Malsum Pass

by Forrest, Kimberly

  She spotted a closed door opposite from where they’d entered and pointed. “What’s in there?” She asked.

  Her grandfather opened the door and let her peak inside, the smell of varnish strong with projects hanging to dry. “I finish my work in here. Better ventilation.” He said.

  She nodded and backed out of the room so he could shut the door, impressed with her grandfather’s business.

  Her grandfather pulled out a stool and motioned for her to sit. “Can I get you anything?” he asked pointing to a far wall that had a sink with cabinets, a coffee maker, microwave, and mini fridge. “I can brew a pot of coffee, or I have some sodas in the fridge.”

  “Actually, just water would be great.” Tara said smiling.

  While he got her the water, she bent down and grabbed a wood shaving that had curled into a long spiral and played with it while contemplating the best way to break the news to him. She thanked him for the water, took a sip and waited for him to sit on the other stool and then just said it, “Mom passed away last Thursday.”

  He blinked. “What? How? Was she sick?”

  Tara continued to pull on the coil of wood. “She had been out walking and was at an intersection waiting for the signal to cross when some guy snatched her purse. She tried to chase him and was hit by a car.”

  He didn’t say anything, but his shoulders slumped. Tara continued, “I got the call that she was at the hospital. When I got there she was in surgery for internal bleeding.” She pulled on the coil, straightening it and then letting it go so it curled back up. “She hated hospitals. I sat in the waiting room preparing the argument I was going to have to make so she would keep her butt in that bed until her doctor cleared her.” She kept her eyes on the curl; pull straight, release, and curl – over and over again. “I knew as soon as the doctor walked in.” Tara shook her head in denial, repeating the motion she had made that night. “She had died on the table.” Her vision blurred and she felt the wetness on her cheeks, and then her grandfather’s comforting arms around her. She buried her face into his shoulder. “I would have given anything to have that argument.” She whispered.

  She pulled back, wiped her tears, and took a deep breath. “Matty was my rock. He took care of all of the arrangements; all I had to do was travel home to Virginia Beach for the funeral. He was also the one who gave me the lock box that had all of your letters. If not for him, I may never have even known about you, much less been able to find you.”

  “Matty was the man your mom married?” Her grandfather asked. His look was solemn, but there were no tears which helped keep Tara’s tears leashed.

  “Yes, Matthew Tyler; he owns a restaurant – one of the best on the beach” she said, proud of her step-father’s business. “He’s a really great guy.” Tara dropped the curl of wood and put her hand on her grandfather’s. “He took really great care of us. We lived in a nice house and we never wanted for anything.”

  Her grandfather gave a sharp nod and she led subtly into a topic she had been wondering about for fifteen years. “It never mattered to him that I wasn’t biologically his, he loved me as if I was.”

  She frowned as her grandfather slipped his hand over her shoulder and pulled her long, red braid over her shoulder. He looked deep in thought as he rubbed the ends between his fingers. He started nodding his head and then spoke. “I always suspected it was that arrogant little pup, but never had proof. The moment I saw you, it was confirmed. You look just like him.”

  Finally, a solid lead on her father! Tara was so excited she could barely speak, in fact her voice cracked as she asked. “What’s his name?”

  “Tarvahl Pierce” her grandfather said, and she leaned back in astonishment. She laughed, shook her head and mumbled “You have got to be kidding me” and then she leaned down to grab her purse. Pulling out her driver’s license, she handed it to him.

  Her grandfather’s eyebrows shot up as he read the identification. “Well, I’ll be damned. Your mother actually named you Tarvahla?”

  She nodded and grinned. “Tara sounds much nicer though, don’t you think?” and then she asked “So, I take it you didn’t like him?”

  He patted her shoulder. “He’s great now that he’s married and settled down into his responsibilities but the boy your mother knew was wild; a disrespectful little shit. His father was the head of the council and refused to rein him in. He was of the opinion that boys needed to run free and experience life to the fullest, frigging hippie bullshit parenting if you ask me.”

  Tara’s heart stuttered and she blinked. “Wait – settled down as in here? He lives here?”

  Her grandfather nodded. “He does,” but then his face turned thoughtful. “You may want to avoid him; though that might be tough with all the people at the diner already seeing you and all. You do look just like him and the Lord knows Lucy can’t hold her tongue to save her life – not when there’s juicy gossip to relay. She and Constance Tully are the biggest gossips in town. Probably everyone will know within a matter of hours.”

  Tara bit her lip. “Right, yeah, of course, you’re right,” Tara said nodding, her disappointment clear in her expression. “He’s not going to want some fully grown woman showing up on his doorstep saying ‘Surprise, I’m your daughter’.”

  “Oh, sweetheart, no, I didn’t mean it like that. He would love you and welcome you with open arms. It’s his wife I would be concerned with. She can be a nasty, spiteful little bitch when she feels threatened, and she’s extremely possessive of Vahl. They have three boys together and I don’t know if she would be welcoming of a daughter from another woman, especially with female children being so desirable.”

  Tara thought that was an odd thing to say when it seemed like most men desired male progeny, but she was more concerned with the other thing he said. “I have three half-brothers?”

  He nodded. “Conner is the oldest at twenty-five, then Jacob who is twenty-three, and Zachary, I believe just turned twenty. You’ll know them at a glance. Just like you, they’re the image of their father.”

  Wow! It was all so surreal. She had gone from having just a mom and a step-father to a grandfather, a father, a step-mother (regardless of her bitch card holding status), and three half-brothers.

  Her grandfather patted her knee. “So how long can you stay, sweetheart? Are you able to take some time off from work?” Then he paused, shook his head and sighed. “I don’t even know what you do.”

  Tara grinned, extremely grateful for her career choice at the moment. She wanted – no, needed – to spend time with her new family. “I’m a writer, so I can work from anywhere as long as there’s an internet connection, and I just recently sent in my latest proposal submission, so until I hear back, I’ll just be tossing ideas around in my head until I have something new to write.”

  “So, you write fiction then?” He asked smiling.

  “Fiction, yes, but I write screenplays; romantic comedy mostly.”

  “I’m impressed,” he said, “I’ve always heard that that’s a tough business to break into.”

  “Thank you,” Tara said, feeling proud. “But I have to admit I got lucky as far as the ‘breaking in’ goes. While I was at Tisch, there was a contest to find the next big screen writer, so I submitted my work.”

  “And you won? Congratulations!” He said before pulling her into one of those big bear hugs she couldn’t help but love.

  “Actually, I didn’t,” Tara laughed. “The winner was from UCLA and wrote a dark, gritty drama about drugs, street violence, and human trafficking – not my cup of tea but he won several awards for the work and has been going strong ever since from what I understand. But one of the judges thought my work was hilarious and would be a good fit for one of their smaller production companies, so she offered to take it to the board and then they ended up buying the rights.”

  “That is fabulous, sweetheart. So, you don’t have some boss to report to first thing come Monday morning?”

  “Nope, I’m all yours. I’ll nee
d to just check with that bed and breakfast I saw, and see how long they can put me up.”

  Her grandfather stood. “I don’t think there’ll be any need for that, sweetheart. Is your car parked at the diner? You can follow me in my truck; I know a place that’ll be perfect. I just need to stop and pick up my wife, Addie on the way. She is going to love you to pieces.”

  “You got married? I read the letter about how you had met someone, but I didn’t know you married her. Congratulations!”

  Her grandfather gave her a satisfied smile and nodded. “Just over two years now.”

  Tara couldn’t help another huge smile – she just added a step-grandmother to the list.

  Chapter Four

  They pulled up to a large two story gray house that boasted a wide front porch with a swing. All the windows had black shutters and white flower boxes. Tara hadn’t seen a sign, and they had driven about two miles out from the center of town, but she wondered if this was another bed and breakfast.

  Addie, a rather plump older woman with silver streaked black curly hair cut short, and a cherubic face practically threw herself out of her grandfather’s truck and came running for Tara as soon as she left her car. Tara almost feared she was about to be tackled and braced herself. “Oh, Tara, Tara, Tara, you beautiful, beautiful girl! You don’t know how happy you’ve made your grandfather.” She said, cupping Tara’s face and then smoothing her hands over Tara’s hair, before pulling her into a hug. “I’m so sorry to hear about your mom, but don’t you worry, your grandfather and I are here for you. There is no question that you’ll stay so you can get to know everyone – we can plan a barbecue before the weather turns too cold and introduce you around. It’ll be such fun. L.J. has had a caretaker looking in here at least once a week, so it should be relatively easy to put everything in order and you and I can go shopping if you find you need something. There’s plenty of linens, and towels, and – “

  “Christ, Addie, let her up so she can breathe. Let’s show her the inside and see what she thinks before you start making plans.” Her grandfather interrupted his rather exuberant wife. He gave a wave toward the door and started up the porch steps pulling out a set of keys.

  The front door opened into a huge living room with hardwood floors and an enormous stone fire place. Her grandfather flipped on the lights. The furniture had been bunched together and covered with sheets to avoid dust.

  “It has wood floors throughout the first floor, wall to wall carpet upstairs. There’s a nice large area rug for in here that’s been rolled and tucked in with the furniture.” Addie said nodding to the sheet draped mass.

  “And the chimney was just recently cleaned and inspected, so that’s all set to go.” Her grandfather added before moving through to the next room.

  The dining room was also sheet draped, but Addie told her there was seating for six without the leaves in the table and twelve fully extended, there was a china hutch and sideboard complete with a service for twelve.

  The eat-in kitchen hadn’t been draped, but it looked like the caretaker had been wiping things down regularly. The appliances all looked pretty new, there was plenty of cupboard space and even a pantry. “We’ll have to get some groceries and stock up the fridge, but everything works. I keep the electricity on and the propane tank full – cheaper than dealing with frozen pipes.” Her grandfather said.

  Tara was overwhelmed. “Wait…” she said, “This is your house, Grandpa?”

  He gave a nod. “This is where your mother grew up. When Addie and I got married, we both wanted a fresh start without so many memories, so we bought a smaller place right in town. Her son and his wife live in her old house with their children, and this place I’ve kept for you. I never gave up hope that we’d meet one day, but on the off chance that it didn’t happen, you were written into my will – this house and everything in it is for you.”

  She couldn’t hold it back any longer and burst into tears. Her grandfather pulled her into his arms and Addie rubbed her back until she calmed.

  “It’s all paid for, and you can change whatever you don’t like about the place.” Her grandfather said gruffly.

  “I’m sorry.” Tara sniffled. “It’s just so much to take in. I mean, this house is gorgeous and I could probably fit my entire apartment in the living room.”

  Her grandfather urged her back into one of the kitchen chairs where she sat down heavily and sighed. He crouched down in front of her. “I want you to know that you always have a place here, whether you choose to stay for a little while or forever – and if you leave, you will always have someplace to come back to. Every writer needs a retreat, right?” He added with a wink.

  Addie handed her a tissue and Tara blew her nose. “I’m okay now, thank you.” She said with a watery smile. “Honestly, I don’t usually leak like this.” She added with a chuckle.

  Her grandfather stood up and held out his hand for her to rise. “Shall we continue the tour then?”

  Off the kitchen was a mudroom with washer and dryer, and a back door that led out to a nice size deck with a great view of some rock ledges that looked climbable, with more forest above. She would definitely be exploring that the first chance she got.

  Next, her grandfather led her upstairs. At the top of the stairs was a nice large bathroom, then further down the hall, two bedrooms on either side, and lastly at the end of the hall were the master bedroom with a big walk-in closet and a bathroom with a huge old-fashioned claw foot tub.

  “So what do you think? If you don’t want to stay here, we have a guest bedroom, though you might feel a bit cramped sharing space with two old fogies like us.” He had a twinkle in his eye as Addie let out a “Ha! Speak for yourself, old man!”

  “I know it’s not right in town, but Coop lives just a little further up this road, and we’ll only be a phone call away if you need us. Besides, we’ll be spending plenty of time together catching up, so this will give you some peace and quiet when you want it.”

  “Coop?” Tara asked with a raised brow.

  “Riley Cooper,” her grandfather said, “He helps me out in the shop occasionally if I get backed up. He’s a real good guy; I think you’ll like him when you meet him.”

  “I just have one question, Grandpa, before I make a decision.” She said with a smile. “Do you have internet out here?”

  Her grandfather laughed. “Absolutely, sweetheart.”

  Tara nodded. “Then it’s absolutely perfect.”

  Addie took the truck keys and promised to return with plenty of groceries, while her grandfather got on the phone. He may keep the electric running and the propane tank full, but even though the house was cable and internet ready, the account needed to be activated. Tara had insisted that he put it in her name, but his “Honey, if you decide you don’t want to stay, then it would just be a hassle to switch it back out, so why don’t we just wait a bit and see which way the wind blows,” had her backing down.

  She, however, would not budge when Addie returned with bag after bag of food and household items and quickly stuffed a wad of cash in the older woman’s purse. She made good money, and they were giving her so much, she needed to do something at least.

  Between the three of them, they were able to get all the dust cloths removed, the furniture arranged, and Tara’s new bed made up with freshly washed sheets and comforter.

  “Now you shoo, honey. I’m taking over your kitchen for a bit to make us a nice dinner. You just relax.” Tara had tried to protest, but Addie stood firm, and her grandfather whispered in her ear, “Best just to let her be when she’s got her mind set or she’ll be fussing for the rest of the night. Go on and explore, she’ll give a yell when it’s ready.”

  So Tara headed out the back door to check out those rock ledges. The climb was a bit tougher than it had looked and she was going to be feeling it the next day for sure. The wind was much more noticeable now, blowing some strands of red hair that had escaped her braid across her mouth, but the view when she reached the top
was spectacular. A sea of trees below with an occasional roof top and mountains in the distance with some of the trees just starting to turn announcing that fall was fast approaching. Tara hugged herself around the waist and took a deep breath of the clean air.

  Her grandfather’s generosity was amazing and she had family here. Did she really need to return to New York? What exactly was waiting for her? A small apartment that was outrageously expensive, a few friends that were so busy with their own lives they mostly kept in touch through social media anyway. The entire time she’d been in New York she’d never gone to a show, or did the touristy thing. With the exception of her daily runs she had always been pretty much a homebody, so she wasn’t exactly going to miss the nightlife. As for her daily runs, she was sure she could find some beautiful paths here. Shopping? Well, she’d always preferred doing that on-line anyway, so that wasn’t a factor. Okay, so she’d miss the take-out options available and she doubted anyone in Malsum Pass delivered. Did they even have a pizza place here? But she sure as hell wasn’t going to choose pizza or Chinese delivery over her new family.

  “You lost?”

  Tara whirled around at hearing that deep voice and lurched awkwardly to the right as her foot slipped out from under her. Well, that was graceful, she thought, at least I didn’t fall on my ass! She had a rueful grin on her face as she looked up at – holy beautiful fantasy man! Her mouth literally fell open and she had to snap it shut. Oh, yes, let’s make even more of a great impression on the man by drooling.