"It's sweet of you to get something like this," Kelly said.
She, Wyatt and Mona had been out on a trail, riding for a little while now. While Mona's horse trotted a bit ahead of them, Kelly and Wyatt stayed behind a ways to have conversation. Wyatt smirked and shrugged.
"I mean, how many dads can actually fulfill their daughters request of being given a pony," he asked, "I'm just lucky enough to be able to do so is all. Really nothing more to it than being fiscally well off."
"Thanks for inviting me," Kelly said, "I really needed this. I've been struggling so much lately with my leg and then the self worth that comes along with that, and so this is...this is nice. I needed this. Thank you."
"Don't mention it," Wyatt said.
But Kelly wanted to mention it. She wanted to mention how grateful she was to him, not just for this, but for everything. She wanted to mention so much more too. She wanted to mention how she felt. How much she cared about him. How much she wanted him to be hers. But she wasn't a homewrecker. She wasn't about to take a little girls daddy away from her, break up a seemingly happy marriage. That wasn't who Kelly was, nor was it who she wanted to be, so instead, she just smiled politely, nodded and agreed to not mention it.
Always opting to put others comfort before her own.
***
"You can't be serious," Celia said.
"I'm dead serious," Paul replied, "why is that so shocking to you?"
"Paul, you...you wanted to go discover who it was you wanted to be, and I respected that because we did get pregnant so young, I didn't wanna tie you down, and now seeing you as you are, a professional federal agent, it's impressive. I'm proud of you. But you chose the life you chose because you didn't want this one. The life that's mine. The life I wanted and stuck around for. He's your son biologically, but he's my son emotionally. I was here."
Paul nodded in agreement. He couldn't deny that, and the last thing he wanted to do was hurt Celia or their son in some way. But he still wanted to be a part of their life. He sighed and drank from his coffee mug, then leaned back in the booth. He and Celia had come out to breakfast this morning while their son was at school, and actually have a discussion about this, but so far it hadn't really been going in his favor.
"Listen," he said, "there's no defense, you're right. You're one hundred percent right, and I ain't got a leg to stand on. But the thing is, we both are professionals now, and we both can give him a better life. Maybe split custody? I'm willing to move back. Lord knows I could do my job from anywhere, really. But please, meet me halfway Cels."
Celia rolled her eyes and chuckled. She'd always hated that nickname, and yet...there was something oddly endearing about being called it right now.
"I'm...willing to entertain some kind of compromise," she said, "but for his sake, not yours. And certainly not ours. You and I were finished the moment you left. I don't hold any kind of grudge against you or anything, but you do need to know that. That whatever it was we had...it's gone."
"I understand that and I'm by no means attempting to re-establish a romantic relationship with you. This is about knowing my kid, specifically," Paul said, and Celia nodded.
"So long as we're in agreement," she said.
Celia didn't know it, but she wasn't the only one busy. Rachel was currently in therapy, Wyatt and Kelly were horseback riding, and Angie...Angie was currently on her way to her former cults compound with Ricky by her side. Seemed everyone had an appointment to keep today.
***
Ricky had watched a lot of stuff about cults. Movies, documentaries, television specials. It was a special interest of his, but up til now, that's all it'd ever been. An interest. Never a direct experience or interaction. Now, sitting in Angie's passenger seat, on his way to meet her former cult leader, he had no idea what to expect, and frankly, as a private investigator, that excited him more than it probably should've. As Angie's car pulled up to the large front gate that led to the compound, Ricky had a sneaking suspicion he'd regret getting involved in this girls life, but he needed answers, and this might be a good place to start.
"Don't be weird," Angie said as she pulled in further, looking to park.
"You're one to talk," Ricky replied.
"Seriously," Angie said, "these people can smell fear like it's a pheromone from a wild animal. They will eat you alive. Don't be weird and stay close to me."
Angie eventually parked and shut the car off, herself and Ricky exiting the vehicle. Once he was out of the car, he stood and stretched, looking around, taking in the compound. It was lovely, well kept, one could even say flourishing. And everyone seemed friendly and approachable. But...that's cults for you, isn't it? Everyone always seems friendly and approachable. Rarely do you see a documentary or photos about a cult where people are displeased and non content. Angie stopped and stood by him, and together they began heading in a specific direction away from the car.
"So," Ricky said, turning the small recorder in his shirt pocket on without her knowing, "this is where you grew up?"
"For a bit," Angie replied, "until my folks decided to leave. That was why I joined The Evergreens. It was never about the message for me, well, it kind of was, I do care about the planet, but moreso it was about following someone. Someone with an idea, someone who was a martyr. Didn't know at the time what a horrible man Oliver Brighton actually was. Then, when Wyatt got me to not get on that plane and it crashed, I realized I'd been following the wrong man."
"So it's all about being led, for you?" Ricky asked, Angie nodding in response as he added, "and how does this connect to what's going on with Wyatt and everyone else? I don't understand."
"Cults have a lot of resources," Angie said, shrugging, "if anyone can find out who's behind it all...it's Art."
Ricky nodded and followed Angie in silence, hands in his coat pockets. As they passed by multiple people, all of varying ethnicities, body types, age, single people, couples and even full on families, Ricky started to wonder what exactly he'd gotten himself involved with here. Maybe, if he managed to get to the bottom of this situation, he could return with information about whoever was running this trafficking ring to Mrs. Grudin and she would be so disgusted she would forget about her want for revenge for herself and, instead, turn her sights to stopping this instead. Yeah, Ricky thought, and maybe I'll be the queen of England one day. Eventually they entered a lovely little cottage style home and stopped in the foyer.
"Art?" Angie called out in what was, to that point, perhaps the most polite voice Ricky had heard her use. After a moment, a well dressed, older man - who appeared to be in his early seventies at least - walked to the banister above them and looked down, smiling at her. She smiled and waved back as he began to descend the staircase.
"Angelica!" he said happily, "what a nice surprise!"
As he reached the landing, the two embraced, and Ricky immediately got the sense of history between them. Angie's folks may have managed to escape the mindrot of a cult, but Angie was clearly still attached. Ricky actually started to feel bad for her. Art then turned his attention to Ricky, who held his hand out to shake, which Art happily did.
"Ricky Loach," Ricky said, "nice to meet you. You have quite a place here, and I don't just mean your personal abode, I mean the entire compound. All the land. You must've bought it a long time ago."
"It came from my grandfather," Art said, "it was the one thing he left me. He purchased it with intent to do something himself, but he simply never had the means. He had the money for the land back when land was cheap, but never the money for construction of any kind. I like to think he'd be proud of what I've managed to build up here. So, what can I do for you today?"
"Art," Angie said, "we need help. It's a long story."
"Angelica, for you, all I have is time," Art said, smiling.
Hell, the guy was so charming, charismatic, that even Ricky had to remind himself what he was dealing with here so as not to get sucked in. The three of them made their way to the parlor, where Art had someone bring them food and drink, and Angie began to tell the entire story, as she knew it, from start to finish. Stuff even Ricky hadn't heard. By the end of it all, he felt worse by having helped Mrs. Grudin, considering Wyatt and the groups reasonings, and all they had been through together.
Maybe, he thought to himself as he listened, just maybe...there was a bigger story here than just some asshole politician getting killed in the crossfire. Maybe there was bigger justice to be served. And he wanted to help serve it.
***
Rachel was siting on the couch, her feet up on it, her arms hugging her knees, her eyes cast down towards her lap. The sound of the clock on the wall ticking ever so slowly, the sound of her therapist tapping her pencil. After a little bit, Rachel wanted to speak again, but what could she realistically say? Oh, by the way, did you know I'm involved a massive cover up of the murder of a politician, also the crash of a major airliner, the unintended manslaughter of an entire group of pseudo activists and we killed a friend of ours? Yeah. That would fly. She sighed and shook her head.
"Have you spoken to your parents since?" her therapist asked, and Rachel shrugged.
"Not really, no," she replied, "I'm honestly afraid to. I'm afraid they'll pull some kind of conservatorship nonsense, say I'm a danger to myself or some other ridiculously controlling bullshit like that. Sun keeps telling me I don't need them in my life, and she's right, but god it hurts being so alone, not having any parents, any family whatsoever."
Her therapist nodded in understanding, chewing her lip.
"Rachel," she said, leaning forward, "when I was in college, I worked at this juice bar, and there was this girl I worked with. She was another student, studying criminal psychology, her name was Alicia. Anyway, because we worked together, and we were the only two girls who worked there, we became kinda buddy buddy, you know? Looked out for eachother in the workplace, and were cordial towards one another on school grounds. The thing is, and I didn't realize this until years later when she came to see me at my practice, she was like you. But unlike you, Rachel, she allowed the fear of ostracization and her parents bigotry and rejection get the better of her. Granted, different time, but still. She married a man. She had three kids. And she was fucking miserable."
"Is this story supposed to make me feel better, cause I gotta tell ya, it ain't working," Rachel said, making her therapist smirk.
"Let me finish," she said, "she regretted so much of her life. She regretted having children, something she didn't even want, much less want with a man. That wasn't to say she was a cruel or neglectful mother, but more that she wished she'd never let the fears overtake her desire for happiness and self fulfillment. In the end, she left her husband, got joint custody of her children, and met a woman. She's happy now. She's happier than I'd ever seen her be. She was scared of losing her family just like you have, but she also came to realize that the people around her, in her community, who were her friends, they were her family now too. I know that's trite, cliche even, but it's the truth."
Rachel nodded slowly, taking it all in. In a way, she knew her therapist was right. She had Wyatt and Kelly and Sun Rai. She had a family of sorts. She had Calvin. But when she thought about that, it made her sad. After all...who kills their family members?
***
Wyatt and Kelly were putting taking the equipment off their horses while Mona put hers back in its stable. Standing there in the bright sun, watching Wyatt undo a saddle, Kelly leaned back against the fence, having finished her own work, and smiled as she viewed him. She had had such a good time, and she was so happy to have been given this opportunity not just to spend time with him, but also to go back to her all time favorite hobby. As Wyatt finished and lugged the saddle off, plopping it onto the bench nearby, he exhaled,, turning to look at her, hand on his hip.
"This was a lot of fun, thank you," Kelly said.
"Yeah, I'm glad we managed to do it," Wyatt remarked, glancing back at his daughter brushing her horse down; he chuckled then added, "Mona and I try to do a ride once a week, so maybe you can start coming along most weeks, if you're free. I know she'll still want ones just with me, which is fair, but."
"I don't wanna intrude," Kelly said.
"Oh, please, you revel at the chance of intruding," Wyatt said, the both of them laughing. He walked up to the fence and leaned back against it beside her, letting the sun warm his face. Kelly did the same. She leaned back and shut her eyes, breathing slowly, softly, trying to relax. After a few minutes, Wyatt opened his eyes and looked over at her. The sunlight was brightening her otherwise pale skin, and glinted off her eyelashes. Wyatt's eyes opened, and in that moment, he realized something he'd been trying to avoid. He swallowed and looked away.
"Imagine this being life," Kelly mumbled, "just this. None of the other stuff. Just horseback and work and parenting. You don't know how much you miss normal until you're face with abnormal. You're lucky. You're lucky to have all this. I'm envious."
"Envious of me?" Wyatt asked, laughing.
"Envious of Sc..." Kelly started, then stopped herself, bit her lip and shook her head, "yeah, envious of you, yes. I just have my apartment and my job, and it's nice enough, but being embroiled in all this extra nonsense..."
"I'm sorry for dragging you into all this," Wyatt said, sounding shameful.
"No, don't be. I waited my whole life to be involved in stuff. At least now I am," Kelly replied.
They looked at one another, and Wyatt slipped his hand into hers, squeezing, making her blush. Just then a car pulled up, and they both turned their focus to that, pulling their hands away once more. It wasn't anyone they expected though, in fact, it was just Angie. Angie parked and climbed out of the car, staring at them. She then glanced in the direction of Mona and back to Wyatt and Kelly.
"What are you doing here?" Wyatt asked.
"We need to talk," Angie said, "it's about-"
But before she could finish, yet another car pulled up, and this one made Wyatt's blood run cold. Rufus parked and climbed out of his car, smiling at Wyatt and the two women. He tucked his hands into the pockets of his sports coat and looked around the ranch.
"This is beautiful. Not your land, of course, I presume," he said.
"No, we just keep the horse here," Wyatt said.
"Every time I see you lately it seems you're with women who aren't your wife," Rufus remarked, making Wyatt grit his teeth.
"You know other women?" Kelly asked, trying to lighten the mood, making Wyatt smirk. He appreciated her so much right now.
"What are you doing here dad?" Wyatt asked.
"Went to the house to see my granddaughter, Scarlett told me you were here on a little riding trip, so I figured I'd stop on by," Rufus said, looking at Kelly and adding, pointing at her, "you look familiar. Aren't you a weather girl?"
"Yes I am," Kelly replied as he then turned his attention towards Angie.
"And you are?" he asked.
"Your worst fucking nightmare," Angie said, "I'll eat your sister."
Wyatt and Kelly had to do everything in their power to stifle themselves from laughing, despite knowing full well she wasn't kidding. Her response, in turn, certainly made Rufus back away a little. He started to pace between the cars, looking at the riding arena.
"Wyatt," Rufus said, "I just wanted to let you know that in a few weeks, I'll be bringing in an insurance adjustor to the store, as well as a management efficiency expert. Between their findings, whatever those may be, you might be relieved of your job. I hope this doesn't come as a surprise to you."
"Frankly nothing you do comes as a surprise to me," Wyatt said, narrowing his eyes at his father, "you really don't trust me, do you? You don't think I'm capable of running a business you yourself weren't interested enough to stick around for."
"Oh, I think you're plenty of capable, and I do trust you," Rufus said, "just not right now. You are slipping, and that affects everything and everyone around you, and until you can get stable again, I think it's in everyones best interests to take responsibility away from you."
"Grandpa!" Mona said, running up and hugging him tightly.
"Hi kiddo!" Rufus said.
"Are you coming to my play this week?" Mona asked, "I'm gonna be a teapot, and mom and her friend made my costume!"
"I'll definitely be there, wouldn't miss it for anything," Rufus said, patting her on the head. He then turned and walked back to his car, waved goodbye to everyone and started it up, pulling out and driving away.
"Mona, go get your backpack," Wyatt said, watching her run away; after a moment he exhaled, and felt Kelly's hand on his back, reassuring him as he said, "I can't wait for my father to die."
And Angie, ever the faithful, nodded in agreement.
She, Wyatt and Mona had been out on a trail, riding for a little while now. While Mona's horse trotted a bit ahead of them, Kelly and Wyatt stayed behind a ways to have conversation. Wyatt smirked and shrugged.
"I mean, how many dads can actually fulfill their daughters request of being given a pony," he asked, "I'm just lucky enough to be able to do so is all. Really nothing more to it than being fiscally well off."
"Thanks for inviting me," Kelly said, "I really needed this. I've been struggling so much lately with my leg and then the self worth that comes along with that, and so this is...this is nice. I needed this. Thank you."
"Don't mention it," Wyatt said.
But Kelly wanted to mention it. She wanted to mention how grateful she was to him, not just for this, but for everything. She wanted to mention so much more too. She wanted to mention how she felt. How much she cared about him. How much she wanted him to be hers. But she wasn't a homewrecker. She wasn't about to take a little girls daddy away from her, break up a seemingly happy marriage. That wasn't who Kelly was, nor was it who she wanted to be, so instead, she just smiled politely, nodded and agreed to not mention it.
Always opting to put others comfort before her own.
***
"You can't be serious," Celia said.
"I'm dead serious," Paul replied, "why is that so shocking to you?"
"Paul, you...you wanted to go discover who it was you wanted to be, and I respected that because we did get pregnant so young, I didn't wanna tie you down, and now seeing you as you are, a professional federal agent, it's impressive. I'm proud of you. But you chose the life you chose because you didn't want this one. The life that's mine. The life I wanted and stuck around for. He's your son biologically, but he's my son emotionally. I was here."
Paul nodded in agreement. He couldn't deny that, and the last thing he wanted to do was hurt Celia or their son in some way. But he still wanted to be a part of their life. He sighed and drank from his coffee mug, then leaned back in the booth. He and Celia had come out to breakfast this morning while their son was at school, and actually have a discussion about this, but so far it hadn't really been going in his favor.
"Listen," he said, "there's no defense, you're right. You're one hundred percent right, and I ain't got a leg to stand on. But the thing is, we both are professionals now, and we both can give him a better life. Maybe split custody? I'm willing to move back. Lord knows I could do my job from anywhere, really. But please, meet me halfway Cels."
Celia rolled her eyes and chuckled. She'd always hated that nickname, and yet...there was something oddly endearing about being called it right now.
"I'm...willing to entertain some kind of compromise," she said, "but for his sake, not yours. And certainly not ours. You and I were finished the moment you left. I don't hold any kind of grudge against you or anything, but you do need to know that. That whatever it was we had...it's gone."
"I understand that and I'm by no means attempting to re-establish a romantic relationship with you. This is about knowing my kid, specifically," Paul said, and Celia nodded.
"So long as we're in agreement," she said.
Celia didn't know it, but she wasn't the only one busy. Rachel was currently in therapy, Wyatt and Kelly were horseback riding, and Angie...Angie was currently on her way to her former cults compound with Ricky by her side. Seemed everyone had an appointment to keep today.
***
Ricky had watched a lot of stuff about cults. Movies, documentaries, television specials. It was a special interest of his, but up til now, that's all it'd ever been. An interest. Never a direct experience or interaction. Now, sitting in Angie's passenger seat, on his way to meet her former cult leader, he had no idea what to expect, and frankly, as a private investigator, that excited him more than it probably should've. As Angie's car pulled up to the large front gate that led to the compound, Ricky had a sneaking suspicion he'd regret getting involved in this girls life, but he needed answers, and this might be a good place to start.
"Don't be weird," Angie said as she pulled in further, looking to park.
"You're one to talk," Ricky replied.
"Seriously," Angie said, "these people can smell fear like it's a pheromone from a wild animal. They will eat you alive. Don't be weird and stay close to me."
Angie eventually parked and shut the car off, herself and Ricky exiting the vehicle. Once he was out of the car, he stood and stretched, looking around, taking in the compound. It was lovely, well kept, one could even say flourishing. And everyone seemed friendly and approachable. But...that's cults for you, isn't it? Everyone always seems friendly and approachable. Rarely do you see a documentary or photos about a cult where people are displeased and non content. Angie stopped and stood by him, and together they began heading in a specific direction away from the car.
"So," Ricky said, turning the small recorder in his shirt pocket on without her knowing, "this is where you grew up?"
"For a bit," Angie replied, "until my folks decided to leave. That was why I joined The Evergreens. It was never about the message for me, well, it kind of was, I do care about the planet, but moreso it was about following someone. Someone with an idea, someone who was a martyr. Didn't know at the time what a horrible man Oliver Brighton actually was. Then, when Wyatt got me to not get on that plane and it crashed, I realized I'd been following the wrong man."
"So it's all about being led, for you?" Ricky asked, Angie nodding in response as he added, "and how does this connect to what's going on with Wyatt and everyone else? I don't understand."
"Cults have a lot of resources," Angie said, shrugging, "if anyone can find out who's behind it all...it's Art."
Ricky nodded and followed Angie in silence, hands in his coat pockets. As they passed by multiple people, all of varying ethnicities, body types, age, single people, couples and even full on families, Ricky started to wonder what exactly he'd gotten himself involved with here. Maybe, if he managed to get to the bottom of this situation, he could return with information about whoever was running this trafficking ring to Mrs. Grudin and she would be so disgusted she would forget about her want for revenge for herself and, instead, turn her sights to stopping this instead. Yeah, Ricky thought, and maybe I'll be the queen of England one day. Eventually they entered a lovely little cottage style home and stopped in the foyer.
"Art?" Angie called out in what was, to that point, perhaps the most polite voice Ricky had heard her use. After a moment, a well dressed, older man - who appeared to be in his early seventies at least - walked to the banister above them and looked down, smiling at her. She smiled and waved back as he began to descend the staircase.
"Angelica!" he said happily, "what a nice surprise!"
As he reached the landing, the two embraced, and Ricky immediately got the sense of history between them. Angie's folks may have managed to escape the mindrot of a cult, but Angie was clearly still attached. Ricky actually started to feel bad for her. Art then turned his attention to Ricky, who held his hand out to shake, which Art happily did.
"Ricky Loach," Ricky said, "nice to meet you. You have quite a place here, and I don't just mean your personal abode, I mean the entire compound. All the land. You must've bought it a long time ago."
"It came from my grandfather," Art said, "it was the one thing he left me. He purchased it with intent to do something himself, but he simply never had the means. He had the money for the land back when land was cheap, but never the money for construction of any kind. I like to think he'd be proud of what I've managed to build up here. So, what can I do for you today?"
"Art," Angie said, "we need help. It's a long story."
"Angelica, for you, all I have is time," Art said, smiling.
Hell, the guy was so charming, charismatic, that even Ricky had to remind himself what he was dealing with here so as not to get sucked in. The three of them made their way to the parlor, where Art had someone bring them food and drink, and Angie began to tell the entire story, as she knew it, from start to finish. Stuff even Ricky hadn't heard. By the end of it all, he felt worse by having helped Mrs. Grudin, considering Wyatt and the groups reasonings, and all they had been through together.
Maybe, he thought to himself as he listened, just maybe...there was a bigger story here than just some asshole politician getting killed in the crossfire. Maybe there was bigger justice to be served. And he wanted to help serve it.
***
Rachel was siting on the couch, her feet up on it, her arms hugging her knees, her eyes cast down towards her lap. The sound of the clock on the wall ticking ever so slowly, the sound of her therapist tapping her pencil. After a little bit, Rachel wanted to speak again, but what could she realistically say? Oh, by the way, did you know I'm involved a massive cover up of the murder of a politician, also the crash of a major airliner, the unintended manslaughter of an entire group of pseudo activists and we killed a friend of ours? Yeah. That would fly. She sighed and shook her head.
"Have you spoken to your parents since?" her therapist asked, and Rachel shrugged.
"Not really, no," she replied, "I'm honestly afraid to. I'm afraid they'll pull some kind of conservatorship nonsense, say I'm a danger to myself or some other ridiculously controlling bullshit like that. Sun keeps telling me I don't need them in my life, and she's right, but god it hurts being so alone, not having any parents, any family whatsoever."
Her therapist nodded in understanding, chewing her lip.
"Rachel," she said, leaning forward, "when I was in college, I worked at this juice bar, and there was this girl I worked with. She was another student, studying criminal psychology, her name was Alicia. Anyway, because we worked together, and we were the only two girls who worked there, we became kinda buddy buddy, you know? Looked out for eachother in the workplace, and were cordial towards one another on school grounds. The thing is, and I didn't realize this until years later when she came to see me at my practice, she was like you. But unlike you, Rachel, she allowed the fear of ostracization and her parents bigotry and rejection get the better of her. Granted, different time, but still. She married a man. She had three kids. And she was fucking miserable."
"Is this story supposed to make me feel better, cause I gotta tell ya, it ain't working," Rachel said, making her therapist smirk.
"Let me finish," she said, "she regretted so much of her life. She regretted having children, something she didn't even want, much less want with a man. That wasn't to say she was a cruel or neglectful mother, but more that she wished she'd never let the fears overtake her desire for happiness and self fulfillment. In the end, she left her husband, got joint custody of her children, and met a woman. She's happy now. She's happier than I'd ever seen her be. She was scared of losing her family just like you have, but she also came to realize that the people around her, in her community, who were her friends, they were her family now too. I know that's trite, cliche even, but it's the truth."
Rachel nodded slowly, taking it all in. In a way, she knew her therapist was right. She had Wyatt and Kelly and Sun Rai. She had a family of sorts. She had Calvin. But when she thought about that, it made her sad. After all...who kills their family members?
***
Wyatt and Kelly were putting taking the equipment off their horses while Mona put hers back in its stable. Standing there in the bright sun, watching Wyatt undo a saddle, Kelly leaned back against the fence, having finished her own work, and smiled as she viewed him. She had had such a good time, and she was so happy to have been given this opportunity not just to spend time with him, but also to go back to her all time favorite hobby. As Wyatt finished and lugged the saddle off, plopping it onto the bench nearby, he exhaled,, turning to look at her, hand on his hip.
"This was a lot of fun, thank you," Kelly said.
"Yeah, I'm glad we managed to do it," Wyatt remarked, glancing back at his daughter brushing her horse down; he chuckled then added, "Mona and I try to do a ride once a week, so maybe you can start coming along most weeks, if you're free. I know she'll still want ones just with me, which is fair, but."
"I don't wanna intrude," Kelly said.
"Oh, please, you revel at the chance of intruding," Wyatt said, the both of them laughing. He walked up to the fence and leaned back against it beside her, letting the sun warm his face. Kelly did the same. She leaned back and shut her eyes, breathing slowly, softly, trying to relax. After a few minutes, Wyatt opened his eyes and looked over at her. The sunlight was brightening her otherwise pale skin, and glinted off her eyelashes. Wyatt's eyes opened, and in that moment, he realized something he'd been trying to avoid. He swallowed and looked away.
"Imagine this being life," Kelly mumbled, "just this. None of the other stuff. Just horseback and work and parenting. You don't know how much you miss normal until you're face with abnormal. You're lucky. You're lucky to have all this. I'm envious."
"Envious of me?" Wyatt asked, laughing.
"Envious of Sc..." Kelly started, then stopped herself, bit her lip and shook her head, "yeah, envious of you, yes. I just have my apartment and my job, and it's nice enough, but being embroiled in all this extra nonsense..."
"I'm sorry for dragging you into all this," Wyatt said, sounding shameful.
"No, don't be. I waited my whole life to be involved in stuff. At least now I am," Kelly replied.
They looked at one another, and Wyatt slipped his hand into hers, squeezing, making her blush. Just then a car pulled up, and they both turned their focus to that, pulling their hands away once more. It wasn't anyone they expected though, in fact, it was just Angie. Angie parked and climbed out of the car, staring at them. She then glanced in the direction of Mona and back to Wyatt and Kelly.
"What are you doing here?" Wyatt asked.
"We need to talk," Angie said, "it's about-"
But before she could finish, yet another car pulled up, and this one made Wyatt's blood run cold. Rufus parked and climbed out of his car, smiling at Wyatt and the two women. He tucked his hands into the pockets of his sports coat and looked around the ranch.
"This is beautiful. Not your land, of course, I presume," he said.
"No, we just keep the horse here," Wyatt said.
"Every time I see you lately it seems you're with women who aren't your wife," Rufus remarked, making Wyatt grit his teeth.
"You know other women?" Kelly asked, trying to lighten the mood, making Wyatt smirk. He appreciated her so much right now.
"What are you doing here dad?" Wyatt asked.
"Went to the house to see my granddaughter, Scarlett told me you were here on a little riding trip, so I figured I'd stop on by," Rufus said, looking at Kelly and adding, pointing at her, "you look familiar. Aren't you a weather girl?"
"Yes I am," Kelly replied as he then turned his attention towards Angie.
"And you are?" he asked.
"Your worst fucking nightmare," Angie said, "I'll eat your sister."
Wyatt and Kelly had to do everything in their power to stifle themselves from laughing, despite knowing full well she wasn't kidding. Her response, in turn, certainly made Rufus back away a little. He started to pace between the cars, looking at the riding arena.
"Wyatt," Rufus said, "I just wanted to let you know that in a few weeks, I'll be bringing in an insurance adjustor to the store, as well as a management efficiency expert. Between their findings, whatever those may be, you might be relieved of your job. I hope this doesn't come as a surprise to you."
"Frankly nothing you do comes as a surprise to me," Wyatt said, narrowing his eyes at his father, "you really don't trust me, do you? You don't think I'm capable of running a business you yourself weren't interested enough to stick around for."
"Oh, I think you're plenty of capable, and I do trust you," Rufus said, "just not right now. You are slipping, and that affects everything and everyone around you, and until you can get stable again, I think it's in everyones best interests to take responsibility away from you."
"Grandpa!" Mona said, running up and hugging him tightly.
"Hi kiddo!" Rufus said.
"Are you coming to my play this week?" Mona asked, "I'm gonna be a teapot, and mom and her friend made my costume!"
"I'll definitely be there, wouldn't miss it for anything," Rufus said, patting her on the head. He then turned and walked back to his car, waved goodbye to everyone and started it up, pulling out and driving away.
"Mona, go get your backpack," Wyatt said, watching her run away; after a moment he exhaled, and felt Kelly's hand on his back, reassuring him as he said, "I can't wait for my father to die."
And Angie, ever the faithful, nodded in agreement.