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“You can let me off at the barn,” Ellen said, and he noticed her lips were still a little swollen. Maybe he’d been a little too rough and hadn’t realized it. But she didn’t seem to be complaining. He’d have to keep that in mind.
“That way you and Uncle Tadgh can have some privacy for your talk.”
“You’re leaving me to the wolves by myself?”
“I have confidence in you,” she said, with a saucy tilt to her head, as he pulled to a stop and she hopped out, making Chewy stay on the seat.
He wanted to kiss her goodbye, but that seemed a little silly, since he just gotten done kissing her a couple of minutes before.
She waved as she crossed in front of the truck. Chewy whined, but stayed beside him.
He watched her smile at him before she headed toward the barn.
As he turned back toward the house, he saw that Tadgh had stopped, and watched as he came closer.
Travis took a deep breath, knowing that what he said in the next few minutes, and what was said to him, could affect the rest of his life. He wanted to do his best.
Parking his truck, he said a short prayer, and then got out, slamming the door shut and walking over to where Tadgh waited.
He held out his hand. “Hey there,” he said.
Tadgh shook his hand, looking him dead in the eye. “I wondered when I was going to get a call like that. Or even if I was.”
“It seemed like the right thing to do. I’ve been taking care of Alice now for a couple of weeks, and it’s given me a new perspective about how a man might feel towards a child he’s raised.”
“Gets worse over time,” Tadgh said. “Take a walk behind the house?” He jerked his head indicating the path around the house.
They started out, with Travis trying to think of how best to start the conversation.
They stopped at the back porch, where Tadgh invited him to sit down. Travis didn’t want to be rude, but he didn’t think he could sit right now.
“No sir, if it’s okay I’d rather stand. I’m a little nervous.” He’d found in business that it was often good to admit the truth. Even if the person felt like it would make them seem weaker in everyone else’s eyes. He could project confidence while admitting that he wasn’t totally confident. People seem to relate to weakness, as long as it didn’t seem to be a weakness that a person couldn’t overcome.
That was just his experience. It seemed to work with Tadgh, because he smiled. But there was still concern in his eyes.
“You’re nervous. That makes me nervous. What’s up?”
“I guess you’ve known that I’ve been away for a while.”
“Yeah,” Tadgh said. If he thought what Travis said was ridiculous, his face didn’t show it.
Everyone in town knew he’d been gone, so Travis knew he should have opened slightly differently. But it was done now.
“Ford Hansen wanted me to, and I appreciated it. But there was another reason I left.”
“Okay.”
“I was in love with Ellen.”
Tadgh’s face remained impassive. The only thing that gave away his surprise was two blinks.
He slowly nodded, and then he said, “Okay.” The way he said it seemed to be an invitation for Travis to continue speaking.
“She was only fourteen. I was eighteen. That would have been a relationship that was inappropriate. So I had to go.”
“I see.”
“Yeah. It was one of the hardest things I’ve done, but I loved Ellen, and I wanted the best for her.”
