Home Is Where the Heart Is (Welcome To Redemption) by Donna Marie Rogers

blame but himself and his disgraceful behavior.
    “I’ll call my son.”
    She nodded and eyed the broken glass one last time. “I’ll make sure your last paycheck is sent directly to your home.” With that, Lindy shut the door behind her and stormed from the building.
    * * *
    “You what?” Matt looked up in surprise.
    “I fired him.”
    “You fired him?”
    “Yes, I fired him. I found the man drinking on the job.”
    “He was drinking?”
    Lindy rolled her eyes. “Good Lord, Matt, are you going to repeat everything I say?”
    Matt swiped his fingers through his hair and gave a cautious look around before leading Lindy to the table in the corner near some book shelves. “I’m sorry, it’s just...are you sure you didn’t misinterpret things? You do have a habit of jumping to conclusions.”
    Lindy slapped her purse on the table and dropped onto a chair. “I do not. And no, I didn’t jump to anything. I was about to enter the office when he threw a bottle against the door. The odor was unmistakable, but yes, I checked the label just to be sure. Whiskey. I didn’t misinterpret shit—your wonderful plant manager was drinking on the job. I did what I had to do, Matt. Exactly what you or dad would have done under the circumstances.”
    “Damn.” He blew out a hard breath. “Did he at least try to explain himself?”
    She shrugged. “He was clearly angry about something, not that it mattered. He was lit up like a Christmas tree and smashed a bottle against the door. If I’d walked in a second earlier, I’d be at the hospital right now getting stitches in my head. Which reminds me, I need to call Bernie and have maintenance—”
    “There has to be some kind of reason for his behavior. His work record is impeccable. He ran the old plant like a well-oiled machine for over twenty years. Started when he was just out of high school, and worked his way up to operational manager by the time he was twenty eight.”
    “You seem to know a lot about this guy. It’s almost as if you know him personally, like he’s a friend or—”
    “He’s Drew’s father.”

 
    Chapter 9
     
    “All right, Pop, you wanna tell me what’s going on?”
    Andrew Porter Sr. climbed hesitantly into the passenger side of Drew’s pickup and leaned his head back, closing his eyes as if to shut out the world. Drew knew something major had to have happened for his father to have gotten himself fired.
    He put the truck in park and waited for his old man to speak. When he didn’t, Drew said, “Look, whatever it is, we can fix it. Lindy can be a little...intense at first. But once you get to know—”
    “I opened that bottle of bourbon Kurt gave me for Christmas and drank...quite a bit of it. That’s how Miss Spalding found me.”
    Drew was quiet for a moment as he processed that bit of info. His father wasn’t much of a drinker, never had been. A couple of beers during a ball game or when bowling with the guys, but that was about it. “Why? Pop, what happened?”
    Andy swiveled his head and met Drew’s gaze. The misery Drew saw nearly took his breath. “Son, I have something to tell you. I...Jesus, I have no idea how to say the words.”
    Scared, Drew murmured, “Just say it. What the hell’s going on?”
    “It’s your mother. She...Drew, I’m so sorry. Yesterday...your mother took her own life.”
    The hairs on the back of Drew’s neck stood up as his father’s words sank in. He struggled to suck air into his lungs as gut-wrenching sorrow filled his chest, stealing his breath. The text he’d received last night had been from Hannah reminding him of their mother’s birthday, wanting to know if he’d remembered to send roses to the hospital, as they did every year.
    He hadn’t.
    Christ, Hannah. She was going to take this so hard.
    “But...when? How? I thought she was doing so much better since they’d started her on that new pill...?”
    His father swiped a hand across his face; a sob escaped him. Drew pulled him into