Coming Home

He hung up the phone and thought about killing the rest of the bottle but knew it wouldn't solve anything. Drinking never did solve problems. It just created more of them. He tossed the phone on the bed and turned on the TV and found a ball game to watch then laid back and wished the evening would hurry up and end.

Darby not only listened to the voicemail, she listened to it three times. The first time, it made her even more angry. The second time, it made her cry. The third time it made her confront the very same feelings she'd been having for him and admit she might just love him, too.

She spent the rest of her evening trying to make sense of what made no sense. He was not only much younger than her, he now lived in a different world. Hers revolved around her son and life in Tyler, Texas, while his was a blur of concerts, touring, and one-night stands. Just the taste of what fame was like these last couple of days left a sour, bitter taste in her mouth and she couldn't imagine ever getting used to it. The thought of Tray giving that up seemed equally unimaginable, and she eventually feel asleep knowing that her feelings didn't really matter. Feelings were just feelings while reality was her life in Tyler.

The next day, Darby got ready for Joe's memorial around noon then drove to the school and checked Colby out around one o'clock.

"Wow, you look real pretty, Momma," he told her again when he saw her in the new black dress she'd bought as one of her new outfits.

"Thank you, kind sir," she said. "So...what's going on with Miss Bekka since you been rockin' your new look?"

She saw him smile and blush slightly.

"That good, huh?" she said with a smile.

"Yes, ma'am," he said turning a little more red. "Quite a few girls have been real nice to me this week."

"You sure do look like your father with that haircut," she told him.

"And my Uncle Tray, right?" he said with a hopeful look.

Darby sighed then said, "Yes, you do look a lot like him, too."

"Momma?" he began. "Are you ever gonna talk to Uncle Tray again?"

His words hurt her to her core. She reached over and put her hand on the back of his head and said, "Of course I will. We just had a little...misunderstanding is all."

"Can he stay with us tonight?" Colby asked smiling for the first time.

"I reckon that'd be all right—if your Uncle Tray wants to, of course."

Colby's smile got even bigger as he said, "Thank you, Momma! I love you so much!"

She blinked back a tear as she said, "I love you too, baby."

"Come on, we gotta change real quick and get over to the funeral home, so no lollygagging!"

Tray had bought Colby a sport coat and tie and he asked his mom if he could wear them along with a pair of Levis like his he'd seen his Uncle Tray do on TV.

"I don't think Joe would mind seeing you in jeans," she told him. "That'll be just fine, I'm sure."

Darby realized she didn't even notice the TMZ van on the way in. When she finally did take note, she was sure they must have called in another one to follow Tray around wherever he was. That thought solidified her decision that no matter what she might be feeling, that life was something she would never subject her child to.

Tray was waiting for her just outside when she drove up. He was wearing a dark suit and a bright, blue tie and Darby couldn't help but think he might just be the most handsome man she knew—no disrespect to her wonderful late husband.

Tray walked straight to her car and opened her door and said, "I'm so sorry, Darby. Can you please forgive me?"

She got out and as she stood there in front of him looking up into his gorgeous eyes, her willpower began to melt. She also knew Colby was watching and that made it easier for her to give her brother-in-law a hug and tell him, "Of course I forgive you." She even added, "I'm also sorry for goin' so hog-wild crazy like that."

Colby watched them hug and was smiling from ear to ear. No one paid any attention as cameras clicked and video rolled.

"You ready to pay our respects and say goodbye to Mr. Joe?" Tray asked Colby.

"Yes, sir," he said.

"All right then. Let's go on inside, shall we?"

Darby accepted his arm and also hooked one through Colby's who was following the example of the uncle he looked up to and loved.

There were maybe a hundred people there. Most of them were former customers as Joe didn't have any family in the area. He'd never married and didn't have children and Tray had often felt like he was the son Joe had never had.

He didn't cry during the service, but he did choke up a time or two. Darby also managed not to cry but then she didn't really know Joe Delaney that well. What she did know was how much he meant to Tray.

The three of them got in Tray's truck and followed the hearse to the cemetery; the same cemetery where his big brother was buried.

Tray was a pallbearer and once they were parked, he went to the hearse to help carry his friend to his final resting place. He, Darby, and Colby all held hands as final words were said and Joe's casket was lowered into the ground.

Tray looked at Darby and said, "You know we can't leave without visiting Ray."

"I know," she said. She turned to Colby and said, "Come on. We need to go visit Daddy."

They all held hands as they walked the 50 or yards to the place where Raymond T. Johnson was buried.

"We miss you, Ray," his little brother said. "I'm sure you know we just laid Joe to rest so at least you can get a decent haircut now."

Darby choked up then said, "I miss you so much, honey. We all do. Colby is gettin' so big and...he's so handsome. He looks just like his daddy. He's even got himself his first girlfriend."

She saw Colby smile and hang his head.

"Anyway, it's been great having Tray here. He's even more famous than he was before you got taken away from us. He's been so good to our son, too. I...I know you'd be proud of both of those boys. So anyway, it was good to see you again, Ray. Never forget how much I love you, okay?"

Colby also said a few words then paused before finishing.

"And Daddy? I know you'll always be my father, but since you can't come home anymore, would you mind too much if Uncle Tray was my new dad? I miss you so much and I love you. I just love Uncle Tray a whole lot, too. So if you wouldn't mind, could you maybe ask the Good Lord to make Momma fall in love with him?"

Neither of them heard Colby say goodbye to his father. They just stood there in stunned silence from everything else this young boy had just said.

Tray reached out for her hand and Darby took it.

"Darby?" said. "Did you ever listen to my voicemail?"

"Yes," she said quietly. "I did."

"I...I meant what I said when I told you... Every word."

"Tray? My life is right here in Tyler with my son. Yours is...out there...makin' music and being chased by pretty girls."

She blinked away a tear then said, "Tray, I...I feel the same way about you, but it just can't ever be. You understand that, right?"

"Why? Because you don't love me the way I love you or because you're afraid of the unknown?"

"I know, at least to some degree, what your life is like, and I do not want that for my son. Money and fame aren't important to me, Tray. My life, here with Colby, that's what's important to me."

She put her hand on his face and said, "I do love you. I may even be in love with you, Tray. But I can't leave this place or my life here."

Tray put his hands on her shoulders and said, "Remember when I told you I had everything but real love?"

"Of course I do," she told him.

"Darby, these last few days have the happiest of my life," he told her. "Well, except for the part about you gettin' so upset with me."

He smiled and waited for her to smile back. When she did, he took both of her hands in his and said, "Darby, if...if you really do love me like I love you, I'll gladly give up all of the fame and fortune. I'll happily stop touring and make a life with you right here in Tyler. If...if you'll have me."

Her eyes were locked on his and her heart was now beating wildly.

"How do you feel about me, Tray?" she asked.

"Like this," he said as he leaned down and kissed her.

Colby watched his mom's arms wrap around his uncle's neck as she kissed him back.

"Yes!" he said.

When the long kiss finally ended, Colby turned around and looked at his father's headstone and said, "Thank you, Daddy! Thank you and I love you so much!"

Darby was wiping away tears from her eyes and Tray was now smiling from ear to ear.

"So what now?" she asked as they walked back to his truck hand in hand.

"I'll fly back to Atlanta and spend next week wrapping things up. I'm scheduled to sing in Dallas for three days, and since that's Spring Break, I'd like it if you two could join me. It'll be my farewell tour so to speak and...."

Tray looked at Colby and said, "And I do believe someone is turning ten next week and we could have one heck of a birthday party in Dallas."

He looked back at Darby and asked her, "So what do you say?"

"Colby? Would you like to head to Dallas and see your Uncle Tray in concert?"

"Really?" he said, his eyes wide open.

"Really," his mom told him.

"Oh, man! This is gonna be the best birthday EVER!" Colby said.

"Then after that, I'm movin' back to Tyler so I can be right here with you and your mom, if that's all right with you," Tray told him.

"My daddy just asked the Good Lord to let you and Momma fall in love and just like that, He answered my prayers, so it has to be all right, doesn't it?"

"Come here, buddy!" Tray said hugging him tight.

That night, Colby was as happy as he'd been when he and Tray were out doing guy things together. When they put him to bed he asked, "Uncle Tray? Are you gonna marry my momma?"

Tray took Darby's hand and said, "I'd say the chances of that are getting better by the minute. What do you think—Mom?"

"Well, it seems to me if this is God's will, who am I to argue?" she said smiling at Tray then at her son. She bent down and kissed him goodnight.

"Uncle Tray?" he said. "You don't have sleep on the couch tonight if you don't want to."

Darby's eyes were the ones opened wide now.

"Um, well, I'm not sure about that," Darby said trying not to blush.

"I just meant I'll understand if you and Uncle Tray want to sleep in your room together. That's all," Colby said.

Darby sat down by him and ran her hand through his hair and said, "When did you get so grown up?"

"Well, I will be ten next week, right?" he answered seriously.

"Yes, you will," she agreed.

They both hugged him goodnight then went to the living room. They set on the couch together holding hands while they talked for an hour or so about the future. About their future.

Tray turned toward her and said, "Darby? I want you to know I really do love you. I love you with all my heart and I want this...this life with you and Colby more than I've ever wanted anything."

"With the exception of how I felt about Ray, I feel the same way," she told him.

She sat there for a minute then asked him a question. "Will you be able to let me love Ray the rest of my life? Will it bother you knowing I do and always will?"

He leaned over and kissed her again then said, "Along with Joe, Ray was the finest man I ever knew. He was my brother and my idol. I'd be very concerned if you didn't still love him, Darby. So, no, it won't ever bother me. I just have one request, though."

She smiled at him then said, "What might that be?"

"I know how much you love country music so I know you're heard the song by the late Keith Whitley Don't Close Your Eyes."

"Of course I have. I love that song. It makes me cry every time I hear it. Why do you ask?"

Tray put his hand on her cheek and quietly sang the lyrics:

"I know you loved him a long time ago. Even now in my arms, you still want him I know. But darling this time, let your memories die, when you hold me tonight...don't close your eyes. Don't close your eyes, let it be me, don't pretend it's him, in some fantasy. Darling just once let yesterday go and you'll find more love than you've ever known. Just hold me tight, when you love me tonight, and don't close your eyes."

Tears fell from her eyes as he sang. She understand exactly what Tray meant. She could love Ray all she wanted. He just needed to know it was him she was loving now and not his brother.

"Is that too much to ask?" Tray said when he sang the last note.

Darby wiped her eyes and shook her head. "No. No, it's not too much to ask and I promise I'll never let it be anyone but you when you...when you make love to me."

She smiled then said, "Now I need to ask you a question."

"Shoot," he told her smiling back.

"Tray. I'm not 21 or even 30 anymore. When you...when you make love to me, will you ever think of...them? Those beautiful girls who freely give themselves to you. The ones with the hard bodies and the smooth skin and the...."

"Darby?" he said cutting her off. "You know I always tell the truth, right?"

"Of course. I already acknowledged that," she replied.

"This isn't a sympathy thing or a duty thing. I'm not doing this because I have to. I'm doing this because I love you. You. Darby Bell-Johnson. Not them. You." He kissed her again then said, "Okay?"

"Okay. I don't really understand it, but I know you wouldn't lie to me. So if that's how you really feel and if you're willing to give up the life you have for...this...then I want you in my—in our—lives because I love you too, Tray Johnson. I love you with all my heart."

Darby melted into his arms as they kissed again. This time, the kissing became deeper and more passionate. Darby hadn't been with a man since her husband passed away, and Tray couldn't ever remember loving any woman he'd been with, making this a first for both of them in many ways.

After a few minutes, Darby said with a smile, "We have Colby's blessing and if there really is Someone 'up there' listening, it looks like we have His blessing too, and that means we also have Ray's. So...would you maybe want to stay in my room tonight?"

"More than anything," he told her as he took her hand. He looked at her then quietly sang, "Just hold me tight, when you love me tonight, and don't close your eyes."

Darby peeked in and saw that Colby was sound asleep then locked her door behind them and turned out the light. Tray flipped it back on then said, "I'm okay with candles, but there is no way I'm gonna make love to you in the dark. Darby? You are way too beautiful for me not to be able to look at you."

She smiled again then said, "I guess I'll just have to trust you on that, won't I?"

She got out several candles and told him, "I haven't used these since the last time...."

"You don't have to say it," Tray assured her as he helped her light them.

"Okay, now we can turn out the lights," he said once all three were burning softly.

When she was fully undressed, Darby felt very insecure and Tray knew it. He put his hands on her arms and told her, "You are the first and only woman I've ever made love to that I've been in love with. And I want you to know I think you are more beautiful than any girl I've ever seen."

"Again, I'm gonna trust you on that for now," she said sweetly. "You do make me feel beautiful so that's a good start, right?"

She looked at his body and said, "I feel like I'm living in some kind of fantasy world looking at this beautiful, hard, young body standing in front of me. You are so handsome it takes my breath away."

"Come here," he said sweetly.

Darby slipped one arm around his neck then reached for him with the other. Like Ray, he was thick and hard and oh-so desirable and she couldn't wait to have inside her.

As they loved one another they took turns pleasuring the other first with their hands then orally and finally...sexually.

Darby cried out with pleasure when she came for the first time in so very long. Tray brought her there two mores times with the last being as he made love to her, filling her completely as she pushed against him. And at no time did she ever close her eyes as he made love to her.

As they lay beside one another afterward, Darby said, "Can you tell me one more time, please?"

Tray turned over on his side and looked into her eyes. "I love you, Darby, and I think you're the most beautiful woman on earth," he told her as he played with her hair.

She snuggled up close then said, "Thank you...sweetheart, and I love you, too."

Safe, secure, and content, she fell asleep in his arms, happy for the first time since, well, since....

After breakfast the following morning, Darby drove Tray to the airport after dropping Colby off at school.

Tray flew to Nashville to meet with his agent and give him the news. To say he was unhappy to hear his main client's decision was an understatement in the extreme. He initially threatened him with a lawsuit, but when Tray told him he didn't care what it cost him, the agent realized this was a done deal, and he started crunching numbers on what they could make in Dallas and who he might sign next to take up the slack.

That Saturday, Darby drove to Dallas and got her first taste of 'life in the fast' lane when Tray took her to the five-star hotel where he was staying. Colby couldn't believe any place like that existed and everything he saw fascinated him and caught his attention.

The best part for both of them was sitting in the front row that night when Tray came out onstage and introduced ' new the love of his life' (to the chagrin of every single girl there) and 'his best friend in the whole wide world.'

"It's also this young man's birthday tomorrow and I'm dedicating this concert to him. Colby? This one's for you, buddy!"

Darby couldn't help but cry as she watched her son live out this amazing fantasy in real life and she couldn't help but love this handsome, young singer even more. That he would give all of this up for her made her so happy she couldn't find the words to describe it.

But the highlight of her life came the next night when Tray introduced her and Colby again and called them up on stage.

"Folks? These two beautiful people are my whole world and my reason for living the music business. I've loved singin' for y'll, but...I'm in love with this beautiful girl right here. I love them both dearly and plan to spend the rest of my life with them. In fact...."

Tray reached into his pocket and pulled something out and the entire audience went wild as he knelt down on one knee in front of Darby.

"Can you hold the mic, buddy?" he asked Colby who was grinning from ear to ear.

"Darby? I've waited all my life to find a woman to love. A woman who is beautiful inside and out. A woman who is loving, caring, devoted, and...amazing. And now...I've found her."

He opened the small box and removed the ring with the huge diamond on it and said, "Will you marry me?"

Darby had started crying as soon as she saw the box and began trembling by the time he got down on one knee.

The crowd was screaming at her chanting , "Say yes, say yes, say yes!!!"

She was nodding furiously and crying and shaking as Colby raised the microphone.

"Yes! Yes, I will marry you!" she said as he slipped on the ring.

Darby held it up then hollered, "Woo-hoo!!!!" as Tray took her in his arms and kissed her.

TMZ had it's next and final story to write about Tray Johnson who left country music the next day for the quiet life in Tyler, Texas. A life he spent with the woman he loved and married the following month back in Tyler in a small, private ceremony in a little church near city limits. He also loved his amazing nephew and adopted him as his own son knowing his brother Ray approve and would always be Colby's father.

Darby gave in and let Tray build them a brand new home but wouldn't let it be larger than 3,000 sqft which she thought was overkill. Tray wanted something almost twice that size and she wouldn't have it. The house was finished two months later and Darby had a wonderful time decorating and furnishing it, just the way she wanted it. She loved their new house, but never forgot it was just bricks and mortar and that their home included the house and the three people who lived in it.