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And there it is. It took my dad little to no time with us alone to bring her up. Every time I visit, he tries to fill me in on Gillian’s life, but I shut him down right away. I’m quite happy not knowing anything, and besides, it’s none of my business. Which is why I purposely don’t tell him that I saw her too.
“She was at Laurel’s bakery. You remember Laurel, right? Those two are tighter than a farmer and his tractor.”
I still don’t comment.
“She looked a little shaken.”
I stare out the window at the neighboring farms zipping past.
“You should reach out to her. Get a drink or coffee. Clear the air now that you’re here full time.”
“I never said I was here full time. It’s a pit stop.” Which is what I told myself after I retired and my dad asked me to come home. I’ll appease him for a little bit, but this isn’t where I want to land. My agent is talking to people about me being an analyst for Sunday games.
My dad frowns, even though this isn’t news to him. “Sometimes pit stops turn out to have a lifespan.”
“Not this time.” I love my family, but I’m not meant for Willowbrook. I don’t want the fish fry every Friday, where everyone gossips about what they’ve seen all week.
“Remember, this town built you. After your mom…”
His voice cracks as it does every time my mom is brought up, which isn’t often. He’s always quick to tell me he could barely meet our needs after my mom died, and if it wasn’t for his sisters and the people of Willowbrook, us boys would’ve run wild. I hate to break it to him. We kind of did, especially Emmett.
All I remember is Aunt Bette rocking Emmett to sleep for months in the same rocking chair my mom did. Aunt Darla read us bedtime stories, and our fridge and freezer were stocked full of casseroles. Men I barely knew worked the ranch.
“I haven’t forgotten.”
We pull down the long, winding road toward our property under the big arch that says Plain Daisy Ranch with the horseshoe in the middle, and my mind is flooded with memories.
We’re on the east side of the Noughton property, which mostly consists of the cattle ranch. The businesses that my aunts and uncles started are on the west side. There’s a big lake in the middle of our property, around which all of the houses are sporadically placed, except for my dad’s home. He never wanted to rebuild, staying in the house that he’d built for my mom.
“Smack on a smile because we’re having a family party.” He parks his truck in front of my family home with the giant porch around it.
“I don’t have to fake the smile. I’m happy to see them.”
“Good. Enjoy your night, and tomorrow morning, we’ll talk about your duties on the ranch. And what kinda house you’re gonna want to build.”
“My house?”
“Jude and Emmett have moved out, built houses of their own. You need to as well.” He opens his door to climb out.
“Can’t I just stay in my old bedroom until…” I don’t remind him that I’m not staying for the long term.
“You’re a grown man, Ben. You shouldn’t live in the family house. You can stay until you finish your house.”
He’s out of the truck and shuts the door. What the hell happened to my welcome home?
As I’m about to ask him another question, the front door opens, and all my family members file out with big smiles and open arms. They swarm me like offensive linemen on a running back with the ball one yard from the goal.
My aunts kiss my cheeks and hug me tight.
My uncles shake hands and give me one-armed hugs.
My female cousins give me tight hugs, each whispering how sorry they were about the parade but that I was a trooper.
My guy cousins all razz me about how red my face was and how the king has returned.
Jude looks disgruntled on the porch, sitting with Sadie at his side.
I wish I had time to walk the ranch and visit our oldest cow, Bessie, but that would be ungrateful to my family and the planning they did.
