Page 6 of Everything I Need

Nope, it is definitely not rain. It’s slobber from his kisses.

His collar tells me his name is Duke. “Hi there, who are you? You are a handsome boy, aren’t you?” Duke rewards me with some more kisses as I scratch his ears.

Then I hear it. A pleading voice begging Duke to come back. A deep, gravelly voice that tells me exactly who Duke belongs to. Turning to see this man, my heart drops. It can’t be. No, not him and not today, not in my field. This ismyfield. Of all people, why is he here today?

“Scarlett?” He sounds as shocked as I feel.

After all these years, Preston West elicits the same feelings, giving me butterflies. My body certainly reacts the same way it always has. Except now it’s followed by pure anger. My happy place is no longer happy as dreaded emotions flood back to me.

I whip around to face the voice that haunts my dreams.

“What areyoudoing here?”How dare you be here in the safety of my field; I think to myself.

“I live right across the river. Duke escaped and apparently wanted to romp around in the flowers. He usually comes back pretty quick but his discovery of you meant he didn’t really want to listen and come home.” He shrugs, like this is no big deal.

“You live here?” I know I sound like an idiot. Like I’m incapable of understanding simple conversation, Mom told me he was here in town, but I am not ready to see him, especially today, especially here.

“Um, well, yeah. I just signed the paperwork to buy Dr. Kramer’s general practice last week. He wanted to retire, and I wanted out of the hospital. In large part due to your family actually.” He shifts uncomfortably on his feet.

“Oh, I thought it was just me you hated. I guess we all ruined it for you, huh?” What is going on with me? I never let angry words come out like that. I usually think about them for days before responding. I need to get out of here. I can't have this conversation with Preston and come face to face with Adelaide all in the same day. I don't need to be any more flustered when I see my sister.

I turn on my heel and run, once again, away from one of my biggest problems. Seems to be my new trademark, say something stupid and run away before dealing with the consequences. I really need to get my head on straight.

Pulling into Mom’s driveway I see Adelaide’s car. Great. My little run in with Duke & Preston has now made me late to dinner. That will go over well, Adelaide will have some snarky comment, I’m sure.

I try to sneak in quietly, but when I open the door Mom is right there.

“My sweet Scarlett, where have you been?” She greets me at the front door.

“Sorry Mom, I went for a hike and just got a little lost.” I take off my shoes and place them on the tray by the door.

“Right, because it's been five years since you set foot in Lupine Valley.” Adelaide quips.

My back straightens.I knew it.

“Hush now. You two need to work this out! I’m tired of my girls fighting, and since Scarlett is moving in with me for the foreseeable future, today is the day that will happen,” Mom says with a finality in her voice.

“Wha-“ Adelaide’s shocked expression tells me she thought this was just a weekend visit to mom and not a permanent move.

Permanent. Was it though? I’ll be turning twenty-nine, living with my mom, and unemployed. Excellent.

“Oh my, would you look at the time?! I have to go meet Scott at the town hall. I’m helping with the weekly bingo game tonight. Sorry girls, it must have slipped my mind!” Mom says as she grabs her purse off the counter.

Mom has a sly grin on her face, and she’s so type A I know for a fact that nothing slipped her mind. She’s a sneaky one that Lorelei Harper. Also, who is Scott?

On a skip, mom is out the door while Adelaide and I are left standing there, staring at each other, not sure what just happened. But we both know. We should have known from the invitation. What mom wants, she gets.

“Adelaide, I’m so -“

She stops in front of me in the hallway so suddenly I almost walk right into her.

“Don’t. Don’t apologize, Scarlett. It's been five years. You’ve had five years to fix things. Five years we’ve been here hurt because we lost our dad and our sister.” She begins to walk back toward the kitchen.

“Lost me?” I yell, “You haven’t spoken to me in five years, none of you have! I went back to Boston and nothing. Not even our group chat, meaning I was deliberately left out!”

Adelaide looks ashamed and I know I got it right. My sisters had chosen to cut me out. That knowledge cuts me deep. I had always assumed, but to have her confirm it hurt more than I thought it would.

“Scarlett when you first left, we were so angry. You chose work over us, over Mom, over Dad, and that hurt. You just left the hospital without so much as a goodbye and never looked back. You only came home for Dad’s funeral. Never even tried to check in with us. You were so angry with us that you ran and never looked back.” She sits at the kitchen table, that Mom had set to perfection, for two people. Not three.

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