Chapter Twenty: Kelsey

I didn’t think I’d ever been so confused in my entire life. Not only was I dealing with who I had the sneaking suspicion was my boyfriend’s phone stalker showing up at our door, but that the same stalker happened to be my mother.

The irony of the fact that Andrew thought I was his brother-in-law’s stalker the first time I showed up to help Owen train was not lost on me. But I had a feeling this situation wouldn’t be something we laughed about in the future.

Andrew had messed around with my mother. She described it as a quicky blowjob that left her wanting more, even after all these years.

I felt like I’d fallen down the rabbit hole and found myself in Wonderland, where up was down and night was day. None of it made any sense.

My mother sat on the couch with a glass of white wine in her hand. I had no idea where Andrew pulled that from, but her drinking was the least of my worries. I wanted my mother to be anywhere else other than in my safe space.

I suddenly realized that Andrew had no idea this woman had a teenage daughter back then. Truth be told, I was really grossed out, but something about that fact made this entire scenario a little less creepy. She had always looked young for her years, so he probably thought she was his age or younger. He wouldn’t have believed she was old enough to have a child my age. Fourteen years ago, I was twelve. Ten years ago, I was sixteen. If she were the same age as him, that would’ve meant she had me when she was in her midteens, which was definitely not the case.

I guess the less-creepy factor came from the knowledge that he wouldn’t have wanted to be with us at the same time. I was literally half his age, still a minor, the last time he saw her.

I knew Andrew was older than me. Our gap in age was never a big deal, especially since I saw how happy two of his sisters were with their husbands, who had similar age differences. But until now, I never considered the fact that he was closer to my mom’s age than mine.

“Kelsey,” he pleaded with me, trying to get my attention and explain the situation further, but I was lost in my own thoughts, sitting in a chair across from my mother.

“Wyatt, honey, can I have another glass?”

Andrew’s fingers flexed, then clenched into a fist at his side.

“His name isn’t Wyatt. It’s Andrew,” I said through gritted teeth as he poured her another glass. The one good part about the alcohol was that my mom would spill every secret she had. It was like a truth serum.

“To-may-to, to-mah-to. Same person, different name,” she blew me off with a flick of her hand in the air. When Andrew tried to step away, she reached for his arm. He stiffened as she slithered her hand up his forearm.

“Don’t touch me,” he seethed before pulling away.

She pouted. “Come on, baby. Don’t you want to finally take a ride?”

“Absolutely not,” he responded, and her gaze shifted over to me as he repeated his earlier question. “I’m going to ask you again. How did you find me?”

She took a healthy gulp of the Reisling. Even from here, I could see her eyes glossing over. “It wasn’t hard, sugar. Actually, my dear daughter helped.”

“I did not!” I shouted. “I have never mentioned where I was staying.”

“You didn’t, but that ex of yours did. Caleb didn’t need much convincing,” she said, and she smacked her lips. “If you know what I mean.”

My stomach was rolling worse and worse by the second. First, Andrew, and now Caleb. I knew my mother used her body to get what she wanted, but this was a new low, even for her.

“He’s engaged,” I pointed out, and she shrugged.

“Didn’t stop him from shoving his dick down my throat.”

“Mom!” I admonished.

“Finish answering,” Andrew inserted. “How did you find us?”

“Well, by happenstance, really. Once Caleb got what he wanted, he told me Kelsey was living in a small town named Ashfield.” She flipped her hair. “Now, I watch a lot of those investigation shows and did some digging of my own. Did you know this town has the cutest social media page?” she asked me, continuing without waiting for an answer.

“Adorable, really. I scrolled through some pictures from a festival or whatever that took place a while back, and only a couple of pictures in, there was my Kelsey. And lo and behold, five pictures down, there was the man I’ve been searching a decade for!

“Knowing that my Wyatt was in this town, I immediately started searching through posts to see if I could find more about you. I knew it couldn’t be too hard. Then I saw the headline New Owner of Sunny Brook Farms .

“That was my ticket. So, I drove straight from Nashville and stopped at a coffee shop, half expecting you to be there, sweetie. Spoke with the sweetest woman and explained I was a vendor for the farm and that I was looking for the owner. She said the head of Sunny Brook Farms lived in the main house there, but that the new owner was staying in a rental.”

She shook her head and giggled maniacally. “Would you believe that friendly woman even gave me directions? So, here I am. Now, we can run away and be together, Wyatt. It’s like a dream come true.”

I sat across from her in complete shock, my mouth hanging wide open. I knew she was a narcissist, but she was totally mad as well. Completely and utterly off her rocker.

When the shock wore off, her words started running through my head again on repeat. She had the audacity to sit across from me, tell me that she gave my ex head to figure out where I was, and show up on my boyfriend’s doorstep, and now was propositioning him in front of me!

“Andrew,” I seethed at her as I stood, and then everything that was bottled up inside me came bursting out. “His name is Andrew, and he is not interested in you, Mother . I don’t know what kind of sordid thing you think you two had, but that ended as soon as it began. He doesn’t want you now, and he probably didn’t want you then, but you were easy . And I bet it wasn’t even Andrew you set your sights on; you would’ve gone after whoever won the money that night.” I scoffed, eyeing her up and down with a disgusted sneer. “God, you’re just like Dad said you were—a manipulative whore. Someone who uses their body to get what they want, usually at the expense of others, and you don’t care at all about those you hurt along the way.”

My mother stood abruptly, her wine glass still in hand.

Whack!

I never saw it coming. Never expected my mother to raise her empty hand and slap me across the face. But maybe I should have.

Maybe I should have realized this woman would never care about or love me the way I wanted or deserved.

“You shut your mouth, you little brat.”

“No,” I said, ignoring the pain along my cheek.

“This is the last time you use me for anything, Tasha ,” I hissed. I couldn’t even call the woman before me Mother any longer. All she’d ever be was the person who gave birth to me. She was never the mother I wanted or needed her to be. All she cared about was herself.

“All I ever wanted was for you to love me, but the only thing you loved was what you could get from me. But no more. I’m done.”

“Are you sure about that?” she asked in a tone that made me think of a slithering snake. Tasha bent down to set her glass on the coffee table, then reached into her handbag. I took two long strides backward, worried about what she was going to pull out. The day had been crazy enough that I wouldn’t put it past her to pull out a knife or gun. Instead, she held an orange envelope.

“Seems to me you’re in quite the predicament. You’re pregnant, dear daughter. Having Caleb’s baby, and he doesn’t want it. Surprise, surprise. Well, after I sucked him good and dry, he asked me to give these to you and to tell you to never contact him again.”

No, she couldn’t have the—

“Dissolution of Paternal Rights, it said when I took a peek. Seems like a pretty-important stack of papers. It would be terrible if they got lost somehow,” she said with put-on innocence.

“You fucking bitch!” I screeched, looking over at Andrew, but he had his phone glued to his ear, his hands clenched so hard and his face and neck so red I feared his whole body might explode. I hadn’t even seen him pick it up or make a call. And I certainly hadn’t heard it ring, since the ringing in my ear on the side she slapped me was making it hard to hear anything besides the loud-mouth across from me.

“You said it yourself—I get what I want.”

“And what’s that?” I asked, my hands gripping my sweater to keep from reaching out and strangling the woman.

“I want…,” she started, and then glanced over at Andrew, licking her lips as she watched him end his call. My stomach flipped, and I pinched my lips between my teeth to keep the vomit from rising. “I want a hundred thousand dollars.”

“I don’t have that kind of money!” I shouted.

Her shoulders lifted, then she set the envelope on the table. She was closer to it and probably knew I’d never risk hurting my baby by trying to make a grab for it.

“Seems to me you have no choice. Either you can have the baby daddy you want by giving me the money, or you’re stuck with the baby daddy who doesn’t want you.”

“That’s blackmail.” My nerves were firing off across my body, and I felt woozy. If I’d been thinking more clearly instead of letting this woman get to me, I would’ve thought of the fact that I could’ve always had my lawyer resend the paperwork to Caleb to have them signed again. But alas, this whole situation had short-circuited my brain. And since my hormones were already out of whack before all this started, it made any clear, rational decisions nearly impossible.

“Actually, that’s extortion,” Andrew pointed out as he moved toward the door.

“I don’t care what the fuck it is,” Tasha barked. “If I can’t have Wyatt, I want the money.” She said the last part as if talking to herself, and to see it made me realize how truly unstable she was.

“You’re not making any sense. You keep saying Wyatt, when you know this man is Andrew. Wyatt doesn’t exist,” I pointed out, but she just shook her head like she was denying the truth. “Why are you doing this?”

“Because I can.”

From the corner of my eye, I watched Andrew open the door slightly. He focused his gaze on Tasha, and his entire attitude changed as he stalked toward her.

“Tasha, why don’t you and I go talk somewhere more private? The… bedroom, perhaps. Maybe you and I can come to an agreement.”

I dry-heaved, watching my boyfriend hit on my mother, even knowing it had to be some sort of ploy to get her away from me, and I slapped my hand over my mouth. She turned toward him, and her posture shifted. Her back arched, exposing the V between her breasts, and her skirt rose up on her legs an inch.

“I knew you’d come around,” she purred and touched his chest with a single finger, trailing it down toward his navel. “I’ve got some new tricks to show you.”

His jaw ticked as he grabbed her wrist and pulled her to follow him. It was an intimate gesture that Tasha ate up, smirking in defiance as she glanced over at me.

Then, suddenly, I watched as that smile slipped from her face as Andrew twisted her around and held both her wrists in his hand. Not five seconds later, two sheriff's deputies walked into the house with cuffs at the ready.

“Actually, Tasha, did you know extortion is a crime?” he prompted as he took a step back so the officers could restrain her.

Her eyes jumped around the room as she looked for an escape, but we knew she wouldn’t find one.

“And coupled with assaulting Kelsey, you could be spending quite a few years behind bars,” he added, holding his phone up for her to see a video he’d taken. I couldn’t see it from my angle, but I heard the exchange of words and the loud smack that followed.

She screamed, wailed, and kicked around as the large man holding her handcuffs pushed her toward the door.

“I didn’t do anything! I was visiting my daughter!” she shouted, clearly delusional if she thought they’d believe her after the video they just witnessed.

“Officer Ramirez, I’ll send the video over to you. The assault is clearly visible, since they stood above where I had it lying on the coffee table while it recorded.”

“Thanks,” the man said as he walked over to me and asked if he could photograph my cheek, which was throbbing now that the confrontation was over. The adrenaline pumping through me during the argument must have masked most of the pain. He took a few pictures of my face and then of the envelope containing the legal paperwork she was holding hostage.

“I need to turn them into my lawyer, but they’ll be available through him if you need them,” I added after agreeing whole-heartedly and without hesitation to press charges against Tasha McKinnley, formally known as Mom.

“I’ll also write up a no-contact restraining order. I’m certain the judge will push it through quickly while she awaits trial.”

“Thank you,” Andrew and I said at the same time.

As soon as Officer Ramirez closed the front door behind him, Andrew rushed over to me, his hand running along my cheek. He was upset, visibly so, as his watery eyes met mine. Except, I felt numb, like this was nothing more than a bad dream, and I was going to wake up any second.

“Baby, are you okay? Please tell me you’re all right,” he begged repeatedly.

“I’m… I’m fine. Just a bit in shock, I think,” I said. Thankfully, the nausea that had been rolling through my stomach subsided.

“I’m so sorry. So fucking sorry, Kelsey.” Andrew reached for my limp hands as he clasped them tightly. “I had no idea about any of this. I haven’t spoken to her for years. A whole decade . And even that was just a passing hello. I didn’t even remember who she was.”

Weakly, I whispered, “I know.”

“Please, Kelsey. I… I don’t know what to do,” he pleaded, his hands reaching up to cup my face. “I love you. So much.”

“I know,” I whispered.

My mind was running a hundred miles an hour as everything started rolling through my mind on replay.

“I… I think I just need some time. Some space.”

“Space from me?” he asked, stepping back as if I slapped him. We hadn’t spent much time apart since I arrived in Ashfield back in September. A few hours here and there, and my weekend in Nashville that was cut short.

“Space to think. I’m just… confused right now.”

And what woman wouldn’t be, after learning her boyfriend got a blowjob from her mother—no matter how long ago it was.

Andrew tilted his face toward the ceiling, his chest moving up and down as he took deep breaths. When he faced me again, there stood a man who looked defeated. “Okay. I understand.”

“I’m sorry, Andrew,” I whispered as my stomach gurgled.

Wordlessly, he kissed the top of my head, and tears began rolling down my cheeks. I could barely make out his retreating back as the front door opened and closed.

I rushed toward the bedroom and collapsed on the bed, wailing loudly into my pillow until I let the exhaustion of the day usher me into sleep.

It wasn’t until hours later that I woke with a resolution.

I just sent away the best thing that ever happened in my life. Andrew was the protector, the guardian of his siblings and those he cared about. The best person I’d ever met. The only person who ever made me feel like I wasn’t a burden, who always put me first.

Now, it was my chance to do the same for him.

I quickly washed my face, noticing it was nearly midnight, but I couldn’t wait any longer. My shoes were still on my feet from when I crashed onto the bed, so I grabbed my keys and reached for the front door, only to find a note taped to the back in Andrew’s familiar print.

I waited out here for you until it got dark. I’m honoring your wishes for space and time. I’ll be at the farm.

That sweet, beautiful man spent all evening out on the porch, waiting for me. If I hadn’t loved him before, I was 1,000 percent in love with him now.

Folding the note, I tucked it inside my bag, only to notice that heavy raindrops pounded against the pavement.

“Shit,” I said, leaning into the house to find an umbrella and coming up empty. I closed the door and stood on the top step, pressing the key fob to unlock the door to my car. Using the jacket I’d fallen asleep wearing, I pulled it over my head to shield myself from the rain. Carefully, I jogged over to my car, yanked the door open, and hopped inside.

My chest ached from the exertion, even though I only had to go a few yards.

I fumbled with my keys as I tried to start the car, wishing I had one of those fancy push-to-start models. Once the engine purred, I pulled out onto the street and drove like my life depended on it. And at the moment, it felt like it did. I couldn’t imagine doing any of this without Andrew.

Though I was in a rush, I took my time maneuvering around the turns that would take me to my destination.

With the late hour, I knew there was a chance no one would be awake, and I feared waking everyone up in the house, but I didn’t care. What I needed to do was far more important than sleep.

The car zipped down the driveway in near darkness until the spotlights illuminating the farmhouse came into view. I wiped at my eyes as I parked the car, but it was no use. The tears kept coming.

By the time I opened the door, completely uncaring that it was pouring outside, I stopped worrying about my makeup dripping down my cheeks and the welted handprint on the side of my face that was turning into a bruise. All I cared about was getting to the man on the other side of that door.

I was soaked through when I reached the porch, a shiver pulsing down my body as I knocked. When there was no response, I tried again and called out his name. “Andrew, please, open up.”

There was a chance his parents would open the door, but it was a risk I was willing to take.

“Andrew!” I called out again as I pounded my fist against the wood.

“Please,” I sobbed, my head lowering toward the porch floor in defeat.

“Kelsey?”

My head jerked up at the sound of my name from his lips.

“Baby, come inside. You’re shivering,” he said, and it was then I noticed my teeth we chattering.

Instead of listening, I launched myself at him. Andrew caught me with ease, and it was the first time since my mother cannonballed her way back into my life that I felt like I could actually breathe.

“I’m so sorry. So, so sorry,” I cried against his shoulder.

“You have nothing, absolutely nothing , to apologize for. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I pushed you away. After everything you did this afternoon, thinking with a clear head while I was freaking out, I pushed you away,” I wailed.

“Silly, beautiful girl,” he said as he set me on my feet and cupped my face, using his thumbs to dry my tears. “You didn’t push me anywhere. You asked for space, something you are always entitled to. Don’t ever apologize for that.”

I lifted my head to look him in the eyes. “You really waited for me?”

“I did. I’m glad you got my note. Officer Ramirez had some more questions, so I asked if we could meet here.” He pushed my hair back from my face. “Kelsey, you have to know I had zero intentions of ever rekindling anything with that woman. It turned out she was the one behind all those spam numbers that had been messaging me.”

Smiling through the tears, I replied, “Guess that means you’re finally going to have to change your number.”

He smiled, then asked, “You know I’m not going anywhere, right? You’re it for me, Kelsey Davis.”

Sniffling, I said, “You’re it for me too.”

From off in the distance, a familiar voice chimed in, “Oh, thank goodness. You’ve made up. Now you can take his gloomy butt home.”

“Come on, Mom,” I groaned in embarrassment.

“He kept going on and on to himself at the kitchen table about how he’d screwed everything up with you,” Mom added.

“Thanks, Mom,” Andrew grouched.

“Anytime, sweet boy. Welcome to the family, Kelsey.”

Glancing up at Andrew, I chuckled for the first time tonight. “She knows we’re not engaged, right?”

“ Yet , baby. Not engaged yet .”