Country Roads

"In a word, I believe that filing for bankruptcy is the only remaining viable option."

It was three days later before Jordan was well enough to go home and sit down with Stan again and go over everything. And when she did it was obvious that the situation was perilous. She didn't keep track of the business or the money. Joseph had always done that and he'd always been extremely generous with his younger, beautiful wife.

So Jordan had no reason to think there was anything wrong let along that they were in such dire financial straights. But an estate that had been worth just over $5 million less than a year ago was now completely upside down and under water. By filing for bankruptcy Jordan could avoid jail time, a thought that scared her so badly she began shaking. But as co-owner of everything she and Joseph had shared, she was now liable for the massive debt that had accumulated in the wake of her late husband's financial recklessness.

"In a word, Joseph...bet the farm," Stan told her as he tried to sum up the situation.

"The farm. How ironic," Jordan mumbled as she thought about the place where she'd grown up, how she'd become estranged from her parents, and then, for the first time, wondered what she would do next.

"Mom? Are you crying?" she heard her ten-year old daughter, Mia, ask, who'd been listening but not understanding anything that was said.

"No. I'm not crying, honey," Jordan told her as bravely as she could.

"Are you sad about Daddy? It's okay if you are because I'm sad, too."

Jordan held her daughter knowing that 'sad' was an understatement. Mia had been crying since being told...by her nanny...that her father was dead and that her mother was in the hospital.

And now Jordan would have to tell her daughter that the nanny Mia loved and had known all her life would have to be let go at the end of the week. But how could she tell her that they were also losing their home and everything they had? And when she did, what would she say when Mia asked where they would live?

As those thoughts and her own grief consumed her, Jordan's eyes filled with tears, and as she continued holding her daughter, she cried for the first time since the accident. Worst of all, when she began crying, her daughter did, too, and all Jordan could do was hold her and tell her they'd be okay.

But she knew that for the foreseeable future, things wouldn't be okay, and she wondered if they ever would again.

The Conway family's attorney was able to hold off foreclosure on the house for 30 days base on humanitarian needs. This gave Jordan time to recover physically and to get a better handle on how bad things actually were. But with each new briefing from her lawyer, the news only got worse.

Jordan tried to pay attention, but her mind was incapable of focusing. Her husband's memorial service was over and done, and of all the people who attended, many promised they would be available to help in any way possible. But her attorney had tried to get some fo that help from the three people who'd been closest to the Conways, and somehow none of them were available to provide any.

Adding insult to injury the attorney informer her that he would no longer be able to represent her or the estate as there was no money left to pay him. Out of the kindness of his heart and loyalty to her late husband, he agreed to handle the foreclosure and the bankruptcy, but once that was done, he would be done, too.

With just ten days left until she and her daughter would be removed from their home, Jordan found herself staring down the figurative barrel of a gun. And at the other end of this fictitious gun was her mother and the farm near Wheeling, West Virginia.

There was very little money left, and they were running low on food. They could legally stay there a few more days, but they would have no place to live in short order. The thought of having to call her mother and admit defeat was so untenable that Jordan had avoided even mentioning this until the thought of literally being on the street with her daughter became even more untenable.

So before her phone was turned off for lack of payment, Jordan finally picked it up and sat there staring at her mom's phone number. After what seemed like hours but was only a couple of minutes, she hit the 'call' button and waited.

"Jordan?" she heard her mother say in that raspy voice. But it was somehow different although only subtly so.

"Hi, Mom."

"Is everything okay?"

Jean knew it wasn't as she heard her daughter's voice hitch when she tried to talk.

"What's wrong, honey?"

Jordan was too emotional to realize it had been nearly two decades since her mom had called her that as she tried to collect herself.

"It's...Joseph."

There was genuine concern in Jean's voice as she said, "What about Joseph?"

Jordan's voice cracked as she began explaining. Her mother let her go on for two or three minutes without interruption before her daughter stopped to catch her breath.

"You need to come home. Both of you."

"I...we can't," Jordan said, her voice racked with sobs.

"What do you mean you 'can't'?"

"We can't even afford to get there," Jordan said, one word at a time as she continued heaving sobs.

"I'll buy plane tickets for you and Mia for whatever day you choose. Just let me know and you'll only need to get on the plane."

Home. Jordan hadn't thought of West Virginia as 'home' since the day she left. In fact, just the thought of being there made her shiver as she remembered getting up at 4am to feed livestock, milk cows, gather eggs, and the endless maintenance and cleaning up the ubiquitous horse, cow, and goat...poo. Life was nothing but work from before sunup to well after sundown, and Jordan wanted nothing to do with that kind of life ever again.

But reality was now forcing her to come to grips with the fact that she had nowhere else to turn. Jordan Conway was now 41 years old, had a ten-year old daughter, no money, and no options.

She was still a very attractive woman, and if she had enough time, she felt very confident that she could find another husband, and perhaps one of means. But as much as she'd learned to love the finer things in life, the most pressing issue was survival, and in order for her and her daughter to survive, staying in Aspen, Colorado, wasn't an option.

Jordan asked her mom if they could arrive three days from then, and Jean told her she'd take care of the tickets then let her know the airline, flight number, and time of departure.

"Mom?" Jordan said, now able to speak normally again.

Her mother didn't say anything so Jordan said, "Thank you."

"You and that beautiful daughter of yours just come back home. That'll be all the thanks I need."

"Okay," Jordan replied as tears, borne of frustration and gratitude, welled up in her eyes again.

As the call ended, Jordan again thought of the word 'home' and what her mom had just said. "Come home." And for the first time in ages she thought of the song that was essentially synonymous with West Virginia—Country Roads by John Denver.

Unlike most West Virginians, Jordan had never liked the song, and over the years those feelings had only gotten stronger. But now, as she sat there, broken and alone, she searched her phone to find it.

She turned up the volume and listened as memories from long ago surfaced. Memories of her father and mother, friends from school, and life on the farm. By the time it reached the second stanza, Mia came in and asked what she was listening to.

Jordan motioned for her daughter to sit down next to her and said, "Just listen, okay?"

"Country roads, take me home, to the place, I belong, West Virginia. Mountain Momma, take me home, down country roads. I hear her voice in the mornin' out as she calls me, radio reminds me of my home far away."

When it ended, Mia asked why she was listening to it and why her mom was crying.

"Because we're going home, sweetheart."

"But we are home, Mom."

Jordan pulled her daughter close, kissed the top of her head, then said, "We're going to live with Nana."

"On the farm?" her daughter asked, the excitement in her voice surprising her.

"Yes. Is that okay?"

"We get to live with Nana?"

"Well, yes. Until we can..."

Mia threw her arms around her mother's neck and hugged and told her she loved her.

"I love you, too, honey," Jordan said, as the shock of her daughter's unexpected reaction hit her.

As Mia went back to her room, happier than her mother could remember, Jordan could only sit there and wonder why something so dreadful to her was a source of so much excitement for her little girl.

It didn't take long to figure it out, though. Mia's friends, much like hers, had all but abandoned her. Deep down, Jordan knew the friendships were superficial, just like her own friendships.

As she pondered those thoughts, she couldn't help but wonder how she'd ever let herself believe that money and status were more important than anything else. Yes, she'd loved her husband, but he, too, was a source of status; a status she could have never attained had she remained in Wheeling.

For the first time in her life, Jordan realized that status couldn't hold her or comfort her or solve her problems. And an even more painful observation hit her. She no longer even had status.

When Jean hung up the phone, she sat there too shellshocked to speak. There was no-one else there to speak to even if she could, but she'd have been unable to do so had Eric been inside at the time.

When he came in for dinner, she'd worked through the stunning revelations Jordan shared with her during the phone call, and for the first time since her diagnosis, Jean felt a glimmer of hope.

"I need you to do something for me in a couple of days," Jean began once Eric was washed up and ready to eat.

"Sure. What's going on?"

"I'm not even sure where to begin, so I'll start with the phone call and go from there."

As he always did, Eric sat and listened, holding his questions until his boss was done talking then asked whatever questions were on his mind. But this time he didn't have any questions. He did, however, have an observation.

"You look happy."

Jean kind of snorted then said, "Happy. Huh. I guess maybe I am."

"I don't know much about your daughter, but I do know you can't wait to see your granddaughter."

Jean laughed, and the laugh made her cough, a cough that was slowly getting worse.

"I was just thinking about how much I'm gonna spoil her, but she's had everything money can buy."

"Again, I don't know anything about the family, but perhaps the one thing she needs is your love."

He saw Jean's eyes get glassy again before she said, "I'll give her all I've got for as long as I have left."

A question finally arose in Eric's mind and he asked it immediately.

"Will your daughter and granddaughter be staying in the house with you?"

It seemed obvious, but he knew the relationship between her and her daughter was strained, so it was at least possible she might be staying somewhere else. If she had the kind of money he'd been led to believe she had, she might even be buying a home somewhere nearby. He wondered because Jean hadn't told him that her daughter had lost everything.

"Yes. They'll be staying here," Jean said.

Eric could see the concern and asked if there was anything he should be concerned with.

His boss kind of smiled then said, "No. That's my problem to deal with. You only need to pick her up and bring her home."

Eric raised on eyebrow as his instincts told him that wasn't everything.

"And you'll be her boss."

"Her boss?"

"She's not gonna sit in the house all day watching soap operas. If she's gonna live her, she's gonna earn her keep. She'll do everything you do, and it'll be your job to show her how to do it."

"Didn't she grow up doing those things?" Eric asked respectfully.

"Yes she did, but that's been over 20 years ago. I'm not sure she's worked a day in her life since she left, and it's up to you to make sure that changes the day after she gets here."

Jean saw the look on her ranch hand's face and laughed again, complete with the hacking cough.

"Don't worry. I'm not changing my will again."

The comment was so unexpected, Eric just kind of shook his head then said, "What? I...that never even entered my mind. I meant it when I told you I don't want the..."

"It's a done deal, Eric. The ranch is yours. All of it. And Jordan will be your...employee...and right hand...woman. Period."

Eric sighed as he thought about how this might unfold, but Jean was still the boss, and that included this decision, as well.

"And that sweet little girl of hers will take over my chores. She's plenty old enough to feed chickens and gather eggs and do some of the cleaning inside the house before and after school."

She hesitated then tried to smile before saying, "I'm not gonna be around here forever, and I don't see you dusting or mopping floors or doin' dishes. You could hire a maid, but I don't see you doin' that, either."

Eric didn't remind her that he kept his little place spotless with everything in perfect order to include having his clothes hangers separated by the width of two fingers and everything else neatly folded. He just dug back in to his meal knowing he still had 4-5 more hours of work to do before calling it a day.

Around six hours before he left to go pick up Jordan and Mia in Charleston, which was a three-hour drive, Eric asked Jean if she had a current photo of her daughter.

"No, sorry. I have one of my granddaughter that's a year old if that'll help."

"That's okay. I've already made up a sign with their name on it. I just thought it might be helpful if I could identify them."

Eric had always been close with both of his parents. The only time he saw them now was for an hour or two every other Sunday, and found it hard to imagine being estranged from them let alone not seeing them in 20 years. But that was evidently the case here, and that told him things had to have changed drastically in Jordan's life. He'd never bothered asking because he knew Jean would tell him if it ever became his business. So he thanked her for her time and let her know he'd be back as soon as he could.

"You taking the Land Rover?" Jean asked.

That was her vehicle, and it never occurred to him to even ask.

"No, ma'am. I'm driving my truck."

"Nonsense. You're picking up my kid and her daughter. You drive my car."

Jean walked over to where her purse was, shook it, then handed the keys to Eric.

"Just be careful with my baby."

Again, Jean smiled then told him she meant the Land Rover. It was four years old and still had less than 10,000 miles on it as Jean rarely went anywhere except to church or the doctor's office.

Eric promised he would then went to the ranch house to shower and change leaving him about four hours until Jordan's flight was due in. He put on his best pair of jeans and a button-down shirt he hadn't worn in over a year then stepped into a pair of shoes he hadn't worn in nearly two. He practically lived in boots, and once he put them on he felt...different.

He didn't have a mirror to look into except the one he used for shaving, but the way he was dressed reminded him of the way he used to look when he was on active duty and not in uniform. It felt both odd and familiar to him at the same time, and just those feelings reminded him again of the woman he'd loved and lost.

"Should've just worn what I had on," he said to himself as he put his wallet his back pocket and grabbed the keys.

The Land Rover was a dream. It was smooth as silk, whisper quiet, and fully loaded. Eric hadn't sat in a leather seat so long it made him laugh when he got in. Something else he hadn't done in forever was listen to music just for the sake of enjoyment, so he turned on the radio and found a station he liked then put it in gear and headed toward the state capitol.

The drive was long but pleasant as Eric felt even more reconnected with his past; a mostly carefree time when life was good and everything he did interested him. It had been a long time since he felt that way, and by the time he pulled onto the offramp for the airport he cautioned himself not to get to used to it.

Even though it was the largest airport in the state it was still rather small compared to any airport in any big city he'd ever been to. It only took him a minute or so to find a place to park and another minute to walk inside and check for information on her flight. It was on time and due to land in about 15 minutes leaving him time to stretch his legs.

He walked down to a small food court and ordered a cup of coffee where a cute, young waitress flirted with him from the moment he walked up until he excused himself when she handed him the cup. She made sure to show him the phone number she'd written on the side with a heart next to it, and Eric politely thanked her.

Even as he walked away, she was still at as she called out, "Call me! Anytime!"

She was way too young, but he couldn't help but notice that just that short interaction with an attractive female had the same effect on him as the show he'd recently watched on his iPad. And as he sipped his coffee, he was suddenly aware that there were women all around him. Many of them were also very attractive, and while he was just looking, he was amazed that he was even doing that.

Several of them caught his eye and two of them smiled. Maybe there was a chance that he really was ready to start looking again, but just the thought of doing so stirred up a ton of thoughts and memories. The first was that it would be pretty wonderful to have someone to love again while the second was the guilt he always felt on the rare occasion when he entertained such thoughts.

But before he could flog himself too hard he checked his watch and realized he needed to head toward the gate. He couldn't actually get in without a ticket so he waited as close to the pickup area as he could then panicked when he realized he'd forgotten the sign.

"Shit!" he said quietly but out loud as he turned and headed for the exit.

He made up for his earlier lack of self-chastisement as he beat himself up plenty for getting caught up in the music and the nice day outside and forgetting the one and only thing he'd brought with him.

He grabbed it, relocked the SUV, then quickly headed back into the terminal just as passengers began streaming out of the security area.

"Shit!" he said again as he held the sign up and began looking around.

He saw an older, heavy woman with a girl about Mia's age and called out to her.

"Ma'am? Are you..."

He pointed to the sign, and the woman said, "If I can go home with you I am!"

"Sorry," Eric told her as he started scanning the area again.

"Me, too," the woman said as though that might have been a possibility.

He saw another woman with a girl, but his brain was telling him that was impossible. The woman was beautiful. But then, she wearing an expensive cashmere sweater, a nice skirt, and heels, so maybe this was her.

Working against that was how she looked to be closer to his age than what he was expecting, but he couldn't see any other woman alone with a younger female so her called out to her, too.

The woman looked his way as did the girl.

"Mom! Look! That's us!" Mia said as she read the sign.

The little girl was also impeccably dressed as she and her mother walked toward the man holding the sign.

"Jordan?" Eric asked, still not convinced this incredibly attractive woman could be her.

"You must be Eric," she said, a dazzling smile on her face.

"Yes, ma'am."

"And I'm Mia!" the girl said, a happy smile on her face, too.

"Then I believe we should go get your luggage," he said as he folded the sign in half and dropped it in a trash can.