When the Heart Falls (4 page)

He escorted Beth to the back door; as she walked in he looked back towards the night sky. He felt a sense of peace surround him and he smiled. And somehow he knew that his father was smiling back.

CHAPTER 4

Dylan woke to the sound of pots and pans rattling in the kitchen. He rolled over and looked at the alarm clock on the nightstand and saw that it was five thirty in the morning. Confused, he got up out of bed and pulled on the pair of jeans he had laying across the footboard. As he walked towards the door, he grabbed his navy blue t-shirt from the small chair in the corner and slid it over his head. He pulled his arms through the sleeves and proceeded quietly down the hall. As he approached the kitchen he ran his hand through his sandy brown hair and ruffled it. He stopped when he got to the doorway and just stared. 

Katherine was standing at the kitchen counter stirring the contents of a large mixing bowl. Her dark brown hair, which had been unkempt for the past few days, was pulled back into a neat braided bun. She no longer wore the nightgown and housecoat that she had donned day and night. They were now replaced with a bright white button up shirt, clean jeans, and a red checkered apron.

Dylan walked further into the room and toward his mother. “Mom,” he said curiously. “What are you doing?”

She was startled a little when he spoke but quickly recovered. “Oh, hi son,” she replied cheerfully. “I’m just making some pancakes.”

He didn’t understand. Why was she all of a sudden better? She had been mentally unreachable since his father’s death, and now it almost seemed like the whole thing never happened. “Are you okay?” he asked compassionately.

She stopped stirring and looked at him. “Yes sweetie, of course I’m fine. Why do you ask?” The sound of her voice was cool and steady, but her eyes said something completely different.

“
It’s just that,” Dylan started to say but just as he began Beth came walking into the room.

“
Good morning, sweetie,” Katherine said, smiling at Beth. “I’m making some breakfast. Would you like some?”

“
Sure,” Beth replied dragging the word out. She looked to Dylan as if to say 
“What’s going on?”
 and he simply replied by shrugging his shoulders. “Would you like some help?” Beth asked.

“
That would be very nice, Beth. You can start on the sausage,” Katherine instructed.

Katherine and Beth continued to make breakfast and Dylan grabbed plates and utensils for the table. He made a cup of coffee and sat down at the table while the women finished cooking. He wanted to find out why his mother had changed, literally, overnight. But he was enjoying this wonderful family moment and didn’t want to ruin it.

Once breakfast was done they placed the contents on the kitchen table. Katherine removed her apron and took her seat at the head of the table. Beth and Dylan took the seats directly beside her. After saying grace, they proceeded to fill their plates with the delicious food that sat before them. 

They had just started to eat when Katherine spoke. “I’m planning on starting the garden today. It’s supposed to be a nice day so I figured today would be perfect. I need to collect my seeds and get everything organized first though. Dylan, after you finish taking care of the animals I’d like for you to till the soil. And Beth if you’re up to it you can help me plant the seeds.”

Dylan and Beth looked at her with blank stares, and then looked at one another. “Sure Mom, I can help you.” Beth looked at her mother and replied with a smile. 

“
Hold on a second,” Dylan said, dropping his fork on his plate. “Mom, what’s going on?” he asked her with concern in his voice.

“
Whatever do you mean, son?” Katherine replied befuddled.

“
You know what I mean,” Dylan lovingly accused. “Beth and I have been barely able to get you out of bed for the past five days. And now this morning, here you are completely different. Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy, very happy, that you are better. But I just want to know, why the sudden change?”

Katherine laid her fork down on her plate and wiped her mouth with the napkin from her lap. She took a deep breath and looked to Dylan with sadness in her eyes. “I’ve learned that I need to accept your father’s death. It still makes me very sad when I think about him. We were married for thirty seven years, and in those years I don’t think we were ever apart for more than a day or so. I miss him very much.”

She sniffed and wiped the tear that had slipped from her eye. “I’ll miss the way we would sit at the table in the morning and talk before we started our days. I’ll miss the way he would smile and wave to me from the tractor as he drove in from the field. And I’ll miss the way he would talk about you children. He loved you both so very much.”

She laid her hand upon his and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I know your father wouldn’t want me moping around the house. As sad as I am, I know that I need to live my life and be here for you and Beth. I have a ranch that I need to run and I can’t very well do that lying in bed all the time. Your father worked very hard to make this ranch and I want to continue to keep his dream alive.” She smiled and her eyes glistened with tears.

Beth rose from her chair and wrapped her arms around her mother. “Oh Mom,” she said, her voice breaking as she started to cry. “We miss Daddy too. Dylan and I are here for you and we’re going to help you out with whatever you need.”

“
I know you will, sweetie,” Katherine said, patting Beth’s arm. “I appreciate all that you two have done for me this past week. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

Dylan smiled at his mother and sister. He picked his fork up and continued with his breakfast. The gloom that had been hovering over the house had started to disappear. Through the kitchen window he could see the sun starting to rise. The sky was filled with streaks of purple, pink, and orange. It was almost symbolic; as if this sunrise not only represented the start of a new day, but the start of a new life as well.

After they finished with their meal Dylan headed off to the bathroom to brush his teeth and finish getting dressed. The ladies took care of cleaning up the dishes. Katherine washed and Beth dried. When she had put the last dish away in the cupboard Beth turned to face her mother.

“
Mom,” she paused and waited for Katherine to look at her. “Earlier when you said, ‘
if I feel like it’
. What exactly did you mean?” she questioned.

Katherine’s mouth curled up on one side and she reached out to tuck a stray hair behind Beth’s ear. “I came out to the kitchen last night for a drink of water. And I happened to overhear your conversation with Dylan,” she told her as she moved her hand from behind Beth’s ear to her shoulder. “It’s such wonderful news, sweetie! I can’t believe I’m going to be a grandma,” she said enthusiastically.

“
Oh Mom!” Beth said, hugging her mother. “I wanted to tell you myself but I’m so happy you know.”

Dylan came back into the room as the two women were hugging. “Everything okay?” he asked cautiously.

“
We’re just celebrating that I’m going to be a grandma,” Katherine replied. The smile she wore was lighting her whole face up.

Dylan looked from Katherine to Beth with a wide eyed expression. He was trying to act surprised, as if this was new information to him. But acting was never one of his skills.

“
Easy there, De Niro.” Beth laughed. “She overheard us talking last night so she knows you know.”

The three of them stood in the kitchen and were giddy with the news of Beth’s pregnancy finally out in the open. The phone rang just then and Beth went to answer it in the other room.

“
Oh, hey babe! Guess what everyone just found out.” Her voice trailed off as she walked further through the house. 

“
I guess I’ll be heading out to the barn now,” Dylan said as he adjusted his tan cowboy hat on his head. He walked over to Katherine and placed a light kiss on her cheek. “I’ll get started on your garden as soon as I’m done.”

The sun had made its way over the horizon and he gazed at it as he made his way from the house to the barn. It was one of the most beautiful sunrises he had ever seen. He walked over to the barn and unwound the hose from its reel. He dragged it over to the horse pasture and filled the trough with fresh water. As it was filling with water he entered the barn to turn the horses out. One by one he placed the halter over their head and lead them out of the barn. Once out in the pasture, he removed the halter and turned them loose. The two older horses slowly walked away but the three younger ones were eager to stretch their legs. So as soon as Dylan freed them they were running as fast as they could to the open field. He chuckled as he watched them, enjoying their playfulness.

He returned to the barn, turned off the water supply to the hose, and headed into the stable area to muck the stalls. Once he was done spreading fresh straw on the ground of the stalls he went to get the tractor and hooked the tiller up to it. As he was making his last pass over the soil he noticed a car driving up the lane. He raised the tiller and drove the tractor into the yard next to the house. The car pulled up to the house just as Dylan was stepping down from the tractor. 

A short, elderly, pudgy man wearing a faded black suit got out of the car and walked toward Dylan. He held out his hand and Dylan shook it curiously.

“
Good afternoon, son,” the man said with a thick southern drawl. “I’m Mr. Carlton Wallace. I was your father’s lawyer. I’ve come to discuss his estate. Is your Momma home?”

Son.
 He hated how older people tended to speak to him like he was still a little boy. At thirty two years old you would think he had earned the title of
Sir
by now.

“
Yes Mr. Wallace, she’s in the house. If you follow me I’ll take you to her.”

“
I thank you kindly,” Mr. Wallace replied as he followed Dylan up the porch steps and to the back door.

Katherine and Beth were sitting in the kitchen when the men entered the house. They had the table covered in old newspaper and were sorting the seeds into piles. Both women look up as the men walked closer.

“
Mom, this is Mr. Carlton Wallace. He’s Dad’s lawyer,” Dylan explained, curiosity showing on his face.

Katherine stood up and brushed her hands off on her jeans. She reached out and shook the man’s hand. “Mr. Wallace,” she said greeting him. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“
Mrs. McCoy, first off let me start by expressing my deepest sympathy for the loss of your husband,” he said thoughtfully. “I’ve come to discuss his estate with you. Shall we talk alone?” he asked.

“
Mr. Wallace, my children are grown and are more than capable of listening to such matters,” she stated frankly.

“
Very well then,” he proceeded. “We should start with the mortgage of the ranch. It is my understanding that you are five months behind on your payments,” he said as he pulled some legal documents out of his briefcase.

Dylan and Beth looked towards their mother in shock. “Mom is that true?” Beth asked in disbelief.

Katherine let out an exasperated sigh. “Yes it’s true.”

“
How come you didn’t tell us?” Dylan asked, his voice taking on a berating tone. “We could have done something to help you and Dad out.”

Katherine looked at each of her children. “We’ll discuss it later,” she told them quietly but sternly. “Now Mr. Wallace, my husband has already spoken to the bank manager. Due to the good standing my husband and I have with the bank they have decided to grant us an extension. We were in agreement that once we had taken the cattle to market that we would use that money to put towards the mortgage. Now if you’re here to tell me that they’ve changed their mind,” she explained raising her voice.

“
No, no, Mrs. McCoy. I’m not coming to tell you that the bank is taking your ranch,” he quickly stated. “I’ve come to tell you that your mortgage has been paid.”

Katherine gave the man a bewildered look. “What do you mean it’s been paid? How did this happen? Where did five months worth of mortgage payments come from?” she stammered.

Beth stood up from her chair and went to stand by Katherine, placing her hand on her shoulder.

“
It seems your husband had a large sum of money sitting in a bank account that he created about a month before his death. I’ve got the documents to prove it right here,” he said as he handed her the papers.

She looked them over and whispered, “I don’t understand.”

Dylan had moved to stand behind her, and he and Beth were both looking at the paper Mr. Wallace had handed over to her.

“
Mom!” Dylan said stunned. “Where the hell did Dad get all that money? It says here that the account had over two hundred thousand dollars in it.”