All My Love (All #5)
Page 20
“Thanks, Ben.”
***
A week later, Drew met up with Ben at the airport after work. He wasn’t kidding when he said he wasn’t going to be gone long. They would be arriving in Alabama in the middle of the night. At least he could sleep when Ben was doing whatever he needed to do. The flight back home the next day was at seven at night, so they weren’t going to have much time to see Patty either.
Nevertheless, Ben assured him it was enough time to drive and see Patty, and he was positive she would see him even though she wasn’t returning his calls. They’d still have time to get to the airport before their flight.
Since he didn’t always spend time with Jordyn during the week and he knew she was busy with work, this was perfect timing.
He talked to her about an hour ago. She never asked what he was doing for the night and he never said, saving him from lying to her. That wouldn’t have sat well with him, so he was glad he wasn’t put in the position to decide one way or the other on what to say.
“I’m going to be swamped for the next few days,” she’d told him.
“I understand. I’m pretty busy right now too.”
“I figured. I know you’ve got a few new projects at work and you’re itching to work on your house too.”
“Yeah, work has been busy,” he agreed.
And it was true. He was busy at the moment and he had been going to his house during the week and working there. As far as Jordyn was concerned, she probably thought that was what he was doing tonight and tomorrow night.
“Are you ready for this?” Ben asked, walking up to where Drew had been sitting and waiting for their flight.
“Sure,” Drew said, wondering why Ben asked that.
“You might not like how it turns out,” Ben cautioned.
“Meaning what?”
Ben shrugged. “It could go a lot of different ways. Did you think of that? You could find out something…and then are you going to pretend to find out when I tell Jordyn?”
“I hadn’t thought that far in advance.”
“Maybe you better.”
“Do you think we’ll find something out?” Drew asked, hoping they did.
“We’ll find something out. I just don’t know if it will be of any help or not.”
“Then I’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. Right now I’m going to relax.”
“Suit yourself. But while you’re relaxing you should probably start thinking of all of the possible scenarios and be prepared for how to handle them. And how to handle Jordyn.”
“I can handle her just fine,” Drew said, trying not to get annoyed.
He knew Ben was joking, he was laughing when he said it, but deep down, Drew knew that maybe what he was doing was wrong.
“We all think that, but the truth of the matter is we are all wrong half the time.” Ben slapped him on the back and settled next to him in the chair, stretching his long legs out and crossing his arms.
Regret
Drew rolled over and looked at the clock. He hadn’t meant to sleep as late as he did. By the time their flight landed and they drove to the hotel, it had been close to one in the morning. Always an early riser during the week, he’d been awake almost twenty hours at that point.
He’d never been able to sleep on a plane, so he put his headset on and watched one movie after another. There was no use trying to talk to Ben; he’d pulled out his laptop and was engrossed in work, so Drew let him go.
He tried not to let his earlier conversation with Ben bother him either, but he couldn’t help it. He was now having serious doubts about flying here and trying to find out what he could.
His heart was in the right place, he knew that. He didn’t think he was really doing anything wrong, only he was sure Jordyn would think otherwise.
Even Brynn and his father didn’t think it was a good idea when he told them. He couldn’t keep it from them since he needed to take time off of work. Not that he was used to keeping things from his father.
His father had told him to be careful and think everything through. But at that point, it was too late; he’d already booked his flight and was determined to see this out.
Deciding it was time to get up, Drew swung his legs over the side of the bed. Funny, he never heard Ben make a sound this morning while getting ready and leaving. Must be he slept harder than he thought, because he always heard the noises around him.
Showered, shaved and dressed, he made his way to the restaurant in the hotel for some breakfast. By his calculations, he had about three hours left to kill. Ben had told him he’d be done by two at the latest.
He was just picking up his coffee when his phone vibrated in his pocket and he prayed it wasn’t Jordyn. Not that he expected it to be. She hardly ever bothered him during the day when he was working. She knew he didn’t always have the time to break away. Then again, she barely came up for air herself during the day.
Reading the text from Brynn and trying to push the guilt aside from this trip, he decided to call her instead of texting back.
“I still can’t believe you’re there,” Brynn said after she picked up.
“I know. I’m starting to have doubts myself.”
“You’ve always been impulsive, but this is a new one. You didn’t tell Jordyn, did you?”
“No. I’m starting to regret it too, but there is no use telling her now. I’ll tell her when I get back to town.”
“You should.” He heard Brynn sigh. “I know you think you’re doing the right thing, and maybe you are. Maybe I would have done the same in your shoes, but you shouldn’t keep it from her when you get back to town either. Even if you don’t find anything out.”
“I won’t. I’m hoping we have something to tell her. She deserves some type of closure, don’t you think? Could you imagine, Brynn? Imagine not knowing our parents, or anything about our past or each other. It’s amazing to me, and kind of sad too.”
“I’ve thought of that myself. I couldn’t put myself in her shoes even if I wanted to. Which is why you have to really watch your step here. You haven’t known her long, and you have no clue what it is that could be hidden. Maybe it’s something really bad, Drew. Did you think of that?”
“I did. But I guess if that’s the case, then I want to know. I want to help prepare her and watch out for her. She’s never had anyone in her life before to do that for her. Not really, just her mother. Everyone should have someone.”
“You love her, don’t you?” Brynn asked.
“Yeah. I think I do.”
“I like her, Drew. A lot. But still, you don’t know what you’re going to find out. I hope for her sake, and yours, that it’s not something horrible.”
He hoped so too. “What could be so horrible, really?”
“You never know.”
He disconnected the call a few minutes later when his breakfast was placed in front of him, then tried not to let what Brynn said fester in his head.
He refused to believe it was more than the fact that Jordyn’s father just didn’t want anything to do with having a child at that point in his life, and that her mother’s family disowned her for getting pregnant so young. It was common enough and happened all the time.
***
“Are you ready?”
Drew turned to Ben as he walked in the door. “Yeah, let’s get this over with.”
Ben raised his eyebrow. “Having second thoughts? You can stay here if you want.”
“No, no second thoughts,” he lied. “I’ve come this far so I might as well see it through.”
On the road in the rental car five minutes later, Ben turned to him. “It’s less than an hour away. This morning I left a message with Patty that I was in town and wanted to visit. Just like I expected, she called me right back.”
“Do you mind me asking why you think she hadn’t returned your calls?”
Drew really wanted to know but didn’t know if Ben would tell him. No one really knew much about Ben or his past.
&n
Drew felt sick hearing that, and now wished he’d never gotten Ben involved in this. He figured there had been a good reason Ben hadn’t seen Patty in a few years, but no one ever said why. “We don’t need to go.”
“Yeah. We do. I’ll see this through.” Ben turned his head when they stopped at a red light. “I’m the one who walked away, Drew. She would have kept in contact with me, but I needed to leave to move on.”
Even worse in Drew’s eyes. “As if I don’t feel guilty enough being here right now, you have to go and say that.”
“Don’t worry over it. I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t think it would be fine. Just be prepared to be uncomfortable. Patty is very high-strung and very emotional. I have no idea how she is going to react when she sees me, or how she is going to respond to the questions about Tim Morris.”
“You mean she has no idea why you’re visiting?”
“No. She doesn’t. I figured it was best to ask in person so I can tell if she’s hiding something from me or not. I didn’t want to give her a chance to prepare ahead of time.”
“Do you think she would lie to you?”
The light turned green and Ben started to drive again. “Patty is a man-hater. That’s the simplest way I can describe it. I’m pretty sure it’s rooted in Trent’s father leaving her. What Tim Morris has to do with anything, if anything, is beyond me.”
“But you said that Trent’s father’s last name was Richardson. They were married, right?”
“Yeah. I don’t remember his first name, but he was in Trent’s life for a few years, then picked up and left. Patty is divorced, so honestly, I’m not sure who Tim Morris is to Trent, if anything at all.”
Drew didn’t believe it though; at least deep down he knew there was more of a connection. “It has to be something. How else would he have that picture of you two? Or do you think maybe the picture has more to do with you?”
“It doesn’t. I’ve done some research and looked back into my past and some of Trent’s when we were in the Navy around the time that picture was taken. It’s nothing to do with me, or the Navy. It has to do with Trent. I just don’t know how.”
“I guess we’ll find out,” Drew said, hopefully.
“Maybe. Just don’t get your hopes up. And don’t say I didn’t warn you about Patty, either.”
Full Circle
“You still have time to back out,” Ben said.
Drew took his seat belt off and placed his hand on the door handle. “No. I’m ready.”
The two of them made their way to the front porch with Drew looking around at the brick ranch house in front of him. It was small, and the trim around the windows needed a fresh coat of paint, along with the front porch. The roof would need to be replaced in a few years, but other than that, it was nicely maintained.
Ben barely had time to lift his hand to knock when the door swung wide open and a petite, rather frail-looking woman launched herself at him, clinging tightly as if her life depended on it.
Drew thought the reaction was odd from someone who hadn’t bothered to even return Ben’s calls.
Patty pulled back, ran her hands over Ben’s face, then his arms, while big fat tears rolled down her cheeks. “I knew you would come around again. I knew you wouldn’t leave me, too.” She pulled him forward by the arm into the house and Drew followed. “It’s so good to see you, Ben. I’ve missed you so much.”
Drew watched as more tears ran down Patty’s face. “Patty, this is Drew Palmer. Drew, Patty Richardson.”
Patty seemed startled, almost like she never noticed Drew standing there. Then again, she didn’t seem to be doing much more than smothering Ben at the moment. Hugging him again, kissing him on the cheek, running her hands over his arms. Poor Ben looked more uncomfortable than Drew had ever seen him.
Turning her head to him, Patty extended her hand out to his, and he said, “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Are you a friend of Trent’s?” she asked.
“Drew didn’t know Trent,” Ben said.
“Then why is he here?” The question was asked with more bite than Drew expected and he thought surely he was imagining it. But when he looked at Patty’s eyes, he noticed they were no longer shining with happiness. Just as quickly though, she extinguished the look in her eyes and turned back to Ben, ignoring Drew again. “Are you still with Priscilla?”
“Presley,” Ben corrected her. “We’re married now and have a son.”
There was the cold look again, the one that Drew had thought he misjudged, but now he knew he hadn’t. “That’s nice,” she said, rather clipped, and Drew was even more confused over what was going on.
“We won’t take up too much of your time, Patty. I’ve been trying to reach you and since I was in the area for work, I thought I would swing by. I have a few questions for you, if we could sit down.”
“So you didn’t come here to visit me?” she said, the tears forming in her eyes again.
Drew was starting to understand why Ben had walked away. Patty’s moods were all over the place. “I am visiting with you, and I wish I had more time. If you’d returned my phone calls, then maybe I could have spent more time visiting than asking questions,” Ben said, the smile never leaving his face, giving the impression he was joking with her, but there was no sign of teasing in his eyes at all. No, Ben’s eyes were telling another story.
“Where are my manners?” Patty rushed out, pretty much ignoring Ben’s comment. “Have a seat and let me get you boys some sweet tea.”
Patty rushed out of the room and Drew looked over at Ben, and whispered, “Wow.”
“I warned you. Let’s hope I can keep her on track and get some answers.”
A minute later Patty returned carrying two glasses of iced tea. Drew politely accepted it and took a sip, then had all he could not to cough over the amount of sugar in it.
“Patty, please have a seat so we can talk for a minute.”
“I’ve been going through Trent’s things in his room,” she started to say, still standing. “I wanted to start boxing things up, but I can’t bring myself to do it. I like going in his room and looking at all of his things from childhood.”
Ben looked over at Drew, then back to Patty. Patty seemed to be trying hard to bypass why Ben was here. “Who’s Tim Morris?”
Patty stopped her pacing and stared at Ben, her eyes wide, her mouth open. Then she seemed to catch herself, schooled her features and replied with, “I’ve never heard that name before.”
Even Drew knew she was lying, but he kept his mouth shut. “Sure you have,” Ben said.
Running her hands down her pant legs, Patty lifted her chin and said, “I don’t have anything to say about Tim.”
So she did know who Tim was. Drew felt his heart starting to race in his chest. He opened his mouth, but Ben laid his hand on Drew’s arm and said, “Who was Tim to Trent?”
“What’s this all about?” Then she looked at Drew. “Does this have anything to do with you?” she asked sarcastically.
“Yes and no,” Drew said before Ben could stop him.
Patty crossed her arms in front of her. “Well, what does it have to do with you? I want to know before I say anything else.”
Drew looked at Ben, caught his nod and said, “My girlfriend never knew who her father was. After her mother passed away, she found out his name was Tim Morris.”
“Why do you think it has anything to do with me?” Patty asked.
Ben pulled the picture out of his pocket. “Because Tim sent this picture in a box to Jordyn, Drew’s girlfriend, before Jordyn even knew Tim existed. I don’t know who Tim is and have never heard of him. That means it has something to do with Trent. Is he a family friend? Or a family member by chance?”
Patty snorted. “So you want to help your girlfriend find her father?” She turned to look at Ben. “And what does this have to do with you? How do you know Drew?”
Drew was trying to keep up with what was going on, why Patty was getting so nasty and asking that question. Luckily, Ben responded before he could think of an answer, “Drew is my brother Alec’s brother-in-law, so he’s family to me. And yes, he’d like to help Jordyn find out something about her father. Tim passed away a year ago.”
Patty showed no reaction to that news, so either she already knew, or didn’t care. “It’s nice that you and your brother found wives. And nice that you have a family now. Something Trent never had a chance to experience.”
The bitterness coming from Patty was weighing heavily in the room, and Drew started to understand more about what was going on. Ben did say Patty blamed him for Trent’s death. “I’m sorry, Patty. You’re not the only one missing Trent.”
“But you seemed to have moved on with your life.”
“I have,” Ben said, his voice tighter than before. “That doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten about Trent, nor will I ever. Can you just tell us what Tim has to do with Trent? How they knew each other?”
“They didn’t know each other,” Patty said firmly.
“Then how did he get this picture, and why?” Ben asked.
“Because I sent it to him a year after I received it.”
“Why?” Ben asked.
Drew was trying not to lose his patience, but he was letting Ben handle this. There wasn’t much for Drew to say other than wanting to scream at Patty to just tell him what was going on.
“Because Tim wanted to meet Trent and I said no. He’d left his contact information for me to pass on to Trent and I didn’t do it. I sent that picture to Tim to let him know what a wonderful person Trent was, and that Tim had no one to blame but himself for not knowing him. Trent turned out the way he had because of me.”
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