Page 103 of Irons

“I’ll tell you what, talk to her about getting power of attorney, if she refuses, then talk to Aunt Tricia. She owns the house, right?”

“Yeah, we rent it from her.”

“Fine, make the assisted living her only option. Ask Tricia to tell your mom it’s time to move, and tell your mom you’re leaving town. I know you work on cars, but how do you feel about motorcycles?” I needed to talk to Creed, but I could definitely swing it.

Heavy

Wrenly

As always, I enjoyed the shopping trip with Heather. I scored a few new pairs of jeans, a couple of sweaters, some really adorable ankle boots, along with some more intimate items.

We made it back before Travis. It was driving me crazy trying to figure out who Travis could possibly be out with all day. His friends all hung out with Matt, and those friendships pretty much ended when Travis started hanging out with those older kids. Possibly he could have caught up with one of those guys? I highly doubted it was his grandfather on Paula’s side. Travis barely knew him because his grandparents moved back to their home town in Delaware years ago.

I was in my old bedroom pulling tags off my new clothes when Travis opened the door and stepped inside. “Hey, how was your day?” I asked.

“Interesting, I see you were able to stay busy.” He was holding up one of my new pairs of panties.

“Yeah, Heather and I went out.”

He walked over and wrapped his arms around me. “It sounds like you had a good day.” He pecked my lips.

“Yes, but I was driving myself crazy wondering who the mysterious guy is that you spent the day with today.”

“Let’s have a seat and I’ll explain.” He took me over to the bed and pulled me down to his lap. I listened as he explained meeting Brock at the cemetery. He then told me nothing he said was ever to leave my childhood bedroom. To say I was shocked to learn about Robert and Emma’s true medical diagnosis and the lies they told everyone was an understatement.

“Brock got into some trouble and…” He cut me off.

“He was a desperate kid that made a bad decision.” He made his point clear.

“He could have had a basketball career but...” He cut me off again.

“He was kicked off the team because of his bad grades, which wasn’t at any fault of his own. He was just a kid and responsible for his parents health and keeping them fed.”

“I’m sorry, Travis, but your step mom is a selfish bitch and your dad was a prick. That poor kid.” My heart broke for him. “I’m sure if he would just talk to Matt he would help.”

Travis’s jaw clinched then flexed, telling me I just put my foot in my mouth.

“The Trenton’s and Aunt Tricia failed him in my opinion. You can tell by just looking at the outside of the house. I’m his brother, not Matt, so he can stay out of it. We spent the day in Tulsa dropping in at a few assisted care centers. I want to take Brock back to Cold Springs to work in the shop. I can finance his move and help get him on his feet. He actually gave me the idea of expanding the shop to restore classic cars and bring them back to life. I’d actually prefer him to do that rather than work with Victor.” He explained.

“Do you really expect him to leave his mom?”

He lifted a shoulder into a shrug. “Maybe, he’s open to it, but mainly because he knows they can’t keep living this way and she won’t do what’s best for herself if he’s around to enable her. The biggest struggle is the fact that she’s eventually going to die, and he won’t be around as much.”

“So, you got information about different facilities?” I asked.

“Yeah, he’s going to talk to her about getting power of attorney first, but if that doesn’t work he may have to force her to leave that house and make her options minimal. He knows her mental health problems are what’s helping the disease progress and leaving her alone all day doesn’t help with that issue.”

“So, you’re thinking that removing Brock from the home and away from her is the only way to motivate her to leave that house?” I asked.

“Yeah, and he’ll do much better if he’s a distance from her and just made frequent visits. This is more for him than it is for her.”

“I’m proud of you for stepping in to help, especially since you don’t know him.” I kissed his cheek.

“I hadn’t even thought about meeting him. It wasn’t even a consideration, but then I stumbled upon him, and it felt kind of strange. I hadn’t seen anyone I’m biologically related to in years, and suddenly being around him felt extremely important. We spent the whole day together and it’s weird because there was a connection almost immediately. I could have just left him in that cemetery and not bothered with him, but he’s my brother, Wrenly. My real living and breathing brother and I feel like I’m his last chance. I don’t want to take him away from his mom to be a dickhead, but I am kind of selfish in a way I guess. I havean opportunity to have family close and there’s nothing for him here. His girlfriend dumped him, his mom just keeps holding him back, and he’s working a dead end job where he probably won’t ever get ahead. On our way back to town we stopped at the shop where he works, and he showed me the cars he has restored. He’s talented, I swear the kid is an artist. He doesn’t just work on the engines, he paints them and holy shit he does an amazing job. I called Creed after I dropped him off, and of course he understood my desire to help Brock since he has two half-brothers of his own. I don’t want him taking the same path as Karter and Weston, I’d rather see him live on his own and work in the shop. So, Creed is putting out some feelers for a rental property. I don’t want an apartment or a trailer, but a house so he can have a garage of his own. If I have to buy a place and rent it to him I will, but for right now Creed is looking for a less permanent situation for now. He really liked the idea of expanding the shop, we have the room for it. He can work on bikes until he can grow the car restoration business. I’ll help him with that as well.” He paused and smiled. “You should see him, Wrenly. The possibility of this happening for him made him look completely different. He had no hope when he woke up this morning, but now he’s excited and has much larger goals. I just worry his mom will change his mind, and he does have a girlfriend. Well, she dumped him, but I can tell he really cares for her.”

“I think it’s his best opportunity, but what are you going to tell him about Creed’s Lake?” I asked.

“Nothing at first. I’ll have to feel him out, and of course he would eventually need to enter the gates. He should be able to visit me, not just have me dropping in at his place. He isn’t like the others that work for us and don’t ask questions. He's family and I’m sure that would make him more curious.”

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