by Rachel Hanna
Evie struggled not to allow her eyes to fill with tears. She was tough, like her mother, and she didn’t like for people to see her sweat. “I remember. And I wish it could be that way again.”
“It can. That’s why I’m here. I want to reconnect with you. I hope you’ll give me that chance.”
She stepped back and crossed her arms. “Fine, but you have to stop being so critical. I love this place. It’s my home, and I hope to stay around here forever. I feel like I finally found where I’m supposed to be.”
“I’m glad. All I want is for you to be happy.”
She paused for a moment. “How would you like to go fishing before dinner?”
“I’d love that.”
As they turned and walked back toward the house, Evie wondered whether they would really be able to mend their relationship. She wasn’t sure, but she hoped so. As much as she was angry at her father, she loved him. She wanted their old relationship again.
“I’m so glad you got here safely” Sam said as Travis opened his hotel room door.
“What are you doing here? I thought we weren’t meeting until tomorrow morning?”
“Well, I thought you might be hungry for dinner so I brought…” She held up a bag full of Chinese food containers. “I remember how much you loved the Mongolian beef at Golden Dragon. So I grabbed some and extra eggrolls and headed over here. I hope you don’t mind?”
He actually did mind. He had just gotten to the hotel from the airport a half hour before, and he was tired and ready for a shower and a nice soft bed. Plus, he really wanted to call Mia and hear her voice. But, he didn’t want to offend Sam and possibly ruin his chances with this new opportunity.
“Sure. Come on in. I’m famished.”
Sam smiled broadly and walked past him into the hotel room. She set everything down on the round wooden table by the sliding glass doors that led to the terrace overlooking the city. If there was one thing he would give her, it was that she had wonderful taste in hotels. He didn’t know how much this place was costing per night, but the publishing company was paying for it.
“How many eggrolls do you want?” she asked as she started pulling everything out of the bags.
“I’ll start with one and see how it goes,” he said, laughing.
For the next hour, they ate and talked and laughed about old times. He and Sam had worked together quite a bit over the years on all kinds of projects.
“Do you remember that sketchy fried chicken place? The one where we had to take the pictures and found a feather still sticking out of one of the pieces?” Sam asked.
“I’m glad we’re finished eating. If you had brought that up while I was eating that sesame chicken, I might have thrown up,” Travis said, wiping his mouth.
“Man, we had some fun times back then. Even though we made next to no money, I kind of miss it sometimes.”
“Yeah, well I don’t. Taking pictures of hamburgers and french fries wasn’t exactly what I had planned for my future.”
She smiled. “What do you have planned for your future, Travis? Because I can’t help but notice that it seems like you’re regressing.”
He looked at her, his eyebrows furrowed together. “What do you mean?”
“Well, no offense, but that little town you’re living in isn’t exactly a great place to build a fabulous career. You need to come back to the city for that.”
“No thanks. I don’t ever want to move away from Carter’s Hollow again.”
She shook her head. “Travis, you’re one of the most talented photographers I know. But, if you’re living so far away from all of the opportunities, I fear that you won’t ever be able to live out your dreams.”
“Doing the photos for this book is all I’m interested in right now. I love my home, and I love Mia. I promised her I’d never leave again.”
She smiled. “Is that what this is all about? A promise to Mia?”
“Somewhat.”
“Let me ask you a question. If Mia agreed to move to New York City with you, or even to Atlanta, would you go?”
He stood up and picked up the paper bag full of empty Chinese food boxes. He crushed it and walked across the room, stuffing it into the trashcan.
“It doesn’t really matter because it’s never going to happen. She has a life there, and we were apart for too many years for me to ever consider leaving again.”
“Well, if there’s one thing I’ve learned is that you should never say never.”
Travis laughed and shook his head. “Maybe you should be in sales, Sam. You’d probably be very good at it.”
“That’s not the first time I’ve heard that.” As she stood up with her soda in her hand, she tripped over the leg of the table, knocking it onto the wooden surface. The splash ricocheted and hit Travis all over his T-shirt.
“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry!”
“No problem. I was about to change clothes anyway. This is a little bit sticky, so let me go take a quick shower and change clothes.”
“Okay, I’ll wait here.”
Chapter Six
Mia definitely wasn’t looking forward to this very awkward dinner. She expected that Kate might lunge across the table at Brandon at some point, and they may have to call the sheriff out to calm down the commotion.
As she stirred the mashed potatoes, she thought about how hard this must be on her sister. This man who had abandoned her child all those years ago would now be sitting across the table, and there was little she could do. If Kate didn’t keep her composure, she risked losing her relationship with her daughter. Thankfully, their only guests had left that morning and the new ones wouldn’t arrive for a few more days.
Even though she knew she should only be thinking about her sister’s situation, she found her mind wandering. Had Travis made it safely to New York City? She hadn’t heard from him yet, and it was a little concerning since he should’ve landed at least two hours ago.
She tried not to think about it as she scooped the mashed potatoes into the bowl. Everybody would be coming down soon, and the yeast rolls weren’t quite ready yet.
Unable to stop herself from worrying, she decided to go ahead and give Travis a call. “Do you mind finishing this up? I just want to make a quick phone call.”
Kate, who seemed lost in her own thoughts, nodded. “Sure. And I’ll check the rolls in a minute.”
Mia pulled her phone out of her apron pocket and stepped out onto the back deck to get some privacy. She dialed Travis’s number and waited for him to answer. Normally, he was pretty good about answering on the first ring, especially when he saw it was her. But this time, it had already rang three times before it was answered.
“Hello?” Mia froze. Was that Sam’s voice? Why was she answering Travis’s phone? Had he been hurt?
“Sam?”
“Oh, hi, Mia.”
“Is Travis okay?”
“Of course. Why do you ask?”
“Well, I know he landed a couple of hours ago. I expected to hear from him…”
“Oh. Sorry. That’s my fault.”
“Your fault?”
“I showed up at his hotel room with a bag full of Chinese food,” she said with a chuckle. “He never could say no to the eggrolls at Golden Dragon.”
Mia’s stomach churned. This felt way too familiar. Way too intimate. “Oh. Well, he does love his Chinese food. Listen, is he around so I can chat with him for a moment?”
There was a long pause before Sam spoke. “Actually… He’s taking a shower.”
“He’s taking a shower? While you’re there?”
She giggled. “I spilled a bit of my drink on his shirt.”
Mia felt her pulse rate skyrocketing. What was going on in that hotel room so many miles away? “Can you ask him to give me a call?”
“Of course!” Sam’s level of enthusiasm was a little too much for Mia right now.
“Thanks.”
As she ended the call, she felt like she wanted to throw up. Why was this b
othering her so badly? Was she overreacting or was it really strange that her boyfriend had another woman in his hotel room, and he was taking a shower?
She tried to gather her composure before walking back into the kitchen. Kate was going to need her help at dinner, and she had to get focused.
Kate had never felt such an internal struggle in her entire life. There she sat, at the other end of the table from the person she disliked most in the world. Every so often, he would make eye contact with her and then quickly look away, probably worried that she might just jump straight over the table and smother him in a bowl of mashed potatoes.
“So, how was the fishing today?” Jack asked, only looking at Evie and completely ignoring Brandon.
“Pretty good. I caught a couple of bass and threw them back, of course.”
“Good girl. One day we’ll have a fish fry out there.”
Evie smiled. “Dad also caught a fish. It wasn’t quite as big as mine, but pretty good,” she said as she looked over at Brandon.
“You just need better bait,” he said before taking a bite of his roll.
“Better bait? I’ll have you know that cut up hotdogs is one of the best bait you can use,” Jack said, glaring at Brandon.
“That must be a southern thing because we don’t use cut up hotdogs as our bait up north. It was kind of weird.“
“Let me tell you something…” Jack said, rising up out of his chair a little.
“Why don’t we change the subject?” Mia said loudly. Jack eased back down into his seat.
“Sorry. I didn’t realize discussing bait would be so controversial,” Brandon said, laughing under his breath.
“So, Dad, I understand I have a brother and sister?” Evie suddenly interjected.
Brandon looked a little surprised that she had brought it up at a table full of people that included her mother, grandfather and aunt. Of course, Cooper was also there, sitting silently and trying to stay out of the crossfire.
“You’re right. You have a little sister named Abigail, and she’s seven. And you have a little brother named Elijah and he’s nine.”
“Do they know about me?”
“Of course. I’ve shown them pictures.They’d like to meet you one day. Kara just wants to wait until they’re a little older.”
The whole thing feels so very awkward to Kate. Why did her daughter have to ask about her siblings? Why didn’t she already know them? And why couldn’t they know her now?
“Why can’t they meet me now?”
Brandon cleared his throat, obviously uncomfortable. He reached over and touched her hand. “Kara just thinks they’re a little too young to know the situation.”
“What situation?” Evie pressed.
“That your father had a wife before Kara. And that he left his kid behind,” Kate blurted out. Evie glared at her. “Sorry,” Kate mouthed.
“So, what are you doing for a living, Brandon?” Jack asked, his voice monotone.
Brandon looked down at his plate as if he was nervous. Kate figured he was still in the same line of work, doing electrical projects for large office buildings. He’d learned the business from his father many years ago.
“Actually, I’m not working right now. Taking some time off to reassess.”
Kate wasn’t buying it. Something else was going on. Maybe he and his wife had separated or divorced? Maybe his other kids didn’t have anything to do with him, so he was coming for the one child that might still be interested.
“You’re not working? I’m surprised. You made really good money doing all of the electrical work on those buildings.” Even though he’d made great money over the years, he’d never sent any to his daughter. Kate could’ve gone after him for spousal support and certainly child support, but her pride had gotten in the way, and she’d never gone to court. Sometimes she wished that she did, if for no other reason than to punish him for walking out on his daughter.
“Yeah, I’m not sure I want to keep doing that. It’s pretty physically taxing.”
“You’re still a young man. I worked until just a few years ago,” Jack said in true macho man fashion.
“The food is really good. It’s been a while since I had a home-cooked American meal,” Brandon said, obviously changing the subject.
“Thanks,” Kate said.
Brandon looked up at her, his head tilted to the side. “Don’t tell me you cooked this? You never could figure your way around a kitchen.”
“You know what, buddy?” Cooper started to say. Kate smiled and squeezed his hand.
“It’s okay. Nothing he says affects me anymore.”
“Mom has become a really great cook. She’s even able to make some southern food.”
“Sorry,” he said, obviously not actually meaning it. “It’s just amazing how some things change, I guess.”
“Well, I guess they do when you let so many years pass and don’t see the people that you supposedly love, like your daughter.” Mia said before slapping her hand over her mouth to try to stop any further words from spitting out.
Brandon smiled, but not in a happy way. Kate could tell he was irritated, maybe embarrassed? He wiped his mouth and then put his napkin on the table before sliding his chair out and standing up.
“Look, I know there’s only one person at this table who actually wants me here, and that’s enough for me. I came to see my daughter, and nothing that any of you say is going to ruin that for me. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go up to my room to make a phone call.”
He turned and walked out of the room and up the stairs. As soon as he was out of earshot, Evie turned and glared, individually, at every person at the table.
“Why are y’all doing this? I thought everybody wanted me to make an effort with him? I can’t do that if you run him off!”
“I’m so sorry for what I said. It just came out,” Mia said, reaching over and rubbing Evie’s shoulder.
“And Grandpa, why are you being so hard on him?”
“Listen, I don’t expect you to understand, but I look at him and see the man who left my granddaughter behind. That’s a very hard thing to forgive.”
“But isn’t it up to me whether I forgive him or not? You guys are making this impossible!” Evie said, pushing her chair out aggressively before walking out of the room. She went out the front door, slamming it behind her.
Kate started to stand up to follow her. “Why don’t you give her some time?” Cooper said. Kate sat back down in her chair.
“She’s right, you know? The whole purpose of this visit is to give her whatever she needs from her father. But I can’t help it. When I look at him, I just feel this rage well up inside of me. It brings up so many memories of wrapping her in my arms and rocking her while she cried about her father. Or all of those daddy-daughter dances where she stayed home and saw her friends’ pictures on social media. I don’t think he fully understands what he’s done to her.”
“Well, maybe you should have a conversation with him?” Mia suggested.
Kate laughed. “Are you kidding me? I’ve had tons of conversations with him on the phone. I don’t think he cares.”
“Then why is he here?” Jack asked.
“I wish I knew. There’s something else going on, but I don’t know what it is.”
“Maybe you should call his wife,” Cooper said.
“Call his wife? Why on earth would I do that?”
“Because she knows the real reason he’s here.”
Kate picked up her plate and walked over to the trashcan, raking the rest of it into the can and then putting her plate in the sink. “I have never spoken to that woman, and I don’t think I want to. Besides, the chances of her actually telling me the truth are slim to none.”
“Do you think so? I mean, if they split up she will probably tell you everything you ever wanted to know,” Mia said.
“But if they’re still together, she will tell him I called and we will have a big blowup right here in front of our daughter.”
“All I can do is try to keep my mouth shut, let this play out and hope that whatever he’s here for won’t end up hurting Evie. Because if he hurts her again, he’s not going to walk out of here on two legs,” Kate said before walking out the back door to get some fresh air.
Cooper walked outside and down toward the dock. He knew he would probably find Evie there. It was one of her favorite places, aside from the tree that she liked to sit in. He could see her silhouette standing at the edge of the water, her hands in the pockets of her hoodie. It was still quite cold outside, and he was looking forward to spring.
“You know, when I was a kid, I almost drowned in this lake.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Me and my buddies packed into a canoe and the thing toppled over. I was about twelve years old, and I wasn’t a great swimmer. Actually, I’m still not the best swimmer.”
“That must’ve been really scary.”
“It was terrifying. There was just this feeling of paddling and paddling and never making any headway. No matter what I did, I just couldn’t seem to get my head above water. The only way I made it to shore was that my friend’s dad jumped in and lifted me up.”
“Why are you telling me this?” she asked, still staring straight ahead.
“Because the adults in your life are supposed to lift you up, and what we did back there at the dinner table certainly wasn’t that. I just wanted to apologize for my part.”
She looked at him and nodded. “Thanks.”
Cooper walked over and pulled the two Adirondack chairs closer to the edge before taking a seat. Evie waited a few moments and then sat down as well.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
She blew out a breath. “You know, it’s not like I don’t know what my dad has done. I know better than anyone. I cried so many times missing him, wondering what I’d done wrong to deserve for my own father to leave me behind. But, I’m trying to give him a second chance. I don’t know if he really deserves it, but I’d like to know that I tried.”
