“Oh God. That won’t be good.”
“I know. Just hearing him say that nearly sent Garrett over the edge. This is going to be a nightmare.”
“Wait,” Mia said, looking mildly confused. “When did Garrett get into town? He didn’t mention to us that he was going to be here.”
Emma blushed and apparently it was enough of an explanation.
“Ah, a little privacy,” Mia said as she helped herself to more tots. “I totally get that.” She chewed thoughtfully for a moment. “Is he heading back home tonight?”
“Actually, he’s planning on staying for the week.”
“Really? That’s odd. I thought he had all kinds of clinics lined up that he was going to work with to narrow down his job options.”
“He was, but I guess he narrowed down the choice even more and he wanted to stay and volunteer at Happy Tails. I know my mom is going to appreciate it, but I hate to think of him taking time away from making a vital decision.”
Mia’s smile grew as she continued to eat.
“Of course, I’m thrilled that he’s going to be here for a little longer. If he takes the job in Delaware, I’m not sure when we’d get to see each other, so I’m just soaking up all the time we have together while I can.”
“And then Cash comes strolling back in and ruins it. The rat bastard.” She paused. “He’s the kind of guy I like to put in a book and kill off.” As if she just realized what she said and how it sounded, her hand flew to her mouth as her eyes went wide. “I’m sorry! That was…well, that was a little rude and dramatic. Please don’t think I’m a horrible person!”
Unable to help herself, Emma laughed. “Are you kidding? That’s the greatest thing I’ve heard all day! And let me just say that I love your books! I promise not to get all weird on you or ask for any behind-the-scenes stuff on the book you’re working on, but I just wanted you to know.”
“I always love meeting a fan. And for the record, I don’t usually talk about whatever book I’m writing to anyone. Not even Austin. It makes him crazy!”
“I can imagine! But really, don’t worry. I’m not going to fangirl all over you. I’m just relieved that I’m not having to sit here by myself while they’re outside doing…whatever it is they’re doing.”
Their food arrived and they both thanked the waitress. “Can you please box the fish and chips to go?” Emma asked. “I’m not sure he’ll be back before it gets cold.”
With a nod, the waitress took the plate and walked away.
“Smart move. If I had to bet money, I’d say we’re going to have to either go outside to break things up or go to the police station to bail them out,” Mia said, shaking her head. “But I’m finishing my lunch first.”
“I really hope it doesn’t come to that.”
Mia looked up at her and laughed softly. “Emma, you’ve known the Coleman brothers much longer than I have. Can you honestly see things going peacefully out there?”
“Um…”
“Enjoy your lobster club and let’s finish these tots. We’re going to need all the strength we can get.”
Yeah, Emma thought, she just might have found a new best friend in Mia.
“You have no right being here!” Austin was shouting when Garrett stepped outside. “Just get in your car and go! That’s what you’re good at!”
Cash held up his hands in surrender, but that wasn’t what he was implying. “Look, I know seeing me is a shock, but I thought we could sit and talk like adults. Maybe we should go back inside…”
“Hell, no,” Garrett said as he got closer. “We’re not going back in there and making a scene. You may not care about reputations, but we do. Thanks to you, we were the talk of the town for years!”
“I’ve been coming in here for weeks without incident,” Cash explained. “Everyone who works here thinks I’m a damn delight. Now I know your mother raised you both with better manners than this.”
Garrett saw red. He had his father’s shirt fisted in his hands as he slammed him against the nearest car. “You don’t get to say a thing about Mom! You don’t get to even think anything about her, do you understand?”
“Garrett,” Austin said, pulling him off their father. “Don’t. Don’t do this. He’s not worth it.”
With a huff, he shoved Cash away. “You’re right.” He let out a long breath as he stepped away. With another glance at his father, he sneered. “You’re not wanted or welcome here. I don’t know what you thought you’d accomplish by coming back, but you’re wrong. Whatever it is, you’re wrong and it won’t work. We’ve been fine without you all these years, and we’ll keep being fine, so just…just do the right thing for once, and leave.”
His heart was racing, adrenaline pumping, and the urge to hit something was strong. Unfortunately, his brother was right–Cash Coleman wasn’t worth it.
“You okay?” Austin asked quietly.
“Yeah. I will be. He just…he shouldn’t be here.”
Austin nodded before turning around and confronting their father. “Garrett’s right. We’re not interested in talking with you or hearing anything that you want to say. You lost that right to waltz back into our lives a long time ago.”
For a minute, Garrett was confident they had convinced the man to leave, but in typical Cash fashion, he did what he wanted no matter what.
“I’m not asking for anything more than a bit of your time,” Cash said gruffly. “The last thing I wanted was to come here and end up in a brawl with my sons in a parking lot. I truly just wanted to come and talk to you both. I know Jackson’s deployed right now, and…”
“How do you know all this?” Garrett interrupted. “You know about me being a vet, Jack being deployed…I mean…how?”
“You may not believe this, but I always knew what was going on in your lives. I might not have been able to be here, but…” he shrugged.
“Um, yeah. That’s not an explanation,” Austin snapped. “Who’s been telling you what’s been going on? We know it’s not Mom because she hasn’t spoken to you in years. So who’s your spy, huh?”
Cash sighed loudly. “Do we really want to do this in the middle of a parking lot? I realize we’re on the edge of town, but people really are coming and going. Is an audience worth it to you?”
“I don’t think the restaurant is any better,” Austin reasoned.
“Yeah, I don’t think Emma or Mia would appreciate having to sit through this,” Garrett murmured. “Whatever this is.”
With a huff, Austin pulled out his phone and made a call. “Hey, babe. What?” He paused. “No, we’re fine. But I think we need to go someplace else and do this.” Another pause. “Yeah, I think that would work. Can you put Emma on and I’ll give the phone to Garrett?” One last pause. “I love you too.” He handed the phone to Garrett.
“Hello?”
“Garrett? What’s going on?”
“Honestly, I have no idea, but I think we’re going to go someplace to talk that’s a little more private.”
“Oh. Okay. Um…hang on.”
He heard her saying something–presumably to Mia–but it was all muffled.
“Okay,” she said when she came back on the line. “Mia and I are going to finish our lunch and she’ll take me home. Call me later when you can.”
“I hate this, Em. You shouldn’t have to do that.”
“It’s okay. Really. Mia and I are getting to know each other, so it’s fine. Go and do what you need to do and we’ll talk later.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’m fine. You’re the one I’m worried about.”
“Yeah. Me too,” he said grimly as he realized his father and brother were waiting on him. “I’ll call you later and please thank Mia for me.”
“I will.”
After they said goodbye, he handed the phone back to Austin. “So, um…where are we going?”
“My place,” Austin said. “I’ll ride with you and he can follow.” Then he looked at Cash. “Do I even have t
o tell you the address or have your spies already told you where I live?”
“I’ll just follow you,” Cash said.
Two minutes later, they were pulling out onto the main road and there were dozens of thoughts racing through Garrett’s head. “Should we call Mom?”
“No. Not until we know what he wants. With any luck, he’s just here to settle some twisted curiosity and when he sees we’re not interested in having a relationship with him, he’ll be on his way.”
Garrett opted not to bring up the dog situation.
“What could he possibly want after all this time? No one’s been able to even find him for years. I don’t even know if Mom was able to divorce him because of it.”
“She hasn’t,” Austin commented.
“You sure?”
“Positive. I’ve asked.”
“You’d think she’d have found a way to do it by now. Even if she had no interest in getting married again, I would think she would have wanted to be rid of him in all ways.”
“You would think. She’s had so much on her plate for so long, maybe she was just too tired to deal with it.”
“Maybe.”
The rest of the drive was made in silence because anything they had to say would simply be speculation. Plus, Austin’s place was less than five minutes away, so…
Once there, they followed Austin inside and sat down on the living room sofas facing one another–father versus sons.
“I won’t waste your time with pleasantries and small talk,” Cash began solemnly. “I briefly came back to Magnolia about a year ago. My plan was to get in contact with your mother and…see about getting together with all of you.” He looked at Austin. “I actually saw the two of you having dinner at the Mystic Magnolia and almost walked over, but…I chickened out.”
Austin muttered a curse under his breath.
“I didn’t stay in town long and I never did make that call. The time just wasn’t right.”
“And now it is?” Garrett demanded, hating how angry he was.
Cash nodded. “It is.” He shifted in his seat as he let out a long breath. “I found out a year ago that I have cancer. Liver cancer. It was caught relatively early but if I had a transplant, the survival rate wasn’t going to be great. If it spread, my prognosis goes from five years down to less than a year.”
“Obviously, you’re still here,” Austin murmured. “Were you hoping one of us is a match? Is that why you came?”
“No,” his father replied with a small laugh. “Unfortunately, that ship has sailed. The cancer did spread, and I’ve opted to forgo any treatment. Basically, I’ve come to…make things right. Get my affairs in order.”
And just like that, all the fight went out of Garrett, and beside him, he saw his brother sort of deflate as well.
It would be easy to hurl insults and hash out all the ways this man had done them wrong, but what would be the point? He might not deserve understanding–and he certainly didn’t deserve forgiveness–but Garrett knew he didn’t have it in him to be mean just for the sake of being mean.
They sat in awkward silence for several minutes before Austin spoke.
“O-kay…I’m not sure what we’re all supposed to say here.”
Cash looked at his sons and Garrett saw the sadness and regret in his eyes. In all the ways he envisioned seeing his father again–if it were to ever happen–never in a million years did he imagine it would be like this. And suddenly he felt awful about how aggressive he’d been in the parking lot.
“Are you in pain?” he asked quietly. “Did I hurt you back there…?”
“I’m fine, Garrett. I deserved what you did back there and more. But overall, I have good days and bad.”
“Why not get treatment?” Austin asked.
“What’s the point?” Cash asked. “Even with treatment, the survival rate isn’t good. I’d rather live out my days on my terms rather than hooked up to machines in a hospital bed.” He let out another mirthless laugh. “Besides, I think we can all agree the world would be a better place without me in it.”
Garrett and Austin exchanged glances and he knew they were both feeling mildly guilty because they’d said those exact words many times over the years.
“So what happens now?” Garrett forced himself to ask, doing his best to remain detached. If he let himself feel too much, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to handle this.
“Now, I finally talk to your mother about a divorce. I’m not sure why she hasn’t done that already.”
“Hard to pin down a moving target,” Austin said flatly.
“Yeah,” Cash agreed. “I know.” He paused. “That’s first, anyway. Then my grandfather’s attorney has been hounding me to come in and see him, so I’m guessing the old guy left me something. Lord only knows why.”
No one disagreed.
“But more than anything, I wanted a chance just to see you boys face to face, to tell you that I’m sorry.” He sighed. “I was a lousy husband and an even worse father. You deserved so much better than me. At the time, I honestly believed I was doing the right thing by leaving. I still do. Unfortunately, I didn’t do enough to make sure you were all okay financially. I know that, and I regret it. If I could go back and do it all over again…” His words trailed off.
“Would you still leave?” Garrett asked, his voice quiet and unsure.
“I don’t know, Garrett.” He leaned back wearily on the sofa. “I can’t regret marrying Grace and having you three boys because you’re the only thing I did right in this world. No one’s going to remember me when I’m gone, but the three of you are good men. Smart, caring, and successful men. You overcame the mess that I caused and came out of it as successes.” He looked at Austin. “You’re an extremely talented architect. I’ve seen pictures of some of the buildings you’ve designed and I see you’re already putting your stamp here in Magnolia.”
Beside him, he saw his brother blush.
“And you, Garrett,” Cash went on. “A veterinarian. You overcame all your problems with reading and look at you now! Veterinary clinics are all trying to woo you to come work for them! You have your pick of almost any job you want and you’re a social media sensation!”
Austin snickered and Garrett elbowed him in the ribs.
“I wish I had the opportunity to sit here with Jackson, too. I can’t believe I have a son who’s a soldier. A Marine!” He shook his head. “I know he was just deployed and won’t be back for at least seven or eight months, but…”
He might not live that long.
“And what about the dog?” Garrett asked.
“What dog?” Austin looked between the two of them, confused.
“I thought a dog would make a nice companion. Especially an older dog,” Cash explained with a shrug.
Now wasn’t the time to discuss all the reasons why that wasn’t the greatest idea in the world, Garrett thought.
“Where are you staying?” Austin asked after a moment.
“I’m renting a place down in Wilmington. A little bungalow on a month-to-month basis. I would prefer to be back here in town, but I wasn’t sure if that was the smartest idea. I do have family here besides you boys and your mom, but I’m not sure I’d be welcome with any of them either.” He smiled. “Although I am wildly curious to see what Susannah did with the old house. I saw some pictures online, but I’m sure it looks much better in person.”
“Yeah, she did a great job with it,” Garrett replied. “It’s been very successful, too. It’s the perfect setup for a B&B.”
“Your great-grandfather knew what he was doing when he left it to her. He actually seemed to know what he was doing with everything he left for everyone. I’m almost a little afraid of what he left for me.”
Neither of his sons commented.
“When are you planning on reaching out to Mom?” Garrett asked.
“The sooner the better. If I hadn’t run into you at The Mystic Magnolia, I probably would have tried to see her today. I know she’s still
living in the same house and I planned on just showing up and knocking on the door.”
“Yeah, um…maybe don’t do that.”
“Why not?”
Austin chose to answer. “She’s got a life. A good one. Plus, she’s dating someone. He’s a great guy and I think you just barging in on them would do more harm than good.”
“Oh,” Cash replied quietly. “I guess I didn’t think of that.” He sighed. “So what do you suggest?”
Garrett and Austin exchanged glances.
“Let us talk to her first and then we can all meet together. I think she’d appreciate having some time to deal with the shock of seeing you again and not having to do that in front of Dom,” Austin suggested and both Garrett and Cash agreed.
Cash stood and nodded. “Okay, then. Why don’t I give you my number and you can call or text me when you want me to come back and I’ll let you both get back to your girls.” He recited his number while both of them entered it into their phones. “Thank you for agreeing to see me and I’ll wait to hear from you.”
The brothers stood and there was an awkward moment where they were unsure whether they should shake hands with Cash, hug him, or simply say goodbye. Austin held out his hand and Garrett saw the flash of disappointment on his father’s face. Maybe in time they’d feel differently toward him–more forgiving, more affectionate–but not yet.
Garrett shook his hand. “We’ll talk soon,” he said and hoped they weren’t being set up for another big letdown–that Cash wasn’t going to take off because things didn’t go his way today.
Have a little faith…
Cash showed himself out, and once the front door closed, Garrett collapsed back on the sofa.
“Holy shit,” Austin muttered. “I don’t even know what to think right now.”
“Yeah. Me either.”
“I mean…I’d like to think he was telling the truth…”
“You mean you want him to have cancer?” he asked incredulously.
Since You've Been Gone Page 12
