Last Chance Texas, page 21
“I’ll get it, Ma.” Nathan jumped to his feet, grateful for another chance to get his bearings. With his back to her, he poured them each a cup. He stood there for nearly a minute before carrying the mugs back to the table.
He’d initially hoped their conversation wouldn’t prove too painful, but his mother’s next terse comment told him otherwise. She’d had a minute to digest what he said and didn’t let him off the hook as easily as he hoped she would.
“I’m curious as to why you’d sell a farm that’s been in our family for five generations. I’d like some type of explanation, Nathan. I deserve that. Don’t you think?”
Bam.
She was pissed all right, as she should be. Somehow, seeing the pinched expression on his mother’s face, watching her hands pressed together waiting for his answer, gave him the strength he needed to level with her. He’d initially agonized over whether or not to tell her that he needed money to finance Maura’s education, fearing his mother would dip into her pension to help out.
Sick at heart over the matter, Nathan released his pent-up emotions and got right to the point. “This is Kelsey Malone’s doing. She’s the one who came waltzing in here to claim Mimi’s land– land I’d intended to sell to send Maura to A&M. And now Kelsey’s gone and screwed things up.”
“Nathan, that’s just ten measly acres. It’s one pasture. Surely you could sell off another parcel. Getting rid of the entire farm is over the top. Don’t you think?” His mother propped her elbows on the table and cupped her chin in her hands, staring at him wide-eyed, as though she’d just solved his problem.
“Kelsey’s selling her land to some trucking company. By the time they get through with it, it’ll be worthless.” When his mother bowed her head, he realized it was finally all sinking in.
“I wish I’d never met Kelsey Malone. I’m been wracking my brain to figure out why the hell Mimi would give a niece she barely knew ten acres of land. For the life of me, I can’t figure out the answer to that question. And that’s the question, in my opinion, that holds the key to all of this.”
When his mother reached over and grabbed his hand, her tone was tender. “I think I know why Mimi gave Kelsey that land, Nathan. And I think now is as good a time as any to talk about it.”
~ ~ ~
When Elizabeth pulled the Mizpah from the envelope, her son gasped, just as she’d suspected he would. It was the first part of the complex puzzle.
Reaching over, he took it from her. “It’s the same necklace as Kelsey has. The one Mimi . . .” his voice trailed and Elizabeth realized the wheels were already in motion. Nathan was beginning to put the pieces of the puzzle together.
“When I came to help with Tommy the day Jessica ran off, I saw it around Kelsey’s neck.” Elizabeth watched her son finger the necklace, his gray eyes softening as though he was remembering.
Reaching back into the envelope, she retrieved the second part of the puzzle; the photo Mimi had given her. She pushed it into his hand, curious as to what his reaction would be.
“Sweet Jesus.” He exhaled sharply after he said it. Staring at it intently, he lay the picture down, and studied it in silence. When he looked away, the pained expression on his face nearly broke her heart. “It can’t be . . .”
“Yes, son. I’m afraid so. This is a picture taken of Mimi before either of us knew her. She must have been in her early twenties. She’d just found out she was pregnant.” Elizabeth wiped away several tears before continuing. “According to Mimi, giving up that child was the most difficult decision she ever made.”
“Ma. What the hell are you saying, here?”
“Read between the lines, son. What do you think I’m trying to tell you?”
“Kelsey is the daughter Mimi gave up.” He stared at the photo of Mimi, shaking his head in disbelief. “I . . . I can’t believe this. It’s like looking at Kelsey.”
The resemblance is amazing, isn’t it?” After she said it, Nathan continued staring at the picture. “Nathan, I know you’re upset about Mimi giving Kelsey the land. But don’t you see why she did it?”
He shook his head several times and looked away. “How could Mimi pretend to be Kelsey’s aunt when she was really her mother? Do you know the impact this will have on Kelsey once she finds out? It’ll destroy her, Mom. How could Mimi do this to her?”
As tempted as Elizabeth was to defend Mimi, she realized as she watched her son’s gray eyes cloud that in spite of how he downplayed his friendship with Kelsey Malone, he definitely cared deeply about the woman. She could literally see Nathan setting the wheels in motion, trying to anticipate what would happen to Kelsey once she found out Mimi was her mother.
“In the scheme of things, Nathan, I believe Kelsey deserves to know who her birth mother is. Don’t you agree?”
The second Elizabeth said it Nathan bolted from the chair and raced over to the door.
“No, damn it. Kelsey’s never to find out about this. You understand? Never. If she does, it’ll kill her.” His fists were clench tightly to his side, and when he finished speaking, he whirled around to face her. “I mean it, Mom. Never. She’s never to find out.”
“You can’t keep protecting her, Nathan. She deserves the truth.” When her son ignored the comment, Elizabeth decided to plead with him one more time. “This decision is mine to make, Nathan.”
That seemed to shut him up. The look on his face was indescribable: a cross between genuine worry and frustration. It took a minute for him to sort through the situation and come up with just the right words. But eventually, he did.
“She’s won’t be able to handle it, Ma. I can tell you that right now. She’s been lied to by a cheating husband, and I lied to her about trying to claim the land. If I thought Kelsey could deal with another person lying to her, I’d be all for telling her. But I know her pretty well, well enough to know learning the truth about Mimi would be the last straw. I’m begging you, please, keep this to yourself.”
“She’s bound to find out, Nathan.”
“I’ll cross that bridge when I reach it. But for the time being, and considering we’ll probably never see Kelsey again, I’m begging you not to tell her. In spite of how frustrated I’ve been with her, the last thing in the world I want is to see her suffer.”
Elizabeth’s heart swelled with love. Love for a son who reminded her of her late husband, Matthew. Like Nathan, Matthew had always done everything in his power to protect those he loved. She looked at the son she loved more than life. His tall, broad-shouldered frame carried the weight of the world. And she made the decision at that moment in time to honor Nathan’s request.
She wouldn’t tell Kelsey the truth. At least, for the time being.
Chapter 16
Kelsey sat at the kitchen table of her parents’ house, staring at the outdated wallpaper. Little had changed at the Malone house since her childhood. The country blue and white ducks craze had faded decades ago, but her mother apparently hadn’t gotten the memo.
She’d requested this meeting with her parents to uncover information about Mimi. It’d been over two months since she’d first set foot into Alpine, but time had done nothing to squelch her curiosity about Mimi O’Leary. A woman didn’t just give ten acres of property to a niece she barely knew. It made no sense.
In some ways, this mission made her feel closer to Nathan. Although the two of them no longer communicated, Rachel had returned to Alpine several times to see Jake. Of course, from what Rach had told her, Jake wasn’t very forthcoming about Nathan. Must be a guy thing the way the two of them looked out for each other.
She thought of Nathan often. That hadn’t exactly been in the master plan. Initially, she assumed she’d forget about him once she left Alpine. But on several occasions, she found herself staring out the window, wondering what the Marlboro Man was up to.
“Would you like more wine, dear? Brian, pour our daughter another glass, won’t you?” Eleanor Malone handed the bottle of chardonnay over to her husband and stood up. “I’d better go check on the roast.”
Hold the fort. Her mother hadn’t made one rude remark about her drinking a glass of wine.
“Wait, Mother. I want to ask you and Daddy something.”
Her mother sat back down on the chair, and Kelsey realized it’d probably be best just to come right out and ask about Mimi. But as she studied the look of bewilderment on her dad’s face, she reconsidered. Maybe coming here to find out more about Mimi was a waste of time. Maybe she was making much ado about nothing.
‘So you’re Mimi’s kin. You look just like her, you know.’ Nathan’s words echoed through her head, and Kelsey finally decided, once and for all, to get her parents to open up about the adoption.
“I find it odd that the two of you never talk about Mimi O’Leary.”
“Oh, Kelsey. Not this again.” Her mother rolled her eyes and quickly looked over at Kelsey’s dad.
“You never liked her, did you?”
“Kelsey, that’s enough. She was my sister, for god’s sake. Of course I liked her.”
“Then why did I meet her only twice? I can only wonder how many times I’d have seen her if you actually disliked her.”
It was a sarcastic remark and her father jumped all over her for it. “Kelsey, you’re out of line. Apologize to your mother at once.” His angry tone confused Kelsey. Her father normally ran interference for her, but now he was drawing a line in the sand, taking her mother’s side.
“I’m sorry, Mother. That was rude. It’s just that I’m a little frustrated right now.” Kelsey waited a few seconds for her mother to get over her anger before continuing. “When I left Alpine, I stopped for a bite to eat at a place called Penny’s Diner. A couple of guys in the next booth began talking about Mimi. And what they said wasn’t very flattering. During the drive home, I remembered you telling me not to go snooping around trying to find out about Mimi. Is there something in her past you’re trying to keep from me?”
“Honestly, honey. I don’t know why you care so much about this. I find this fascination with Mimi a bit morbid.” Eleanor stared past Kelsey as she spoke.
Leave it to her mother to avoid answering a simple question by trivializing the many questions she had. The rebuke struck a nerve and Kelsey knew she wouldn’t leave without finding out the answers to her plethora of questions. And now her mother was on the defensive; which gave her a perfect reason to begin pressing them.
“Nathan Wainwright told me I looked exactly like Mimi. Isn’t that an amazing coincidence?” Kelsey felt a rush of both exhilaration and fear when she saw the odd expressions on both her parents’ faces.
But it was the look on her father’s face that broke her heart. His eyes clouded, and for one brief moment, Kelsey thought he was about to lose it. He slumped down in his chair, his mouth twisted into a frown.
Without warning, he slipped out of his chair and began making his way toward her. Suddenly he dropped to his knees and took her hand in his. When a tear slid down his cheek, she panicked.
“All we ever wanted to do is protect you, Kelsey.” He didn’t make eye contact with her mother, an indication he was only speaking for himself now.
“Brian, please . . .”
“You tell her, Eleanor. Because if you don’t, I will.”
There was a collective sigh from all three. For one brief moment, she regretted her decision to find out more about Mimi. Sometimes things were best when left alone. Still, she had to know. Motioning her dad to sit back down, Kelsey prepared herself for whatever it was she’d be finding out about her aunt.
“When we told you that you were adopted, Kelsey, we didn’t tell you the whole truth.” As he spoke, her mother’s dark eyes pooled, and the look she gave Kelsey was that of a mother in a great deal of pain.
When her father bit his lip and looked away, Eleanor took it from there. “Mimi wasn’t your aunt, Kelsey. She was your mother. We adopted you a month after Mimi had you. She couldn’t keep you, Kelsey.”
‘So you’re Mimi’s kin. You look just like her, you know. Just like her.’ For the second time that evening, Nathan’s words burned through her.
Did he know the secret? Had he lied to her by omission?
“I-I don’t know what to say. You lied to me. All of you did.” Kelsey remained glued in her chair, afraid her legs would fail her if she tried to get up.
“We knew it was wrong, Kelsey, but we had our reasons.” Her father’s tone shifted into defense mode. He was obviously trying to defend their actions.
“I can’t believe you kept something like this from me. It’s unconscionable.”
“Like I said, your father and I had our reasons.” Kelsey’s mother began choking back tears, but in spite of the gloomy look on her face, Kelsey found herself unwilling to listen with an open mind.
“Humor me, please. By all means, I’d love to hear them.”
“Mimi was no saint, Kelsey.” The comment was like many her mother had made, and Kelsey found herself taking Mimi’s side.
“We were trying to spare you, Pumpkin.” Her father began pacing about the room. While his usual pet name for her generally amused her, Kelsey had the distinct feeling he was patronizing her.
“You don’t spare someone by lying to them.” Kelsey sprang from her chair and raced toward the door.
“Kelsey, please. Wait. Give us a chance to explain.” Eleanor raced after her, begging her to sit back down.
She stopped dead in her tracks, not because her mother asked her to, but because she had one more question; the question that would either provide closure or totally devastate her. “If Mimi’s my mother, then who’s my father?”
When her mother began weeping softly, Kelsey already knew what was coming. “We have no way of knowing that, Kelsey.”
“Oh, my god. Mimi really was a whore. That’s what you’re telling me. That my mother was a whore.”
~ ~ ~
Minutes later Kelsey pulled into the parking lot of her apartment complex, slammed on the brakes and bolted from the car. Her hands shook so violently she could barely pull the keys from the ignition.
She shut the door to her vehicle with such force, it nearly came unhinged. Rage seethed through every fiber of her body as she considered how long her parents had been keeping the truth from her.
Her legs trembled as she raced to the door of her apartment. Her head pounding, she fought desperately to control the tidal wave of emotions sweeping through her. The conversation she’d had with her parents swirled through her head now, riveting through her with the force of a jackhammer.
The second she got inside the apartment, she dialed up Rachel.
“Hi, Kelsey.”
“Call Jake. I need Nathan’s number. Now!” The tone in her voice was just one decibel short of sounding like a lunatic.
“Kels. What’s wrong?”
“Just get me his number, damn it.”
Apparently, Rachel knew she meant business because in the span of two minutes, she had Nathan’s cell number.
Kelsey’s fingers shook as she punched in the number, and she used such force to enter the digits, it was a wonder the call went through. She glanced down at her watch: seven o’clock. Nathan would be on his way home to pick up the kids from his mother’s. Perfect timing.
He picked on the second ring. “Hello, Kelsey.” It surprised her he recognized her number. She’d deleted his personal information, but apparently he hadn’t done the same. “How are you?”
“You knew, didn’t you? You knew it all along. Oh, my god. How could you lie to me like this?” Unable to continue, she broke down, crushed by the news that Mimi had abandoned her; blindsided by the people in her circle who’d kept the truth from her.
“You know the truth about Mimi then?”
“Did you enjoy it, Nathan? Enjoy listening to me drone on and on about Mimi, asking all kinds of questions when you knew damn well she was really my mother. You’re sick, you know that?”
“Kelsey, please—”
“Damn you, Nathan. How could you hurt me this much?”
She felt the blood rush to her head as she flopped down on the sofa. As her stomach pitched wildly, she feared she’d black out. She leaned over, placing her head between her legs and wailed loudly.
And then the tears came. She could hear talking on the other end of the line, but the words weren’t clear. When she put her ear to the receiver again, Nathan was pleading with her.
“Kelsey, please-listen to me. I swear to you I just found out that Mimi was your mother. I didn’t know for certain. I suspected it, but I wasn’t one hundred percent sure.” There was a desperate tone in Nathan’s voice that would under normal circumstances have caused her to reassure him. But today was different. Today she simply didn’t care. About anything.
Something clicked inside Kelsey’s head; something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. She’d read about defining moments in people’s lives. Normally they propelled them into action, but this was different. She didn’t care anymore. Not about anything.
The only thing she wanted to do was crawl into a deep, dark hole and die.
“Talk to me. Are you there?” Nathan’s voice echoed through the cell phone she was clutching, but as he called out her name, pleading with her to continue talking to her, she got off the sofa, sank down onto the floor and began sobbing again.
“I’m done with this, Nathan. All of it.”
She clicked the off button and tossed the phone across the room.
