Page 9 of Crossroads of Love

They were the perfect family. So happy. It’s why something always came up when I’d tell them I’d come for a visit.

Lena never came into the city with Jayla and Aaron, though. It’s been eighteen years since I last saw her.

Eighteen years.

“Aaron’s estate should have been dealt with two years ago when he died. That’s just a ploy to get me to talk to him.”

“No, it wasn’t.” She sighs. “Lena shut down and didn’t want to deal with any of it. Henry tried, but there was…trouble.”

“Trouble? How do you know that?”

“Henry told Gary when he was taking care of him in the last few days, and Henry got pretty loose with his words.”

“Why are you just now telling me this?”

“Because Gary just told me. He works a lot. We usually see each other in passing, and that’s it. I’ll get more information tomorrow.”

What kind of trouble could there have been?

“I’m almost to Dad’s. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Call me if you need anything. Again, you’re more than welcome to stay here instead of…there.”

“I’ll be fine, Lish, thanks.”

I hang up the phone. I shake my head and blow out a long breath.

Why wouldn’t Lena want to take care of Aaron’s estate? And allowing Dad to handle it all doesn’t sound like her. Then again, I haven’t seen her in eighteen years, so I really don’t know who she is anymore.

When I pull into my dad’s long, winding driveway, I’m shocked to see Aaron’s and my old square-body Ford sitting next to Dad’s newer truck.

I smile at the sight of it.It still looks in mint condition.

As I climb out of my car, the front door of the old house opens, and my sixteen-year-old niece Jayla walks outside. She looks shocked before a giant grin breaks out on her face.

She is the perfect combination of Lena and Aaron, with her dad’s green eyes and her mom’s dark brown hair and olive complexion.

“Uncle Gavin!” she squeals as she launches herself toward me. “I didn’t think you were coming.”

“Hey, Jay,” I breathe as I hug her tightly. “What are you doing here?”

“Mom has the town hall meeting every Thursday night, and…I always came to Grandpa’s for it. I guess it was out of habit.”

“Where are you headed now?”

“The house feels weird without him in it, so I thought I’d go back home.” She shrugs as she looks down at the ground.

“Want to go to the diner and get something to eat?”

“Not really.” She sighs dramatically. “I don’t want to be around people. Everyone is weird to me. It’s like they don’t know what to say, or they’re afraid I’m going to have a mental breakdown if they talk to me.”

“Fair enough, we can order DoorDash or something.”

“City boys.” She giggles as she shakes her head. “Are you forgetting where you’re at, Uncle G?”

“Dang, no DoorDash? How are we supposed to survive?”

“Gramps had just gone grocery shopping. Mom was going to donate everything to the food pantry. There’s ice cream and Tombstone pizzas in there.”

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