Page 233 of Haunted

“Does this mean you’ll visit more often? You know you’re welcome to come stay with me and Hugh. Now all the kids have left the nest, we’ve finally got a guest room.”

“I’d like that.” Laughter broke out again, and he smiled. “Itisgood to be back home again.” It hadn’t been that since Liam died.

The door opened, and Alli’s son Jem came in. “Anything I can do to help?”

Alli smiled. “And that’s my cue to go see if anyone wants a turkey, stuffing and cranberry sandwich.” She left the room, giving Jem’s arm a squeeze as she passed him.

“You can help me take the coffee through when it’s done brewing.” Sol glanced at the delicate chain around Jem’s slender neck, with its little padlock. “I like Taylor, by the way.” Jem’s boyfriend—Dom—was maybe thirty, with a refreshing habit of looking people in the eye when he spoke to them, and Sol’s parents clearly liked him.

Jem’s face glowed. “He’s cool, isn’t he?”

“Does he make you happy?”

“About as happy as Butch makes you, I reckon.” Jem smiled. “He’s pretty cool too.” His expression grew solemn. “I’m so glad you found each other. I’ve been hoping for that ever since…” He swallowed. “I know I was only ten when it happened, but I’ll never forget that day.”

“I stopped hoping long ago,” Sol confided. He glanced toward the door. “I didn’t see him coming.” Sol smiled. “And now I couldn’t imagine life without him.”

Saturday, November 26

“You’re very quiet.”

Sol’s words pierced the rolling cascade of thoughts that had tumbled around his head ever since they’d left his parents’ place. “Sorry. Got stuff on my mind.”

“That much is obvious.”

To Butch’s surprise, Sol pulled off I-25 and into the parking lot of the Loaf ‘N Jug.

“We stopping for coffee?” Butch asked. “We haven’t been on the road a half hour yet.”

“If you want coffee, sure, we can get some.” Sol switched the engine off. “But whatIwant is for you to be honest with me. Because I’ll be damned if I’m going to sit here worrying about what’s going through your head all the way back to Salvation.”

Butch’s stomach roiled. “There’s something I need to do… and I want your help, because I don’t think I can do it alone.”

Sol squeezed his shoulder. “Would it have anything to do with visiting your folks?” Butch jerked his head to stare at him, and Sol nodded. “Yeah, I thought so. I didn’t bring it up because it was your decision. But I hoped while we were in Casper that you might want—”

“Closure? Or build some bridges?” He gave a hard swallow. “In my worst moments, I have this nightmare where I turn up and they don’t even recognize me. I mean, it’s beenthirty-four years, for God’s sake. And while I think seeing them again will help close this chapter in their lives—and mine—I also think any therapist worth their salt would say that sometimes it’s best to just… move on.”

“Have you considered contacting them? Maybe finding out if they’ve ever tried looking for you? It can be scarily easy to just disappear, and living on Salvation all these years wouldn’t have made it easy for them to locate you. If they haven’t,thenlet it go.”

He’d had the same idea, but being back in Casper, so close that he could have driven there from Sol’s parents’ home…

Butch took a deep breath. “I have to see them, even if it’s for the last time.”

Sol’s hand was a welcome weight on his shoulder. “Okay then. I’ll turn the car around. And if it goes belly up, I’ll get you outta there.” He leaned across and kissed Butch’s cheek. “I’ve got your back.”

Butch gave him a grateful smile, then straightened. “Let’s do this.”

Before I change my mind.

Sol switched the engine on, and pulled back onto I-25, heading south toward I-26, Butch giving directions, amazed at how readily they came to mind. When they turned right on 33 Mile Road, Butch’s heart skipped a beat. The last time he’d seen it was the night he walked away from Casper Creek Ranch.

“How many acres are there on your dad’s ranch?”

Butch knew Sol was trying to distract him, and he welcomed the question. “I forgot. You never saw where I lived, did you? About six hundred sixty, give or take.” He paused. “You know what I missed most about the ranch? There was always something to look at. I used to walk along South Casper Creek when I was a teenager, and from my bedroom I could see the Casper Mountains. There’s a wetland where I used to sit and watch so many different types of birds. And there were always antelope, mule deer, and whitetail deer moving through and around the creek bottom. The water was so clear. I’d paddle in it in the summertime.”

Then he caught his breath at the sight of the two-story, white-painted house that hadn’t changed in thirty-four years, the barn still standing behind it.

Sol turned right into the dirt track that led to the house, and Butch’s heart slipped into a higher gear. As they drove closer, he spied two cars and a pickup truck parked beside the house.

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