Free Rescue Me (Colorado Blues) by Ann B Harrison Page B

last mowed and the thought of offering crossed his mind. Rory
stepped onto the cracked path and headed up to the front door. His mother’s old
rocking chair was still on the front porch. The cushions were faded and
threadbare, but it still held pride of place. It hit him in the gut and he
hurried up the stairs to the open door. The button hadn’t worked for years so
he raised his hand and knocked on the door frame.
    “Come
in.” The crackling voice wasn’t how he remembered his father sounding. Rory
stepped into the hallway and the memories washed over him. Being twelve years
old and watching his big brother slam out the front door with a satchel over
his shoulder carrying everything he owned in the world hurt him beyond measure.
The growl of his father when the brothers made too much noise in the morning
when he was suffering from a headache as he did most mornings after a big night
on the bottle. The dirty clothes piled up beside the washing machine and dishes
nobody wanted to clean before they went to school in the morning.
    “In
here.”
    Rory
stepped into the kitchen and saw the bent old man leaning over the sink, his
hands in hot soapy water as he did his dishes.
    “What
can I do for you?” His father turned and his eyes widened when he saw who was
standing there. “Rory, is that you son?”
    His
father wiped his hands on a tea towel, dropped it on the counter, and walked
over. His eyes shone with wonder and he held out a hand to touch the face of
the boy he hadn’t seen for almost ten years. Rory held back. He needed a good
reason to forgive his father for the lost years before they were back to the
loving relationship they had before it all went bad.
    Over
a cup of tea he listened to apologies and regrets for the way his father had
treated them. “I totally lost it, I’ll freely admit it. I loved your mother so
much my world fell apart without her.”
    “You
had us, Dad. We lost her too.”
    “I
know that, but there was nothing I could do. There was no reasoning with me. I
know that and I’ll never be able to forgive myself for ignoring you boys and
thinking of myself first.”
    “You
know what I can’t forgive you for?”
    The
watery eyes glanced down at the table as if that would stop what was coming.
    “I
can’t forgive you for making Chance leave. For not stopping him.” Rory cleared
his throat, pushing down the emotion that rose and threatened to cut off his
air supply. “And you never once told us it was him that kept us fed and clothed
while you wallowed inside your bottle. How could you do that to him, to us?”
    His
father’s hand started to shake, spilling tea on the old scarred formica table.
He put the cup down and gripped his hands together, steadying the shakes. “He
made my life easier. Meant I could drink my troubles away and forget about
everything for awhile.”
    “It
wasn’t awhile, Dad. It was years and years.”
    The
old man nodded his head. “You’re right. I didn’t give him any credit for what
he did. He kept this family together while I distanced myself from everyone I
loved, everyone I still love. He deserves a medal for that. He was more of a
father to you boys than I ever was.”
    “Yeah,
he was.”
    Rory
sipped at the almost cold tea, the taste bitter in his mouth. How long was he
going to hate his father for what happened? It seemed a waste of time when life
was so short. He knew that from losing Cindy. Hate and regret were emotions he
didn’t need in his life. Perhaps it was time for forgiveness and mending
bridges. Tyson seemed to have moved on, so why not Rory? It was time for
families to come together and build new relationships now he had Gina and
Fisher in his life. It would be nice for them as well to have more. He wondered
if Chance would think the same way eventually.
    “Tell
me what’s happening with you. Mabel said you’re the new sheriff now.” The
clearness of his father’s eyes told the story. He wasn’t drinking anymore and
the house