by Nella Tyler
The craft room had sat empty for two weeks now. She hadn’t even opened the door. Yes, she loved playing with the creative toys, but they had lost their power to fulfill her. She had done as Tim had asked and closed her account on the dating website. He was right, at least about that one thing. She didn’t belong there.
The holidays had come and gone. Mackenzie had spent them alone. She didn’t watch television because the movies all portrayed happy couples with family and that was more than she could bear. It was mid-February now and there were spots where the snow no longer covered the grass.
Feeling in a rather sad mood, she had run herself a bubble bath and was luxuriating in the hot water. It was a time for reflection; a time for figuring out who she truly was. In fact, she realized she knew who she was. All of this had been a farce, a delaying method to keep from thinking about what she should do with your future.
She emerged from the tub, putting on her favorite pair of flannel pajamas. They had seen too many washings and were well faded, but flannel improved with age. She went into the kitchen, planning to make herself a sandwich to take to bed. She was planning a marathon of old movies. The doorbell rang.
She quickly extinguished the kitchen light and wondered whether she should answer the front door. Hunching over so that she was less visible, she went toward the front door, flipping off lights as she walked.
Whoever was outside was unexpected. She wondered whether she should grab a knife or perhaps even run to the bedroom and get the revolver that David had purchased her so many years before. He had taken her target practice, but she had never shot it anywhere else.
The doorbell rang again and she decided to look out the people. There was a man standing on her porch, his back to her. Even so, she would recognize that head anywhere. She threw open the door.
“Adam!”
“Hello, Mackenzie,” he said, his face breaking into a huge smile. “These are for you,” he said holding out a bouquet of long-stemmed, red roses and a massive box of candy wrapped in red. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”
“Is it? I hadn’t realized. Thank you, Adam. Will you come in?”
“Do you want me to?”
“If you can stand to spend some time with a silly woman dressed in faded flannel pajamas, you’re welcomed to come in.”
“I was hoping you would ask.”
Adam came in, kicking off his shoes and throwing his overcoat on the chair next to the door. He had changed a bit since she’d seen him. His face looked haggard, as though he’d been worried about something for a very long time. “Is Peter okay?”
“Yes,” he nodded. “He’s just fine. He had a wonderful Christmas and spends all his time in his room with his new treasures. I don’t think I’ve seen him in a week,” he laughed.
“I’m glad you’re here,” she said to him in a soft voice.
“I’m glad you let me in.”
She reached out to take his hand and they walked into the living room and sat down on the sofa. He lifted his arm and she slid in beneath it, laying her head against his chest as though they had just done so a few moments before. It was so natural, so real. It was where she was intended to be.
Mackenzie picked up the remote and turned on the television. Adam laid his chin upon the top of her head, her hair still damp from bathing. He could smell the scent of her shampoo, mixed with what he assumed was bubble bath. It smelled like heaven.
She rifled through the channels and found an old movie both liked. It was African Queen with Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn. She snuggled closer to him and he kissed the top of her head. They watched the movie with feigned interest. Each was furiously thinking about what they would do when the movie ended. She pretended nonchalance, but Adam, sincere as he always was, petted her arm and hugged her from time to time.
When a commercial came on, Mackenzie took the moment. “I hear you played detective on my computer?”
Adam stiffened, preparing for her to shoot him with both barrels.
“It’s okay. I don’t blame you. I didn’t give you many options. I was a mess, Adam. I went to the only place that I knew. That wasn’t fair to you and I know that you cared.”
I still do care.” He hugged her again, but this time he didn’t release her. Instead, he lifted her chin and kissed her soundly on the mouth. The kiss became passionate and soon they were exploring one another’s tongue and traveled to the earlobes.
Mackenzie felt Adam wrapped around her and it felt as though she were home again. She pressed into him when suddenly he stood up and looked down at her. “I want to stay, Mackenzie. But if I do, it won’t be just one night. It will be for a lifetime. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“I think so,” she nodded.
“I’m asking you now, Mackenzie. Mackenzie Harper, would you do me the honor of marrying me?”
She didn’t hesitate. The foolish misery she thought she wanted was a pathetic attempt to get acceptance and affirmation from others. Here was a man who loved her, who would take care of her, and who had, most importantly, been unselfish enough to give her exactly what she needed even though it had cost him to do so.
“I would be honored.”
Adam hesitated only a moment, questioning her face to be certain she was serious. He suddenly bent over and scooped her off the sofa, holding her as one would carry a child as he carried her to the bedroom.
He set her on the bed and with hands that were shaking with need and yet cautious to not alarm her, he undressed her. He stood for a moment looking at her naked body and realizing that his dream had just come true. He hadn’t dared to hope that she would turn around in her thinking. Later, when there was more time, he would find out why. For now, he just wanted to make love to her. And that’s exactly what he did.
Chapter 25
Adam and Mackenzie, from that moment on, began to live a life together. Her schedule was now open and she spent considerable time accompanying him to his job sites. Sometimes she would sit with him in his office until the late hours of the evening and watch him as he worked. She was fascinated by his artistry and precision.
She spent time with Pete, and since he now understood he would have a second mother, he was anxious to introduce her to his life. She went with Adam to watch his soccer games and occasionally, they would take in an animated movie on a weekend. She began researching recipes for chocolate chip cookies and Rice Krispie treats.
As winter receded and spring began to make her way, the couple began to discuss a wedding. Mackenzie was adamant that out of respect for Lucy she wanted to wait until the fall before they married. Adam was fine with this. In his mind, they were already man and wife and spent every available moment together. He was thrilled to see how much Pete liked Mackenzie. For the first time in a long time, he felt as though he had a family again.
That summer, they traveled to Florida to the Disney World complex. Mackenzie laughed as Peter rode the roller coaster, staggering off the platform at the end and losing his lunch into a nearby waste container. She pulled a Kleenex from her purse and wiped his face, hugging him and sending Adam for a glass of cold water. When Adam returned, he found Peter clinging to her and she was patting his back. It seemed that he could not have found the more ideal woman to be a part of his son’s life.
They were married that fall, at the farm with the bed-and-breakfast where they had been the year previous. They asked for the same room they had occupied before and this time, it was filled with baskets of fall flowers and decorated with wedding bells.
They were married in the backyard beneath an arbor of ivy and Rose of Sharon. Peter was his father’s best man. Mackenzie sadly missed Lucy, knowing that she should of been there. She asked Mrs. Thornberry to be her matron of honor. The woman was quite flattered and wore her best Sunday dress. It was a small ceremony, only a few friends from Adam’s side and on the Mackenzie side, there was Tim.
True to his word, Tim had become her friend and confidant. She knew that he loved her and she als
o knew that he loved her enough to give her up without argument.
She told Adam about the night that Tim had come to her house and what had happened. She wanted no mystery or secrets between the two of them, ever. Adam liked him and after the wedding, Tim was a frequent guest at their home.
Mackenzie sold the house she and David had lived in. It held too many memories for her and Adam could never shake the fact that he could sense another man’s presence. He had decided to build a new home for them both and they spent long hours looking for just the right location.
They bought a lot overlooking the river where the fishermen had caught their meal. They broke ground that fall and by spring were moving in. The house could only be described as a contemporary log cabin. It had the cozy, organic feel of a getaway home and yet all the conveniences that an ultra-modern home would have to offer. This required that Peter transfer schools, an arrangement which presented no problems for him.
The house sat at the top of the bluff and had a massive deck that extended out beyond the bank. Many an afternoon was spent watching fishermen and canoe enthusiasts who took the chances in the white water rapids downstream. Their yard was filled with birds and deer and they often built a fire on the riverbank. Mackenzie’s favorite new past time was to create stories to tell Peter.
The following spring, Mackenzie discovered she was pregnant. She was overjoyed, as was Adam. There had been some concern that perhaps they would never have a child together. She began to prepare with all the normal activity a new mother enjoys. Adam oversaw the conversion of one of the bedrooms into a nursery and Peter helped to pick the decor.
Mackenzie had begun making friends in the community and had grown especially close to a young wife about her own age whose name was Sarah. Sarah’s husband was in the military and often gone, leaving Sarah by herself.
Mackenzie had taken her under wing; Sarah often spent time at their home. Two days before Thanksgiving, Mackenzie went into labor. Adam was at a job site. Mackenzie had not accompanied him as the landscaped terrain was uneven and rocky and difficult for her to walk while carrying the child.
She had called Sarah who immediately came over and packed her into the car to go to the hospital. Mackenzie called Adam in route and he met them there. Ten hours later, Albany Lee was born. She had Mackenzie’s eyes and Adam’s gentle smile.
Peter had already laid claim to the role of big brother and was planning to teach her how to ride bicycle as soon as she was able to walk. Mackenzie and Adam laughed at this, knowing full well that big brothers often become irritated with younger sisters and there was every chance that Albany would learn to ride her own bicycle in her own time.
A year later, Albany was joined by a new sister, Lucy. Lucy had a feisty temperament and was not above stomping her foot to get her way. They felt their family was now complete.
Adam went on to receive wide acclaim for his talents. He began to travel more often as he was invited to participate as a consultant in some very high profile construction. His business flourished and Mackenzie was always at his side, and very proud of the man she had married. When they traveled, Sarah came and stayed with the children as she has yet had none of her own. They had begun to call her Aunt Sarah, and she thoroughly enjoyed minding the brood when Mackenzie and Adam traveled.
Sometimes at night when Mackenzie laid in Adam’s arms and heard his gentle breathing, she allowed herself to think of the dark times when she had pushed him away and tried to live in the past. She now had the perspective of seeing how very troubled she had been and she knew she would never go back to that mindset again.
One day when Adam was at work, she went through the boxes of her things packed in the attic and found the wedding tape from she and David. She carried it outside and stood on the bluff overlooking the river. She quietly told David how much she missed him, but that she was happy again. She told him she knew he would ultimately want that for her. She kissed the tape and then with an impressive swing, threw it down into the gorge where it landed in the rapid current and continued downstream.
In so doing, Mackenzie had said goodbye to her previous life. In so doing she allowed the stream of life to continue on.
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DIRTY – THE COMPLETE SERIES
By Nella Tyler
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2016 Nella Tyler
Chapter One
Autumn
I watched my dad surveying the new expansion to the farm, looking both satisfied and worried. “I don’t know why I talked myself into buying the new plot,” he said, shaking his head slightly.
“We need it,” Tuck said, looking out over the new territory, as well. “Besides, you have to have enough land to pass on to both me and Autumn when the time comes, right?” Tuck looked at me with a smirk.
“You don’t have to pass anything on to me,” I said quickly. Tuck had considered the family farm his since he was old enough to start working it; for myself, I thought that as long as I had enough money to live on and enough work to occupy my time, I’d just as soon live in town—but things hadn’t worked out that way.
“Anyway, you got it at a steal, so it might as well be us that owns it and not some development company,” Tuck pointed out. In my opinion, that was far more helpful.
“And, you’ll be able to turn enough profit on it that you can hire a crew, and not be out here working like a field hand all day, every day,” I pointed out. Tuck gave me a less-than-pleasant glance for that reminder.
“I’m just not sure I’ll actually be able to get out this far every day,” Dad said. He looked at me. “Even with that new tractor we’ve got, it’s a big farm now.”
“You can hire someone,” I suggested. “You should, actually. We made enough last year to pay at least one guy to come out.”
“We can handle it ourselves,” Tuck insisted. “Hell, now that Addie’s almost one, she could be out working it with us—putting down seed, chasing away the crows. Get her some dungarees and she’ll be set.” I rolled my eyes.
“Addie is still being weaned,” I pointed out. “You get squeamish on me whenever I wear a bathing suit—how would you feel about me breastfeeding her in the field?”
Dad crouched down on the cleared-out land and scooped up a handful of dirt. It would take some working to make the new expansion ready for the planting in a few weeks’ time. He had had a notion to divide it between corn and soy beans for the first season, to see what kind of yields we could get.
Dad had been growing corn for longer than I’d been alive, and he’d started growing soy beans for a challenge when I’d been about twelve years old, though never as much as the corn. If the soy took to the expansion well, he had told me, he would alternate between it and corn every other year, and hopefully expand the farm’s profits.
I wished that I could be more help to Dad, but since I’d given birth to my daughter Adelyn, I’d wanted to stay with her as much as humanly possible. Now that she was almost a year old, I was able to do more and more around the house to help Dad and Mom—I took care of the vegetable garden and helped Mom in the kitchen and with the cleaning—but it was a different thing altogether to spend the day out in the field, sweating and working my ass off, taking breaks every few hours to feed my baby.
I’d worked right up until the third trimester of my pregnancy before giving birth, and eventually, I was sure that I’d probably be needed out in the fields again—enough to merit spending a half day, or a few half days out there—before the next harvest came. But in the meantime, I was null and void.
“You should put an ad in the classifieds, Dad,” I suggested. “I’m sure there are lots of gu
ys in town who’d be willing to work hard for a decent paycheck. Hell, we’re not that far away from the college—you might be able to get a strapping young athlete to help you out in the fields.” Tuck and Dad both laughed, but I could see that Dad was actually mulling the idea over.
“I’m not going to have time to go through all the applications on my own,” he said after thinking it over.
“I’d be happy to help you screen them,” I told him. “I’ll even help you get the ad put in.”
“You seem pretty anxious to get someone out here,” Tuck said, giving me a playful-suspicious look. “Getting lonely, sis?” I rolled my eyes.
“I’m a single mother with a baby,” I pointed out. “No one is going to pay me any mind, even if I wanted them to. But Dad deserves some help around the farm to make the new expansion pay off.” I reached out for my dad’s hand and gave it a squeeze.
“Let’s head back to the house,” he suggested. “Give me a chance to think about it over dinner.” We walked back from the new expansion together, cutting across our own fields, still fallow from the winter.
It would be planting time soon, and even if Dad hadn’t bought the new plot of land to add onto the fields we already had, I probably would have suggested he find someone to help. He wasn’t so old yet that he absolutely couldn’t work the land, but neither he nor Mom were as young as they used to be—and with only me and Tuck to help them, they were going to start losing money soon if they didn’t hire out.
We started talking about what I planned to put into the vegetable garden once it was time to start planting there. We could get staples in town, and sometimes I liked to get something we couldn’t grow ourselves in the Iowa climate—oranges or peaches, things like that—but like most farmers, we grew and kept as much as possible: chickens for eggs and the occasional stew, tomatoes, squash, and beans in summer, cabbages, carrots, and other cold-weather vegetables in the fall and winter. I liked to experiment sometimes, getting different seeds from exchanges for stuff like heirloom tomatoes, different kinds of berries, or melons.