Escaping the Past (Wester Farms) (2 page)

Broden James Wester, III was home.

Chapter
Two

Brody clapped John on the back as they walked side
-
by
-
side to the big house. “
Your girlfriend is something
.”

“Who? Lou? Oh, no, it’s not like that, Brody.” John stammered, shaking his head. “She’s just—”

John’s thought was cut off mid-sentence when
an excited squeal arose
from the porch. “As I live and breathe! It’s Brody!” Sadie shrieked
as a huge grin erupted on her face.

Brody dropped his bags and rushed forward, wrapping his arms around Sadie’s waist to lift her ample body from the ground and spin her slowly. “Well, aren’t you the prettiest thing I’ve seen in years, Sadie
?
” He placed her on her feet. “And light as a feather, too,” he said
, unable to keep her excitement from flooding him as well. He placed
a kiss on
her
weathered cheek.

“Oh, you, stop. I ain’t no such thing.” She reached up to tousle his sandy hair. “Ain’t you a sight for sore eyes, boy?”

“Sadie, I left the boy back on the farm twelve years ago.”

“I can see that, Brody.” She stepped back to look appraisingly at him.
It was like he’d never left. Like he hadn’t been gone for twelve years
.

“What’s all the racket out there on the porch? You would think you had seen a snake,” Jeb said as he walked outside. His eyes lit up as he saw Brody
,
and he extended his hand. Brody bypassed the outstretched hand and embraced him.

“Your mama is going to be so happy to see you, boy,” the man said low against Brody’s ear.

“Where is she, Jeb?”

“She’s in her room. You can run right along and go see her. She needs you right now
,
” Sadie said with a gentle push toward the door.

****

Lou circled the house and went in through the front door
, in hopes of avoiding Mrs. Wester’s son, particularly in her wet and bedraggled state. She cringed at the knowledge that
that
man had seen her in her wet underwear. Even now, h
er wet hair clung to her face and her clothes stuck to her body. She went up the stairs to her room and stripped down to nothing. She turned on the shower and stepped beneath the spray.
A few moments of solitude to redirect her thoughts were all she needed.
 
She appraised herself in the mirror, and then
walked from her room and down the grand staircase toward the kitchen. She walked by Mrs. Wester’s room and
stopped to listen at the sound of a male voice chuckling
. She paused in the doorway and quickly stepped back, hoping no one would see her.

Mrs. Wester still sat in the chaise lounge, her book laid delicately on the arm of the chair. Brody sat at her feet, leaning toward his mother. His sandy-colored hair hung lightly over his forehead. Mrs. Wester raised her weakened hand to brush the lock of hair to the side. He grabbed her hand in his and lowered it to her lap but did not release it. His steely eyes were full of worry, his brow knit with concern. His six foot two inch frame dwarfed Mrs. Wester’s smaller one.

Lou stood in the doorway for a moment longer and then coughed gently to announce her presence. Two sets of eyes met hers as she walked into the room. Mrs. Wester’s were welcoming; her son’s were not.

“Are you ready for bed, Mrs. Wester?” Lou had taken it upon herself to be sure Mrs. Wester was clean and placed in bed before she went to bed at night.

“I can take my mother to bed, thank you,” Brody said, his jaw tight.

“Why don’t you do it together?” Mrs. Wester asked, as she patted his hand gently.

Lou filled a basin of water in the bathroom sink and carried it to the chaise lounge where mother and son sat. She wet a cloth with a small amount of soapy water and passed it to Mrs. Wester. She had quickly learned Mrs. Wester valued her independence and wanted to take care of her own needs as much as she could.
Mrs. Wester
washed her own face, neck
,
and hands. She passed the cloth to Brody and he handed her a clean cloth to dry her face. He took the basin from Lou and went to pour it in the sink as Lou chose a nightgown from the wardrobe. Brody turned his back as she helped Mrs. Wester to disrobe and don the nightclothes.

“Ready to move to the bed?” Lou asked gently. Mrs. Wester was often so tired after washing her face that she needed help to get to the bed. Lou placed one arm beneath her legs to swing them gently to the floor. At that moment, Brody placed a hand on Lou’s shoulder and moved her out of the way. He put an arm beneath his mother’s shoulders and one beneath her knees
,
and gently lifted her from the chair.

Lou moved ahead of him to turn down the bed. He laid his mother gently between the sheets and Lou arranged the covers around her. She fluffed the pillows and made sure
the matriarch
was comfortable. She then took Mrs. Wester’s hand in her own and bent to kiss her on the cheek. “Good night, Mrs. Wester.”

She stepped back and
tried not to listen when
Brody whisper
ed
, “Good night, Mama,” before he did the same.

Mrs. Wester fell asleep with a smile on her face before they ever left the room.

Lou turned with a smile to Brody to say thanks for all the help. She was met with cold, gray eyes that seethed with anger. He was obviously furious.

“How long has she been like this?” he demanded, stepping into the hall and pulling the bedroom door shut behind him.

“She started to go downhill about two weeks ago,” Lou replied as they walked into the kitchen.

“Why didn’t anyone call me before now?”

“She told us not to. As she became weaker and weaker, Sadie and I decided you needed to know,” she added. “She seemed very happy to see you. How long has it been?”

He sighed and some of the anger left his eyes. “It’s been twelve years.” The silence hung like a cloak as she waited for him to elaborate. He didn’t. “I talk to her on the phone every chance I get. I just didn’t think that I would be coming home.”

“We’re glad you did.” She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. “Good night.” She turned and went back up the stairs.

****

The next morning, the alarm clock buzzed loudly beside Lou’s ear at five a.m. She reached over and tapped it lightly. She rolled over in the big bed, slid from beneath the covers
,
and headed for the bathroom. She pulled her long
,
dark waves of hair into a high ponytail. Shedding the T-shirt in which she normally slept, she put on a pair of shorts and a cotton top
,
and then laced up her sneakers. She quickly checked herself in the mirror
, brushed her teeth
and headed down to the kitchen. The day started early on a ranch this size. When Lou had first arrived at the ranch, Sadie was still taking care of the breakfast and feeding all the hands who worked the stables. As the years passed, Sadie still made the plans
,
but Lou did most of the work. Sadie stood by to help
,
but Lou did the physical labor, lifting and serving.

Lou wiped the sleep from her eyes and entered the kitchen. Brody, Sadie, Jeb
,
and John were seated at the kitchen table drinking coffee and looking over the day’s news.

“Good morning,” she chimed.

Brody looked up with a surprised look on his face. “Morning,” he mumbled as he crossed to the coffeepot. “Want some coffee?” he asked, extending the pot in her direction.

“No thanks. No time. I’ll put on more for the hands, though,” she said, taking the pot from his hand. She quickly filled the reservoir, added coffee
,
and started the perk. She then grabbed a basket and headed out to the hen house to get the fresh eggs for breakfast.

She returned to the house with a basket full of eggs and
the beautiful day made her add a spring to her step
. She started cracking eggs into a bowl. For the next thirty minutes, she scrambled eggs, fried piles of bacon
,
and boiled grits. She took out biscuits Sadie had cut by hand the day before and warmed them in the oven. When she was done, she rang the bell
to
beckon the hands to come in for breakfast.

***
*

In the kitchen, she washed her hands before heading back upstairs. Brody watched it all
trying to keep his admiration for her from showing on his face. He turned to Jeb
.
 
“Does she do that every day?”

“Five days a week,” Jeb replied.

“She certainly earns her keep.” John went to join the hands at the buffet table.

“I thought she was your girlfriend, John?” Brody asked
.
Several of the hands snickered behind their hats.

“Who? Lou? Nope. She’s works on the farm, just like the rest of us
.
” John
’s face reddened
.

Just then,
Brody
 
heard small feet scurrying down the stairs.
Lou followed, and held out her hand
for the brush and ponytail holders the child held.

Brody leaned closer to John. “Who’s that?”

“That’s Sarah.”

“But, Mom, I want Sadie to fix my hair!”
The little girl
screeched with a flurry of activity.

She
ran around the room and landed at the Sadie’s feet, wrapping her arms around the old lady’s thick calves.

“Do you mind, Sadie?” Lou exhaled.

“Nope,” Sadie replied. “How do you want them, princess?”

“Two ponytails, please.”

“You look like a pony’s tail, squirt,” John said, pulling Sarah’s hair gently.

“I do not!” Sarah squeaked.

“Enough!” Lou said, just as Sadie finished working magic on the unruly mass that the child had for hair. “Go and get your breakfast.”

The dining hall was filled with
twelve
hungry men, all of whom wanted their breakfast. However, the line parted swiftly as one of the hands offered Sarah a plate and helped her to fill it. She sat down among the men as though she belonged and started to eat her breakfast.

“Uh, hum.” Sadie coughed gently.

Sarah laid her fork beside her plate. Every head in the room bowed as Sarah said, “Thank you, God, for this food, for the people who are here
,
and for our health. We pray You keep everyone safe while they do their chores today and that You will keep an eye on Mrs. Wester. Amen.”

A chorus of
twelve
amen
’
s joined hers and the commotion began anew.

Brody stepped in line behind Lou. “Which of the guys does that little nymph belong to? And where’s her mother?”

“You’re looking at her,” Lou replied, her eyes meeting his
, daring him to pass some judgment about her daughter
.

“Does her father live here, too?” he asked casually.

“No,” was her only reply.

Lou joked with one of the men about a date he had been on the night before
,
and another of the hands quizzed Sarah on her spelling homework. Then Lou rose
,
placed her plate and cup in the sink
,
and grabbed Sarah’s backpack from a post by the door. She beckoned for her daughter. “Move your butt, little lady. You’re going to miss the bus.”