Love's Someday (23 page)

What did Erica expect her to do? She could no more cancel her plans than Erica could. But there was that tone that said “your new life is getting in my way.” They seemed to have come so far with that one phone call and now they were back to square one. That thought burned in Ashleigh’s stomach as she climbed through the fence.

“You didn’t call her.” Kaitlyn stood in the open doorway of Erica’s office.

Erica shoved a stack of printouts to the corner of her desk. “She has other plans.”

Kaitlyn walked in and took her usual seat. “What’s she doing?”

“They have a show to do,” Erica said sarcastically.

“Ya know, you’re both wrong and you’re both right. You two are going to have to learn to compromise, and you’d think after five years, y’all would already have this down.”

“You’d think that our relationship would be important enough for her to skip twirling around on stage for one night.”

Kaitlyn scrubbed at her face with both hands. “I take back what I said a minute ago. You, Erica, are so damn wrong it’s ridiculous. Could you take her out Friday night instead? No, because you have a banquet. You can’t be the only one to have a life outside of your relationship.”

“It’s work, Kaitlyn.”

“It’s always work.” Kaitlyn sprang to her feet. “And she’s understood and accepted it. Now Ash has something she wants to do, and you refuse to budge.”

“Out, get out now. I have work to do and so do you.”

Kaitlyn stalked toward the door, then turned and leaned across Erica’s desk so they were nose to nose. “You hide behind your work and you be pig-headed. But she’s got someone with her now that understands her. How long are you going to push Ashleigh into her arms before you regret it?”

“Out,” Erica said low and cold. “And close the door.” She watched as Kaitlyn stood and looked at her angrily for a second, then left, closing the door behind her.

Erica leaned back in her chair and stared at the ceiling. She knew that she was being selfish, she knew it, but when pressed, she was determined to hold her ground. She was hurting enough, and self-preservation was what she clung to.

Erica canceled her routine meetings with the department heads and hid herself away behind the closed door of her office. She stared at the ever-growing to-do list, unable to find the energy or concentration to tackle the easiest of tasks. She was staring at the computer screen when she heard her door being opened.

“Why is this door closed?” Bob Barrett asked as he moved into the room without invitation.

“I needed to concentrate,” Erica said defensively.

He stared at her long and hard, and Erica fought not to squirm beneath his gaze. “We need to have a meeting,” he said in a tone that Erica knew better than to argue with.

“What time, and who do you want to attend?” Erica picked up her pen and prepared to make notes.

“Now, between you and me, alone. Grab your things.” He turned and walked from her office.

Erica grabbed a notepad and pen and followed him up the hall irritated at the interruption. He’d left the company in her hands. Why was he intervening now?

Bob exchanged pleasantries with a few employees as they made their way down the hall. Erica noticed that he’d gone the opposite way of the conference room. When he pushed through an exterior door, Erica shielded her eyes from the bright sunlight with the notepad. She followed him without a word until he walked up to his truck and pulled open the passenger door.

“Where are we going? I haven’t made any arrangements to leave the office.”

“I took care of that.” Bob gestured none too patiently for her to get inside.

“Dad, I’ve got a ton of work piled up,” Erica said when he climbed into the driver’s seat.

“There will always be work piled up. It’s the nature of the business.”

“Where are we going?” Erica asked again, feeling her anxiety rise.

“Bell River.”

“Dad, no! I can’t go all the way out there. It’ll be midnight before we get back.”

“You’re taking the day off,” Bob said brusquely. “Hell, it’d probably do you good to take the week off. Keep arguing with me and I’ll make that happen.”

Erica narrowed her eyes and stared at his profile, his face was as rigid as she was sure hers looked. “Did Kaitlyn call you?”

“No, but she should have. I had a chat with her when I found your door closed.”

Erica sank back into the seat and massaged her temples. “So you know everything.”

“You should’ve told me.”

“It’s not something I wanted to shout to the world.”

“Telling me or your mother about what’s going on in your life is not ‘shouting it to the world.’ You could’ve called and said you needed time to sort things out. I could’ve taken over for you.”

“I need to work. I need the distraction,” Erica said around the lump in her throat. The last time her father had seen her cry, she was ten. She perceived that he felt it was a sign of weakness, and she would not allow that.

Bob opened his mouth to speak, then cleared his throat. “Your momma is looking forward to seeing you. You haven’t been around much, and you haven’t come out to see the new place.”

Erica looked toward the passenger window and clamped her eyes shut. “Dad, please turn around. I’m not up for family visits right now. Just let me go back to the office.”

“Can’t do that, kiddo, won’t. Kaitlin has everything under—”

“I don’t give a damn about the office! I want to go home,” Erica shouted as she unbuckled the seat belt and threw it off her shoulder. It bounced off the glass with a loud clang.

Bob reached over and grabbed her by the arm as he kept his eyes on the road. “What are you going to do, girl? Jump?” He pulled the truck over to the shoulder, maintaining his grip on Erica. When he had the vehicle in park, he turned and looked at her. “Just let it go.”

“Let what go?” Erica asked miserably as she stared through the windshield.

Bob didn’t say anything more and Erica felt the last vestiges of her control crumble. “Damn it.” Erica slammed her hands on the dashboard. Unrestrained tears poured down her cheeks, adding to her misery. “Dad, take me home please. I’m begging you,” Erica pleaded in gasps.

“If that was truly what you needed, I would.” Bob reached over and stroked her head. “You can push everyone away in your misery, but not your mom and dad.”

Erica slumped over the console into his arms. “I’ve lost everything.” She wept into his shoulder. “I just want to curl up in a ball and let the world go on without me.”

“I know, hon.”

After a while, Erica sat up, feeling embarrassed. “I can’t face mom like this.” She wiped her face on her sleeve.

“Don’t worry about that, honey,” Bob said with a slight smile. “Put your seat belt back on.”

Erica did as she was asked and settled in for the ride, resigned to the fact that she was not going back home. They drove in silence for nearly an hour when Bob pulled onto a gravel road and followed it into the swamp.

“How long has it been since you’ve eaten?”

Erica shrugged. “I had a bagel this morning.”

“There’s a boat store out here that has the best
boudin
I’ve ever eaten.”

As the water came into view, Erica noticed the old wood-framed building nestled beneath a grouping of cypress trees. Moss swung lazily from the branches in the breeze. A sign read
Best
boudin
in Louisiana
and below that,
live bait
. Erica’s stomach roiled.

“Any requests?” Bob asked as he parked and threw the door open.

“Beer, I don’t care what kind, just lots of it.”

Erica watched as her father disappeared into the store and turned her attention to the rows of pickups parked along the road with empty boat trailers behind them. The weather was in the low eighties and sunny despite the fact it was early autumn. The water beyond the store was alive with boats hauling the hopeful to spots where the fish were biting.

Erica watched as her dad emerged from the store with a bag of ice in one hand and a couple of plastic bags swinging from the other. She climbed out to help when she noticed him trying to juggle everything at the rear of the truck. He handed her the bag of ice when she walked up.

“Slam that on the ground and break it up, then put it in the cooler.”

Erica did as instructed. The bottom of the cooler was already lined with cans, and the ice that had been in there before was melting. She pulled the plug and let the water drain as she added the ice. “You don’t have a fridge at the camp?”

Bob looked over at her and smiled as he poured the shiners into his bait bucket. “The camp is better outfitted than the house. Now come over here and take these bait cans and this bag and follow me.” Bob grabbed the ice chest and lugged it across the parking lot. Erica followed him as he went around back of the store and walked out onto a pier. He stepped off into a bass boat moored there and situated the ice chest.

“We’re going fishing?” Erica handed him the bait.

“Well, honey, if that wasn’t obvious by now, you’re more distraught than I thought.” Bob smiled as he took her hand and guided her into the boat.

Erica gave him a lopsided smile as she took a seat. It’d been years since they’d done anything like this.

“I’m gonna back her out of here, then you’re gonna take the wheel.”

Erica looked over the shiny new boat and shook her head. “I think I’d rather ride and take in some of the scenery.”

“Suit yourself then.” Bob handed her a beer and fished out a soda for himself. He took a knife out and cut a
boudin
link in half and passed it to Erica. “Eat that while you drink the beer. You’ll be drunk as a skunk if you don’t.”

Erica sniffed at the
boudin
while her stomach growled. She took a tentative bite, finding the flavor of the rice and meat delicious. She pushed the thought of where it came from out of her mind and ate while Bob guided them out of the slip.

“I like fishing this time of the year, don’t have to worry about snakes falling out of the trees.” Bob nodded toward the tree-lined shore. “The fish are biting good around those cypress knees right now. I found a little hot spot the other day. Fish were biting my line the second it hit the water. Cross your fingers that no one is fishing it today.”

The wind whipped Erica’s hair around and into her eyes as they picked up speed. She took the last bite of the
boudin
and set her beer down as she wiped her greasy hands on her pants.

“If you look in that compartment by your right leg, there’s some ball caps,” Bob called out over the sound of the boat and wind. “Hand me one, too.”

Erica fished out the two caps. One was emblazoned with the Barrett logo, the other said
Size isn’t important unless you’re fishing.
She handed that one to her father. They put on the caps backward as Bob sliced through the water for what seemed like miles. He killed the engine and guided them into a cropping of cypress trees where the boat came to rest.

“You can bait with the crickets if you prefer, but I have better luck with shiners right here.” Bob handed her a rod. “They’re probably not biting much now, but they will be in an hour or two.”

It’d been years since Erica had fished. She watched her dad bait his line and mimicked his actions. It took her a couple of tries, but she managed to cast in the spot that she’d picked out.

Bob leaned back in his seat with a contented sigh and took a sip of soda. “I was twenty-eight when my dad brought me fishing just like this. Your mom had tossed me out of the house, and I was feeling as angry and low as I imagine you’re feeling right now.”

“Mom threw you out?” Erica watched her float bob on the surface of the water.

“She did. I was driving a truck then. I’d come home from the road and spent most of my time carousing with the boys. She took care of the house, me, and you girls. That’s a twenty-four-hour job she did without complaint. But I was a bullheaded boy and figured if I was bringing home a paycheck that was all I had to contribute. The rest was her job.”

Erica shot him a disapproving look.

“I know,” he said, raising a hand. “Well, I know it now, but not back then. One night, I came in after a night of drinking, and she was waiting for me. My things were packed. I had to sleep in my truck until I was sober, then I went to your granddad’s. I was some pissed at her. But after a lecture from my dad, I understood where I went wrong. She took me back, and I did some changing.”

Erica looked over at him. “I never knew.”

Bob shook his head with a smile as he cast his line again. “Your mom kept it all hidden. She didn’t want you girls to see us fight. I remember many a night when she dragged me outside to gnaw on me.”

“My situation isn’t the same, Dad. I don’t go out ‘carousing.’”

“No, I don’t expect it is.” Bob sat quietly for a moment. “I was shocked when you told me you were…well, what you are. But when Ashleigh came along and you two settled down, it was like normal, you know? I’ve never looked at you as a son, but I have come to see her as my daughter-in-law. With you both being women, I just never thought you’d have problems like me and your mom did.”