Page 58 of Against the Current

To Ryan, the day he’d fired Scott and subsequently quit himself felt like a thousand years ago.

“Hey, man,” Ryan said, hurrying into his office and closing the door behind him.

“Ryan!” Scott sounded happier than he had in years. “Man, she’s so happy to talk to Willa. We have to get the girls on the phone together more often.”

“Willa was giggling the whole time,” Ryan said. “Made my heart happy.”

“Mine too.” Scott sounded like he was grinning into the phone. “I wanted to thank you.”

Ryan was caught off guard. “For what?”

“For firing me,” Scott said. “Happiest day of my life.”

Ryan cackled and sat in his swivel chair. From where he sat, he could smell fresh paint and freshly cut wood from their hard work on the bed-and-breakfast. They were getting somewhere.

“It was a pretty good day, in retrospect,” Ryan admitted. “I needed to get out of there somehow. I was miserable.”

“So was I.”

“What are you up to now?” Ryan asked.

Scott explained that he was starting his own company—an illustration business that echoed his long-lost love of art. “I already have three clients,” he said, “and they really like what I’ve done for them. I have hope for the first time in years. I couldn’t have imagined that back in January.”

Ryan agreed about that. He explained his situation—the bed-and-breakfast, his and Trisha’s decision to forgive their families and move on.

“Wow, man. We have done some real growing up this year,” Scott said with a laugh.

“I guess it was about time,” Ryan said. “It won’t be long till our kids are adults, too.”

Of course, Ryan and Scott knew their daughters would probably struggle to leave home. Sometimes that made Ryan incredibly sad. Other times, it thrilled him to know that he would always have Willa and Willa’s love around.

In early May, Trisha and Ryan invited Rhonda and Tommy to the Sutton Bed-and-Breakfast. Trisha was jittery, so much so that she burnt the chocolate chip cookies and spilled half a bottle of wine. Willa noticed how nervous her mother was and gave her a hug, and Rudy and Gavin were on their best behavior, recognizing the intensity of meeting “brand-new” grandparents.

An hour before Rhonda and Tommy were set to arrive, Jackie popped by with a basket of cheeses, crackers, and wine. She hugged Ryan close and said, “Give them our love, won’t you?” Her eyes glinted with tears. Then she turned to Trisha and squeezed her even tighter, saying, “I don’t know why you’ve decided to forgive us. I don’t know if we deserve it. But we love you so much. And we’re so glad you’re here.”

Overly emotional, Trisha wasn’t able to speak, save for a brief croak of, “I love you, too.”

Ryan stepped outside to greet Rhonda and Tommy’s truck. When Rhonda got out, she smiled that same mischievous smile up at him and slammed the door with more power than her little frame should have allowed.

“Look at this place!” she cried back to Tommy. “We haven’t been here since the kids’ wedding!”

Rhonda got closer to Ryan and stopped short, crossing her arms over her chest. Her smile never wavered. “I prayed everynight you’d come back,” she said finally. “It was all I ever wanted.”

Rhonda threw her arms around Ryan and sobbed into his shirt. Tommy stood by, tugging on the collar of his shirt, until Trisha came out to peel her mother off Ryan and bring her inside to meet the kids. Ryan and Tommy shook hands and shook their heads and said, “What a life, huh?”

Before Ryan slipped inside after Trisha, Tommy touched his hand and beckoned for him to step back. “I have something to say,” he explained.

Ryan’s head spun. “Okay.” He went back down the porch and bent his head slightly to look Tommy directly in the eyes.

Tommy swallowed several times and wiped his brow with his handkerchief. He was even more nervous than Trisha.

“I know you know,” Tommy said finally. “And I want to thank you for not turning them in when you had the chance.”

Ryan had no idea what Tommy was talking about. “I’m sorry?”

Tommy lowered his voice, adding, “The car. I know you know about it. I know you’ve known for years.”

Ryan raised his eyebrows, remembering that bright red Cadillac tucked into the line of trees behind the old Reed house. Tommy’s sons, Trisha’s brothers had taken it. When he’d learned of the robbery, Ryan had had their future in his hands.

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