Page 119 of Places I've Never Been

“We love this house because everywhere we look reminds us of you and Brandon. If we moved…well, it would be new, which I admit would be wonderful, but it would feel empty. Do you understand?”

Adam remembered that Mattie had said close to the same thing. She’d understood his parents far better than he did. He heaved a sigh and nodded. “Okay. I get it. You don’t want things to change.”

“You kidding me?” Dad said. “I’d love the back porch to change. I want one of those outdoor kitchens, with a big TV and a cushy couch.”

Adam grinned at that. “I can make that happen, but are you sure you want my filthy music money to pay for it?”

His dad let the curtain drop. “I got no problem spendingyour money, son. I know you worked hard for it. I just don’t want to spend it on some fancy new house.”

“Are you trying to say you’re finally proud of me?” Adam exchanged looks with his mother. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. “You told me it wasn’t a real job. Remember all those fights we had?”

“Yeah, well. You’ve grown since then.” His dad gave him a pat on the arm. “It might not be a real job, but it pays pretty darn good, so I guess it’s okay You done good, kiddo. Brandon too.”

Adam pulled his Dad in for a hug. “Thanks, Dad. That means a lot.”

“Yeah, well. Truth’s truth.” His dad cleared his throat. “Now what about that tea?”

Adam followed his parents down the hall to the kitchen. “Want a pool too?”

His dad snorted. “Now what would we do with a thing like that?”

Adam waitedon the front porch of his childhood home feeling more nervous than he’d ever felt in his entire life. He’d been so anxious the first time he sang in front of a sold-out stadium that he threw up three times, including once during the middle of the first song, but it didn’t even come close to how he felt right now.

A black SUV pulled onto their street and slowed to a stop in front of his house.

Sweat trickled down the back of his neck. He stood up as Mattie got out of the car and forced himself to saunter, rather than race, down the sidewalk to the curb.

Mattie came around the front and stopped a few feet away from him.

Time stopped while she looked at him with those enormous hazel eyes that saw straight past his bullshit, and his insides quivered.

She played with the keys, jiggling them back and forth. Creases appeared between her eyebrows. “Hi.”

“I’m sorry,” he blurted out. “I didn’t know what was going on, but I should have. I never should have lied to you. I didn’t mean to hurt you, I just wanted to get to know you, but that’s no excuse. I was a blind fool.”

“Adam…,” Mattie said.

He held out his hand. “I know you probably don’t want to be here, but I need to show you something. If you’ll let me. Then you can leave and never see me again if that’s what you want.”

Her gaze shifted to the window then back to him. “Is this your parents’ house?”

“They promised to stay out of our way.”

Her lips twitched a little. “Your dad is peeking through the curtains.”

Adam glanced back at the window. Curtains swung a little as if someone had just dropped them back into place. “Yeah, he’s a little anxious.”

“He’s not the only one,” she murmured.

The light in her eyes wasn’t anger, he didn’t think. He gestured to the door. “Come in?”

She nodded and followed him up the steps.

It might have been his imagination, but he thought he heard his parents’ pounding footsteps as they hurried away from the front window. By the time he opened the door, they were nowhere in sight.

He pointed up. “What I have to show you is upstairs.”

Mattie looked where he pointed, then glanced around with a frown. “Where’d they go?”

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