Games of the Heart (The 'Burg #4)(166)
“Fin,” Rhonda whispered, eyes round, face shocked and horrified.
“He’d hate you for doin’ this, Ma. All his life he did nothin’ but love you but if he knew you were doin’ this, he’d hate you. He’d hate everything about you. He wouldn’t even wanna look at you,” Fin clipped, Rees got close and Mike tensed.
She put her hand on his chest, tipped her head back, leaned in and whispered, “Fin, let’s go for a walk.”
Fin lifted a hand and Mike tensed more but he just wrapped it around Rees’s and held it at his chest, his eyes never leaving his mother.
“And you know how I know that?” he asked quietly then answered his own question. “Because not five minutes ago, I sat in this room with my family, with friends, listenin’ to Aunt Dusty sing and No play and doin’ it knowin’ Dad would love to have been here for this. Dad would love this f**kin’ house filled with f**kin’ people he cared about, sharin’ time, doin’ nothin’, killin’ time in a sweet way waitin’ to eat. Doin’ nothin’ but doin’ it together which means it isn’t nothin’. It’s everything. And I’m my father’s son, he made me that way and, you takin’ that away from all of us, right now I hate you.”
Fin’s last three words were so rough they were ragged and Mike pulled in breath at the sound of them but Fin was done. He knew this because Fin dropped Rees’s hand but slid an arm around her shoulders, turning them both and walking out of the living room, through the entryway and right out the front door.
Mike turned back to the room, his eyes going to Dusty who had her head bent, her palms pressed to her forehead, fingers in her hair, visibly rubbed raw by the harshness of her nephew’s words but he didn’t look at her long.
This was because Kirby spoke.
“I can’t believe you,” he whispered and Mike saw he was struggling. He didn’t want to lose it but it was clear he was in a fight he wasn’t going to win and he didn’t. A tear escaped and slid down his cheek as he went on, “I can’t believe you’d do this to Fin, to me, to Aunt Dusty, Gramps, Dad. I can’t believe you.”
“Kirb, honey,” Rhonda started beseechingly, leaning forward and even reaching out a hand to her younger son. “You’re too young to understand but I’m doing the right thing for you and your brother.”
“No, you aren’t.” Kirb shook his head. “I don’t know what house you been livin’ in since forever but if you’ve been livin’ in this house with Dad, Fin and me you’d know you aren’t. You’re doin’ what Aunt Debbie wants you to do. You’re too weak and stupid to see she’s usin’ you. Dad knew what she was like. He even said it. He said it all the time around you. Did you even listen? Do you pay attention to anything? ‘Cause I don’t think you do. I don’t think you ever did. I think you’re the most selfish person I ever met because even before Dad died you just took and took from him and now you’re takin’ from me and Fin and Aunt Dusty and Gramps and all because you’re stupid and weak. Weak and stupid. That’s all you are. And with Dad gone, we gotta put up with it. Since he died, the way you been actin’, I’ve been wonderin’ if he was the way he was with you for you or to protect us from what you are. Now I’m thinkin’ it’s that last one.”
And with that, he got up, eyes to his feet and walked out of the room but he ran up the stairs and Mike heard his bedroom door slam.
Mike looked back to Rhonda to see she looked like she’d been struck.
But his eyes cut to Dusty because she spoke next.
“You deserved that,” her lyrical voice was vibrating with emotion and her eyes were locked on Rhonda. “You deserved every word both of them said. But they didn’t deserve to feel that way and you made them feel it. You carry that responsibility. If Darrin knew this was happening and you were aligning yourself with Debbie he’d lose his f**king mind. And he loved you, Rhonda, he loved you fiercely. But if he knew you made his sons feel like that, you put their future and this farm in jeopardy and why you have, make no mistake, he would set you out.”
Rhonda’s eyes filled with tears but Dusty wasn’t done.
“If you deposit that check, Rhonda, I’ll set you out. And I am not f**king joking.”
“You can’t turn me out of my own home,” Rhonda whispered, the tears starting to stream down her cheeks.
“Try me!” Dusty hissed, losing it and leaning forward.
“Angel,” Mike called gently and her eyes shot to him. “Try and calm down, sweetheart.”
She held his eyes then she sucked in breath.
Then she looked back at Rhonda and stated, “You made a very bad decision. Very bad. And you need to rectify that. Immediately. I’m not gonna tell you how to do that because you’re older than me, for God’s sake, and it’s time you grew the f**k up. And I’m not talking just about this shit with Debbie but that is definitely priority. I’m talking about you not snapping out of it and being a mother to your sons and the woman of this house. You need to kick in, now. If you don’t, Rhonda, I swear to God, you’ll regret it. No matter what Debbie is promising, no matter what she’s convinced you of, in your lifetime, you have not held down a job that can support you. And you just severed ties with the five people who have your back. Debbie does not like you. She is not going to take care of you. And you two, if you align with her, are not going to win this farm. So you gotta think fast and you gotta do it smart or you are going to lose everything. And I’ll point out the most important things you’ll lose are your sons. They’re slipping through your fingers and only you have the power to catch hold before they’re gone.”