Page 158 of Never Let You Go

It’s total silence right now, and amused stares are fixed on me expectantly. I meet Justin’s gaze as he takes a long pull on his beer, laughter in his eyes.

I rub my hand on the back of my neck. “Um… no, no, we are not.”

Someone boos and stops before I can figure out who it is. Soft laughter ripples through the group, and one of the women says, “Awww. I’ve never seen Christopher blush.”

“Skye, bring me some of that cake,” Craig interrupts, breaking the awkwardness.

“Who needs another beer?” Lynn adds, digging into the cooler.

Conversations resume, but I’m in no mood to talk to anyone. I hear Alexandra’s laughter cascade, and I put every effort into not looking for her. I just stare into emptiness, mindlessly sipping on my beer.

A hand lands on my shoulder. “Let’s go for a walk,” Craig says. “I need to check on something.”

Grateful for the distraction, I throw my empty bottle in the recycling and follow him down the trail to the orchard.

We walk in silence for a while among the trees in full bloom. Craig stops every so often to examine a flower, flipping it over. He looks up to the sky, seemingly lost in his thoughts for a moment. We reach a small stone lean-to that’s used during harvest for workers to take a break. We sit on a bench outside of it, soaking up the dipping sun.

“When I met Lynn,” he says after a while, “I knew right away she was the one for me.” He rubs his calloused hands together slowly. “It’s something you can’t explain, but you know. You just know this is the person for you.”

I shift uneasily on my side of the bench.

“Her family wouldn’t let me date her,” he says before my silence gets awkward. “They told me to my face that I was beneath her. It was hard. You know how it is.”

He’s referring to Skye’s birth mother, and I nod.

“If she hadn’t been the one for me, I’d have given up,” Craig says. “I’d have walked away. But you don’t walk away from your true love.” He shifts to the side and looks at me. “You know that. You went through something similar with Skye. You didn’t walk away. You fought for her because you already loved your child.”

I nod again, not sure where he’s going anymore.

“Sometimes, we don’t know what the obstacle is, and that makes it harder. Sometimes the obstacle is within,” he adds, tapping where his heart is. “It wasn’t that hard for us.”

“How did you do it? With Lynn.”

He chuckles. “I kidnapped her. With her complete consent, I should add. She suggested it.”

“You eloped?”

“That’s the word. We eloped. Both our families wouldn’t talk to us. We worked as farmhands in Upstate New York, got married, and came back only when her parents died in a plane crash, and she inherited this place.”

“Wow.”

“It was hard on Lynn, you know. Not ever seeing her parents again. Why would a parent do that to their child, I don’t know. My parents eventually came around, right after Lynn lost both her parents in the plane crash. Finally saw the light, you could say. I can’t imagine doing that to my own flesh and blood.”

He picks up a blossom from the ground and turns it in his fingers. “You could say it ran in the family. Her uncle George was disowned by Lynn’s grandparents because he got the wrong girl pregnant. Beats me.” He takes a deep breath. “He recently reached out to Lynn. Nice fellow. Lives nearby, in the Northeast Kingdom. Apparently, he briefly reconnected with the woman, a few months back. Fifty years later. Lynn’s been trying to get him here. We’re the only family he has.”

His eyes mist. “Imagine that. Lynn recently told me, even though she missed her parents, that she never regretted what she did. That I was worth it.” This time, he swipes away a tear. “Even after they both died and it was too late to fix anything, she didn’t regret choosing me over them.”

I’m a little overwhelmed. I don’t know if Craig is trying to tell me something. And, if he is, I’m unclear about what it is.

Reading my mind, he adds, “You’re fighting your demons, Christopher, and I’m sure Alex has hers. But, whatever you’re up against, know that the fight is worth it in the end. That is, if you think she’s the one for you.”

When we get to the farmhouse, the group is inside, scattered in different rooms. The women are in the library, making a dent in Craig’ spirits while Sophie does tarot cards readings. Some of the guys seem to have gone to the cellar, and Craig joins them. The kids are splayed on the floor of the great room, watching a movie.

I take refuge in the kitchen, wanting to avoid another conversation.

“Hey, kid,” Lynn says, affectionately wrapping her arm under mine. “Here. Have some cream pie.” I sit down at the kitchen counter, and she slides a generous portion my way.

After two bites, I take a deep breath, and our eyes meet. “Damn,” I tell her. “I needed that.”

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