Cornbread Granddaddy takes the turn for ranch, and I let out a sigh, wondering what life would be like not taking this turn.
With high school over with, the world now sat at my feet, and the thought scared me.
“Come on, Della girl, let’s get inside and see what Judy’s got cookin’.” Cornbread Granddaddy parks in front of the old farmhouse.
A house that had been standing since 1908. It was built in the same spot where the old house sat before it had caught fire and burned to the ground. With time, it’s been updated, but it still has the same bones as when it was first built. Logs and stone made up the outside, while the inside had now been updated with heating and cooling. We didn’t have to have the windows open all the time during the spring and summer. Though it was nice to do on cool spring and fall days.
I nod and get out, figuring I’d go to the kitchen, see what Judy’s cooking up for the day, then change. Maybe I could find my horse, Rex, and go for a ride.
Rex was only two years old, but I had him since he was a foal. I trained him as a colt, just as Cornbread Granddaddy taught me to do. He said if he was gonna be mine, I needed to be the one to take care of him.
I knew when I went away to school, Maddox would take care of him. See that he wasn’t stuck in the stables all the time. It would mean he’d be ridden by others, but that was okay. Rex loved to be ridden, and it would be good for him. I trained him to work with others so he would be okay.
Cornbread Grandaddy meets me at the front of his truck and wraps his arm around my shoulder once again to guide me up to the house. He gives me a squeeze as we step inside, and I’m met with the sound of ‘surprise’. It was Judy.
On the kitchen table, she had a cake with the words ‘Congrats Grad’ on it. Next to the cake, she had a big pot of her famous chili. It was known around town for its awards. Every year she enters it at the town fair and wins every time. No one knows what her secret is, but it didn’t matter because it was just that good.
“Thank you, Judy.” I move away from Cornbread Granddaddy and give her a hug.
“Maddox said he’d be back. He rushed out of here ten minutes ago. One of the steers broke through the fence, and they were out there fixing it before the rest got out.”
Ranch life.
Something’s always bound to happen.
“Well, while they tend to business, let’s eat up,” Cornbread Granddaddy says, moving for the chili. “Got cornbread to go with this?”
I can’t help but giggle at his question. Though it wasn’t as good as my grandma’s used to be, it was still good, and he loved cornbread.
Following his lead, I get my own bowl and the three of us move to the table to eat. It wasn’t a party or much of a celebration, but it was still meaningful. I couldn’t ask for more.
The summer would soon be leading me to the next chapter of my life, and I knew deep down that I was going to need moments like this to get me through the years to come. Without them, I don’t know how I’ll handle leaving this place. The ranch was more than my home. It was my haven. The place I know I’ll always be able to come back to if things were to ever fall apart for me.
I hope it stays that way.
CHAPTER ONE
Della
Present Day . . .
Staring into the bleak depths of the ground, I struggle to keep my emotions in check. I didn’t think this day would come. That’s a lie. I knew it would eventually, but it came far too soon for my liking.
My rock was no longer with us. Sure, the past year, he hadn’t been the same, but I hadn’t come around as much as I should have either. I’ll regret that for the rest of my life. There was so much I wanted to say to him . . . explain things that he never knew.
Over the years, things in my life changed. I wasn’t the same girl who Granddaddy raised, and I never got the chance to introduce the new version of myself to him. The last time I visited, he didn’t even recognize me. The vacant look in his eyes tore my heart apart. I wasn’t his Della Girl anymore.
When Maddox called to tell me about our granddaddy, it hadn’t gone well. Not in the least. We’d gotten into it. Mostly, I accused him of not listening to me when it came to putting Cornbread Granddaddy in a ‘home’. Make no mistake about it, I didn’t want to put my granddaddy in a home. Deep down, I knew it would’ve killed him. However, having him stay at the ranch in his condition, with Maddox as his caregiver, didn’t seem right or fair either.
I wanted to help Maddox take care of Granddaddy, but I didn’t know how to ask what I could do. I was also afraid to broach the subject with my brother out of fear. I didn’t want to deal with the sting of rejection when it came to asking about the burden on Maddox’s shoulders. Granted, our granddaddy could never be seen as such a thing.
Cornbread Granddaddy meant everything to me. Only Maddox refused to ask me for help. I didn’t know how to get him to talk to me about what he needed me to do. I would have even taken time off if it meant being with Cornbread Granddaddy.
Since Maddox took over the ranch and our granddad stepped back, I never felt welcome back home. Truthfully, I thought I’d been nothing more than a nuisance to my brother.
During the dreadful call, Maddox had been a jerk with the way he’d given me the news. Then again, the way I’d spoken to him, I can see why. Still, it hurt—more than hurt. I wasn’t there for my granddad when he needed me. If I’d been there, he might still be here.
Emotions had swarmed inside me, leaving me unable to think. Memories flashed before me, ultimately leading me to realize that’s all I had left, and that staying away only made me miss time I’ll never get back. I didn’t know what to do. What to say. How to take the loss of someone so important to me. My chest hurt for all the time I lost with the man who raised me.
