Page 25 of Hartley

“How close together are the houses?” Jordan asked.

“Not where you could reach an arm out and touch the other but on a quiet night with nothing but the bugs making noise, and the water lapping in the sound, noise carried,especially when the bedrooms were directly across from each other.”

I closed my eyes and let Hartley and Forest’s conversation lull me to a comfortable state. It didn’t matter where we were going or what we were about to do. The people I was with were who counted.

There had been many days and nights when I could barely muster the will to fight another day while living with Gil. Where I longed for the summers with Forest, Hartley, and their grandfather. When I couldn’t sleep because of the pain I was in, but knew if I made a sound, Gil would come for me again. I’d lain in the dark with tears in my eyes, missing the hell out of the safe spaces I’d once had and the friends who didn’t judge me and protected me. The people who loved me for who I was.

And here I was back with Forest and Hartley. Hartley became one of the most important people in my life. Jordan appeared when I never expected him. I wasn’t lucky for years, but I was with them, Ava, Forest, and the others on the plane with us.

12

HARTLEY

Flying on a private jet was the way to go. If only the pit in my stomach didn’t grow the closer we were to North Carolina. Once we were off the plane and Sheldon and Oleander were there with three waiting SUVs, the pit became a gnawing void that felt like it was going to consume me whole.

The last time I’d been here was awful. There were no two ways about it. Not getting to say goodbye to my grandfather, watching as they laid him in the ground, it was almost more than I could bear. But anger chased that sadness when Forest couldn’t get out of there fast enough. We’d put it behind us, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t rushing to the forefront of my mind now that we were here again.

The difference was I had Vail and Jordan with me this time. Vail had apologized for not going to the funeral. How could he have known when we kept it private, and he hadn’t spoken to Forest in years?

Vail’s hand slid into mine when we were in the back seat of the SUV. Forest sat up front with Albert.

Albert navigated us down the road and closer to the home that meant so much to me for so long. Now I was going to see it with fresh eyes. Ones that weren’t as weighed down with grief. I just had to keep reminding myself I wasn’t alone. I had plenty of people to lean on.

Jordan took my other hand in his and lifted it to kiss my knuckles. No words were said. They weren’t necessary. I was sure I was projecting my emotions clear as day on my face. I wasn’t as good at hiding them as Jordan was. He had to do that. I didn’t.

When we pulled onto the road the house was on, I rolled the window down to inhale the air. It was different here than it was in Pennsylvania. Warmer but also clearer. Not like living in the city, plus there was the salty air. While it wasn’t home any longer, it brought back memories of going out on the little boat my grandfather had and reeling in fish with him. Of Forest trying to stand on the boat and nearly toppling us into the water. Of me almost throwing up when baiting the hook. I always hated that part, but my grandfather taught us. Every opportunity for a lesson was one he took. He did it with love though, wanting us to learn so we could do things on our own.

The rusted metal mailbox at the end of the driveway was beat up with a dent in the side, only two of the four numbers remaining. The flag was gone, and the door hung open, attached by a single remaining hinge.

Stones crunched under the tires as Albert drove us down the lane until we got to the house. It wasn’t raised as high as the newer homes were. The weather had beaten it a lot over the years, but my grandfather got lucky that none of the storms flooded the home. Sure, he was stuck in here when itflooded since he refused to leave when the tropical storms or hurricanes came through. He did leave during the last major hurricane. He and a friend of his drove inland to stay at a motel. Luckily, the hurricane changed course, and they didn’t get the brunt of it.

The old cedar shingles on the side of the home had seen better days, but they still held strong. The deck looked one storm away from falling off though. We’d have to climb it to get inside. Maybe one at a time, so it didn’t break free while we were all on it.

Forest exited the SUV first when we parked. Vail opened his door next so we could get out. My eyes stayed fixated on the home in front of us. I used to watch the water in the sound, be comforted by the quiet symphony of nature and lulled to sleep with the windows open on cooler nights, the water a natural remedy for sleeplessness. But now all I could see was my grandfather on the deck, hollering at us to come inside and eat.

“Do you remember when he couldn’t find us and rang the cowbell?” Forest asked as I stood next to him.

I chuckled. “Half the neighborhood heard when he rang it.”

“He threatened to do it every time we were late for dinner.”

“I still have no idea where he got it from.”

“Knowing him, he bought it just to teach us to be on time.”

I grinned. He wasn’t a man who needed a lot of material possessions. Give him his house, boat, and truck, and he was happy. However, if he thought Forest or I needed something, including being taught a lesson, he’d do it.

“We walked up the deck covered in mud,” I remembered. “When we got to the top, he met us at the door and said there was no way we were going inside like that.”

“Then he told us to go back down, and he took out the hose to rinse us off from head to toe.”

“We didn’t come home muddy again.”

Forest peered at me with a mournful smile, then put his arm around my shoulders. “He’d be proud of you, Hart. Of what you’ve accomplished. Of the life you’re living.”

“He’d be proud of you too.”

“Not when…” He shook his head. “Maybe now he would be.”

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