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He told the other two and asked them to please correct anyone that asked about this information. “I’m not leaving, that I know of. And if I do, I’d certainly not tell anyone through email. Christ, this is just shitty.”
They finished their lunch and talked about different things about their jobs. Morgan had a degree in finance, but he’d never done much more than a few things with Jonas, who loved numbers. Teaching was all Morgan had ever wanted to do. And when the opening had come up a while back, he nearly jumped at the chance. Now he was working on tenure, as well as getting his PhD in his area of knowledge. Thatcher was very proud of his brothers, all five of them.
Morgan was a professor, and more than likely would be for the rest of his life. He was also one that got into trouble a great deal with women. Not that he harmed them, but they wanted him in ways that were not only against the rules but would cause Mom to kill him.
Houston was a potter. Few knew who he was other than the family and his agent, but his pieces, some larger than life and others small enough to fit into your palm, were world renowned. When he wasn’t playing in the mud, as Dad called it, Houston helped teach handicapped children how to color and to paint. Thatcher thought that he enjoyed that more than he did anything else he did.
Beckett was...well, he did what he wanted when he wanted. Somedays he’d be working in a winery. Then he’d work the line at some factory. He was forever doing things that he both loved and hated. But it never stopped him from doing them. Someday Thatcher was going to pin him down and figure out why he did such a plethora of things. He more than likely didn’t want to know the answer, but he’d ask anyway.
Jonas kept them all in money. He, like Morgan, loved numbers, but Jonas also liked to make a buck into a million. None of them, would never have to work again, the way that Jonas took care of them. And now he was helping Rogen with her money. Thatcher hadn’t figured out how much Rogen had, but she did tell him that his name was on all her accounts. He didn’t really care, Thatcher just loved the woman.
Dawson and he had become doctors. Both of them had finished up about the same time in college. Dawson was very smart and worked hard, but just lately, and he knew why now, he seemed to be unhappy at work. Thatcher hoped that Rogen could figure something out for them. This town needed a hospital close by.
Going home, he was ready to get into some work when he heard Rogen and Lisha come in. They were hot into an argument, and it sounded like it had been going on for a while. Thatcher knew better than to interrupt, so he waited for a lull in the loud conversation before he made himself known to them.
Chapter 9
Rogen tried very hard not to be upset with her mom. It was difficult when she was railroading her at every turn. First, she wanted to have Dad cremated, then not. She didn’t like where he was going to be buried. Then the house that they looked at for her was much too big. There wasn’t a garden at the next one. She didn’t want to have to mow, if she didn’t have to. Even after making sure that it was taken care of, she had a million and one things that were wrong with everything she showed her.
“Maybe I should just go back home.” It was on the tip of Rogen’s tongue to ask her where she was going to go when she got there but didn’t. Not yet, at any rate. “Rogen, I just want to be able to be closer to you and Jamie. Why can’t I just rent one of those assisted living places? They seem nice on the commercials.”
“They might be, Lisha, but the problem is, you don’t need assistance. I think we should focus on you living in a place where you can be active, yet not have to do a great deal.” Rogen looked at him and begged him with her eyes to help. When he smiled at her, she knew that he got it.
“Did you get a chance to get that information I need on the hospital, love?”
“No. I will though. Where did he hear that the hospital was shutting down?” Rogen would have jumped at any conversation for a break from her mom. “Why don’t you take Mom to the next house on the list? And we picked out her dress for Dad’s funeral. It’s lovely, Thatcher. It looked really good on her.”
Passing off her mother was mean, she knew that, but she didn’t know what else to do. Her mother was being stubborn. Not that she wasn’t as well, but Rogen didn’t like dealing with small details when the larger ones were looming over her. Like her job. Something was off about it, and she needed to talk to Winnie.
Pulling up the hospital, it didn’t take that much to crack into their accounts. What moron would use one-two-three-four as their passcode? Digging into their finances, she couldn’t see a thing wrong until she found a file that was off limits because it had been encrypted. Putting in her program that would hopefully figure it out, she waited for it to run while sending a message to Winnie. Rogen got a message right back from her.
I can’t meet you for lunch today, kiddo. I have a job that takes up all my time now. That was sort of odd. Winnie would meet her anytime. Perhaps I can come over and see your new home? And pick up that picture from Jamie.
She’d been to the house, several times. Telling her that her mom wanted to meet her as well, she waited for a response. When the phone rang, Rogen was sort of scared for her friend.
“I don’t have long. Come get me.” She said she would. “Today, now if you can. Bring Mom.” Then the line went dead.
Bring Mom? As far as she knew, Winnie’s mother had passed away. Did she mean her mom? Surely not. But she had to make a decision and make it now. Getting up from the computer, she let the program run and grabbed her keys. Whatever was going on, she needed to get to her right now.
Rogen opened the safe and pulled out her gun. Then she pulled out a second one just in case. Plenty of ammo was next. While she didn’t know what was going on, being armed did make her feel slightly better. The knife in her sock pocket was there, so she reached out to Thatcher to let him know what was going on.
We’re still here. Looking over some houses on the computer. She told him that she had to take her mom. All right. But I’m going as well. I don’t know what is going on, but you’re not going alone.
All right.
She ran up the stairs and Mom was ready to go. So was Thatcher. “I don’t know what’s going on, but here is a gun for you to use.” When he didn’t take it, she shoved it at him. “Look, as you said, we don’t know what’s going on, but I don’t—”
“Oh, give it here.” Her mom took the gun, checked the clip, and then racked one into the chamber. Rogen just stared at her. “What? I’m a grown woman, Rogen. I do know a few things that might surprise you.”
Hurrying to the car, she told both Thatcher and Mom about Winnie. “She said to bring Mom. And since I know that her mom is gone, I guess it would mean you. Are you up for this, Mom? I don’t want you to be hurt.” Mom told her that was the nicest thing she’d said to her all day. “I’m sorry. I have too many pots on the stove, and some of them are boiling over. Please forgive me.”
“Yes. I do. Always. Perhaps not in the past, but I do now.” They were on the freeway in ten minutes. Her mom looked at her in the mirror, then looked away. “I don’t know how to read. I’d like to learn. I’m terrified that you’ll have children someday and they’ll want me to read them a story. I don’t know how.”
Thatcher turned in his seat and looked at her mom. “There isn’t any reason that you can’t learn, Lisha. I know for a fact that my mom would help you. She used to be a teacher when we were younger. I can ask her for you if you want.”
“I feel like such an embarrassment to you both. You have college educations, and I only went to fourth grade before my parents took me out to work at home. I didn’t learn all that much, and I think now that they passed me to get me out of their room. My grandma lived with us—what a horrid woman she was. But I was responsible for her while my mom took care of the house.” Rogen told her that she’d not known that. “No, we were very careful, your dad and I. And I would get so angry when you’d bring home your work and hang it on the refrigerator. I think that had a lot to do with how I treated you both. And then you started teaching Jamie, and I just...well, you know how I was. But I do want to learn to read. Please, Thatcher, would you please ask your mom? Tell her not to expect miracles, but if I could just read a little book once in a while, I’d be forever indebted to her.”
Rogen drove for a few more miles before she pulled over, asking Thatcher to take over, she sat in the back with her mom. This was going to be hard—not on her mom, but herself—but she’d been so wrong. And so mean.
