Page 44 of Crossroads of Love

“With Aunt Tatum…I mean, if she actually sleeps. She'll most likely be here all night figuring things out. She’ll go days without sleeping.”

“Sounds like your mom.”

“I didn’t realize you and Mom really knew each other well.”

The two of us make our way outside to the parking lot before we climb into my truck

“You do know that your grandparents were neighbors, right? Your mom was the girl next door.”

“Ididn’tknow that. I think Grandma and Grandpa moved to Florida when I was four.”

“I’ve known your mom forever.”

She’s quiet as I steer the car toward her home, avoiding the downed limbs and garbage cans that litter the streets. We pull into the driveway a few minutes later.

“You don’t have to come in,” she states as I climb out of the car with her.

“I’m not letting you walk into that house alone. Power outages are when thieves break in and try to steal from people.”

“That doesn’t happen in Hicks Creek.” She giggles with a roll of her eyes.“Especially not when your dad and grandpa…were the sheriffs.”

Her face is sad as if she’s suddenly just realized they’re both gone.

“You don’t know that, and I’m not taking the chance.”

She unlocks the front door, and I go in first, ensuring there are no intruders or damage to the inside of the house. Everything is clear. The house is almost too quiet as we walk into the living room.

She hurries up the stairs and disappears into a room at the top. Her bedroom, I assume.

I can’t help but notice all of the family photos that line the walls, the smiling faces of Aaron and Lena on their wedding day, cradling baby Jayla, and moments from holidays that I missed, all frozen in time. I try not to stare at them, but it’s hard not to. This place is filled with an entire lifetime that unfolded without me, and I feel its weight deep in my heart.

Seeing her and Aaron smiling at each other on their wedding day makes me nauseous.That should have been me.

“I’m ready,” she murmurs as she looks up at the picture of Aaron and my dad, holding a duffel bag, a backpack, and a pillow in her arms.

“When was this taken?”

“A month or so before Dad died. Mom wanted family pictures done.”

“Oh, that’s right. Your dad kept begging me and Sarah to come for it.”

“Sarah,” she mumbles. “I’m glad you’re not with her anymore, Uncle G. She wasn’t nice.”

I cock an eyebrow as I look back at her in shock.

“Why do you say that?”

“She was really mean to me when you weren’t looking. I also overheard her on the phone once saying…not nice things about you. She hated Mom, but I don’t think they ever met.”

“Why didn’t you ever tell me that?”

“Mom told me that whatever she was saying about her didn’t matter because it wasn’t the truth. She also said that sometimes married people say things about their spouse that they don’t really mean.”

I nod, not really knowing how to answer. I grab her duffel and backpack out of her hands and throw them in the back seat of the truck. We get in without saying much, and I don’t push. Instead, I start the engine, and we drive back to the farm.

Sarah wasn’t a nice person, and even Jayla could see that before I could.

She had used me for my money, cheated on me, and tried to make my life miserable.

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