on the weekends I go to the Watchung Mountains in New Jersey. It’s only fifty minutes from the city. I like to putter around outside, and it suits my needs for the great outdoors. I’m going to miss you, Nealy.”
“I’m going to miss you, too. Right now I really can’t make any plans to take trips. This lawsuit is consuming all my time. My brothers are beside themselves with worry. I imagine they view it as living with an ax hanging over their heads. I do plan on going to Virginia in a few weeks. I’m going to . . . pretty it up for them. It’s time some sunshine entered their lives.”
“Virginia isn’t all that far from New York. Maybe I’ll drive down to see you if you give me enough notice.”
“I’d like that. I think you’ll like my brothers. For a while I didn’t like them, but I understand now what we all went through. I spent so many years being miserable and unhappy, and so did my brothers. Did you have a normal life, Ken?”
“Yes. Sometimes I almost feel like I should apologize for my life when people start talking about how miserable their own lives were.”
“It’s a beautiful night, isn’t it? The sky looks like a big dark blanket with millions of sparkly diamonds lying on it. Oh, look, there’s a shooting star. Quick, make a wish !” Nealy cried. “You can’t tell what it is, or it won’t come true.”
“Okay. I made my wish. No, don’t try weaseling it out of me. You said I can’t tell. What did you wish for?” Ken asked.
“When I was a little girl I used to stand by the window at night when I was supposed to be asleep and stare at the stars. I don’t know where I ever got the idea that my mother was a star up in the heavens. I probably made it up to make myself feel better. Little girls need a mother. I wanted a mother so desperately. Every time I saw a shooting star I thought it was my mother letting me know she could see me at the window. They’re bringing her remains here next week. I thought my brothers would object, but they didn’t. It’s like my life now is coming full circle again. To answer your question, no, I’m not telling you what I wished for.”
“Be like that then,” Ken teased lightly as he reached for her hand. “What’s that delightful smell?”
“It’s either honeysuckle or confederate jasmine. They smell almost alike, and there’s a lot of it creeping up and around the trees. When I first came here I used to prune the plants around the front porch for Maud. She always said it was intoxicating. She loved sitting on the porch in the evening. I did, too. I still do. You don’t seem the homey type, Ken.”
“I never had time to be the homey type. I was always on the go. Now, though, I’m enjoying it. I’m even giving some thought to retirement. I’m also thinking of getting myself a dog for companionship.”
“For years now I’ve been saying I’m going to get another dog, but something always stopped me. When Charlie died, I was so devastated all I did was cry. I still cry when I think of him. Flyby knew he was gone, and he pitched a fit for months when that little dog didn’t show up in the barn. I just can’t put myself through that again. First it was Molly, and then Charlie. They are wonderful, though. I’m still not quite sure how Charlie ended up as my dog when I got him for Emmie. He used to sleep inside my pillowcase. Tell me that isn’t amazing.”
“It’s amazing. Nealy, I think I’m falling in love with you.”
“Please don’t. I don’t think . . . my life is . . . settled. I don’t think I’m capable of loving a man the way he should be loved. It isn’t you, it’s me, so don’t take that as a rejection. What I mean is, it is but it isn’t. I hope that makes sense to you. I’m not marriage material, and I don’t sleep around.”
“Then let’s be friends for now,” Ken grinned.
“That I can handle.”
Overhead the leaves in the trees rustled as the birds made ready for the night. Somewhere off in the distance an owl could be heard. Soft strains of music wafted up from one of the barns. Just the normal sounds she listened to every evening. Most times she wasn’t even aware of them. Tonight was different for some strange reason. Was it Ken? Was it because he was leaving in the morning? Suddenly she felt jittery and out of sorts. He should have kissed her by now. Two weeks was a long time to spend in someone’s company without some kind of overture. The closest he’d come to touching her was holding her hand on a walk. Mainly a walk around the house so Ken would sleep better at night. She liked the feel of his hand in hers.
“Have you ever been in love, Ken?” Nealy blurted.
“No. Well, maybe, but it was a temporary kind of feeling, and it certainly wasn’t a feeling that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with that person. Hell, maybe it was lust, and I was too damn dumb to know the difference. I’m not a youngster, so it goes without saying that quite a few women have walked through my life. I used to wonder how I would know when the right one came along. Metaxas said I would know, that it’s instinctive. That man has to be the happiest man in the whole world. He has it all. It means nothing to him. All he does is give, give, and give. Ruby is his reason for living. Do you ever watch him look at her or watch Ruby look at him? It’s there for the whole world to see. Both of them are so incredibly grounded. I truly believe they could live together in a tent without a cent and be happy. When I first met him, he said something to me I’ve never forgotten. He said it doesn’t matter where you’ve been, what matters is where you’re going and how you get there.”
“Ruby says that to me all the time.” Nealy laughed. “I envy their love, their closeness, and what they share, but most of all I envy their generosity. God blessed the two of them.”
“Are we getting philosophical, Nealy?”
“No. Maybe. It’s the end of the day,” Nealy said, as if that explained everything.
“I always reflect on things before I go to bed. Doing that helps me make decisions on what to do the following day. I try never to dwell on the past. I never dwell too far into the future either. Works for me,” Ken quipped. “What works for you?”
“Lately all I can think about is this lawsuit almost to the exclusion of all else. I don’t understand how family can sue family.”
“Money is a powerful incentive, Nealy. People murder for money. In the scheme of things a lawsuit isn’t all that important.”
“It is to me. Let’s not talk about it. I re
gret that I wasn’t able to teach you to ride while you’re here. Perhaps another time.”
“Does that mean at some point in time I can come back?”
“Absolutely. I’d be upset if you didn’t. I do like you. I like you a lot. I never had friends. Believe it or not, Smitty was my first real friend. Back in Virginia there was no time for friends. Pa wouldn’t allow it. Then when I came here, the horses became my friends. I’m trying to tell you something here, and it isn’t coming out right. I’ll never be glamorous or worldly. I’m probably always going to smell like horses no matter how much I shower and wash my hair. My hands will always be rough even though I use cream. I do dye my hair, though, because my son teased me to the point it was easier to do it than argue with him. He wants me to fix up and go dancing and take vacations. That’s not what I’m about. I am what I am. I don’t want to change, and I would never try to change to please someone else. I hope that all came out right.”
“I think so. You just told me to take it or leave it. You are you, and you will never change for me or for anyone else. I respect that. The difference between you and me is I would try and probably not succeed, so in the end your way is probably better.”
Nealy burst out laughing.
“Where do we go from here, Nealy?”
“I thought we agreed to be friends. It’s a good place to start, don’t you think?” She held out her hand for Ken to clasp in his.
“Friends.”
Thunder rolled across the sky, ominous and chilling. An omen of some kind, Nealy thought as she tried to soothe Flyby, who was stomping about in his stall. Even the mints weren’t calming him today. Lightning ricocheted overhead as another clap of thunder sounded. Nealy didn’t know who hated storms more, she or the horses. Her biggest fear was a lightning strike to one of the barns. Even though she held regular fire drills, there was no guarantee everyone would perform the way they were supposed to. Maud always said her biggest fear was a fire in one of the barns.
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