by T. K. Chapin
“Good,” I said with a grin.
As we headed for the front door, Elly came up to us. “Hey, we’re having a big barbeque out at Roy’s tomorrow. You two should come.”
Chris looked over at me with a smile. I nodded, and said, “We’ll be there.” Pushing open the door to exit, I let Chris go first and as he went through the door, I glanced behind me towards Elly to say bye when I caught a glimpse of Ally up at a table in the bar area with some guy. That’s strange, who’s that? I wondered as I continued outside with Chris. “I just saw Ally with some guy in the bar area back there.”
“Really?” Chris replied, stopping. “Does she even know you’re back yet? Go talk to her, you haven’t seen her in a while.”
“I can’t do that… what if she’s on some kind of date or something?” I asked.
“You’re crazy about her; you need to fight for your gal.”
Shaking my head, “I don’t want to ruffle feathers; I’ll talk to her another time. I didn’t talk to her a whole bunch while we were in Lincoln City.” I continued walking to the car.
Shaking his head, Chris caught up with me on the way to the car. “Weekly isn’t a whole bunch? Dylan, we never even talked to Dad weekly.”
“I know, but, I don’t feel like it’s right.”
“You gotta stand up for what you want.”
“Today’s not the day to take a stand. We already had a victory today with you getting saved.”
“We’re on a roll!” Chris responded quickly. “Come on.”
Shaking my head as I looked back, I said, “Nah…”
“It’s your journey, dude,” he replied, getting into the car.
I liked Ally a lot, but seeing her with someone else made me feel like it might not be as mutual as I thought it was. Our sweet conversations on the phone while I was in Lincoln City sometimes ran into the wee hours of the morning, but was I just an easy distraction?
CHAPTER 14
June 03, 2011
Waking before the sun even had a chance to get up the next day, I had the coolness of the night lingering around the house that morning. After I shut every window to help trap the cold air, I turned on the news to catch the weather. It was going to be a hot one today for Chattaroy, hitting upwards of ninety seven degrees, the hottest day on record for the year.
Pouring myself a cup of coffee, I took it with me out to the shop that morning to start working on my next project for the inn, the bed frames. Flipping on the light, I took in a deep breath and let myself absorb that feeling of being where I belonged. Letting my eyes follow around the shop, I looked at my workbench, my lathe, my story sticks and all my other woodworking tools. This was where my heart was and I had missed my shop over the last few months.
Noticing a barrette lying next to a stack of wood, I picked it up and inspected it. Glancing around, I wondered whose it might be. Ally was the only girl who had been here; it had to be hers. Walking over to the phone on the wall, I caught a glance out the door of the still dark sky and decided I better not call her this early. I set it down on the workbench and then proceeded to gather wood for the bed frame I needed to build.
A few hours later, I took a break to call her. Roy answered the phone and started telling me about how Levi needed an extra set of hands out in the field with the hay this year, and I told him Chris would probably be more than willing to help out. He was about to get Levi on the phone when I had to stop him.
“Wait, could I speak with Ally instead?” I asked.
“Oh… well of course,” Roy replied.
“Hello?” Ally said into the phone, I could hear her walking outside, shutting the door behind her.
“Hey,” I said.
“Dylan! So good to hear from you. It’s been a few days now…”
“I tried calling you to let you know we were coming back to town… and about finding my mom, but you weren’t available either time.”
“Yeah, it’s just been crazy busy, but Elly did tell me you were back.”
“I saw you last night on my way out of the Wagon Wheel…” I didn’t feel comfortable asking who she was with.
“Oh, you did?” She sounded surprised. “Well, that was Adam I was with, if you were wondering...”
“Oh… and yeah, I was kind of wondering. What’s he doing here?”
“He’s just in town to pick up the kids and take them back to Atlanta, he drove.”
“That’s a lengthy drive.”
She sighed. “I know, I tried telling him flying them would be easier, but he insisted on driving. He said he wanted to enjoy the drive. I think he’s losing it.” She laughed a little.
“Well that’s good they are getting to see their dad.”
“Yeah… Is that why you called? You wanted to know who I was with?”
I laughed. “No, I found a barrette in my shop and I figured it was yours. There are not a lot of women who come into my shop.”
“Oh, well, I have dozens of barrettes. You can toss that.”
“Okay,” I replied. “How long is Adam in town for?”
“I don’t know exactly… He got here a couple days ago, and I think he’s going to be leaving in a day or two. The trip is pretty long; he needed a break between getting here and leaving.”
“Understandable.”
“I’ll see you at the barbeque? Right?”
I hadn’t thought of that. Seeing Adam felt like it could be a little uncomfortable, but I hadn’t wanted to cancel my appearance over the fact of him being there. “Yeah, I’ll be there.”
Hanging up the phone, I felt an uncomfortable feeling settle in the pit of my stomach. Why do I feel like I have some kind of claim on Ally? We had only gone on one date and I had been gone for months. Plus, Adam is Sammy and Olivia’s father. I had no right to feel the way I did. Distracting myself from my own thoughts, I picked up the phone and called Lenny.
“Hey, could I swing by the inn and take some more measurements? I need the measurements for the backboards on the beds.”
He seemed distracted for a moment and then said, “Sure. I want to chat with you anyways.”
“About the whole Mom visit? Sorry about not calling you, it was hard.”
“Yeah, don’t worry about it, Dylan. I’ll see you soon.”
Hanging up the phone, I headed in the house and found Chris had woken up. “Levi needs another set of hands over at Roy’s place with bucking bales, so that should keep you busy at least through the summer,” I said to him as I refilled my coffee in the kitchen.
Nodding, he smiled, “Awesome. Does Roy want me to call him?”
“You could probably just chat him up tonight at the barbeque.”
“Alright.”
“I’m going over to the inn to take some measurements. You want to come see that treasure room of Dad’s I kept telling you about in Lincoln City?”
“I’m okay, I’m going to probably start on some laundry and get this house cleaned up. I messed it up pretty bad before I left town. Hey, Dylan?”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t forget to grab the mail from Lenny.”
Nodding, I replied, “Okay, you sure you don’t want to go to the inn?”
Chris shook his head. “Nah… not yet. I will, but not yet.”
“Okay,” I replied. Grabbing the keys to my truck, I headed out the door. Getting in, I sat there for a moment as I traced my thumbs along the steering wheel. It felt so good to be back in my ride. My brother’s car was neat and all, but it wasn’t my truck. Turning the key over, I felt the engine roar as it fired up. Putting it into gear, I headed over to the Silverback.
Pulling off the road and into the Silverback, I was surprised to see so many visitors. Cars were lined up and down the sides of the path leading up to the office and the place was packed out like I had never seen it. Trying to find a place to park, I was thankful when I saw someone leaving who was parked near the office. As I got out, I couldn’t help but notice people were even camping out in the grass down by the la
ke, near the boat docks.
“Wow,” I said, shaking my head as Lenny came walking out from the office.
“I know, right?” He laughed with a hand extended. He had a pair of sunglasses on, baby blue surfer shorts and a button-up white shirt, and looked rather relaxed. “Come inside, let’s talk.”
“Okay,” I replied, looking over my shoulder at the people down at the lake. “I can’t believe how many people you got here.”
“I know,” He said, opening the door for me to come inside the office.
Walking inside I saw the couch had been replaced with a white wicker one and the walls had been painted a baby blue color, the wood paneling removed. “You seem like you’ve been busy,” I said, inspecting the wall’s paint.
“Yep… We’ve been pretty busy around here. Kept the momentum going. And as you can see outside, it’s been paying off.”
“Yeah, I’d say.” Walking over to the couch, I sat down with Lenny, still trying to soak up the busy surroundings.
“So tell me about your mom.”
Shaking my head, I said, “She was cold as ice, man.”
Nodding, he said, “Yeah, I never met the gal, but Frank didn’t have much to say about her. He was a private guy and all, but if he had something good to say about the woman, he would have said it.”
“It’s a shame…” I said, shaking my head.
“How’s Chris taking it?”
“He took the whole thing pretty hard, but it’s been turning out pretty good for him. He finally came around in the God department. He made a commitment to Jesus along Interstate ninety.”
“That’s good, really good.” Lenny replied.
Seeing Ally walk past the office, I looked over at Lenny. “Ally’s staying here?”
“She likes me to call her Allison, but no, she’s working here.” I laughed a little, recalling her saying she has people she doesn’t like call her Allison.
“Oh…” I replied. “I had no idea; she didn’t mention it on the phone earlier.”
Adjusting in his seat, Lenny said, “Business is really good here, but that required some big changes.” He looked a bit uncomfortable with his words.
“What do you mean?” I asked, curiously.
“Allison’s been leading the redesign of the entire Silverback Inn. All new and modern face lifts in every room.”
“What? You aren’t sticking with the rustic western feel that my Dad had?”
“Not exactly…” Lenny paused. “Allison said that the modern themed rooms will help attract more visitors.”
Standing up from the couch, I felt angry and betrayed as my jaw clenched. “You can’t just erase my Father’s hard work!”
“But she said-”
“Allison doesn’t run this inn, you do and my Father trusted you!”
“Let me show you a room, Dylan, maybe you’ll understand better. I mean, look around you. This place is booming!”
“Yeah, it’s booming… but he’s gone now Lenny and now his inn is to.” I headed out the office’s front door, with Lenny chasing after me on my way to the truck.
“Stop! Dylan! I know you are upset about your Father being gone, but you can see the changes were good, can’t you?” He asked as I got into my truck.
I remained silent as I turned the key over and then said, “My dad was a fool to have trusted you with this inn.” Backing out, I glared over at Ally as she was walking over to Lenny’s side. Shaking my head, I could feel my stomach twist. How could they both betray me and my father like this?
Driving back to my house, I was livid. How could Ally just go and change everything? She had some nerve to go and change decades of hard work and dedication in the matter of months. And without even talking to me? We spoke weekly and she hid it the entire time. She knew how much that inn mattered to me and she just pushed her way in and did as she pleased. I should have known she was trouble when she charged Levi and Jess for the nursery over at Roy’s place.
Getting back to the house, I went inside promptly and grabbed the bottle of scotch I knew was in the back of the freezer. As I took a swig of it, Chris came walking into the kitchen.
“You okay, Dylan?” He asked softly.
“I’m fine,” I replied curtly.
“Why are you drinking?” He asked.
Shaking my head, I replied, “I just need to relax for a moment.”
“I thought God helped you relax?”
“Sometimes you just need a quicker method to help you…” I felt regret seep through me as the words came off my lips. Holding the bottle back, I looked at it and shook my head. That’s a lie, this isn’t right, but I don’t care. Taking another drink, I felt my insides warm from the alcohol as it traveled downward into my stomach.
Chris stepped back from me and headed out the front door. Shaking my head, I said, “I don’t have a drinking problem. I’m not in the wrong here.”
Then that whisper inside said to me, it doesn’t matter if you have a drinking problem. You know he does and you are becoming a stumbling block for your brother. More regret flowed through me and I chucked the bottle against the living room wall, shattering it to a million pieces. I fell to my knees and sobbed as I cried out to the Lord to help me.
My father’s death was hard, my mother’s appearance was difficult, but Ally and my uncle’s betrayal was more devastating and unbelievable. I never saw it coming. How could I ever make my father proud with the inn when it’s nothing he ever wanted it to be? I couldn’t, and I had no say in the matter because it wasn’t left to me, it was entrusted to my unfit uncle. Now I have nothing, nothing to remind me of my father, nothing to make him proud.
Collecting myself, I got a tall glass of water and ventured outside to find Chris. I saw his car out by the curb, so I knew he was on the property somewhere. Walking around the corner of the house, I saw my shop door open. Glancing inside, I saw him over in the corner, sitting next to the boxes of our dad’s stuff. He was thumbing through old pictures as I approached.
“Remember this one?” Chris asked, holding up a picture of the slip and slide dad had made that ran from the top of the hill near the Silverback’s office all the way down into the lake. It appeared Chris was going to let me slide on that slip with the bottle inside and I was thankful for it.
I smiled as I nodded. “I do.”
“He wasn’t all that bad, was he…?” Chris said, directing his sights back onto the pictures he was going through.
Putting my hand on his shoulder, I shook my head. “I think he was just hard on us because he loved us. That was his own weird and strange way of showing love, no matter how much we didn’t like it. Especially after meeting Mom and knowing he kept us from knowing about her… He was just trying to protect us all along.”
Nodding, Chris set the pictures down. “I don’t want you to rely on drinking, Dylan… I been down that road and it’s not one I want to see you go on.”
Shaking my head, I said, “I don’t want to go down that road either. I’m sorry you had to see me act like that.”
“We all slip sometimes. What happened at the inn?” He asked, turning around to me as he stood up.
“Lenny and Ally are changing it all over into this updated and modern inn… They’re changing everything Dad built up.”
Chris appeared to be upset for a moment as a frown crossed his face. “That’s not good…” He said, letting his words trail off.
“No… but it appears to be working for business.”
“How so?”
“The place was packed out like I had never seen it before, Chris. There were even people camping along the lake…”
“Wow…” Chris replied. “Maybe it’s a good change then.”
Sighing, I said, “Yeah… maybe. I just don’t like how it all went down, ya know? And to have it all gone. She updated everything, what’s left of Dad in the inn he threw his life work into? Nothing…”
“Yeah, but Dad wanted that inn successful more than anything and if it is, that’s s
omething he’d be happy about,” he replied. “Are you still going to go to the barbeque?”
Shrugging, I said, “I kind of have to, I already said I would. And I don’t want Ally thinking it’s because her ex-husband is in town.”
“He’s in town? Was that who you saw her with?” Chris replied with his eyebrows up. I nodded and he began shaking his head as he continued, “That barbeque sounds like the last place on earth you want to be.”
“Yeah, but I’m going to go. I want to see Levi and everybody else. It’s been a long time.”
The barbeque was in full swing when we arrived. I was happy to remain undetected by Ally as I came up the sidewalk to the yard in front of the farmhouse. My heart sped up seeing her though, even if she was preoccupied with Sammy, Olivia and Adam over by the big pine tree just outside the patio.
Levi approached me and shook my hand. “It’s been a while, missed ya around here.”
Nodding, I said, “It’s been far too long. How’s being a dad?”
“Pretty good,” he replied with a nod.
“Where are the kids and wife?” I asked looking around the yard at the picnic tables.
“Jess is inside with them. The heat was getting them a little fussy.”
Nodding, I replied, “I’ll have to go see them before I leave.”
“They’re a cute couple of kids.”
“How old are they now?” I asked.
“Just thirteen weeks old, did you forget our phone call we had?” He laughed.
“Nah, I just don’t remember the exact day. The boy is Micah and the girl is… Elizabeth, right?”
“Yep.”
Seeing Ally begin to walk towards us, I turned away to look for Chris. He was long gone and over talking to Roy at one of the picnic tables. I tried to make a dart for their table, but Ally speedily walked up to me and stopped me with a touch to my arm. Those same waves from the movie theater rushed over me, apparently ignoring my dislike for her in the moment. I just wanted to pull her into a hug, I missed her so much, but my hurt at her betrayal kept me back. Plus the fact Adam was there.
“Dylan,” she said, pleading for me to stop with her eyes.
