Page 192 of Never Let You Go

Forget it.

I grab us two Switchbacks and join her, my arm gliding loosely around her waist. From here, we have a breathtaking view of the King property, all rolling pastures and meadows lined by wooded areas in the background. Beyond the hill is a pond you can’t see from here, and creeks, and more farmland, and hundreds of acres more just waiting to be put to better use.

The King children are in their twenties and early thirties. Justin found his calling at the pub, and there’s no saying what Ethan, the eldest, will do with his life when, or if, he leaves the military. But the three youngest, Haley, Hunter, and Logan, are involved in expanding the farm business.

Their perfect family life used to be bittersweet to me. I loved it for them, but I felt like I’d never get to experience it for myself, even if they did everything they could to make me feel part of their family.

But now, with Alexandra by my side, I feel differently. We’re building something together too. We’ll work on making Red Barn Baking a model in the baking world, a business built to do good on the local scale. And we’ll be a family soon.

Justin crosses the porch to tend to his smoker down on the lawn, next to where Craig is firing up the barbecue. Kiara and some kids are preparing s’mores, and Colton is hauling logs next to the pit for tonight’s bonfire. Everyone here has their place, and so do I.

Having Alexandra in my life makes me whole. I don’t feel like a misfit anymore.

Justin walks back to us. “Meat is about ready, and Dad is going to start grilling. Wanna bring the buns down to the picnic table?”

“Sure.” I turn to Alexandra, but her attention is elsewhere—on a couple inside the large family room.

She frowns. “What’s Barbara doing here?”

When we left New York a couple of days ago, Barbara didn’t mention coming up to Emerald Creek. All she told me was, ‘You break her heart again, you’ll answer to me.’

“Is that… Jerry?” Alexandra adds on an exhale, her face suddenly pale, her cheeks blotchy.

“Who’s the woman with Uncle George?” Justin asks as Alexandra walks away from me to greet Barbara.

Is this family ever done with secrets? I close the distance keeping me from Alexandra.

Something is up, and I’m not letting my girl deal with this on her own. I tuck Alexandra right back where she belongs, under my arm, and I like how she fits perfectly there. How she relaxes into me. How she clearly belongs there.

Whatever shit is going on between Barbara, Uncle George, and Alexandra, I won’t let it affect her. We are our own little unit. No one gets to pop our bubble of happiness.

fifty-eight

Alexandra

Barbara and the older gentleman are sitting at the bay window overlooking the pastures, but you can tell from their expression that they’re not seeing them. They’re deep in thought. Barbara pats the man’s arm, and he wipes away a tear. I heard Justin say it was Uncle George, and that’s a relief.

I’m not prepared to meet my mom’s father yet.

Barbara stands and tilts her head, then takes tentative steps toward me, her arms outstretched. “Honey.” She’s not her usual self. Something’s wrong, and she doesn’t know how to tell me.

A rush of emotions surface. The memory of sensing your life is about to tilt on its axis, and there’s nothing you can do about it.

Christopher’s arm wraps around my shoulders, and the tension eases away. Nothing can affect me when he’s with me. Feeling his physical presence, knowing he would sense my need for support, is all the strength I need.

“What—what are you doing here? Is there a problem at Red Barn already?” I glance at Uncle George, waiting for Barbara to introduce us formally.

I’ve heard about him. He’s Lynn’s uncle and was estranged from the family a long time ago. They recently reconnected.

“Uncle George,” Justin confirms, hugging the older man.

“Honey—” Barbara starts.

“Get us a couple stiff drinks, Justin, please,” Uncle George interrupts her kindly, “and let’s sit down, shall we?”

He has a soft voice, a gentle demeanor. I can see why the King family brought him into their fold so easily. No matter what happened in the past, he must be a good person to have around.

Moments later, we’re seated around the round table that fits in the bow window, and Justin has us fixed up with amber liquid in rocks glasses. All our eyes are fixed on his Uncle George, but he twitches this way and that.

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