by Ciara Knight
Mary-Beth shook her head. “Seriously? You took Tanner away from me, and now you’re going to take football away from Andy? Great, Mother. It’s funny how you choose when to play parent.”
“Listen, you’re angry with me right now. Let’s talk later. I need to go.”
Click.
Mary-Beth rested her head against the steering wheel and closed her eyes. The insanity of her mother nearly drove her mad.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
She looked up to find Mrs. McCadden at her window. “Come on, child. I’ll make you some hot cocoa.”
Her words were like Sugar Maple syrup poured over a stack of steaming hot cakes—warm, filling, comforting. She slipped from her car and inside the house before anyone working spotted her and gave her the third degree about why Tanner was in her coffee shop at five in the morning. Because there was no doubt they all knew by 5:01.
Inside, Mary-Beth inhaled the smell of old wood and coffee.
“Sit. Relax before you fall down, child.” Mrs. McCadden disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Mary-Beth by the window in the parlor, looking at the front field. If she closed an eye, she could make all the cars and commotion disappear, and she could imagine the sound of children laughing and chasing one another. She touched her belly. She’d always thought she’d be a mother by now, living in a home and caring for her family. Sometimes God had other plans, or at least meddling mothers and fathers did.
Pans clinked in the kitchen, and she knew it wouldn’t be long, so Mary-Beth thought about what she’d say. It had been different with her own mother, knowing she’d only be blessed with minutes to speak to her, but Mrs. McCadden was different. She took her time and had always made Mary-Beth feel special, important to her. She’d been a member of their family from the time she could ride her bike to their home. And Mrs. McCadden had lost so much recently. Mary-Beth had to be kinder to her but still find out the truth.
How could she have been a part of breaking them up? If Tanner was right, all the parents had been a part of the great lie. A lie that stole their happily ever after from them. Tears pricked at the corner of her eyes. By the time Mrs. McCadden returned to the parlor with two mugs, Mary-Beth could hardly hold in her tears. She knew if she spoke, she’d be harsh, so she bit her lip to keep from verbally attacking a woman she once admired and thought of as a second mother.
“Oh, darling. I’m so sorry. You know, don’t you?” Mrs. McCadden collapsed onto the ottoman by her side and handed her a cup. “You have no idea how much I wish things could’ve been different. If I had known how much you both truly loved each other, I might have fought harder.” She held Mary-Beth by the forearm and squeezed. “Please, give me a chance to explain.”
Mary-Beth struggled between wanting to know why and not wanting to hear excuses, but in the end, she knew only the truth would matter.
Chapter Fourteen
The field remained wet from the early morning showers, but Andy plowed through the linemen, caught the football midair, and trudged through the mucky practice field. The boy wasn’t just good. He was gifted.
By the end of practice, Tanner knew it wasn’t fair to hold Andy back. Not because of his own issues with the game and how things turned out. This was Andy’s life, not his own. He decided then and there he’d call a few college scouts and invite them to their next football game.
“Huddle up!” Tanner yelled.
Most of the team stumbled in on weak legs, sludging through the puddles with slumped shoulders and dragging their helmets. Andy strutted up with his fingers strung through his face mask and muddy water dripping down his face. The conditions didn’t even phase him. Tanner remembered that football high, something he still craved but had to face he’d never feel again.
He debriefed the team and dismissed them, knowing he would need more from them next week before their big game against their rivalry team in Creekside. The Sugar Maple High School football team ambled to the locker room, all except an expectant Andy.
“Hey, kid. What’s up?” Tanner waited for Andy’s obvious questions about scouts.
“You never answered my question.” Andy lifted his chin. “I want this chance more than anything, but not at the expense of my sister—the only person in my life who ever took care of me. You going to stay and break her heart again?”
Tanner blinked. His mind raced with possible answers. Raw nerves threatened his temper, so he took a moment, swallowed, and formulated an appropriate answer. “It’s admirable that you want to look after your sister, but I’m afraid that is a question I can’t answer at this moment.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s complicated.” Tanner grabbed the equipment bag and slung it over his shoulder.
“It’s not complicated that you broke my family when you left. I might have been young, but I still remember my sister crying all night and then leaving the next day, only to return four years later. The day you left broke her heart, and I don’t think she’s ever been the same. I won’t let you do that to her again.” Andy squared off with him, and despite the fear in his eyes, he stood his ground, ready to defend his sister’s honor. Tanner realized it wasn’t fear of picking a fight with Tanner, more his fear of losing his opportunity to play ball for college.
“She cried all night?” Saying those words sliced his heart into meaningless tiny pieces. He’d vowed never to hurt her, only to cause her the worst pain of all. He knew because he’d felt it himself. “Listen, I didn’t mean to break your sister’s heart. But you should know she broke mine, too. As I said, it’s complicated, and I don’t know most of the answers right now, but your sister and I are sorting through some of it now.”
“What are you talking about?”
“All I know is that our parents lied to us to break us up, but I don’t know why. But I intend to find out.” Tanner passed the equipment bag to Andy. “Lock this up for me. I need to get to the farm.”
Andy opened his mouth in protest, but Tanner shut him down with the one phrase he knew would distract him. “By the way, I’ll be calling scouts tomorrow. You’ve got real talent.”
With those words, Andy apparently forgot about defending his sister’s honor and took off full speed to the locker room, leaving Tanner to drive home on his motorcycle and think about how to ask his mom to finally tell him everything. Why they’d kept his father’s illness from him. Why they didn’t even call Tanner when he was going to die. Why they tore Mary-Beth from his life. So many questions needed to be answered.
He drove through town and out the other side, over the bridge, and pulled into his driveway, spotting Mary-Beth’s car already parked out front. Good. If his mom wouldn’t tell him, maybe she’d explain things to Mary-Beth. They’d always been so close.
With only a wave to the people working on the farm, he darted inside, where he found Mary-Beth sitting in the parlor with an empty cup by her side. “Where’s Mom?”
She pointed out the window. “Ms. Horton showed up an hour ago to discuss wedding stuff, and your mother hasn’t returned.”
He slid off his jacket and tossed it over the chair. “Did you ask her anything about what happened?”
“She said she’d tell me everything, but then Ms. Horton showed up, and I’ve been waiting ever since. I did speak to my mother, though.”
He hesitated, noticing the way she twirled her bracelets like she did every time she was worried or upset. “And what did she say?”
“The typical excuses and quick hang-up before she really had to face anything. Basically, that we weren’t good for each other and she wanted me to go on with my life.”
He sighed and collapsed into the other chair. “This is messed up. I don’t understand how they could’ve done this to us.”
“I don’t know, but I get the impression your mother wasn’t happy about it either.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because she said she should’ve fought harder for us.” Mary-Beth twisted her feather earrings. “As if she was for our r
elationship, not for destroying it. But why wouldn’t she just tell us the truth, then?”
Tanner glanced out the window and saw his mom approaching. “I don’t know, but I think we’re about to find out.”
At the creak of the screen door, Tanner faced the entryway and waited for his mom to appear.
“Good, you’re here, too.” She stepped into the room, wringing her hands in front of her. “Can I get you a hot chocolate, son?”
“No, all I want is an explanation. Why did everyone gang up against us, lie to us, and convince us the other one had run off for a better life?”
She gestured for him to sit, and he obliged, despite his nervous energy.
His mom clasped her hands together tightly and took in a deep breath before she began. “You know your father worked here his entire life, never had an option to leave the farm due to family obligations. He wanted to be a dentist when we were young.” She gave a half-smile, as if remembering another, happier time. “His grades were strong, but when it came time to go to college, he gave it up to stay here with me, on this farm, working until the day he died.” She choked, demolishing Tanner’s wall of anger, so he reached out and took her hand.
“He didn’t want that for you, Tanner. I told you earlier that he didn’t want you to stay at the farm out of obligation, but it’s more than that. He didn’t want you to always have to work so hard, only to struggle financially all your life. Farm life is back-breaking, draining on health and income. The struggles were more than your father wanted you to face. He wanted you to be happy and healthy and financially sound.”
“Then why didn’t he tell me that instead of pushing me away? We were close when I was a boy, but once he saw me play ball, he traded in his father hat for full-time coaching job. I didn’t want another coach; I wanted a father.”
Tears filled her eyes and overflowed. “I know. I tried to tell him that, but you know your father. The man was determined when he set his mind to something. And the night you came home and announced that you and Mary-Beth were done, your father decided to get you out of Sugar Maple before you changed your mind. Everyone saw the way you two looked at each other. And when you mentioned returning here after college, it did something to your father. He made it his mission to never allow you to live his life.”
“Was it that bad of a life for him?” Tanner’s chest ached, as if Gobbles rolled over him.
“No, he loved you boys. He just wanted more for you.” Tears streamed down her tan, farm-worn face, and he saw her exhaustion.
“Hawk and I would’ve gladly returned and worked the farm alongside him as a family.”
She offered a faint smile. “I know. That’s why I went along with the lie for a time. I thought you needed to know what was out there before you stayed here. This is all you ever knew. I wanted you to know the options you had beyond this farm.”
“I would’ve gone to college while Hawk helped, and then he would’ve gone after I returned. We were a family. That’s how I was raised.” He released her hand and rubbed his temples, trying to see the other side of this betrayal. “Wait. You said in the beginning. Why didn’t you tell us later?”
“Because I was overruled.”
“You were bullied by Pops, you mean.” Tanner fisted his hands; he’d vowed a long time ago never to be such a brute as his father. Sure, he was loving, but he could be all alpha with no room to listen to someone else.
“No. Not just your dad.” Her voice wavered, as if she’d betrayed more than just Tanner and Mary-Beth.
“What are you saying, Mom?”
Mary-Beth, who’d sat quietly all this time allowing them to speak, sat forward. “It wasn’t just your family. It was mine too. They all conspired against us. We never had a chance.”
Chapter Fifteen
Mary-Beth’s mouth went cotton dry. “My parents… They instigated this entire thing, didn’t they?”
Tanner looked between them. “Is that true?”
Mrs. McCadden nodded. “The night that you two fought, Mary-Beth’s mother called with the idea of keeping you both apart. I told her and your father that was ridiculous and it would never work. But they insisted. And I’m afraid you know what happened after that. They’d been right. One lie, and you two never spoke again. You never chased after each other. Maybe I’d read too many romance novels or watched too many romantic comedies, but I’d expected you both to return, looking for the other one. I’d decided I’d confess the truth when you did, but it never happened.”
Tanner gripped the arm of the chair. He took in three deep breaths, and Mary-Beth knew he was struggling with his temper.
Her bracelets felt like cuffs restraining her to her past, so she ripped them off and tossed them into the chair behind her. “So, this was all my mother’s idea?”
“I’m not saying that. She came up with the idea to take your cell phone—”
“The one I thought was stolen?” A zap of realization shot through her like a bullet through bone.
Mrs. McCadden didn’t even respond to the question. Instead she continued as if the trap door had opened and she had no choice but to fall through. “And they told you to leave town to look at your college dorm so that you two wouldn’t run into each other that day.”
“How could you do this, Mother?” Tanner shot up and paced, running his hand through his thick hair. “How could any of you do that to us? I thought you loved us.”
“I do.” His Mom reached for him, but he backed away.
Mary-Beth swiped tears from her eyes before they spilled out. “So, you tried to convince the others to tell us the truth?”
“Yes, I realized after you left how much it broke my son. And that’s when I saw that he really loved you. The kind of love that molds and shapes a person’s life. I wanted to run after you both and tell you the truth, but your mother and Tanner’s father wouldn’t allow it. They were convinced that they’d done the right thing. There was no arguing with them, but I was sure I’d be able to tell you the truth. I never had the chance, though.” Her voice faded away.
“Why not?” Tanner said in a forced tone.
“Your father was diagnosed with cancer, and my life became caring for him. Everything else fell away around us. And when I saw how fast the farm deteriorated and how little I could do to save it, I realized that I was glad you were gone because I’d never want to see you work yourself into sickness and death. When I lost your father, it solidified my determination to never let you return to work the land, because I couldn’t face losing you, too.”
“But you did, Mother.” He shot out the front door.
Mary-Beth felt for Mrs. McCadden. She’d lost so much. And in that moment, she knew she couldn’t let her lose Tanner, too. “I’ll go talk to him. What you did was wrong, but unlike my mother, I understand your motivation. I don’t like it, but I understand it.”
Mrs. McCadden stood, wavering a little, so Mary-Beth reached out for her. “Don’t judge your mother too harshly. Talk to her. She had her reasons, too.”
A gurgle of acid rose in Mary-Beth’s throat. “What could those be?”
She’d only known her mother as a stranger all these years. A woman who came home after dinner and left before breakfast.
Mary-Beth had felt so guilty leaving Andy behind to be alone in that house, but he’d had football and his friends eventually. Unlike Tanner, she’d come home every chance she had to be with Andy. And now, she was making up for her own abandonment of her little brother for those four years.
“It isn’t my place to say. Talk to her, though.”
Mary-Beth chuckled. “Sure, because she’s always willing to speak with me for more than five minutes.”
“Make her talk to you. Don’t let this ruin your relationship with your mother forever.”
Mary-Beth heard the fear in Mrs. McCadden’s voice. She couldn’t let Tanner turn his back forever on his mother. She’d made a mistake, and it would take time, but it could be repaired.
It was different w
ith her own mother. She headed to the door, mumbling, “What relationship?”
Outside, she spotted Stella in her greasy overalls, and her friend snarled, “Tell that man he can never touch Gobbles again when I’m done.”
“It wasn’t his fault; he was sent away,” Mary-Beth snapped.
“Whoa, which one of your bolts rusted today?” Stella tried to tease and cheer her up, but Mary-Beth fumed at the realization of the conspiracy that drove Tanner and her apart.
“Did you know?” Mary-Beth shouted more than spoke.
The rest of the Fabulous Five and Ms. Horton abandoned their individual chores and huddled around her.
“What’s going on?” Ms. Horton asked.
Mary-Beth took in a stuttered breath. “You. If anyone knew about this, you did.”
Ms. Horton caressed her hair like she was still a child.
Mary-Beth lifted her chin. “Tell me, did you know about the conspiracy to keep Tanner and me apart all this time?”
Jackie uncharacteristically gasped. Carissa grabbed Mary-Beth’s bare wrist. Felicia narrowed her gaze at Ms. Horton.
“Tell me,” Mary-Beth demanded.
Ms. Horton dropped her hand to her side and lifted her chin. “Not until you both returned. Mrs. McCadden confided in me after Tanner came home. She thought you two might just work things out and you’d be happy, but I urged her to tell you the truth. You both deserve that.”
Jackie took Mary-Beth’s hand. “What can I do?”
Carissa held tight to her. “I’m so sorry. If I had known…”
It was true, her friends would’ve told her. “I’m sorry for accusing you. I should’ve known none of you would keep a secret like that from me. It’s just that…” Her voice faded away, and she wasn’t sure what else to say.
“If your only family lied to you, who can you trust? We understand,” Felicia offered in her diplomatic way.
