Harvest Rest

by Teri Blake

  Sawyer drove back to the office to find a familiar red pickup parked in Tyrone’s reserved spot. He climbed out of the truck and headed for Tyrone’s office. Once there, he found Tyrone on the phone, sitting at his desk with his planner open.

  Tyrone motioned for him to sit with a big smile as he continued his conversation. “Marvin, it’s been good catching up and I’m glad Sawyer did such a good job of taking care of you. I’ll drop by to see it this week.” He finished saying goodbye and hung up. “You’ve been gone a while. What’s up?”

  “Ha, I could say the same of you. How’s Toni doing?” He’d missed seeing his friend where he belonged, in his office, doing his job.

  “Toni is doing great. Unfortunately, they aren’t sure what caused it, but she hasn’t had an episode in a few days and she’s at home on bedrest. She’s supposed to eat iron rich foods to help grow the little guy and help her blood. And I’d better not catch her nesting.” He laughed. “I’ve told her I’ll do everything she needs. She just has to ask.”

  He wished Karla would be that way. Then again, she had asked for him to help her with the construction and he hadn’t been able to. “Are you back here full-time or just when you can?”

  “I’ll be doing what I can from the office, but taking my computer and planner home with me just in case I need to be home. I don’t want to leave you with all of this any longer than I have to.”

  “I appreciate that, but I want to make sure everything is all right before I hand it back over.” He had to think of his company before he could think of calling Karla and telling her why he’d been so scarce.

  “You’ve worked a lot of hours and I know you asked Karla if you could help with her kids while their dad is gone. You’ve had no time to do any of that.”

  And Karla had been dealing with the blow of Davin smoking. That could also have hurt her. He’d offered in more ways than one to be her copilot then he’d walked out of the cockpit.

  “Yeah, Davin came back from his dad’s house with some bad habits. I haven’t had any time to address them with Karla or her son.”

  “Then you’d better make time to do that. But you need a day of rest first. You know what they say about a day of rest.”

  Tyrone’s minister had explained how a day to refresh could make you able to do even more work than if you tried to work seven days straight, because of fatigue. He couldn’t argue the fact just then. He was bone weary from working two jobs for over a week. “I do.”

  “Well, I’ll be here if you need a day or two to get back to normal. Once the baby comes, I’ll be gone for a while, but I’ll also be able to prepare and schedule my clients so you don’t have so much work.”

  He needed a day, at least that much, to get back on track. But what he needed most was to figure out what had gone wrong with Karla. Of everyone, he thought she’d understand that when he was under stress, he buckled in and just worked. That was how he coped. She had her way, and he had his.

  “I’ve got a few things to take care of then I’ll probably take you up on that offer. Beware of the phone, it’ll trap you.”

  Tyrone laughed. “Don’t I know it.”

  In his office, Sawyer resisted the urge to turn his phone to available. If he did that, he’d end up taking calls and then he’d be there for hours. He flipped open his planner. There were a lot of jobs going on that needed him. He couldn’t devote all of his time to Karla and she shouldn’t need it.

  She’d wanted independence, had begged him to let her do things on her own. Had he read her wrong this whole time? Had he mistaken their whole conversation? He’d wanted to be the man who did everything he could for her, but he’d come to the realization that everything didn’t mean the same for her as it meant for him.

  For her, it meant only the things she couldn’t do or specifically asked him to do. Rob had left her feeling like she wasn’t capable of anything, so he’d had to learn to step back. It was okay to not be the hero if it meant she got her two feet under her.

  This last episode left him unsure of exactly what he was supposed to do and how he should move forward. Help, or stay away? Stick his nose in and ask her what in the world was going on, or wait until she was done being angry with him.

  Not that he’d helped the situation by poking at her while he was there to look at the plans. He’d been so tired that he’d worn his mood on his sleeve. She didn’t seem all that concerned about him anyway even though he knew he looked awful.

  A guy his age didn’t handle sixty-hour work weeks like the younger guys did. His cellphone rang and he laid his phone on his desk, then hit the accept button. “Hello.”

  Karla’s voice came, tentative at first. “Sawyer, I’m sorry for goading you. I don’t know what’s going on over there, but I was jealous of whatever had taken your time. Look, you don’t have to say anything right now. I just want you to know that I didn’t mean to be such a jerk. I’ve got a lot going on too and I let my emotions get out of hand.”

  “So did I.” He answered before he could stop himself. “I’m sorry too. I wanted to be there for you for the build, but the job had been handled and I just didn’t have any extra minutes. I should’ve made them to let you know.”

  She paused for a moment and he waited, wondering what she was thinking. “I would’ve liked that. I want to feel like your partner in this. You told me that I’d probably be very busy with the construction but I’m not. I don’t know anything except the list of the phases that I was given at first. Which…does me no good now that all these dates are off.”

  He took a deep breath. “I don’t want to go over this when I’m tired. And I’m beyond tired. I’ll only end up screwing things up between us even more. If you don’t mind giving me a few days, I’ll call you and tell you exactly where everything is and give you some new projections.”

  “And you’ll come talk to me?”

  His chest squeezed. That was exactly what he needed to hear. Now he’d be able to actually rest when he got home and not worry about what kind of landmine he’d walk into next time he talked to her.

  “Absolutely. I’ll tell you as much as I can and we’ll make a new timeline for your project. But I can tell you right now that it’s not as far behind as you probably think because we built lag into the job.”

  She was silent for a moment. “All right, then I trust you. I’ll talk to you in a few days.”

  I trust you was as good as I love you for the time being, but he’d want to hear that eventually too.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Karla hung up the phone with Sawyer and Davin appeared in her doorway. She hadn’t seen much of him in days and after Channyon telling her he’d asked for money, she figured a talk was coming.

  He sighed heavily. “Can we talk?”

  She’d been waiting for him to broach the subject without prodding him. Davin had refused to say much about vaping except that he wouldn’t do it anymore. Since smoking was addictive, she wasn’t sure how he was going to simply quit and be fine, but he hadn’t talked to her during his in-school suspension and he’d avoided her all weekend.

  “Of course. We’ve always talked when we have problems.” She gestured to the chair in the corner. “Have a seat and tell me what’s on your mind.” She sat on the bed to give him space. Maybe he’d be more willing to tell her everything if she didn’t hover over him.

  He trudged to the chair and slumped into it, but it took him a few moments to gather himself. “Look, I didn’t mean to be the bad kid. I’ve always done what you expected. What you thought was right. I don’t mean to get Dad in trouble, either, but I have a feeling what I have to say will make you mad at him.”

  She’d been sure the issue started with Rob, but Davin hadn’t confirmed it until then. “What did your dad do that would make me angry with him and not you? Aren’t we talking about your behavior?” She sounded like a mean old woman, but he was the kind of kid who would usually stay in line just because he didn’t like to displease her.

  Davin lea
ned back and rested his arms on the armrests looking much younger than his thirteen years. He tilted his head all the way back and laid it momentarily on the low back of the chair.

  “I don’t know. I just have a feeling that Dad’s very small part in this will make you angrier than even my part. I admit I did something stupid. He never will.”

  She couldn’t deny that fact. He’d yet to admit that having an affair was wrong. “All right, so start there.”

  He fidgeted in his seat, playing with his fingernails. “You see, Dad doesn’t do much of anything. Neither does Audrey. They don’t work or go out. They don’t have friends.”

  “So they sit around and smoke all day.” She could figure that much out.

  He shook his head quickly. “It’s not what you think. He’s not smoking cigarettes. It’s not nicotine. It’s pot. He hurt his back when we were moving. He went to some doctor who gave him a prescription for pot. Dad thought it was hilarious, but he didn’t want people to see him at any of the CBD stores.”

  For the same reason he didn’t want to get a job that was beneath him. Pride. “If he didn’t go to the store, then where?”

  Davin frowned. “He didn’t take me with him or anything, so I didn’t find out until later that he bought everything online. He complained about smoking the real weed he got with the prescription. It left a haze in the apartment. I think that’s how Audrey got involved. She was always with him and she really enjoyed the haze. Maisy and I would sit outside for as long as we could, but it’s pretty hot in Arizona.”

  But Davin wasn’t smoking joints. It was a vape pen. “So, how did he go from smoking medicinal joints to vaping?”

  Davin frowned. “I’m getting there. He bought a vape and the liquid so he could keep smoking, but without anything he didn’t like. Because, it turns out, he really likes it.”

  She’d looked up everything she could find out about vaping pot when Channyon had thought that was the source of the smell that morning. When they’d talked about what Davin was doing, judging by the smell.

  “How could he really like it when there’s nothing in it that would make him addicted? CBD has no THC in it…”

  “Doesn’t matter. It has CBD in it, which might not make you high, but it can make you feel very good. Chill, even.” He smiled slightly, confirming he felt that way too.

  She hated that her son spoke so casually about vaping CBD. There was so much of a stigma around it and for years only pot heads smoked it. Maybe when he was older and could make those choices intelligently, but not now. Not at thirteen. “So, you tried it.”

  He rolled his wrists then gripped the arms of the plush chair. “I did. Dad and Audrey were gone shopping and I was curious what it tasted like. It was just this long pen-looking thing. I’d seen him charging, loading, and using it enough that I knew when and how long to press the button on the side and what to do. The first time, I got a super dry mouth from it, but I slept. I hadn’t slept well since the vacation. I can’t tell you how good it felt to sleep.”

  She wasn’t sure if he was playing on her mama sensitivities, but it made total sense to her that Davin wouldn’t be able to sleep knowing she was worried and being in a new place. They’d always been close. “But you don’t need it to sleep now?”

  “No, I don’t even know that I needed it then. But it was nice to finally sleep. I was super-irritable because I hadn’t slept in days. Dad and Audrey sort of passed out on the couch since they have nothing better to do and…I tried it a second time to see if it would help me again.” He shrugged. “I honestly thought it would do more when I tried it the first time. I mean, people say so much about why you shouldn’t smoke pot.”

  “And you shouldn’t.” She felt the need to say it again.

  He rolled his eyes. “I did get kind of addicted to the way it helped me sleep, then I just liked it. I’m not addicted, my body doesn’t need it. I haven’t done it in weeks and I don’t even think about it. Except when I can’t go out or do anything because I’m still being punished for it.” He met her stare full on, forcing her to see him as the young adult he was becoming.

  “You served your time in school and at home. We’ll talk later about starting your allowance again. For now, nothing changes.”

  Davin’s admission was great in that she knew what had happened, but that still didn’t deal with the problem. Rob was vaping and had been for months. He obviously didn’t hide it from the kids in any way or even advise them not to touch it. For all she knew, he let them use it and this was a story for Davin to get his allowance back.

  “And your father kept vaping the whole time you were there? He didn’t stop when his back got better? Did he tell you to stay away from it? Anything?”

  Davin shook his head. “None of that. You know Dad. He’s always expected you to lay down the rules with us. I don’t think he was hurt that bad to begin with, but he wanted an excuse to stay home and not work for a while.”

  That revelation hit her like a rock. “He didn’t want to work?” He’d always, even in the beginning, escaped the family at work. Maybe he had always been looking for an excuse to get away from her. Her sisters had told her, but she’d assumed they all just hated him from the start. They had, but now she knew it was because he wasn’t right for her.

  “No. He wanted to hang out and watch TV. It wasn’t long before Audrey was encouraging him to find something. She yelled at him to go do anything to get him out of the small apartment. She wouldn’t let him use the money from selling her house to buy things, so they fought a lot too.”

  Her poor son had used pot as an escape from staying with his dad, but no wonder Rob was having money trouble. He wasn’t working and wasn’t willing to. His excuses about his resume were just that. He wanted to stay home, watch television, and smoke. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  “Audrey told him he’d better get his act together right before Maisy and I went home. I don’t know what’s happened since then, because I haven’t talked to him. I know he wasn’t working before he drove us to the airport.”

  Thank goodness she’d saved and gotten them flights so they didn’t have to ride the whole way with Rob. For a split-second she considered telling him Rob had called and asked her for more money and part of her wondered if Audrey had left and that was why he’d needed even more cash. But Davin wouldn’t have even known about the cash she sent at first.

  Rob couldn’t have smoked his way through the proceeds of the Tidewater in only a few months. She’d bought him out and he should’ve been able to live on that money for quite some time. He may have invested it like he said, but everything from his mouth was suspect.

  “Did he buy anything when you got there, or did you just rent an apartment?”

  Davin shook his head slowly. “We moved right into an apartment. It was a lot, like, with a pool and gym. Audrey complained from the start that it would be too much money.”

  A rental could cost as much or even more than a monthly mortgage. Especially if Rob was trying to maintain a wealthy look. “So he didn’t buy a house. What about anything else expensive? A new car?”

  Davin scrunched his nose. “No, nothing like that. Dad doesn’t tell us anything. Honestly, neither of us know him all that well since he was always working. I mean, I do…but I don’t. So he talks with us about stupid stuff, not deep stuff.”

  Maisy had said similar when they’d come home. “You had your own oil and pen when you got here. I saw them. How did you get them?” And could he get more if he wanted to?

  “I stole the pen from Dad. He had about four of them. The thing is, he doesn’t ever check his credit card bills. He just pays them. And online, on the sites where you can buy vapes and oils, they only ask if you’re eighteen. There's no way for them to test whether I’m lying or not.”

  And he’d obviously lied or he wouldn’t have his own oils. “So you ordered your oils online with your dad’s card?” And his father was so… She wasn’t even sure what word would be used. Without the drug that
would make him high, she couldn’t say he was stoned. But he was too consumed with his own drugs to notice that his son had started right under his nose.

  “It wasn’t hard. Dad had the site bookmarked and he had me go get the mail every day. There was literally no roadblock. I think Audrey suspected I took the pen, but she never said anything. I don’t think she cares about us all that much.”

  In all of this, she had to know the why. Was it just to sleep? Was it just to try it? Was there something else?

  “So you did it to, what? Escape reality? Couldn’t Maisy have helped you go somewhere or do something else? Couldn’t your dad have helped you find something to help you sleep better than pot?”

  Unless he would’ve handed Davin the vape to try it. And what was she going to do about visitation now? She didn’t want Davin or Maisy exposed to this behavior again. It might lure him into starting over. And would Rob allow him to because he knew it bothered Karla?

  “I don’t know. At first, it was to see if I’d get caught and see what was so great about it that Dad did it all the time, I suppose. It would be kind of nice if Dad cared that we were there. He wanted to take us from you so bad, but then when he had us there, we were an inconvenience. Even Maui wasn’t that fun because every time we’d do something amazing, he would make a comment about you. About how you’d hate it or he wished he could send you a video to rub it in.”

  Davin rolled his shoulders and leaned forward. “I’ve never wanted to have to choose, but Dad makes me. He assumes I’m on his side and he forces us to listen to crap all the time. I’m sick of it… I don’t want to go back. And neither does Maisy.”

  Rob had been fixated on making her pay for whatever he perceived she did wrong. Ending custody now would be a battle, but she’d take all of this to her lawyer. If Rob thought she was done fighting for her kids, he would always be mistaken. The divorce couldn’t come fast enough.