Page 42 of Forgotten Pieces

We invested a good amount of money into the property though and added on about fifteen-hundred square feet. The once ranch was now a sprawling two-story log cabin. I park the car in the driveway and look over at Shelley.

This is why we did this. This is why we are moving out here.

The smile on her face changes my entire mood. I want to give her that smile every day. She is beaming and I can’t take my eyes off her. She looks over at me and I see tears in her eyes. I lean over and kiss her and she wraps her arms around me.

We get out of the car and see Harper standing on the front steps of the porch. She is holding out a set of keys to us as we walk up.

“I think y’all are going to love this. I don’t even think you will want to change anything. When I did my final walk-through this morning I almost cried.”

I grip Shelley’s hand as she reaches for the keys. She opens the door and squeals as she lets go of my hand and runs into the house.

The house is entirely open on the inside, only partly closed off to the foyer. To the left is a huge family room with a giant fireplace. It opens to the kitchen with a large eat in island and dark navy cabinets. There is a giant farmhouse sink that looks off into the large backyard and out into the woods. But the best part of the house is that it’s all glass down the entire left side and wrapping around to the back. It lets in so much light. It makes me feel free. Like I could never go to the dark recesses of my mind here. There is a deck that circles around all the glass and Harper shows us that all the doors can slide open completely giving us a complete indoor/outdoor living feeling.

The upstairs is just as nice as the downstairs. There are two guest bedrooms and an office for Shelley to work from home. The master bedroom is enormous with its very own fireplace. There is a deck off the back that looks into the woods. If we keep the doors open at night the soothing trickle of the creek will ease me to sleep. The master bathroom is huge. Double sinks, vanity, a tub, andis that a steam shower?

“Did you install a steam shower?” I ask Harper.

She just points to Shelley and I look over at her. “I know how much stress you’ve been under and I thought it would help. Harper was able to build it into our budget.”

I wrap my arms around her. “I love you,” I whisper in her ear.

She pulls back and looks up at me. The adoration I feel for her right now cancels out all the doubts about us I have had over the last year. She kisses me passionately and I glance quickly toward Harper but realize she left us alone and closed the bathroom door behind her. I lift Shelley on to the sink and trail kisses down her neck. Her legs pull me in tighter to her and I feel myself getting hard. Her hands undo the button of my pants but she stops suddenly. “Oh my god, we can’t do this here.”

“Babe, it’s our house.”

She pushes me away, jumps off the counter, and straightens her clothes. “I know but Harper is downstairs.”

My mood and my dick deflate. I adjust myself and zip my pants back up. “Let’s go,” I say with defeat as I walk out of the bathroom, not waiting for her.

After we thank Harper and leave, Shelley says she wants to celebrate in town. But I turn her down. Tell her I don’t want to go out for drinks and drive all the way back to Towson. I just want to avoid Sawyer’s since Tacoma is working. I am sure she would be able to see right through me, the disappointment on my face, and the rift that is constant between me and my fiancée.

I convince Shelley to drink at the bar by our rental. We sit there for a few hours and discuss everything for moving into our new house next week. It will be easy since we had Harper design the house with all new furniture. We will just have to unpack the kitchen, which is mostly new dishes and pans that have been sitting in storage, our clothes, and a few knickknacks. We are excited about starting new in White Creek. I am hoping it repairs everything that is broken between us.

* * *

Shelley left at the crack of dawn this morning, saying she wanted to beat traffic into Atlanta. I can’t believe she was only home for a day. I know with her promotion she is supposed to be here more but I have this feeling it won’t pan out that way. I spent the morning exercising and the day packing up everything I could in the house. Mac was willing to help move our belongings to the new house next Sunday.

Now I am driving along a dirt road I haven’t been on in eight years. I am surprised I still know the way. But my heart is tied to this place and I guess your heart never forgets.

I feel guilty hanging out with Tacoma after my day with Shelley. I felt the two of us finally making progress and moving on in our lives. Maybe Tacoma will just be there for me, like she was once before and help talk me through everything.

I pull up to the small lake, hidden in the woods. I see Tacoma standing by a giant rock by the lake, skimming stones across the water.

I grab the bottle of whiskey out of the car and slowly walk toward her. A million thoughts going through my head, a million memories I had long forgotten. All the pieces that made us who we were are left on this lake. And now I am beginning to think this was a bad idea.

She must hear me walking because she turns around and smiles at me. She walks over to the rock and picks up two silicone cups off the ground.

“Where are the real glasses?” I ask her, no need for saying hello.

“Do you remember how many glasses we broke out here? I had to spend half my paychecks on glasses replacing the ones at my brother’s house,” she chuckles.

I remember breaking glasses but it wasn’t from talking. “And you remember most of those glasses broke when we were making out on that rock and knocked them off?”

“I was just trying to be prepared,” she states matter-of-factly.

“We won’t be making out.”

She rolls her eyes at me and sits on the rock that she covered in a Mexican style blanket. “No shit.”

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