Eric cranked up AC/DC in his truck. Some days called for Hank and some days called for something a little heavier. There had been no real need for him to make that trip to town. It was an hour round trip, not to mention buying a part he was sure he had somewhere just to drop in and kiss Susan one more time.
They were going on less than a week of knowing each other and he couldn’t get enough. This was maddening. He was stressed and she was going to pay for it.
He noticed his father’s car when he drove up to the house. He’d hoped to have the sink fixed before his father arrived. That’s what he got for stopping in town—for indulging in that distraction.
When Eric walked through the back door of the house he wasn’t surprised to see his father looking at the work he’d done before he left.
“I suppose this is going to need to be redone someday,” his father said running his hand over his silver, thinning hair.
“If you start that she’ll want a kitchen remodel.”
His father smiled, though his eyes remained weary. “Yeah.”
He stepped back to let Eric in with the part he carried in his hands.
“I’ll leave you to this. Why don’t you come see me in my office before you go.”
Eric gave him a nod and watched him walk away. He didn’t like how his father sounded. Suddenly he wasn’t too optimistic about his father’s meetings.
An hour later Eric walked into his father’s office, tapping on the doorjamb first.
“Come in. Shut the door,” he said.
Eric pulled the French doors closed then turned to see his father wiping his fingers over his obviously tired eyes.
“Everything okay?” he asked as he took a seat in front of the desk.
“Could be better,” his father said on a heavy breath. “My brother has a gambling problem.”
“Obviously.”
“In the last six months he’s racked up over a hundred thousand in debts.”
“I don’t see where that’s our problem.”
His father’s eyes lifted and locked on his. “He’s my brother.”
Eric felt his words as if they’d been punched into his gut. He’d never turn away his brothers in a time of need. Gambling was an addiction—a disease. He needed help and Eric knew that meant his father was going to do everything he could to help.
“Elias didn’t win the property exactly. He paid off Byron’s debt of nearly a million dollars.”
That had Eric out of his chair and pacing. “A million dollars?”
“He knew he’d inherit half of the property. He used it as leverage to save his life.”
“What about our lives? What about our livelihood? Do you know what will happen to the cattle if we lose that acreage?”
His father nodded. “I know.”
“You’re willing to go through with this, aren’t you?”
There was pain in his father’s eyes and it hurt to see it. “There is little we can do now, except try and reason with Elias Morgan.”
“Fine. I’ll march over and have a word with him. I’m his family. He should listen to the grandson he never bothered to get to know.” His voice had risen until he was nearly yelling at his father. He hadn’t noticed until his stepmother opened the door and walked in.
Eric raked his hands through his hair and sat back down as Glenda stood behind his father and rubbed his shoulders.
“It’s not sounding like things went well today,” she said before she kissed the top of his father’s head.
His father patted her hand and Eric could see a connection between them that he wasn’t sure he’d ever noticed before. There was unconditional love which was almost so thick in the air he was sure he too could feel it envelope him. Maybe they’d always been that way and he’d been too hurt and angry to ever see it.
When his father took his stepmother’s hand and kissed it, he let out a breath. “No matter what happens, everything will be okay. No one will suffer,” he said.
Eric let out a groan and the intimacy of the moment was lost. “No one? What about Byron? He walks away? Look a the pain he’s causing you.”
His father lifted his eyes and narrowed them to make a point. “No one suffers.”
Eric wasn’t sure about that. There should be some retribution for what he was doing to the family. And Eric couldn’t help but feel a bit jaded. He had a lot to lose. That house had been his home for twenty years. He’d built that barn with his own two hands. The horses he boarded were his business and if they lost the land, he’d lose that too.
Someone needed to suffer and if it wasn’t his uncle then maybe it should be his grandfather. His breath came quicker now and so did the anger that rose through him and squeezed at his chest. This wasn’t over. They weren’t just going to hand over the property and walk away.
Eric stood to excuse himself, but his exit was stalled when his stepmother moved in front of him. “I hear you’ve been spending time with Susan.”
He winced. Somebody had a big mouth. “Yeah, we’ve hung out a few times.”
A smile formed on her mouth and her eyes went soft. “Is that what you’re calling it?”
Now he was beginning to understand who told her about them. Russ just might get a punch in the gut he decided.
“We’re just enjoying each other’s company and getting to know each other. That’s all. We’re not serious.”
She touched his arm, much as Susan had that first day he’d met her. “I like her, Eric. She’s a very nice girl. Why don’t you invite her over on Sunday for dinner? And also invite Bethany. I’d like to get to know her too.”
Eric nodded then gave his father a wave as he left the house. He wasn’t sure if he had one emotion left that hadn’t been touched on today. Every muscle in his body was drained and as he passed the clock in the kitchen, he realized it was dinnertime.
He’d settle in and make himself a steak. Yeah, that’s what he was going to do.
As he passed by the basket of fruit on the counter, he snagged an apple. Whisky River would enjoy a little snack and Eric could use the time to sort out his feelings. Whisky River was a good listener.