Page 1 of Peach

Chapter 1

Robert “Peach”Barclay clenched his fist as the plane he was on wobbled to the right. He glanced out the window, seeing what he swore looked like a tornado. He hated flying commercial, but he was going home. Atlanta. The Big Peach.

He chuckled. His nickname was a combination of his looks and being from Georgia. The guys were good-natured about him looking so young. Sure, there were jokes, but his team was good. He knew his looks attracted women of all sorts and ages, but he was tired of playing the games.

He’d recently told Andy he would never get married, never settle down, never in his life get attached, but with every guy on his team finding the one woman who seemed to be more than amazing, he couldn’t help but be jealous. All he ever found as far as relationships turned hollow in weeks. No woman ever felt special, certainly not like the guys described.

The plane touched down hard, feeling more like they’d landed on the moving deck of a carrier than solid terrafirma. Must be a former Navy pilot. He didn’t jump up and stand in the aisle. Instead, he left that to others who were eager to get off the plane and see loved ones or race off to some job somewhere. All Peach had was an empty house to go to.

He didn’t want to think about the accident that had taken his parents. What in the world were they doing in Colombia? When he’d received the call, he’d thought for sure it was a mistake. His parents hadn’t told him they were leaving the country. Not that they had to tell him everything. Heck, he should have called them more often. They deserved so much more than he gave.

After everyone around him was up and off the plane, he stood and glanced behind him, seeing that some guy was having issues getting himself together, blocking the aisle of the plane so no one behind him could get off. Peach stepped out and grabbed his bag from the overhead bin before heading to the front of the plane.

The pilot was standing near the cockpit and flashed a huge smile. “Thank you for your service, Navy.”

Peach nodded and smiled, stuffing down the pain of loss. “Thank you for the flight. Have a good day.”

The pilot nodded as Peach turned to leave the aircraft. Maybe he should have bought a black rollerboard suitcase like almost everyone else was using, but the trip was so last minute he'd packed his sea bag and left before even saying goodbye to his buddies. He'd texted before the plane had taken off, but they hadn't known he was leaving. He felt disconnected since all of them had found their other halves. It wasn't their fault. He didn't want to settle down, and they did.

As he turned on his phone, the messages and voicemails started coming in. The guys were the best. They had sent so many messages of love and support. His throatclosed with emotions, almost overwhelming him. He shoved his phone into his pocket and headed out to the car rental booth. He would answer the texts later.

The line wasn't too long, and he had the car in less than twenty minutes. It wasn’t anything special, more functional. There was little he would take home, so he didn’t need a truck or van.

When he was about ten minutes away from the airport, his phone rang. Luckily, he'd set Bluetooth up in the car.

“Hello,” Peach said when he answered.

“Hey, how are you?” Wild asked.

“I’m dealing.”

“You could have called before you took off last night.”

“I figured it was best to head out and get this taken care of. I need to clean out a few things before I turn the house over to a realtor.”

“Do you want me to come out there?”

Wild’s question made his breath catch.Yes!“No, man. I’m good. This won’t take long, and I’ll be home before you know it.”

Wild was quiet for a moment as Peach sped up and passed a slow-moving car. He had a few miles before he had to take the exit that would lead him to his parents’ place. Too many years had passed since he’d driven this path.

“You don’t sound good. If you need something, please call. Don’t forget we love you, and we're here for you."

Peach’s throat did that funny thing again, and he swallowed. His friends were the best. They knew to look after him, to be there for him when he needed help.

“I appreciate all of you. I’ll update the group when I get to their house. Thank you.”

“We know people in Georgia. Don’t do this all on your own.”

"I won't." The call ended, and Peach focused on driving instead of thinking about Wild’s call. He couldn’t focus on his feelings with the brightness of emotions flowing through him.

It took another hour to get to his parents’ property. They had a about ten acres that had been in the country when he’d been young but now had housing communities so close they might see him if he walked around naked inside the house. Back in grade school, he almost never heard cars on the road in front of the house. Now it was a nearly constant flow of sports cars, SUVs, and soccer vans.

He hadn't been back in a while and hadn't known about the growth. When he saw his parents, they'd fly out to see him. Sometimes, they met in other cities and toured together. When he'd been stationed overseas, they flew to Germany and spent three weeks driving around Europe together.

Peach cut the engine of his car and stared at the house, noticing the overgrown grass with more than a few weeds. The bushes needed help, too. Though his doors and windows were closed, he could hear some idiot racing by on the now four-lane street, blasting awful music that caused the plastic on the car to vibrate. He rolled his eyes, thinking he was glad he didn’t live in this area.

First on his agenda was the lawn. Maybe he would hire someone, or he guessed he could cut it, but would he have time? He opened the door to the car and stepped out, wincing as something made a high-pitched squeak, cutting through him like a knife through butter. That would be second in the line of things that needed to be fixed.

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