Page 39 of All the Promises We Break

I rest my hand on her shoulder. “I’m glad you’re so happy and healthy. Stay that way. Got it?”

“Take your own advice, Mr. Sawyer.” She smiles. “Enjoy whatever Wes and Hayley have planned. If you need bail money, call me.”

Once Anna’s gone, all my attention turns to my beautiful fiancée. “Should I worry that you packed for me?”

“Are you really asking if I brought clothes for us at all?”

“That would be really awkward with my sister and Wes there.”

“Awkward for you and hilarious for me. Yes, I have everything. Lauren and Stacey are going to grab the mail and make sure our new plants don’t die. We’re all set. All that’s left is curbside with the party animals.”

Two hours into the drive, we pull off for dinner. It’s a little burger place we found by accident years ago. The same family has run it for two generations. Everything is handmade, fresh, and coma inducing. My head bobbles back and forth against the cool window. For a while I hear Wes and Hayley argue about which music to play, then I hear Dylan and Hayley singing, then I hear nothing.

I wake to Dylan trying to put her folded sweatshirt between my head and the window. “Hey. It’s okay. I’m sorry. I couldn’t listen to your head bounce like that anymore. Does your scar hurt?”

“No. I’m fine.” The headlights of the few cars on the road coming toward us have quickly become the only source of light. “Jesus. When did it get dark?”

“You passed out about two hours ago. We’ll be there in about twenty minutes the way Wes is driving.”

“Sorry about that. Some company I am.”

“We just talked and listened to music. I’d rather have you sleep now instead of later.”

“Given the choice, me too.”

Dylan leans over to whisper in my ear. “Good, because it’s payback time, volume two.”

Dylan

The last time we were here it was the dead of winter. This time the snow is fading from what I can see along the driveway. I can’t wait to see what the landscape looks like in the daylight. Wes and Eli both get out to stretch. Hayley steals the keys from Wes’s hands and we both run up the walk to the front door.

I still remember the code to the security system and shut it off. I don’t think Hayley’s been here in a long time. Her head’s on a swivel like mine was last time. She’s looking at everything, looking out every window. She finally gets ahead of me and finds the kitchen. She flips the switch to light up the pendants over the island.

“I’m down for some hot chocolate with marshmallows. Okay, I’ll say it, I want the marshmallows, but I’ll take the hot chocolate too.”

I laugh. “I’ll put the kettle on, but you’ll need to fly solo with this tonight. Your brother needs some TLC.”

“I don’t want to know what you have planned. Just make sure the same rules apply as in the Hamptons. I don’t want to hear it.”

I shove her shoulder a little before I give her a hug. “Thank you for helping set this up. It’s a really sweet idea.”

Wes drops his and Hayley’s bags right outside the kitchen. “All right, ladies. A few house rules. Once we part for the night, each other’s side of the house is off-limits. I don’t want to see or hear anything.”

“Okay, Dad. Understood,” Hayley teases. “Dylan and I were just talking about it anyway. It’s sort of already an unwritten rule. No movement until breakfast, except for the kitchen. Kitchen is fair play.”

“Yeah. You don’t want to get between Hayley and her popcorn.”

“That’s right, big brother. You know better. So, Wes, our rooms are in the front of the house?”

“That’s right. You haven’t been here since the remodel. I’ll take you and show you around. I think you remember where your room is, brother.”

If he doesn’t, I sure do. The robe, the pink nail polish, and everything that followed. This time, it’s his turn.

We wheel our bags down the hallway past all the pictures hung on the wall. Last time we were here, the picture of Wes and Eli at their graduation became a wall between us. That seems like forever ago. I’ll never look at that picture in the same way again.

Eli switches on the bedside lamp and an amber glow fills the room. I set my bag on the bench at the foot of the bed. Eli rolls his over to the closet and begins to unpack. I switch on the fireplace then disappear behind the barn door to our bathroom. The light from the fire and the moon pouring in through the windows make the perfect backdrop.

From my makeup case, I pull out a lingerie bag I’d hid inside. He likes pink, so pink he’ll get. “Hey, Eli. Turn out the lamp. Let’s watch the stars.”

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