Page 55 of The Caretaker
“Be careful you don’t drop it,” I said, lips twitching with the need to smile when he sat back in his seat, yanking the camera to his chest in a protective manner.
“Now you’ve gone and spooked me,” he complained. “This place is beautiful, Solace. I can’t believe a place like this exists outside of TV.”
“Yeah,” I said wistfully. “There’s a lot of history here in Haley Cove, and the residents fight to maintain its authenticity, for the most part.”
We turned down a cobblestone road almost too narrow for Noon’s truck. He put his window up, content with using his eyesto record the charming brick and stone row homes lining both sides of the street.
“So you and your brother would spend summers up here,” Noon said, gaze still glued out the window.
“Yeah. Gav and I lived in Lakeland with our dad. We were young when our mom died. It wasn’t easy on my dad, raising the two of us on his own. My grandfather tried to convince him to move us out here where he could help, but we had friends and a life back in Lakeland, and Gav had his sights set on football. My dad got a nice break every summer, though. My grandfather made sure of it.”
“So eventually your grandfather passed away and left you the farm? Why not leave it to Gav since he’s the eldest? Or to the both of you?”
I made a left toward the parkway, leaving the tourism behind for another day. I was anxious to get to my grandfather’s property.Myproperty. “My ambitions were never lofty. I wanted to be a teacher and a father. I was the one suited for this type of life. For settling down. Planting roots. Gav couldn’t even sit still long enough to finish a meal. If he hadn’t blown his knee out sophomore year in college, he’d be living the fast life on someone’s NFL team. My grandfather knew that.
“He sold off the livestock when he got sick. Gav and I were equal beneficiaries of those returns as well as his life savings and insurance payouts. Left me financially able to turn the farm into whatever I wanted. What I wanted was a home away from home for Gavin. I wanted him to enjoy summers here, like I had. I wanted a place Patrick and I could retire to, raise more kids in. Didn’t end up working out that way. I’d been lucky enough to end up close to Haley Cove when Patrick accepted Columbia Medical School’s offer after finishing up his undergraduate degree.”
“You mentioned that Patrick’s never been here. How is that possible?”
“Between medical school, his residency, and then Gavin, there never seemed to be any time. Homeschooling Gavin gave me the flexibility to move around. It didn’t matter where he was, just that he learned. Haley Cove became our thing. Our place.”
Noon squeezed my knee, and I covered his hand with mine, throwing him a glance before fixing my attention on the road again. “We’re almost there.”
“What made you name Gavin after your brother?”
“Mostly the threat of bodily harm if we didn’t,” I joked. “He was also the most important person in our lives at the time. Patrick and I had both lost our parents by then, and he didn’t have any siblings. Then Gavin was born on Gav’s birthday. We took it as a sign and gave in to the threats.”
“Same name and birthday. Must be a painful reminder.”
“Surprisingly not,” I replied, with a reminiscent smile, before turning onto the private road leading to the property. “If anything, it’s a beautiful reminder.” Wishing my brother a happy birthday this year had been the one bright spot of that tragic day. It had felt like my son still lived on somehow.
The moment the partially constructed home came into view, along with the expanse of snow-covered trees and woodland surrounding the property, Noon began snapping away again.
“Jesus,” he whispered as I eased to a stop. “How many acres does this sit on?”
“A lot.” I chuckled at his gobsmacked expression.
He turned his attention back to the house, which was nothing more than an unfinished structure. I’d stopped all construction after Gavin’s death. “Show me around,” he said, already stepping out of the truck.
We were lucky; weather-wise it was a mild day, allowing us to take our time and not be turned into popsicles.
“Glass wall,” he said appreciatively as we walked in, maneuvering around the disregarded supplies and debris.
“That was Gavin’s special request. I have Iron Man to thank for the inspiration.”
We made it through the lower level quickly, seeing as we only had the bones of it to explore, then headed upstairs.
“And this is the primary bedroom,” I announced, looking back to see Noon bending to clear the top of the doorframe. “Sorry. When they asked if standard size was okay, I hadn’t thought about having a giant over to the house. I can get them all adjusted.”
“Adjusted? You’ve decided to move forward?”
“Well, I guess I hadn’t thought about it until now, but yeah. I’d like to.”
“And you’d adjust your doorframes for me?” He tugged me into him before stealing a kiss. I stretched up to make it easier for him.
“I think I’d do just about anything for you,” I whispered breathlessly after he finished having his way with my lips.
“You’re blushing,” he said around the sweetest smile.
