Hairhouse in Texas and Wishing Well Feed Supply shared a back parking lot.
Although that cleared up one mystery, I still had no clue why my dad was here and what it had to do with my ex. My dad had always gotten along with Rachel, and after things ended, unlike my mom and Harmony, he hadn’t said much. Actually, other than asking how I was he hadn’t said anything at all. So, I wasn’t really sure where he landed on things where she was concerned.
“She mentioned that she’d been trying to talk to you.” He said as he stared down at his hands.
“Yeah.”
He nodded, still not making eye contact.
I could tell that this wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have, and he was uncomfortable having it. “Did Mom put you up to this?”
He lifted his head. “What? No.”
If he said that she hadn’t, I knew that she hadn’t. My dad wouldn’t lie about that, but it still didn’t get me any closer to figuring out what was going on. He was a straight shooter. He didn’t like small talk. He meant what he said, and he said what he meant.
“Dad, what is it? Just say it.”
“Unlike your mother, I try not to get involved in you kids’ lives, especially your personal lives.”
I couldn’t help but grin that he’d added “unlike your mother.” He was always giving her a hard time about getting involved in things she didn’t need to be and worrying about them way too much.
“But I just needed to stop by and say my piece, because I didn’t the first time and I’ve always regretted it.”
“The first time?”
He let out a sigh and sat up. “Look, I had a feeling somethin’ was goin’ on with her and Neil. I didn’t have proof, but I saw them around town a few times parked in his truck and I just didn’t have a good feeling about it. But I kept my mouth shut and if you hadn’t walked in and seen what ya had…you could have made a big mistake, and I would have let you make it.”
I could see that this had weighed on him over the years.
“Dad, it’s okay. You had a feeling, you didn’t know anything. Even if I would have married her, it wouldn’t have been your fault.”
“Well, I promised myself, after that happened, that if I had strong feelings about things, I would let you kids know. I’m sure Rachel is sorry, but I just don’t think she’s the one for you. She was always pretty selfish, and from the conversation I just had with her, that hasn’t changed.”
“Dad, I’m not going to get back together with Rachel.”
“Okay, good.” He nodded and I could see that there was visible relief in his face.
He stood and I asked, “Did you want a beer?”
“Nah, I got get back to the farm. Trace is waitin’ on me.” He stopped when he saw my guitar sitting in front of the door. “You playin’ again?”
“Maybe. But can we keep that between us?”
He grinned. “I wasn’t even here. The last thing I need is for your mother to hear that I interfered in one of you kids’ love lives. I’d never hear the end of it.”
As he walked out to his truck, I laughed thinking about what a bad time my mom would give him after all the years he’d told her to stay out of things and “let the kids work things out on their own.”
When I closed the door, I looked down at the guitar case and I knew that if I opened it, everything would change. But part of me knew that everything had already changed… the second I laid eyes on Sasha.
Chapter 23
Sasha
“Make your words soft and sweet, cause ya never know which ones you’re gonna eat.”
~ Barbara-Jean Nelson
“Gam, are you sure you don’t want to come along?”
“No, Chipmunk. But you go ahead with the girls. I’ve got my shows.”
Gam turned the volume up on the television to a level that indicated she wasn’t wearing her hearing aids. I noticed that she liked to take them out when she was winding down for the evening. I felt bad leaving her at home alone, especially after I’d been gone yesterday all day (and night) with Beau, but a girls’ night out sounded too good to pass up. I had all sorts of excess energy that I wasn’t sure what to do with.
“Are you sure?” I questioned again.
“Yes, go on now.” She waved me away.
When I bent down and