She takes off for the dolly, so we can unload everything.
After taking five loads of boxes back and forth, we are back on the road and heading out of the city.
Since we decided to add this new expansion, I always have more paperwork to do and applications to go over. I pull out my laptop and get to work as Thomas drives the half hour out of the city to the acreage. I originally bought the property for my dad. He was the one who suggested the first company we signed with while he was sick in the hospital. I thought we were going to have more time together than we did, so I wanted him to have a nice place to finish out his days. We unfortunately didn’t get much time, so now it sits empty.
As we pull up the long driveway lined with trees for privacy, I take in the fifty acres of land with cattle moving through the trees and creek, some huddled in the barn for warmth. Northern Minnesota is nice this time of year, right before the snow falls. I don’t mind the small city of Shadowbrook. It’s growing quickly, so it’s the perfect spot for us to plant our expansion. I just prefer being in the middle of nowhere. The silence of the country gives my mind a break. I can just exist for a while.
Thomas parks in front of the garage, his eyes meet mine in the mirror, filled with sympathy, but he doesn’t say anything. I look away, pull the handle, and climb out.I go to the front door, unlocking it and stepping through when a memory takes over.
I walk into the house and smell the fresh pot of coffee brewing. “Dad? Where are you?”
“Living room, setting the TV up for the big race later.”
I smile to myself, thinking of my dad back when he raced dirt bikes, before the diagnosis. Before they told him he had stage four genetic lung cancer, and they didn’t know how long had left. He was the only sixty-year-old I knew who would still jump on a bike and race around the track in the summer, but he loved it. It didn’t matter what place he got the last few years; he just loved being out there in his gear. That had to stop when he found out about the cancer and began treatments. He’s been making the most of his time, and he loves being out in this new home with cattle to look after.
I pay a ranch hand to do any manual labor and keep up on the day to day, so Dad can do what he’s able and still enjoy it out here. A nurse comes daily to check on anything else he needs and make sure his meds are laid out and marked for when he needs them. Otherwise, he keeps himself busy, walking every day, grilling in the summer, and watching his show or dirt bike races. He’s not as active as he used to be, but he’s here.
I check the fridge on the way to the living room and make a note to have someone do a grocery run and meal prep healthier meal options for him.
In the living room he’s prepping his big chair with anextra blanket. His side table has a few electrolyte drinks, protein bars, and a bowl of popcorn.
“You look like you’re ready to not move for a few hours,” I say.
He looks up from messing with the remote, his face breaking into a smile. “My boy! I am ready. Have you seen the kids set to get into the qualifiers? It’s going to be a wild race–lots of money on the line.” He walks towards me and pulls me into a hug. “I’ve missed you. You’ve been busy. Have you met a lady yet?” He wiggles his eyebrows at me.
I chuckle, trying to ignore the fact that he’s more skin and bones lately. “No, just busy with work. You know I don’t have time for women right now.”
We walk to the kitchen, and he pours us both a cup of coffee and slides a blueberry muffin towards me.
He takes a sip, watching me over his mug. “You know you’ll have to slow down eventually and enjoy life, or you’ll end up alone on your death bed.”
I give him a look. “You’re not alone on your death-bed.”
He throws his head back and lets out a deep belly laugh. “I know! You’ve staffed me with a hot young nurse who always checks on me, and half the time another young lady comes with groceries. I had the love of my life already. That was enough for me. I’m not worried about me; I also have you. You’re everything to me. I just worry that you’re working too much. You haven’t taken the time to actually enjoy life.” He really looks at me then, pulling me in. “I’ve lived a long full life. I went to all the places I wanted to. Ihave enjoyed living and seeing the world. You haven’t lived outside of work. You barely experienced a year of college before you moved onto building your company, which I’m proud of, but if you’re traveling, it’s for work. I think you should take time off soon and do something for you. That’s all.”
I scratch the back of my neck, trying to avoid agreeing with him because he’s not wrong. But he picks up his mug and turns back to the living room. “Come on. Let’s sit and watch the pre-races for a little bit before you leave for work again.”
I shake off his comments and make my way to the chair next to his, my coffee and muffin in hand. I need to come out here more and spend time with him before anything happens. I can always travel later. My time with him is limited, but I don’t like being the one to remind him of it.
We sit and watch motocross together for an hour, talking about all the new riders, before I have to head back into town.
Now I walk around the empty house, imagining him here in his chair, smiling. I continue to have people come take care of the house when I can’t be here, but it’s not the same.
I tap the counter, ready to leave again. I’ve seen enough. Made sure the place is still standing. I could listen when the people I pay tell me the house is fine, but there’s something about coming and seeing it for myself. It’s too lonely out here for me to stay, but one day I might. Having a nice place my dad would enjoy was oneof the main selling points, but we both knew he wouldn’t last forever. I created the design in a way I knew he would enjoy, but I also set it up to be my home base away from work.
I lock up the house and climb in the backseat again. As we drive back down the driveway, another memory from that day with Dad floods my mind.
Dad waves from the wrap-around porch, his big smile still stuck to his face.
He loved the porch. He would get up early and drink his morning coffee out there. He said that mom would have loved it, and it reminded him of her every time he watched the sunrise with his coffee. The same way they would have done if she hadn’t died when I was young. They were madly in love, and dad never wanted to marry again. He had a few ladies in town he spent time with–some used to come and visit him during the week–but they all knew he wouldn’t settle down again.
I check my watch and let out a sigh. “I won’t have time to go home before the meeting, so we will just have to go straight to the club. I’m sure Ryder is already there.”
“Yes, sir,” Thomas says and tries to hide his smirk, but he’s been with the family long enough that he knows exactly how all three of us operate. I ignore the ‘sir’ this time. He’s trying to break it, but he’s from a different generation that shows respect with their words.
I pull open my laptop again so I can continue working. Getting this new location up and fully functioningin Shadowbrook is our top priority. Our other locations in New York and California have all the employees necessary so we don’t need to micromanage them, which allows us to expand to the Midwest, where we’re from. Ryder, Alester, and I had always wanted to create a home base here, especially with the acreage. We just couldn’t do it as fast as we wanted.
The three of us got into New York University straight out of high school. I wanted to do business and marketing, Alester settled on computer science and programming, and Ryder went for accounting and economics. We knew then that we would eventually create a business together. We just needed to figure outwhat typeof business.
