Next August (9 page)

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Nashville

August was gone before I even dragged my lazy ass out of bed this morning. All this sex is wearing me out. I’m not complaining; I love how he makes me feel. I’m hopeful that he and I can work out our differences.

I meet Stella in the kitchen.” Good morning, Stella.”

She smiles sweetly at me.” Good morning, Nash. Did you enjoy your weekend?”

“I did.” I feel a little shy. She obviously knows what we’ve been up to.

“Mr. Rylan seemed very happy this morning. I think you put that smile on his face. It’s good to see him look happy.”

“Is August usually not happy?”

“Mr. Rylan is…let’s say lonely. The only person he ever hangs out with is Sam.”

I strum my fingers on the table.” Has he always been a loner?”

She sits down on the barstool beside me and hands me a cup of coffee.” Mr. Rylan has been on his own since his mother died. His aunt stepped in and helped him, but he had a lot to deal with at an early age. He was dealt a bad hand.”

I don’t want to overstep my bounds, but I want to get whatever information about him that I can. He isn’t very forthcoming.” Did he not get along with his father?”

“His father changed after his mother died. He drank a lot, and he had this awful temper that he had never had before. He blamed Mr. Rylan for his mother’s death, and he took it out on him.”

I gasp.” What? How could he possibly blame a child for the accident?”

“His parents were out celebrating their anniversary and Mr. Rylan got in a fight with the boy he was staying with for the night and his parents had to come pick him up. They had been drinking and were fighting over Mr. Rylan when the accident happened.”

“Oh my god, poor August, he must have felt so guilty. It wasn’t his fault. He didn’t get behind the wheel after drinking. That was a choice they made.” I feel so bad for him.

“His father didn’t see it that way. He blamed him every chance he got.”

“So why does he take such good care of his father?”

“Because he is a loyal man and I think he always hoped his father would forgive him for something that wasn’t even his fault. He remembers a man that was a good father up until the accident. I think he holds on to that.”

That explains a lot about him. Maybe I can help him and his father mend a bridge. Tom is hiding from August for a reason. Maybe it’s his own guilt. The information she has given me makes me more determined to draw Tom out.

“Thanks for talking with me. I hope I didn’t cross a line with the nondisclosure.”

“I love that boy like he’s my own if I have to cross a line to help him, I will. I’m glad you’re here. Just please don’t break his heart. I think he has fallen hard for you. He has never brought a woman here before. That in itself says a lot.”

I get up and hug her.” Thank you, Stella.” What she says makes me feel great, but also terrifies me.

☀

The aide is leaving as I enter Tom’s room.” Any changes?”

“No. He is up in the chair. His physical therapy team just left. The speech therapist and occupational therapist are in there with him right now.”

They’re trying to work with him, but he’s not responding to them at all. He has that blank stare on his face. They make their notes and leave. I read over what they’ve written. They both think it’s a waste of time. I walk over to his chair and kneel in front of him.

“Good morning, Tom,”I say as I take his hand. His gaze meets mine. Why does he only respond to me? I don’t get it. Most of these people have been working with him for a long time. Why don’t they get anything out of him? I see his journal on the nightstand. I take it and flip through the first couple of pages again. Nothing. His eyes follow me.

“Why, Tom?” I plead with him. He opens his mouth like he is going to say something, but nothing comes out and he shuts his eyes hard.

I hand him the journal.” Can you write it?”

He nods, but he doesn’t write anything when I open the journal. He flips at the pages and gets frustrated and slaps at it. He makes a sound but I can’t understand him.

“It’s okay. We will get there. I’m not giving up on you.”

I’m not sure, but I think the groan that comes out of his mouth might have been an expression of gratitude.

☀

I keep my promise and I work with him every day. I actually had him tossing a ball with me. He still doesn’t respond to anyone else. On Friday morning, I work with him on a puzzle. He slowly puts the pieces in place. There is a child in the puzzle. He points, and I clearly hear him say “Augie.” I’m so excited about it. I can’t wait to tell August, so I decide to call his office. I don’t like calling his cell phone while he’s at work, but this seems like as good a reason as any to call his office phone.

“Rylan Designs.”

“Hi. May I speak to August?”

“I’m sorry, but Mr. Rylan doesn’t come into the office on Fridays.”

“What? You must be mistaken.”

“Mr. Rylan never works on Fridays.”

I hang up without saying goodbye. What the hell is he doing every Friday? He lied to me. The private sex club runs through my mind.

I call in the aide to cover my shift and I pack my bags. I call to change my flight home to an earlier flight. I run by the apartment and run into Anna.

“Hey girl, I’ve missed you around here.” She hugs me.

“I’ve missed you too.” Tears fill my eyes.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” She leads me to the couch.

“Oh Anna, I think he is seeing someone else. I knew I wouldn’t be enough for him.” I cry on her shoulder.

“What makes you think that, sweetie?”

I tell her about calling his office, careful not to discuss Tom.

“Nash, if he has not been working on Fridays for a long time, maybe it’s not what you think.”

“What else could it be?” I sniff.

“I don’t know, but I’m sure he can explain it.”

“I don’t care what his excuse is. He lied to me. There has to be trust in a relationship.” I get up and head to my room.

“Aren’t you curious?” She follows me.

“No. I’m pissed. I’m going to my parent’s house for the weekend. It will give me time to cool off.” I throw some clean clothes into my suitcase.

“I’d go with you, but I’m scheduled to work tomorrow.”

“It’s okay. I’ll be fine. I just need to get away from him right now. I was really falling for him. Just when I think he is a great guy, something bad comes up about him.” As I say that my phone rings with his name flashing on it.

“Aren’t you going to answer him?”

“No. I have nothing to say to him right now. I have a plane to catch.”

☀

By the time I park my car in the airport parking lot, August has blown up my phone at least ten times. I keep sending him to voicemail, and I don’t want to listen to whatever he has to say. I turn it off and head for the terminal. I need to be away from him to gain some type of perspective.

The flight is only an hour long, but I fight back my tears the entire time. I catch a cab for the short ten-minute ride to my parent’s farm.

“Mom. Dad,” I call as I walk through the front door.

“Oh sweetheart, you’re early. You should have called us. We would’ve picked you up.” My mother engulfs me into a hug.” Are you hungry?” Mom always tries to feed me.” Your dad will be down in a minute. He was just cleaning up for dinner.”

“I’m not really hungry. It’s so good to see you.” I hug her again and I hear my dad coming down the stairs.

“Hey, sweetheart.” He looks happier than the last time I saw him.

“You look great.” I hug him.

“I should look great now that the weight of the world has been lifted off my shoulders. Thanks to you.”

“What do you mean? I came here this weekend so we could sit down and figure out how much money you need to keep things going.”

We walk into the living room and sit down.” All of that has been taking care of. I don’t know how you did it so quickly, but our entire mortgage has been paid in full. There is even some extra money to make equipment repairs.”

Did I just hear him right? August. Damn him. I get up and start pacing the floor and as I do, the tears start to flow.

“What’s wrong?” My mother asks.

“I didn’t give you that money, the man I have been working for did it!”

They are both speechless.” I started working for him because he was paying double what the hospital was paying me, and he has more money than sense. He is a controlling son of a bitch, but I think I am in love with the idiot!” I plop down between the two of them.

My mom embraces me in a hug. My dad tries to console me.” We can pay him back.”

I sniff.” No Daddy. I’ll pay him back.”

Mom chimes in, “You really love him?”

“Yes…No…. I don’t know…. he infuriates the hell out of me.”

“That’s love, alright,” Daddy says as he gets up and grabs a tissue.

“What? No. You and Momma aren’t like that.” I take the tissue from him.

“Your daddy used to drive me crazy. One minute I was madly in love with him, the next minute I wanted to chop his balls off.”

“Momma!” I have never heard her talk like that.

She shrugs her shoulders at me.” What? It’s true.”

Daddy nods.

“But you two always seem so loving to each other.”

“Sweetie, it takes time and a lot of compromises, but if you love someone it’s worth it. We didn’t just suddenly wake up and have a good strong marriage, we work at it every day.”

I lay my head on her shoulder.” But he and I come from two different worlds. He is super rich. I don’t like that he thinks he can throw money at things and fix it.”

“Well, maybe that is all he knows. You can teach him differently,” Momma says.

“It’s not just that, he has secrets. I can’t get him to talk to me about them.”

Dad’s turn.” You said you love him right?”

I shake my head and tears start falling again.

“I know my daughter well enough, that if you have fallen in love with him, then he is a good man and everything else can be worked out.”

His words make me cry harder.

“Come on now, dry up those tears and let me get you something to eat.” Momma’s answer to problems is always food. And she won’t take no for an answer.

☀

We spend the rest of the day catching up, eating and playing cards. Dad shows me his new project in the barn. He actually seems excited about life now. A big change from the last year, when I worried about his obvious depression. I am thankful to August for lifting his spirits. It’s hard to be angry about the money when I see the smile on my dad’s face. I still don’t know why he lied about work and I have had a little time to think about it. I have to be able to trust him, and I don’t. In my mind, all the other issues we have can be worked out, but not trusting him. I need to end it with him before I get in any deeper. He has helped my parents and I would like to continue working with Tom. Maybe, in turn, it will help August.

The next morning, I lay in bed thinking, until the smell of breakfast wakes my stomach along with my mind. Momma always makes the best breakfast. If I stay here too much longer, I’m going to get fat. I glance over at the clock. Good lord, it’s already ten o’clock. I never sleep this late. I jump out of bed and head for the shower.

I throw on a pair of cut-off shorts and one of my favorite old t-shirts I found in the dresser, and my cowboy boots.

As I come down the stairs I yell to Momma about how good the food smells, but as I round the corner to the kitchen, I stop dead in my tracks. There, sitting at the table, is August. He is dressed in blue jeans and a white button-down shirt. He’s is stuffing food in his mouth, and Dad is in deep conversation with him. I guess I should have listened to the fifteen messages he left on my phone.

“Well good morning, sunshine, it’s about time you woke up,” Momma says.

August stops mid-chew and looks at me. He has food packed in his cheek. My dad breaks the awkward silence. “We have met your friend, August.”
Thanks for stating the obvious, Dad.

August cautiously waves at me. I stomp by him to fix me a cup of coffee and as I pour the creamer, I look down at how I’m dressed. For a moment I’m embarrassed. Then I tell myself, this is the real me if he doesn’t like it, then too bad. I turn around and blush when I notice August staring at my ass. My parents seem oblivious, thankfully. I lean against the counter and squint at him as I take a sip of coffee.

Momma seems to finally sense the tension.” Um…sweetie…. your dad and I have some work to do upstairs.” She grabs dad’s plate of food and his hand, dragging him up the stairs as he tries to protest.

I take my cup of coffee and sit at the far end of the table facing August.