Page 35 of Caden's Situationship

I did some quick math. “Yes, she is.”

“Then that’s all the time you need.”

“For what?” I asked, taking a puff of the cigar.

“For you to make her fall in love with you and move here to Arkansas.”

I laughed louder than I had all day. “Dad, you’ve been watching too many of those old western movies. Cordelia and I are not gonna fall in love, get on my horse, and ride into the sunset.”

“You keep laughing, son, but I know a thing or two about this. How do you think I snagged your mother? Your brothers may all be living in the city now, but you boys were raised on these southern roots. If you keep thinking things are temporary and don’t woo the woman, well hell, of course she’s gonna run back home to whatever Pete and Paul let her out of his sight in the first place.”

“I don’t think we would be spending so much time together if she’d left a boyfriend at home.”

Dad grunted. “Boyfriend or not, every woman out there has caught the interest of at least one man. If that man doesn’t find something he loves as much as the woman he let get away, then he’s going after that lost love, no questions asked.”

“So you’re saying Cordelia probably has a man out there right now waiting to win her back?”

Dad grew quiet and looked at me in that fatherly way he always did when he was trying to make sure I was listening. “What I’m saying, is that you gotta figure out if you’re the man who was smart enough to realize what he had and do something about it. Or, are you the dumbass who let her go only to try and get her back after she’s moved on?”

I honestly hadn’t been prepared to have a talk like this with my dad today, but now that I was here, I was kinda glad we were. Cordelia and I had been in our own bubble, and in a way, I’d wanted to stay like that for as long as I could. But cutting ourselves off from the world was unrealistic.

“Do you know why the family puts so much pressure on you?” Dad asked.

I shook my head. “No, but I’ve always figured it’s because I’m the son that chose to stay in Arkansas.”

“Not entirely,” Dad said. “When you boys were younger and we were living in Little Rock, your mom and I didn’t know how we would get through the day off the money we made, let alone the week. Cranberry Heights was our saving grace, and when we moved here, it was an adjustment for everybody … except you.”

I thought back to those days. Crayson, Carter, and I weren’t even teenagers at the time, but I still remembered that time so clearly.

"Moving from a city to the country was an adjustment for your brothers, yet you thrived out here. We all eventually adjusted as a family, but while others were trying to learn the southern ways of small-town life, you had seemed like you could write the book on it. Soon, you became the one that everyone could rely on. You were the one who knew the most about the lifestyle out here because you decided almost immediately, this was the type of environment you belonged.

“The townsfolk felt like they could relate to you, and it didn’t matter that you were a young boy, they understood you. Probably more than you felt like your actual family did at times.”

I nodded because all of that was true. I still didn’t feel like my brothers actually understood sometimes.

“I guess your mother and I should have done a better job at not putting so much pressure on you to help us out with things, because once your brothers all left the nest, you were all we had.”

I read between the lines at the fact that my dad didn’t mention Carter’s name unless talking about more than one of his boys. Carter leaving had hurt me, but him staying gone had crushed my dad. They’d been so close it was like a hole in his heart that none of us could fill and God knows I’d tried. My family didn’t even know the things I knew about Carter that fostered my disappointment to another level, but it didn’t mean they hurt any less.

“We’re all born into certain roles sometimes,” I stated. “I knew early on what my role was.”

My dad clasped his hand on my shoulder. “You’ve always been mature, but sometimes, your mother and I worry that you overextend yourself. You’re always there for us. You’re always there for your brothers. You’re there for your staff and friends, and you’d do anything for anyone in town. Son, we worry that you don’t take time to think about what you want and what will make you happy. Is the ranch all you really need to be content?”

I shook my head without even needing to think too hard about it. Black Lush nor Wild Valley Ranch could make me the kind of happy I’d envisioned. The kind that included a loving wife and a ranch full of kids. “No, I need more.”

He nodded behind him in the direction of the dining room. “I think the more you’re referring to is currently getting her ear talked off by your mama.” I laughed, knowing it was true. “Shall we go in and rescue the poor girl?”

“Yeah, pops. We can head inside.”

We put out our cigars because my mom wouldn’t dare let us smoke in the house and headed inside. We may have thought Cordelia needed saving, but the first thing she said when I walked into the dining room was, “I love your mom! She’s amazing.”

“Aww, sweetie.” My mom gave her a quick hug. “Tell him that again, only say it louder so that my husband can hear. He’s a slow walker.”

Cordelia actually yelled it this time, and before long, both my parents were competing for her attention, each interacting with her in a way that hit me square in the chest. As some of the folks staying at the B&B started to file in, she won them over, too, her southern charm hard to ignore. I couldn’t help but think about something my brothers had discussed during one of those conversations where I’d felt like I didn’t have anything to contribute, so I just listened. They’d each been talking about how they hadn’t seen it coming when they fell in love, but once they recognized it for what it was, there was no turning back.

All my life, I’d put others before me, and if I felt like a choice I made meant someone else had to make a sacrifice, I would usually back off. Yet, for the first time, I was willing to be selfish if I meant I could build a life with Cordelia.

She’d think I was nuts—I’m sure of it. And yeah, I’d probably been working in the sun too long, but I didn’t give a shit anymore.

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