Country Heaven (26 page)

Not to her. Of course, she’d guessed long ago that he was smarter than he liked to admit, but still, it wasn’t easy to be admitted into Vanderbilt. “To some, I guess.”

Hampton picked up his coffee. “How did the errand go, Rye?”

Rye’s face darkened as he sat down and raised his own mug to his lips. “Fine.”

Her eyes zeroed in on his scraped knuckles. “What happened to your hands?” When she made a move for them, he pulled back.

“It’s nothing.”

Nothing?
“Have you been fighting?”

Rye cleared his throat and looked away from her. “Well, it wasn’t much of a fight. He crumpled into a ball after taking one punch.”

Wonderful. And just when she’d thought he’d put
The Incident
behind him.

“I’m not surprised. Good job, son.” Hampton toasted Rye with his mug before taking another sip.

So his genteel father had been in on this? “Who did you hit?”

His sigh was deep and long–suffering. “Sterling Morrison.”

Oh no. This was not good. If the media got hold of this… “Tammy’s husband?”

“You haven’t met Sterling yet, or you wouldn’t be surprised.”

Hampton patted her arm. “I take full responsibility. I should have had a conversation with Sterling some time ago. Unfortunately, I was plagued with a certain problem before my heart attack.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. What was it?” she asked.

He started laughing and looked at Rye. “I was a horse’s ass. Wasn’t I, son?”

Rye grinned. “I guess we both were, sir.”

The men were still chuckling when someone gave a hard rap to the door. Tory was out of the chair before the men could move. Another visitor.
Great.

Maybe Mama Terminator had come to pay a call.

***

Tammy straightened her shoulders, pain radiating through her muscles with every movement. She could handle this. Didn’t they understand? She couldn’t take any more interference.

They wanted to help, but they were only making things worse. Sterling’s angry words over the phone still echoed in her mind. Annabelle and Rory stood beside her, clearly sensing something was wrong. She straightened her daughter’s collar, reminding herself what was important here. Her children. She had to accept her life for them. Make them a stable home. How dare Rye interfere with that?

When Tory opened the door, Tammy nodded at her and then bent down to address her kids. “You go play in the backyard, but keep clear of the horses, do you hear? I have to talk to your Uncle Rye. Is he here?” she asked, turning toward Tory.

Tory nodded. “Hi guys,” she said as the kids gave her a muted greeting and reluctantly shuffled off.

Tammy followed the voices to the kitchen. The cozy scene between father and son had her clenching her hands into fists at her sides.

“Daddy? I thought that was your car. What
are
you doing here? Mama will throw a fit when she discovers you’ve left the house.”

Hampton ran a finger around the rim of his mug. “Don’t be dramatic, Tammy. You make it sound like I orchestrated a jail break. Besides, your mama’s still at the beauty parlor.”

Rye just looked at her, saying nothing.

Well, with Daddy here, at least she’d have an ally against Rye. He would never approve of what his son had done, even with this reconciliation in the air. “Daddy, you won’t believe what Rye’s done.”

“Coffee, Tammy?” Tory asked.

“No, thank you. Daddy, Rye assaulted Sterling at his office,” she said.

Rye snorted. “All I did was punch him.”

He was going to be glib? She marched him down. “How
dare
you assault my husband! I know you’re a bully and a…bad–ass, but you have no reason to go after my family.”

Daddy put a gentle hand on her arm. “Yes, he does, Tammy. Rye and I agreed this morning that a talk with Sterling was long overdue. Your husband needed to hear from one of the Hollins men about how he’s treating you. If I hadn’t been such a captive to convention, I would have done it years ago.”

Her heart stopped in her chest. No, he didn’t know. He couldn’t. A fresh bruise on her shoulder throbbed in time with his words “What are you talking about, Daddy?” she asked, terror spilling over her like cold rain.

“Tammy, you don’t have to pretend anymore,” Daddy said. “We know all about the affairs.”

A buzzing sounded in her ears.

“Everyone does, honey.”

A pained gasp escaped her mouth before she pressed her hand to it. Hard. No, this could not be borne.

The grooves in Daddy’s face deepened, and he suddenly looked as tired as he had in the hospital when she’d first visited him. “I’m sorry you’ve had to shoulder this alone for so long, but we’re here for you now.”

No, this couldn’t be. She could tolerate the affairs if no one knew. Say nothing when Sterling came home smelling of another woman’s perfume. Even remove the lipstick stains from his collar before sending his shirts off to the dry cleaner.

But not if people were talking about her.
Pitying
her. Oh the shame…

Suddenly it was too much. “This is all your fault,” she said, pointing at Rye. “You’ve done this. Where do you get off acting like the prodigal son after throwing everything we value in our faces?”

Tory just looked down into her coffee mug, silent. That this strange woman should witness Tammy’s personal business…

“And how dare you interfere in
my
marriage,” she raged, “and tell me my kids aren’t happy.” The truth that they weren’t didn’t matter in that instant. Rye had ripped all her illusions from her, and they were the only things she had to hold onto.

“Who do you think you are?” she whispered.

“Tammy, you’re wrong,” Daddy said.

“No, I’m not.”

Rye stood slowly. Why did it look like his eyes were full of pain?
He’d
done this to
her
. “I didn’t know how it would be when I came back here, but I came. It was damned near the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I’m not some prodigal son, but I’m here. I haven’t been home long, and even I can see that you’re not happy.”

Why was everyone using that word all of the sudden?

“You said you made a choice,” he continued, “and that it’s too late.”

He stepped closer, towering over her. She wanted to back down. She hated when Sterling did the same thing to her.

“Well, you’re wrong, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to sit by without helping.”

“You think beating my husband up is
helping?
Maybe in your hick country world, but not here. Do you have any idea what people will say when they find out you hit my husband?”

“But they’re
already
talking, aren’t they, honey?” Daddy said. “And at least Sterling’s got the message, and the town knows your family won’t tolerate him runnin’ around on you.”

Her chest grew tight as she imagined the whispers. Tammy Hollins wasn’t woman enough for Sterling Morrison, or he wouldn’t fool around. Her eyes started to burn. “All you’ve done is make it worse.” After his angry words, he was sure to hurt her again when he came home tonight. Oh, God.

How could she hold her head up anymore? Now she’d have to hole up at the house, where she never felt safe.

Daddy held out his hands. “I’m sorry you feel that way. And I have to ask, do you love him, Tammy?”

Her mouth opened, but no response came out. Had she ever? If so, she couldn’t remember. He’d been Mama’s choice, and she’d accepted him willingly enough, as was her duty. “Who cares?” she finally said. “I’m a wife and a mother of two young children. This is my life now.”

His sigh was audible. “It doesn’t have to be, honey. You’re so young, and I don’t want you to feel trapped.”

Trapped? When had she been anything but? How dare he say this to her now after rearing her on duty? “Do you love Mama, Daddy?”

His face turned white.

Bitter laughter poured out of her mouth, and she wondered absently who this woman was, talking this way. “You should be more careful before you start encouraging people to change the status quo, Daddy. It begs larger questions.”

“Tammy,” Rye called.

His raised voice had her muscles clenching in fear. For her, anger had come to mean the punishing grip of Sterling’s hands on her body. “It’s only fair for him to answer the same questions he’s asking me.”

Daddy’s jaw clenched. “We didn’t raise you to be cruel.”

A tear spilled over before she realized it, and her hand quickly dashed it away. The pain felt like a bomb inside her, readying to explode. “Well, maybe you should have. It would have made life a lot easier.”

“It hurts me to hear you talk like this,” Daddy rasped.

Did he think it didn’t hurt
her?
“Well, then it’s a good thing we never really talk.”

Daddy rose shakily, leaning heavily on the chair for support. “I don’t want it to be that way anymore.”

“Well, that’s too bad, Daddy, because my life is all set, and it’s too painful to talk about.”

She briskly left the room, fleeing the people who knew her secrets.

But they didn’t know the darkest secret, and wasn’t that the worst part?

***

“Oh God, what have I done?” Daddy murmured, and his anguish snapped Rye out of his own emotional funk.

“No, Daddy, you did right. I’ll go after her.” Seeing Tammy like that had broken his heart clean open. “Tory, stay with him.”

Without another word, he sprinted after Tammy. When he thundered onto the front porch, he heard her calling Rory’s name frantically. He took in the scene. Annabelle was curled into a fetal position on the chaise lounge in a white dress dotted with sunflowers, sucking her thumb. Her eyes were huge and glistening. When he knelt by her side, she took her thumb out with a popping sound.

“Rory ran away.”

Jesus. Had the kids heard them? He hadn’t even known they were out here.

Rye picked her up and hugged her tight. “We’ll find him, baby. It’s gonna be all right.” He carried her into the kitchen and handed her to Tory. Their eyes locked as she stroked Annabelle’s hair. “Take care of her. I’m going to help Tammy find Rory. He’s taken off.”

Daddy slowly rose, and Rye could see that his strength had left him.

“Daddy, sit back down,” he commanded.

“Don’t worry about me. Go.”

When Rye left the house, he spied his sister near the edge of the woods. “Tammy!” he called and ran to her. Tears were falling freely from her eyes now. God, this was killing him. He couldn’t remember ever having seen her cry.

“It’s all my fault,” she cried, clutching the lapels of her suit. “He must have heard us. I couldn’t leave them at the house alone. I should never have come here.”

Rye wrapped his arm around her, their first embrace in God only knew how long. She fought him at first and then slumped against him. His heart pounded in his chest as he scanned the woods. Where had the boy gone?

“I brought Annabelle inside. Go check on her while I start looking.” He grabbed her shoulders and stared into her pained eyes. “We’ll find him, Tammy. I promise.”

As she hurried off, he turned to look at the massive expanse of trees fluttering in the breeze. He’d explored these woods often enough to know how many hiding places there were for a little boy who didn’t want to be found. And Rye understood that feeling. Hadn’t he escaped here himself when times got too hard?

For the first time in a long time, he sent up a prayer. He hoped God would overlook his faults and grant his request.

Rory hadn’t done anything wrong. He was just a scared little boy.

***

Rye was examining the ground when Tory found him. “What are you doing?” she asked, dumbfounded.

“Looking for the boy’s footprints. It rained yesterday. I need to get Buster. He’ll be able to track him.”

His mention of the dog made goose bumps break out across her arms, but she knew he was right. A hunting dog could help.

“I told Tammy to stay with Annabelle, that I’d help you look for him.”

“Oh God, Tory, what have I done?” Rye said hoarsely.

Desperation and doubt were rare for him, but now his voice nearly shook with them. “Let’s leave that for later. We just need to find him.” She looked around, trying to think like a little boy. “I don’t think Rory would have headed for the main house—he’d guess that’s where we’d look first. You take the woods on this side. I’ll take the one that angles around the pasture.”

He cupped her face. “What did I ever do to deserve you?” Then he kissed her swiftly and took off.

Tory had played outside frequently as a child, and while the woods could be a magical place, she remembered the fear of being lost in them as the sky darkened. She looked at the sun and heaved a sigh. Fortunately, they had a few hours of daylight left. She couldn’t bear the thought of the boy being alone and afraid in the dark. Her pace was brisk, but she paused to listen every few yards.

She was sweaty and bug bitten when she reached a shiny red barn above the pasture. The caretaker wasn’t there, and the stables were empty because the horses were still out in the field. Ears straining, she heard a small sound, like something brushing across the floor. It only lasted a second, but she went on instinct.

“It’s Tory, sweetheart. I know you’re in here.” She decided to give him a reason to come out. “Rory, your Granddaddy isn’t feeling so well at the moment, so I came to get you and bring you to him.” Clasping her hands together, she prayed he would take the bait.

Her teeth bit into her lip when his small body slowly climbed down the ladder from the loft. He looked so small. His eyes were swollen from crying, and streaks of dirt and mud covered his blue–and–white seersucker shorts and white polo. He had a nasty scratch on his cheek, and his eyes were wary.

“Has Granddaddy had another heart attack?” he asked.

She crouched down, meeting his gaze. “No,” she immediately assured him, “but he’s done a little too much today and needs you to help him back to the main house.”

“I’m running away,” he told her.

Oh, you poor boy. “Are you now? Where are you going?”

He kicked at some hay. “I thought I might stay here. Mr. Pullins can bring me food. He’s real nice, and that way, Annabelle can still come and see me.” When he lifted his head, his sad blue eyes cut Tory’s heart into ribbons. “She needs me, you know.”