Page 40 of Playing for Keeps
It was true, Rylan and Del didn’t give what they were doing a specific title. They just kept doing it. And with each time, each moment they spent together and each time they actually did “it”, Rylan felt herself falling deeper and deeper.
She sighed when she walked into her office and removed her coat. Hanging it on the hook behind her door, she was on her way to her desk when her father came in.
“Good morning,” Will said as he entered.
“Mornin, Daddy,” Rylan replied and pulled out her chair to take a seat. “How’s it going? Do we still have those two in the bay to work on?”
Will reached up and pulled the worn Baltimore Orioles hat he loved to wear from his head. He scratched a spot on his scalp and sat in one of the guest chairs across from Rylan’s desk.
“Nope. I took care of them on Saturday while you were out,” he said.
Rylan let her palms fall to her desk and sighed. “Daddy, you didn’t have to do that. We decided that you would only stay open until noon and then you’d head home since I wasn’t coming in.”
Will shook his head. “Nothing to head home to,” he said with a shrug.
His words sounded desolate, but true, and Rylan’s heart hurt for him.
“Well, I’ll work this Saturday and you take the day off. Maybe you and Uncle Larry can finally go get a tree and put up some decorations. Christmas is next Tuesday you know.”
Which reminded Rylan she needed to get Uncle Larry and Aunt Belle gifts since she was going to stop by her mother’s after leaving her father’s house on Christmas. She planned to get a Starbucks gift card for Aunt Belle’s friend and ten-dollar cash cards for his kids since she didn’t really know them. Rylan had a thing about everyone she saw and/or planned to spend time with on Christmas day receiving a gift from her. It didn’t matter what anyone gave her in return, she just loved the feeling of giving.
“I don’t know if we’ll be doing all that. But I’m probably going to take off Friday. Got an appointment with my lawyer and a financial advisor.”
“Oh?” Rylan asked, concern filling her before her father had a chance to elaborate.
“Yeah. It’s time, babygirl. I’ve had lots of time to think about this and I want us all to start the new year off right. Or at least in the best possible way we can considering the circumstances,” he continued.
“What are you saying, Daddy?”
She didn’t really want to hear him say it because deep down Rylan already knew. But this conversation had to happen. She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders preparing herself to take what just might be the hardest news of her life.
“The financial guy is doing a valuation of the business. When we meet with the lawyer on Friday, we’re gonna talk about how soon it can be sold and what to offer your mother. I want you to have part of the proceeds too, so don’t you worry. You’ll have a little piece of something to carry you through until you can figure out what your next step is,” he said.
Rylan remained quiet.
“I sure wish you were married and had a good man to take care of you, but I know young folk don’t aim for that goal anymore.”
Will scratched his head again.
“Anyway, you’re a smart girl, Rylan. You can go back to school and get yourself a fancy degree. Do something in one of those office buildings they’re putting up down at the industrial park. We all have to make changes sometimes, and I guess the time for the Kent family to move on is now.”
The pain was different than she’d imagined. It didn’t sit in her chest like a boulder or threaten to suffocate her. Instead, Rylan just felt empty. As if a huge part of her life had just slipped away without her doing a damn thing to hold onto it.
Will scrubbed a hand over his cheek and cleared his throat. “So, what I need you to do this morning is get a good estimate on that Lamborghini. If it’s still sitting on our lot come next Monday, we’re putting it up for sale. The finance guy already advised we liquidate the big assets around here. Once you get the total, send it to my email and I’ll send it over to the lawyer. There’s plenty of buyers for a car like that, but I figure we can work the sale through the lawyer to keep everything legal and documented.”
“You’ve thought of everything,” Rylan said finally.
Will shrugged. “I had to. All this is my fault. So, it was my duty to figure it out.”
Rylan nodded, words clogging in her throat alongside the threat of tears.
“Now, don’t get emotional. I don’t know how much more of this I can take, Rylan. Just let me do the right thing for once. The right thing for all of us. Can you do that?”
Could she? Could she walk away from the place she’d dreamed would one day be hers? Could she stand to the side and watch her father sell off everything he’d ever worked for? Did she have another choice?
Rylan had no idea how she made it through the day or into early evening, but she didn’t leave the body shop until after seven that evening. She climbed into her car and drove directly to her mother’s house.
It always smelled like potpourri or a bouquet of fresh flowers whenever she walked through the oak colored door and stepped into the front foyer. Her mother was obsessively neat and loved the monochromatic look. So, the beige runner at the front door was for her to wipe her feet before stepping onto the textured oak laminate flooring that she’d had installed just two years ago. Rylan’s work boots made a muffled sound as she walked through the open archway and into the living room.
