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I jump when I hear a knock at the door.
“Trace, it’s Ty.” I hear a man’s deep voice, and I know it’s Trace’s brother.
“You’ll scare her. Let me talk,” I hear a woman say.
“Maybe we should come back. Trace’s truck is gone.”
“Well, I think she’s in there. You heard what Steven said. Trace has a girl in there, and I wanna see,” the woman says.
“You’ve been hanging out with Dolly too much. You’re just as nosy as she is now,” Ty laughs.
I open the door to see them both standing on the porch. They turn their heads to look at me. The woman is a little bit taller than me, with blonde hair and a baby held on her hip. A smile spreads on her face.
“I’m MJ,” the woman says instantly, “Trace’s sister-in-law, and this is Ty, my husband. And of course, we have TJ, Ty Junior, here.”
Ty and TJ both look like Trace. There is no missing they’re related. Ty nods at me.
“I’m Addison,” I tell them. MJ reaches out to shake my hand. Then she changes her mind and pulls me into a hug, her baby bump coming between us. TJ giggles.
“Sorry, I’m just excited. I love how this family is growing, and I knew if Trace had a girl in his house, it was serous. It’s serious, right?” she asks.
“Wow,” Ty says, drawing our attention. He’s looking over my head and into the house. I turn to see what he’s looking at. “This place is a mess. Well, a mess for Trace at least.”
I didn’t think it was that bad, but it did look like a box bomb went off in the living room, and the kitchen still hasn’t been cleaned from the breakfast Trace made this morning.
“Oh my God, it is! This is so serious. He can’t even be bothered to clean, and messes drive Trace crazy.” MJ says something about Trace I didn’t know. I like the idea that I make him forget something. That he’s more worried about me than cleaning up some mess.
“Do you want to come in?” I ask, and MJ beams.
“We’d love to,” she says, pushing past me and into the house. She takes a seat on the sofa.
Ty is still standing in the doorway. “Put some pants on, or my brother is going to kill me if he’s anything like me. And I have a feeling he is.” I look down at my bare legs before grabbing one of the boxes from the coffee table.
“I’ll be right back,” I tell them, dashing upstairs. I hear MJ’s laughter as I make my way to the bedroom.
“Oh, we aren't going anywhere,” she says, and I feel myself smile.
9
Trace
I stare up at the house my little doll grew up in and wonder how so much sweetness and warmth could come from a place like this. The old farmhouse looks like it was built over a hundred years ago and hasn’t been updated once in all that time.
Winston was passing his daughter off to another man. I have a feeling it was more to do with money than anything. The thought makes my stomach turn and my blood boil. How could a father do that to his little girl?
I take a calming breath, trying to get my emotions under control. I think about my sweet girl to soothe myself. The image of waking up to her this morning enters my mind and peace falls over me. I can’t walk in here and kill this man for two reasons. One, he’s my girl’s father, and two, I promised her she could trust me. I’m not breaking my word to her because it’s clear she needs to be able to put stock in it. I told her I’d be home before the sun went down, and I’m going to make sure I’m there and not in a jail cell.
The sooner I get this over with, the sooner I can go home to her. I focus as I push myself off from the side of my truck and make my way up the worn stairs. They creak and groan under my weight. Before I can make it to the door, it flies open and Winston shows himself.
He looks worse than his house, and I try to recall the last time I saw him. His hair is gray and his skin is weathered from years of being out in the sun without his hat. He looks shorter than I recall, or maybe I’m just bigger. I don’t run much into farmers anymore as I don’t really farm. I just deal with the oil and whoever they hire to work the rigs.
“You’re one of the Jennings boys,” he says, pushing the screen door open. I clench my fist at my side to stop myself from hauling off and punching him.
“Trace,” I clip and push past him, going straight for the stairs and taking them two at a time. I make my way down the hallway, pushing open each door as I do, looking for her room.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I hear the old man yell from downstairs. I ignore him and push open the last door at the end of the hallway. The room is so small with almost nothing in it. At first I think it’s simple, but it’s more than that, it’s almost fucking bare. I walk over to the closet and open the doors. A few dresses hang in it, and like everything else in the house, they’re worn and frayed.
“I’m going to call the cops!” Winston yells when he finally gets to the bedroom.
“For what?” I challenge, taking a step towards him. He must sense the danger now because he takes a step back.
“Trespassing.”
“Try again. This whole farm is mine.”
“What are you talking about? I’ve owned this farm for years.”
“Until you took a loan out on it. A loan you haven’t been making payments on.” One I bought out from the bank. All it took was one call. One of the plus sides to oil is you never have to worry about money.
“No, there’s a misunderstanding. The bank is getting their money. I talked to Mr. Luck the other day. I just need a few more days and I’ll be paying in full. I’m waiting for a sale to go through. I got set back a few days with the deal.”
That’s what breaks me. My fist flies, hitting him right in the jaw and sending him flying back. He hits the floor hard, and the burn in my fist feels good.
“Yeah, I know what you were trying to fucking sell.” I walk towards him, towering over his limp body. He’s lying on the floor and holding the side of his face.
“You have her, don’t you? She’s min—”
I land a hard kick to his side, stopping him from trying to voice any claim to her. Then I lean down, getting close to him.
“You listen, and you listen good. Call the cops, but no one is going to believe your word over mine. Besides, you wouldn’t make it to pressing charges. I’d be damn sure of that. The only reason you’re breathing right now is because of her. I don’t think her heart could take knowing I killed you, something I very much want to do,” I snarl. As cold as it sounds, ending his life means nothing to me. Some animals just need to be put down.
“If you go trying to throw me in jail, taking me away from her, I’ll have a change of heart and finish what I’m itching to do. Nod if you understand me.”
He nods, keeping his mouth shut.
“Now you’re going to get your shit and get the fuck out of here. Come noon tomorrow, this house won’t be standing. You’ve got until then.” I stand up. “I’d make sure wherever you go, it isn’t inside the state of Texas.” With that, I turn and leave.
I came in wanting to get her stuff, but there isn’t anything worth taking. She doesn’t need something from here. I’ll give her everything she ever needs and wipe away all reminders of the life she had here. I want to wash away this place from her memory so it’s never a thought in her mind.
I slide into my truck and head back towards home. The anger still weighs down on me. I wanted to do more to him. The thought of him slapping her around makes me clench the steering wheel, and I hear it groan under my hold. I know there’s only one thing that is going to cool me and it’s her. I need her sweetness back on me.
“Shit,” I mutter when I see Ty’s truck parked outside the house. I park my truck and dash in the front door, stopping in my tracks when I see my baby doll holding little Ty Junior. Warmth spreads in my chest. Her face lights up when she sees me, and she hands the toddler back to MJ. Then she runs at me like she always does, jumping into my arms.
I catch her as she buries her face in my neck.
“Tell me everything’s okay,” she pleads.
“Where are you, baby doll?” I ask.
“In your arms.”
“Then yeah, everything is perfect.” She leans back to look at me. “Don’t ever think about him or that place again. We’re done with it. It’s all over.”
“Your brother and MJ are here. They brought their son. He’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. Ty said I can babysit him anytime I want.” Her face lights up, thoughts of her father already out of her mind.
“I’m sure he did.” I look over her shoulder at Ty, who’s got a shit-eating grin on his face. Ty loves his son, but he also likes his alone-time with his wife. I’ve gone over and babysat for them a few times before, too.
