Page 82 of Just Like This
To:[emailprotected]
From:[emailprotected]
Subject: Garrett
Hi Cami—
This is Oliver Hammond, Garrett’s brother. I have some news about Garrett, but I lost your phone number, so I’m emailing you instead. I hope you don’t mind, and you won’t be too mad. Jackson just called to let us know that Garrett is missing. He couldn’t give us much more detail since we’re not supposed to know just yet.
If I hear anything else, I will let you know. I know that you’ve been through a lot lately so please do not hesitate to reach out if you need anything. I made a promise to my brother to make you a part of this family.
I hope to hear from you soon.
Oliver
* * *
The chair scrapedagainst the hardwood floor and fell over as I stood quickly and raced from the tasting room. I ran to the guest house and frantically unlocked the door. When the front door swung open, I burst inside and scrambled for my backpack that still sat on the couch. My fingers shook as I fumbled with the zipper and pulled my computer free. I was impatient, urging the computer to boot faster and then for it to connect to the internet. I entered my information incorrectly several times before I was finally in my email. I scrolled through the inbox, scrutinizing every single sender and subject line before heading to the spam folder. The email that I just read on Oliver’s computer was not in my inbox. With one last shred of hope, I checked my trash folder, but there was nothing.
Frustrated and enraged, I grasped my computer and threw it against the ground.No, no, no. This was not happening!For two weeks, I waited and waited, checking my email daily almost to the point of obsession.Two weeks.
“What the fuck?” I screamed. “How could you do this to me?”
I had no idea who I was even addressing, but I couldn’t keep these emotions bottled tightly. The broken computer on the floor was so symbolic of exactly how I felt. Broken. Shattered. In pieces.
Palmer and Oliver rushed into the guest house, their expressions mirror images of worry. Palmer noticed the broken laptop first and immediately reached out to me. “Oh, Cami,” he said sympathetically. I practically crawled into his outstretched arms, a broken sobbing mess.
“Why didn’t it come? Why didn’t I get that email?”
“I don’t know, sweetheart,” he said softly, stroking my hair. “There are a million explanations, but I know that none of them are going to make you feel any better.”
Oliver knelt and gently picked up the remnants of my computer. He placed them on the coffee table in front of the couch and then knelt in front of me. “What can I do, Cami? I’m so sorry,” he said tearfully.
“I saw him,” I whispered. “Yesterday, when I was in the vineyard. He loves this land so much, and I saw him. But then he was gone.”
I reached out and placed a hand on Oliver’s cheek, which he covered with his own. “I see him too sometimes,” he admitted. “When I’m frustrated with something, he just seems to pop up and know what to say or how to fix it.”
I smiled weakly. “He’s so excited to come back and help you run Hammond Winery. I know he’s going to find a way to come back to both of us.”
“I think you need to get some rest,” Palmer interjected. He lifted me gently until I was sitting upright before getting up to find my pills. He returned a moment later with two and a bottle of water.
“I don’t normally take two,” I told him.
“It says you can on the bottle,” he replied coolly. “I thought you might want two just because this has been incredibly stressful.”
“You’re right,” I conceded. I plucked them from his outstretched palm and placed them on my tongue before swallowing them down with the water Palmer offered. I stood, my legs shaky, and headed toward the bedroom. It was only a matter of minutes before my world went quiet.
The bed shifted, and I woke slowly. My room was still dark, and my body felt like lead. But I wasn’t alone.
“Cami,” Garrett’s familiar voice called out. “Cami, are you awake?”
“Garrett?” I sat up to see Garrett silhouetted against the moonlight that streamed in through the window.
“It’s me. I’m here. I didn’t want to wake you up, I’m sorry.”
“What are you doing here? You’re missing.”
Garrett leaned forward to place a kiss on my forehead. “Stay strong, baby. I’m not really missing. I’m right here,” he said softly, pointing at my chest. And then, just like before, he was gone instantly.
