A/N: For those that may have missed it, I posted a short extension story (A Mother's Love) set about seven years in the future related to this story last month. Feel free to check it out and let me know your thoughts!
Adam stood in the root cellar looking over the multitude of pies brought over by generous neighbors. He settled on a simple cinnamon apple pie for dessert tonight and placed it in the wood oven to begin baking. Sitting down at his desk, he pulled some paperwork towards him and began making notes and corrections on one of the latest lumber contracts until it was time for supper.
As supper came to a close, he sent his children outside to play until bedtime while he started washing the dishes. He was just finishing up rinsing the last fork when he heard a horse coming up the road.
"Adam?"
Adam recognized the voice instantly and froze. He dried the last fork, placed it back in its proper spot, and then dried his hands on the cloth towel before making his way to the main room.
"Pa?" Adam stood in place with a confused look on his face. His father rarely showed up unannounced and especially not this late in the day. "Is everything all right?"
"I apologize for showing up without an invitation, but I wanted to check up to see how you're doing. It's been almost a week since we last saw each other. I hope you'll forgive my intrusion, but you're my son and I worry about you out here with just the children and your thoughts."
Adam glanced down at the brown leather travel bag in Ben's hand before looking up at the man with a look of surprise and mild annoyance. He arched his brow and exhaled audibly. "How long are you planning to stay?"
"As long as I'm needed. I thought I might be more helpful to you if I stay with you for a time. Just let me put my bag in the guest room and then we can sit down for some evening coffee."
Adam reached for his father's bag, but Ben pulled his arm back. "I'm not that old and feeble, Adam."
Adam gestured towards the stairs, indicating for Ben to go ahead. "Please, take your time and freshen up. I'll start warming up some water for the coffee."
Adam returned to the kitchen to start getting the coffee things together. He silently cursed to himself. On one hand, he was glad to see his father because, in all honesty, he really could use his help. On the other hand, he wasn't ever one to ask for help and definitely not now when it was blatantly apparent to his father that he needed help. He rubbed at his temples while he waited for the water to boil. He knew there was no getting out of this now, he'd just have to deal with it. Once Ben had made up his mind, there was no arguing with him.
Ben had made himself at home on the sofa when Adam walked in with a fresh pot of coffee, sugar, cream, and two cups. He set it down on the small table before pouring a cup of coffee for Ben and one for himself. He handed one of the cups over to his father before settling himself into his own chair.
The two sat in silence for a minute while Ben finished pouring milk into his coffee, stirring it dramatically with a spoon. "How are my grandchildren doing?"
"They're fine. Honestly, Pa, we went over all this a couple of weeks ago. We don't need to re-hash the whole conversation."
Ben nodded. "I understand. Now, how about you, Adam? How are you holding up? You've been through a lot as well."
A small scoff came out of Adam's mouth. "I'm perfectly fine. Again, we discussed this the other week."
Ben put a hand up to stop him. "Yes, we have. I'm seriously concerned about you, though. You've had a very traumatic month and I'm quite concerned about your own well-being. You look like you haven't slept in ages, and you have been more distant with the rest of the family, not to mention your own children. I'm sure you realize that you can't take care of your children if you're not taking care of yourself."
"I'm fine," Adam hissed, feeling indignant. "I'm perfectly capable of caring for my children. While I welcome your feedback, I certainly don't need you to stay here and babysit me like a child. I'm a grown man, I can take care of myself and my family."
"I'm not questioning your ability, Adam. I'm merely offering my support and letting you know that perhaps you need someone to be there for you as well. I told you that you have people to lean on and you don't have to do this alone. From the looks of things, you don't seem to be doing that. So, whether you like it or not, I'm not forcing my help on you. I gave you plenty of time to ask for, choose, and accept our help, which you failed to do. I'm sorry to say that now you don't have a choice in the matter."
Adam took an angry gulp of his coffee and then set down his cup with force, a few drops of dark liquid splashing onto the side table. There had been many times in his life where he'd dealt with difficult situations, but he'd always survived them without much help from others. He was irritated that Ben thought he was incapable of taking care of things on his own. The room was silent except for the quiet 'tick-tock' of the grandfather clock for several minutes while the men brooded and drank their coffee.
Finally, Ben spoke up once more, softening his tone. "I know you aren't happy with this situation. We all need help every once in a while. This is your time. All you have to do is sit back and let us help you."
"What about your own ranch? Who's going to run it while you're over here babysitting us?"
"I've already talked to your brothers and my ranch hands. They've all agreed to keep it running while I'm away. Hopefully, I won't be here long, but even if I am, I'm only a short horse ride away to give them new projects or to make sure everything is running smoothly."
With his emotions now down to a low simmer, Adam composed himself, not wanting to seem completely ungrateful. "Of course. Your advice and assistance are most appreciated. I just hate taking you away from your own place and inconveniencing you with my troubles."
Ben nodded. "Really, it's no trouble, Adam. You should know by now that I'd do everything humanly possible to make sure you're taken care of and looked after."
Another period of long silence strung between the two men before Adam nodded in agreement.
Ben had been toiling between two different solutions. This was the one he thought would be the most agreeable to Adam. After he saw how upsetting and deflating it seemed to make Adam, he wondered if the other solution would actually be a better option.
"You know, there might be another option. Would you like to hear it?" Ben waited until he saw a slow nod from his son before he continued. "If you prefer, you can move in with me and your brothers instead. I can send over one or two of my own ranch hands to assist the men you have here to keep things running and get all the chores done. Unfortunately, those are the only two options I can see working in this situation. Unless you have a better idea, you'll need to choose one of them."
Adam sat up in his chair, taking another sip of the bitter liquid before setting his coffee cup down again, this time with more measured control than earlier. "You're really offering for us to come to stay with you? You don't think we will be too much of a bother?"
"Not at all. To be honest, if it was up to me, I'd prefer the second option. You'll not only have me, but your brothers, and your children will have all those people to talk to as well. I figured you might want to stay in your own house and not uproot your children which is why I offered the other option first."
"How long would we be staying?"
"As long as it takes. It could be weeks or a year or longer. As I've said before, grief is tricky, and nobody handles it the same. I'll be happy to have you back in my house until you and my grandchildren feel stronger and have a better handle on all your emotions."
Adam remained silent for what felt like a half-hour to Ben. In all reality, it was only a couple minutes. Ben knew this was a big decision and Adam was likely running through the pros and cons of each option rapidly in his head. Eventually, he spoke so quietly Ben almost couldn't hear him. "I think…I think I'd prefer the second option as well."
Ben had been watching his son over the rim of his coffee cup. When he finally spoke, he put down his own cup on the table and reached out in a comforting touch. "We will look forward to having you."
At Ben's gentle touch, Adam could feel the tension in his body unwinding. He would never admit it out loud, but he was relieved not to be going through this alone anymore.
"Nathan?"
"Yes, Pa?"
"Can you round up your sisters and bring them out to the main room. There's something I need to discuss with you all."
Several minutes passed before Nathan returned with Helen and Clara. Adam motioned for them to all take a seat on the large sofa while he took a seat in one of the chairs.
"Are we in trouble, Papa?" A worried expression flashed across Helen's face as she glanced over to her sister clearly wondering if she was the reason why they had been summoned to this meeting.
"No sweetheart. No one is in trouble that I know of. Did any of you do something that would cause you to be in trouble with me?"
Adam watched as three heads shook indicating they haven't gotten into any mischief. He then frowned to himself thinking how distressing it was that the first thing his children thought of when he called them to a meeting was that they were in trouble. He didn't want his children worried every time they had a family meeting and he vowed to change this in the future by having weekly family sit-downs to discuss the past week and upcoming week.
"Good. Now, I want to let you all know that your grandpa and I have been talking about how things have been going around here since your Mama passed away. First, I want to ask you all how you think it's been? Have you all been happy?"
The twins glanced towards Nathan silently electing him the spokesperson. "Well, it's been a bit crazy with the new baby and all. And then… well…" Nathan's eyes darted up to meet his father's own eyes.
"Hey, don't be afraid to tell me what you think. I promise I won't get upset."
"Well, you've been a bit distant. We know you still love us, but you don't seem to spend much time around us anymore. I don't know about Clara or Helen, but I know I'm hesitant to come to you with questions or just to talk for fear that you might not have time or understand or even want to listen to me."
"I see." Adam then turned his attention to the twins. "Do you both feel the same way?"
A 'yes, Papa' was heard from Clara with Helen only nodding in response.
"I'm glad you all let me know how you are feeling. I'm sure you also know how much I loved your Mama. She was the love of my life. It's difficult for someone to return to normal life when such a person is taken away from you. As I said, I have had many discussions over the past couple of weeks with your grandpa and he seems to feel the same way as all of you."
"He does?"
"Yes, he does. Apparently, while my actions were hard to see myself, they have been quite obvious to everyone surrounding me. I'm truly sorry for how I've been treating you."
"It's okay. We still love you!"
A smile crept across Adam's face. "Thank you. Now on to the reason for this meeting. How would you all like to go live with your grandpa and uncles for a while?"
"Without you?"
"No, I'd be coming with you. But like I said, losing your mother put a huge hole in my heart. I'm afraid I still have a long road to healing my broken heart. By moving into your grandpa's house, not only will he be around, but your uncles can also help look after you if I'm not around or I need some time away for myself."
"Would we be able to take our dolls and toys?"
Adam let out a chuckle. "Yes, of course." Clara let out a visible sigh of relief at her father's confirmation that her favorite things wouldn't be left behind.
"Will it be forever or just a few weeks?"
Adam's heart clenched at his eldest's concern on whether he would ever see and live in their own house again. In all honesty, he didn't know the answer. Instead of promising something he couldn't keep, he decided being truthful was the way to tackle this question. "I'm not exactly sure. It'll definitely be for a few weeks, but it could be as long as a few months or even longer. I don't intend to stay there forever though."
"Hmm...I guess that would be all right. It'll kind of be like an adventure."
"Yes, it will. So, are we all in agreement then?"
"Yes!"
"Good, let's start packing."
Ben looked up from his work at his desk as he heard the familiar clatter of a wagon and horses pull into the yard. His son and grandchildren had finally arrived!
He opened the main door and stepped outside to greet them. "Welcome, grandchildren!"
"Hi, Grandpa!"
Ben was swallowed up in hugs as soon as Adam helped his children down from the wagon. After a long embrace, he told the children to head inside, with Nathan carrying baby Samuel, before he walked over to help Adam unload all their bags.
He clapped Adam on the shoulder as he spoke. "It's good to have you back here." Ben immediately sensed his son stiffen at his words and gave him a reassuring squeeze. Naturally, this was a big change for them all.
Adam was always a person who seemed to know what he wanted in life and had his future planned out. Now, there was so much uncertainty. Adam would never admit it, but Ben knew it terrified him. And while moving in with him should bring a sigh of relief, his independent son would likely see it as a failure, at least in the beginning. It wasn't going to be easy, but together they would make it through this rough patch.
Adam held two bags in his hands: the one with the twin's toys and another with the children's clothes. He had stopped when he heard his father address him, worry clouding his mind about if he made the right decision.
"Why don't you leave the other bags for now and come inside for some coffee and cookies? I'll have your brothers bring in the rest of the bags and items when they return home later this afternoon."
Adam put on a more relaxed look on his face as he turned around to address his father. "Sounds good." He felt one of the bags being tugged out of his hand and looking down he saw his father had clasped his hand around one of the handles before offering a smile in his direction. Adam let the bag leave his grip and returned the smile to his father.
As they both headed towards the house, Ben was relieved Adam had released his grip on the bag. It was the first step in allowing others to help him. It was a small step, but a step in the right direction nonetheless. Right now, small steps were all that mattered.