Page 31 of Roots of Redemption (Hicks Creek #4)

Chapter Twenty-Five

Wade

A s soon as we pull into the driveway, I can tell something’s wrong.

Sutton’s jaw is tight, her hands gripping the steering wheel like it’s the only thing keeping her from falling apart.

Caleb jumps out of the truck before it even comes to a full stop, shouting something about checking on the horses, and takes off toward the barn.

I glance at Sutton, but she doesn’t move.

Her eyes are fixed on the house, but it’s like she’s not really seeing it.

I step out and walk around to her side, opening the door. She glances up at me, shocked to see me standing there.

“You okay?”

She shakes her head but doesn’t say anything. I offer her my hand, and after a moment, she takes it.

We walk to the guest house in silence. She’s not the type to spill her guts right away; she’ll tell me when she’s ready. I just have to be patient.

I thought patience was my superpower, but now I seem to be struggling.

Inside, she kicks off her boots and heads straight for the kitchen. I follow, leaning against the doorframe as she pulls a glass from the cabinet and fills it with water. She’s moving on autopilot, her usual grace replaced with a stiffness that doesn’t suit her.

It’s like she doesn’t realize that I’m here .

“Sutton,” I say gently. “What happened?”

She sets the glass down on the counter and turns to face me. Her eyes are red like she’s been holding back tears, but her voice is steady when she speaks. “I asked my dad about the second mortgage.”

I nod, waiting for her to continue.

“At first, he acted like he didn’t know what I was talking about,” she says. “Like he could just brush it off, and I’d drop it. But I didn’t. I kept pushing, and finally, he admitted it. But then he told me it was none of my business.”

Her voice cracks on the last word, and she looks away, blinking rapidly. I cross the room in two strides and pull her into my arms. She stiffens at first, her hands pressing against my chest as if to push me away, but I don’t let go. I just hold her, resting my chin on the top of her head.

“What can I do?”

She lets out a shaky breath, and I feel her body start to relax. Her arms slip around my waist, and she leans into me, her forehead pressing against my chest. For a long moment, neither of us says anything. The only sound is the faint ticking of the clock on the wall.

“I don’t know. Is this just my life? I have a bastard of a father who disowns me and then makes me the bad person because I listened? What a fucking psychopath.”

Tears roll down her cheeks as she purges all the thoughts in her head.

“Like, he did this,” she continues. “He told me I wasn’t welcome.

He blamed me for my own mother’s death, and then…

to say that I think I’m better than him?

To call me a spoiled brat? Jesus…I can’t even wrap my head around how my mother stayed married to that jackass. ”

“I wish I had something poetic to tell you, some magic wand that I could wave and make it all go away, but…I don’t.

He is a bastard, and he doesn’t deserve such an amazing, smart, caring daughter.

No one would have blamed you had you told him to fuck off when he asked for your help.

I’m glad that you didn’t say that, by the way. ”

I want to fix this for her, but I know that I can’t. I wouldn’t know where to start. What I can do is be here for her and support her every step of the way, and that’s what I’m going to make certain that I do.

She pulls back just enough to look up at me, her eyes searching mine. “I just… I don’t know what to do, Wade. I feel like everything’s falling apart, and I can’t fix it.”

I brush a strand of hair out of her face and tuck it behind her ear.

“You don’t always have to fix everything.

And now, you especially don’t have to do any of it alone.

You and I can figure it all out together.

I’m not letting you do any of this by yourself.

Your dad got himself into this mess. Maybe he needs to face the consequences. ”

“But he screwed me in the process. Maybe me going to Montana made it seem like I wanted nothing to do with the ranch, but that’s not the case.

I always just assumed that I’d come back here and run the ranch one day, and…

he’s stolen that from me because he’s a selfish bastard.

He disowned his own daughter, and this…this feels like it was more of a dig-the-knife-into-my-back-deeper kind of move. ”

“It’s a dick move, for sure. And you’re right, he did screw you. I’m sorry.”

She nods and exhales. “I’m going to talk to the bank tomorrow. See what the options are. Maybe there’s something I can do to save the ranch.”

“Do you want me to come with you?” I ask.

She shakes her head. “No. I need you here to keep an eye on the herd. I’ll write up instructions for you tonight just in case anything comes up.”

I nod, even though I’d rather be by her side. “All right. But if you change your mind, you let me know, okay?”

“I will,” she promises, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. It’s not much, but it’s enough to ease some of the worry gnawing at my gut.

“Good,” I say, leaning down to kiss her forehead. “Now, why don’t you sit down for a minute? I’ll make us some coffee.”

She hesitates, then nods again. “Okay.”

As I move around the kitchen, I steal glances at her. She’s sitting at the table now, her elbows resting on the surface and her head in her hands. She looks so tired, so weighed down by everything. I wish I could take some of that burden off her shoulders, and I’ll do everything I can to do so.

And I’ll be here to support her, whether she asks for it or not.

She opens her laptop and starts typing.

“Are you working?”

“Yes.”

I sigh and walk over to her, closing the laptop. “Take a break.”

She starts to argue, but I shoot her a look, and she closes her mouth.

“You need downtime,” I continue. “You’re going a thousand miles an hour toward saving the cattle, and you’re going to burn out.”

“I’m fine.”

“You may think that, and maybe you are right now, but you need a break. You need to shut your brain off from this, okay?”

“I can’t shut my brain off, Wade. If I don’t…

if I don’t figure this out soon, I could lose everything.

I always imagined coming back here to raise a family.

Maybe I thought I’d get married and have kids, and those grandkids would be enough to make him stop being such a bastard to me.

I cannot fail at any of this. I have to prove to him that I am good enough. ”

Ooh.

My heart shatters for her. I take a couple of slow, deep breaths as I fight the urge to get back in the truck, drive over to Frank’s, and punch him in the face for what he’s done to his daughter.

I pour us both a cup of coffee, add some creamer, and then carry the mugs to the table. She is talking about staying, though, and that’s a big deal. I want to focus on that and get excited about it, but right now, that’s not what she needs.

“You’re enough, Sutton,” I tell her.

She doesn’t look up, just stares at the coffee mug as if it’s about to do a little song and dance.

“You’re enough, Sutton,” I continue. “Regardless of what that man says or does, it’s a him thing, not a you thing.

His own insecurities are what’s driving him to treat you this way.

I know that it’s easy to say that, but really hard to accept.

I’m not lessening what you’re dealing with because none of it is okay.

There’s a lot of anger, a lot of resentment between you and your dad.

It’s not something that will be fixed overnight, either.

You also need to come to terms with the fact that it may never be repaired. ”

She chuckles drily as she shakes her head. She finally looks up at me, a small smile on her lips. “When in the hell did you get so smart, Mr. Callahan?”

“Trial and error, Miss Bishop, trial and error,” I reply with a chuckle.

“Honestly, I think the real circle of life is that our kids are born to shine the light on our weaknesses, and we’re meant to grow from that so that we can evolve as a species.

Unfortunately, a lot of people can’t remove their ego long enough to understand that. ”

“Whoa,” she giggles. “That’s deep. So, you think that having Caleb helped you grow as a human?”

“Listen, I had a great childhood, but my parents weren’t perfect.

I’m not a perfect dad either, but I do my best to learn from my mistakes so that when Caleb becomes a dad, he’s able to make those changes for his kids, too.

I don’t hide my struggles or my emotions from him, and I’d like to think it’s why he is the way he is. ”

“He’s got a big heart. He’s such a good kid.”

“That he is. I’d like to take credit for it, but he was just born that way.”

“I’m certain you are a lot of the reason for it.” She smiles.

“As a parent, as humans, we don’t know what we don’t know.

I think it’s a big deal that he called and asked for your help, and maybe that means there’s hope for change within him.

But, right now, until he shows you he’s trying to change, I think that you need to keep him at arm’s length.

He’s a grown-ass man who’s capable of making his own decisions; we’re past that old adage of ‘that’s just how he was raised.

’ You were raised that way, too, and you’re absolutely not like him at all. ”

She takes a long drink from her coffee mug. The wheels in her head are turning quickly. I stand, reaching down and squeezing her hand.

“I should probably get back to the house and get some sort of supper made for Caleb. It’s been a long day.”

She doesn’t say anything, just nods. I lean down, kiss her on the top of the head, and then walk out of the house.

I’ll give her some alone time, but she needs to understand that she’s not doing life alone anymore. I’m going to protect her, take care of her, and be here for her. We’re a team now.