Was Sugarloaf still home? I’d been born and raised there but had left the moment I got my diploma. But did that mean Los Angeles was home? I stood and walked over to the floor-to-ceiling glass wall and leaned against it.
It hadn’t felt like home in a long, long time.
But Sugarloaf and the mountains still felt like it.
Home for New Year’s?
She hadn’t pushed or tossed in an obligatory guilt trip over me not visiting at Thanksgiving or Christmas for the third year in a row. She honestly hadn’t pushed or begged me to return for this holiday, either. But suddenly, the idea of heading back to the small mountain area sounded… nice.
Fun even.
I could stop by and visit Harry, too. We hadn’t seen each other since grad school. Shit, had it been that long?
A trip home.For once, the sound of it wasn’t horrible. I glanced up and caught my reflection in the glass, I was smiling. Yeah, heading home didn’t sound like a half bad idea. I hurried to my desk and wrote out a company email, letting everyone know they were good to leave now. Once it was typed out, I grabbed my cell and pulled up my nephew’s information with a plan in mind. I pressedCall. It rang three times before the kid answered.
“Hey, Uncle Ash!” His voice was completely different, so much deeper than I had last talked to him. Fuck. How long had it been since I’d talked to him instead of the usual texting we did?
“Hey, Dane, how are you?”
“Good. You?”
“Good. Listen, Dane, I wanted to see if you could do me a favor?”
“Sure, what’s up?”
“I’m going to head into town and––“
“You’re coming home?”
“Yeah, but I want to surprise your mom––“
“Oh, okay.”
“So, will you help me?”
“Help you what?”
“Surprise your mom.”
“With a visit?”
“Yeah.” I grinned. The kid sounded distracted. He was probably playing video games.
“Oh, okay… you, umm, staying at your cabin?”
“That was the plan.” I chuckled. “You good?” I asked because he sounded off.
“Yeah, sorry, just, umm… just studying.” He cleared his throat. “Mom’s going to love having you home for New Year’s.”
“Let’s hope.” I chuckled.
“When do you think you’re going to get here by?”
“Maybe tomorrow evening.”
“That’s cool… How long you staying?”
“You sound a little less excited than I thought you would,” I pointed out. Something about his tone was off. “You sure you’re good, Dane?”
