Page 59 of Teach Me How
We’re down to the last few fields. I scan the field we just finished. Usually, this is my favorite moment. I like to walk the rows and take it in, absorb the satisfaction of being done.
All I can think about is Reese.
And Mitch.
He mentioned in our football group chat that Reese called him.
Shecalledhim.
She didn’t text or message him on Facebook.
He says he’s going to help her find a job out there.
They’ll probably be married with babies within the year.
I shouldn’t be jealous. I’m definitely not.
But I keep replaying the last time Mitch was out here. The way Reese and Mitch were snuggled up on that recliner. I was agitated then, but I think I did a good job of hiding it.
I don’t have a right to keep her from other men, but the thought of her marrying Mitch makes me antsy.
How am I supposed to look my sister-in-law in the face, knowing that I’ve seen her completely naked?
How am I supposed to move on from a woman like Reese if she’s at every family gathering from here until the end of time?
“Skyler!”
I know from the whip-sharp way he says my name, that dad’s pissed at me. Seems like we’re always barking at each other these days.
He stomps over, stopping in front of me. “Did you hear a damn word I just said?”
“Uhh.”
“Pull your head out of your ass, kid. I told you to take the grain cart back to the home place and I’ll move the combine.” He turns on heel, walking a few feet before turning back. “Don’t tell me you’re still hung up on that old business with Donald.”
I totally wasn’t, but since he’s bringing it up… “Why didn’t you stand by him?”
“By Don?”
“Yes. Your brother.”
His expression hardens. “I couldn’t stand by mybrotherbecause I was too busy standing by my dad.”
I want to tell him Grandpa Paul, his father, was a small man and a bigot, but I’m already on thin ice.
He can tell what I’m thinking anyway. It’s written all over my face. “Don threw the first stone. You don’t know what he was like in court.”
“I don’t know because you’ve never said.”
He scrubs a hand over his face. “I don’t like talking about a man who isn’t here to defend himself.”
“You’re talking about Uncle Don?”
He nods, squinting into the distance.
“Just tell me, dad. Not knowing is worse.”
He shakes his head. “Ain’t much to tell. Don went out there and hired a fancy lawyer. We just had Carl Steiner on our side and he was still wet behind the ears back then. Fresh out of law school. Truth is, Don probably could have settled with an equal share of the land, but that damned big city lawyer talked him into taking us for the whole kit and caboodle.”