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“Do you see that old barn that was burned down years ago and never fixed?”
Funny how I’ve never paid it any attention until now.
“Yeah,” I respond.
“Dad did that.”
“Shut the fuck up.”
I stare at the dilapidated building, shaking my head. “Do I want to know the rest of the story?”
“You need to know to understand why she’s so worried.”
I lie back down and rub my hand over my face. “Okay, give it to me.”
“Dad has always hated Natalie’s dad. They were big rivals in high school, I guess. My thoughts are, he hated that Randy was rich.”
“And Dad wasn’t,” I say barely above a whisper.
My grandpa was an honest man, a prideful man. Even when TimeLand took off, he refused to change his lifestyle. He still lived in the small home my dad had grown up in until the day he died. He used to talk about how money changed people and not for the better. Something I absolutely agree with now.
“Bingo. Then, add in that Dad had a thing for Tracy.”
I let out a small laugh. “Dad and Natalie’s mom dated?”
“They sure did. And you can say Randy kind of stole Tracy from Dad—at least, that’s the way he saw it. They were already broken up though, and she was ready to move on, but Dad wasn’t. I guess he never really got over it.”
“But Dad married Mom, so obviously, he did.”
Now, it’s her turn to laugh. “Who do you think I learned all of this from?”
I inhale a deep breath and roll my eyes.
“You know Mom and Dad have never had this amazing relationship. Mom married Dad for his money. Plain and simple. Mom knew he moved his entire company here because of some girl, but she didn’t care.”
My blood starts to boil through my veins. I’ve never understood the two of them, and after hearing this, I’m even more frustrated. I try to wrap my head aroundwhat I’m hearing, and then I remember. “But, wait, go back to the barn. What did he do?”
“The night before he moved to California, he poured gasoline all over the barn, which had tons of animals in it. It devastated the farm for a while. That was the beginning of the downfall for them. The stress got to be too much, and Randy’s dad had a heart attack and died.”
I grip my chest at the sudden pain racing through my heart. So, this is why Natalie never knew her grandpa.
“Mom said there was something weird with their insurance that wouldn’t cover it. She didn’t know the details, and of course, no one could prove it was Dad who had started the fire. It’s not like Grandpa could have covered the damage anyway. Six years later, when Dad moved TimeLand here, the Spencer’s still hadn’t fully recovered. Sounds like it’s just gotten worse from there.”
“Natalie kept saying they moved the company here to purposefully ruin the ranch.”
“Oh, one thousand percent,” she says without hesitation.
“What the fuck? Why would Dad do that?”
She laughs again. “You’ve met our dad, right?”
I let out a sigh. “Yes …”
“He came back with this notion of wanting to help the town, and blah, blah, blah but it’s all bullshit. He’s a vindictive man, and he wanted to prove to Tracy that she should have chosen him.
“I guess there was a big blowup when we were little about Dad buying the land to build our house. Don’t think that location wasn’t purchased on purpose. Hewanted to look down on their property like some kind of trophy case as he watched it go to shit.”
“God! Fuck him!” I sit up, not able to lie there anymore. “I knew he was an asshole, but this is too much.”
