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“Well, once we sign the deed over to the family, you mean.” Cole corrects.
I say nothing but stare into my whiskey.
“Dude? Youaregetting a divorce, right? You aren’t going to stay married to that poor white trash are you?” Sam asks. I can feel all three of my brothers staring at me.
“I mean, I’m sure the pussy’s juicy and all but the Fields are trash. They ain’t got a cent to their name, save for that land. She can’t be part of this family,” Cole says dismissively.
I sit in silence, fuming over everything that has happened and how my family is reacting to it. Then, I stare at each of my brothers in turn. Cole tries to be reasonable sometimes, but he’s mean. Sam can’t think for himself, and Zane is creepy and unstable. Theyare the trash. I hate them. The severity of the thought takes me aback, but I quickly realize it’s true.
Never once has my family been good or kind or decent, not to outsiders and almost never to one another. I was sent off to boarding school at a young age, presumably because I was “smart.” But during my time away, I realize that I lost touch with my brothers. They’ve developed along a different path, and they’re strangers to me now. Looking at them, hearing how they talk about Darcy, I know that these men are the scum of the earth. They’ve become greedy and hateful because of our family’s status and wealth.
“You know, brothers,” I say as I rise from my chair. “Darcy may be poor, and she may not have much, but that’s not her fault. In fact, in some ways it’s ours. And you may call her trash, but she’s proud and sweet and has more gumption than all of you put together. She’s been managing that farm all by herself and doing a damn fine job of it. And on top of all of that, she’s trying to get her GED to better herself.”
I cross the room as my brothers stare at me, their expressions slack and disinterested.
“So what?” Zane yawns. “I already got my GED.”
“Because you weren’t working your fingers to the bone to stay alive,” I snarl. “You’ve had everything given to you on a silver platter. Darcy’s better than any of us, and she deserves a hell of a lot better than what we’ve put her through.”
I grab my coat and storm towards the front door, seething with anger. But then, I bump into my father on my way out.
“Rock,” the old man grunts.Terse as ever.
“Dad. Excuse me, I’ve to go take care of something.”
“Now hold on a minute there, son.” Dad grabs hold of me by each shoulder and looks at me closely.
My father is about my height, although the years haven’t been kind to him. His once daunting frame is now thin, and his own jet-black hair has turned a papery silver.
“You been drinkin’ boy?”
“Yeah. You have your three other sons to thank for that.”
My father clucks his tongue. “You’ve only got yourself to blame if you’re hitting the whiskey too hard. Now tell me, what’s going on?”
“It’s the Fields girl. Darcy.”
My dad throws me a measured glance.
“What about her?”
I brace myself. “Well Dad, I married her, so I guess she’s your new daughter-in-law.”
There are few things that have ever left my father speechless, but I can tell that my news has shaken him to the core.
After a minute, he finally speaks. “Why’d you go and do a thing like that?”
I shake my head.Good grief, where to start?
And for the first time since I was fifteen years old, I hug my father.
“Because I love her, Dad. That’s why.”
With that, I stride off the porch and into the barn. I hold the fact that I love Darcy tightly in my mind and heart as I saddle up a horse so I can race over to her farm. Deftly, I swing onto the beast and set out at a neck-breaking gallop, desperate to talk to the woman I love. The horse senses my urgency and runs with the same excitement I feel. Will she listen? I have no idea, but I have to try.
It’s near dusk when I reach the main gate at Fields Farm, and I’m surprised to find it unlocked and open. I guide the horse down the short driveway to the farmhouse.It’s like something out of a fairytale,I muse as I look from the little white homestead to the lush fields and the pink sunset beyond.You can fix this, Rock. You have to.
“Darcy!” I call out. But there’s no answer, and the house is oddly still. Swiftly, I dismount the horse and stride up the porch steps to the front door. Both the screen door and the larger wooden door are closed. I pull on the screen it opens with ease, unlocked. I use my house key to open the wooden door and push it ajar, revealing a dark and quiet interior.
