Page 74 of Unlocking Melodies

Gary's eyes darted around nervously before settling back on me, his previous confidence faltering. "Keep your voice down," he hissed. "They might be listening."

"I don't care who's listening. Jimmy deserves to know?—"

"You don't understand," he cut me off urgently, real fear flashing across his features. "This is bigger than you know. Bigger than both of us. Just... watch out for him. Please."

The jab landed exactly where he intended. Before I could respond, my phone buzzed – another New York crisis demanding attention. The timing felt almost orchestrated.

“You should get that,” Gary said, already turning back toward the ranch house. “Corporations wait for no one. Neither do fathers trying to protect their sons.”

Chapter 19

Finding Normal

The afternoon sun cast long shadows across the ranch, turning everything golden as I watched Ethan and Gary walk away from the cow pen. Their body language screamed tension even from a distance.

“Well, that's not ominous at all,” I muttered to my coffee cup, having retreated to the kitchen for moral support in liquid form.

“Ethan and your father having a private chat?” Liam appeared beside me, eyeing the pair through the window. “Should we be worried?”

“Probably.” I watched them disappear around the back pasture. “Though I'm more concerned about Martha the Attack Chicken following them. Her surveillance techniques need work.”

Sure enough, our most aggressive chicken was attempting to casually trail Ethan and Gary while pretending to be fascinated by completely empty grass patches.

“She's learning from Mrs. Henderson,” Liam observed. “Though her stealth skills could use some polish.”

“At least she's branching out socially.” I nodded toward where Martha had actually let Gary pet her earlier. “First time I've seen her not immediately choose violence as a greeting.”

“Maybe she's finally mellowing in her old age?”

As if on cue, Martha launched herself at a completely innocent butterfly, her war cry echoing across the yard.

“Or not,” Liam amended. “Some things never change.”

I stared into my coffee, wondering why that simple truth felt so complicated right now.

“Also,” Liam shifted uncomfortably beside me, “I should probably mention something.”

“That look usually means Melody's eaten someone's expensive shoes again.”

“No, but speaking of expensive things...” He set another coffee cup beside mine like a peace offering. “Your dad showed up really early this morning. Said you'd talked, so I let him stick around.”

I raised my eyebrows at his guilty expression. “Is that why you're stress-baking? I can smell muffins.”

“They're apology muffins,” he admitted. “In case I overstepped.”

Through the window, I could still see Gary and Ethan's tense figures in the distance. Martha had given up all pretense of stealth and was now openly stalking them, her surveillance technique about as subtle as Mrs. Henderson's opera glasses.

“It's fine,” I said, surprising myself with how much I meant it. “This might actually be... good?”

The word felt strange in my mouth, like trying to describe a color I couldn't quite remember. Earlier, Gary had shown me old photos on his phone – my mother teaching piano, me attempting to help her garden, moments that felt both foreign and achingly familiar.

“Good?” Liam's skepticism was clear. “The same Gary Reed who?—“

“Who I can't actually remember being angry at,” I finished quietly. “Everyone keeps telling me about all these reasons I should hate him, but right now? All I see is someone trying really hard to connect.”

The admission hung between us, heavy with implications neither of us was ready to explore. Liam knew the whole story – or at least, more of it than I did. But he also knew me well enough to recognize when I needed space to figure things out myself.

“So,” Liam said carefully, sliding onto one of the kitchen stools. “Since we're having a moment of honesty here... anything else new? Memory-wise?”

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