AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Because even he had the power to be hurt by this if one of us wasn’t careful.
14
WYATT
“You’re early.”
The observation my father had just made was more than just that—an observation.
There was an unasked question lingering in his tone, something I couldn’t say I hadn’t been expecting when I decided to show up here earlier than they’d expected.
It was late Sunday afternoon, the day after my dinner date with Rhea, and I’d just arrived at my parents’ place for dinner. Nearly every Sunday, my parents hosted all of us—my siblings and my grandparents—for dinner. It had been a tradition for as long as I could remember.
Even when I was still a kid, living at home, Sunday dinners were something that just felt like more of a celebration of our family than typical dinners throughout the week. Sometimes, my aunt Mina and her family would join us, too.
With nearly all of us out of the house now, dinner together on Sunday was something my parents still insisted on doing, and the truth was, I think it was something we all enjoyed and looked forward to.
As much as I appreciated this time with my family, I didn’t typically show up this early, so it was no surprise my dad took one look at me and knew something wasn’t right.
Or, at the very least, he knew I had something I needed to discuss with him and my mom.
“I’m early,” I confirmed.
He jerked his head in the opposite direction and urged, “Come. Your mom is in the kitchen.”
I stepped forward, closed the door behind me, and followed my dad out to the kitchen. My mom looked up from the counter where she was busy chopping up lettuce in preparation for dinner and said, “Wyatt. You’re early.”
Once again, an observation that held an edge of curiosity. My parents knew me too well.
“I’m early,” I repeated myself to her.
“What’s going on?” my dad asked, cutting to the chase.
I had no intention of hiding any of this from them. Sharing the truth with my parents was the reason I’d decided to show up ahead of when I normally would have. I figured it would be best to have a conversation with them before the rest of my siblings began arriving. It wasn’t that I planned to keep any of this from my brothers and sisters, but I believed it would be best to get my parents’ input before sharing it with everyone else.
Sitting down on one of the stools on the opposite side of the massive island from where my mom was working, I shared, “I took Rhea out for dinner last night.”
“What?”
“Rhea,” I repeated. “Her family owns the Marks Dairy Farm.”
Understanding dawned on their faces, and my mom surmised, “I can only assume this was a pivotal dinner. One where something important happened.”
If only it had been the thing that I had wished would have happened. But since I knew my mom wasn’t referring to the unspoken thoughts in my head, I answered, “You would be correct, because I finally took the time to talk to her in detail about our expansion project at Westwood’s and the offer we’d like to make her family for the land we’re hoping to acquire.”
My parents stared at me, my dad assessing while my mom seemed a bit dumbfounded.
“It’s been weeks since we received their initial response,” my mom noted. “I thought you were taking care of it that day.”
I didn’t immediately respond, because nothing she had said was untrue.
When I remained silent for too long, my dad added, “This has been a slow process for you, Wyatt. Wouldn’t you agree?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
My mom set down the knife she’d been using on the lettuce and pinned her attention on me. “Is something wrong?”
I inhaled and exhaled deeply one time before I said, “I guess that depends on what you mean. If you’re asking whether there’s something wrong with getting us the outcome we’re all hoping for, then perhaps the answer is yes.”
