Page 69 of Loved By Tandy

“Why are you packing a bag?”

She drags Chip out from under the bed and shoves him into his carrier. “I was standing in the hall, Matthew. I heard everything.” After coercing Dale out from under the bed and adding him to the carrier, she finally turns to face me. “This is your family, Matthew. I won’t get between you and your daughter.”

“So you’re just running away?” I am a little panicked and a lot angry. “Again?”

“Yeah.” She blinks, then wipes her eyes. “But this time I won’t quit talking to you.”

“Don’t do this, Tandy.”

She hugs me. “I love you too much to break up your family, Matthew. I don’t want you to wake up one morning resentful that your daughter no longer speaks to you because of me.”

“Please, Tandy. I need you.”

Cupping my cheek, she flashes a teary smile. “You’ll be okay. I gave Haley my meatloaf recipe, and soon those grandbabies are going to need their Grampy to show them how to ride horses and to drive them around the ranch on the mule. You have a lot of people who love you.” She holds out the ring. “Here. This is yours.”

I shove my hands in my pockets, heartbroken and frustrated. “I don’t want it back.”

She steps closer and tucks it in my pocket. “We’ll just go back to being friends.”

I shrug, knowing that nothing I say will convince Tandy not to walk out of here.

But I’m not giving up. There has to be a way to make everyone happy. There has to be. Because right now, I’m miserable. Absolutely gutted.

Tandy kisses my cheek, then picks up the cat carrier and her suitcase. “I’ll come back when everyone is gone and get the rest of my stuff. Please tell them goodbye for me.”

“Where are you going to go?”

“I’ll figure it out. I always do.” She peeks out of the room before hurrying down the hall and out through the garage.

When I hear her truck engine rumble to life, I close myself in my room. And for the first time in years, I let myself cry. And I didn’t even do that when I thought there was a possibility I was dying.

Someone knocks.Then Patsy says, “Matthew, lunch is ready. Please come eat.”

My daughter-in-law might be the sweetest person on the planet, and it’s obvious she’s worried. And I don’t want her to worry about me.

“Coming.” I get out of bed, smooth down my hair, and open the door. “Sorry about… everything.”

She gives me a hug. “We’re working on Donna. Trying. I like Tandy, and I’m sad that she left. But I get why she did. We all heard what Donna said. Well, everyone who was here. It’s probably good that Zach and Eli weren’t here because they’re pretty hot under the collar about it.” She starts down the hall. “Oh, and all that stuff about their rent. Could you maybe not pass that along to anyone? David wasn’t supposed to say anything. Not even Zach and Eli know that Tandy is giving them a steal. She prefers it that way.”

“My lips are sealed.”

“Thank you.” She walks on ahead of me, giving me time to compose myself before sitting down with my family.

In the last hour, I’ve had time to think. And I’ve made some decisions.

When I step into the kitchen, Donna wraps her arms around me. “Thank you for choosing us, Dad.”

“I didn’t choose anything.” My tone is sharp, but that can’t be helped.

Donna pulls back like she’s been slapped. Stunned, she stammers out, “But she left.”

I really don’t need to be reminded of that. “Because she heard all the accusations you spewed.” I turn to look at Zach and Eli. “Have y’all had a chance to talk it over?”

Eli nods, then turns to Zach. “You tell him.”

Zach holds his arm out to Haley, who eases up beside him. “Eli said that he and Delaney already have their forever home. So Haley and I talked about it, and we’d love to move out here to the ranch. I can’t imagine a better place for my little guys to grow up.”

“Great. I’m glad to hear that. While everyone is in town, we’ll go through sentimental items and figure out who wants what. Then I’ll be cleaning this place out so that Zach, Haley, and the boys can move in.”

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