The metal glints in the sunlight.My throat tightens.
“The truck?”I whisper.
He nods.“Dean mentioned you were trying to find someone to look at it.We figured it just needed a little love, not a whole rebuild.Eli and I worked on her when we could.She’s purring like she used to.”
I blink hard.“You didn’t have to...”
He waves me off.“It’s mostly labour, and you don’t owe me a thing.Consider it a graduation gift.Your dad would’ve wanted that truck back on the road.”
The world blurs for a second.I hug him tight; he smells like soil and grease and something safe.“Thank you,” I manage.
He chuckles.“Eli wanted to come too, but one of our cows is due any minute.He didn’t want to risk leaving her.”
“I can swing by and check on her,” I say automatically, and John grins like he knew I’d offer.It is crazy how much he looks like, Eli, or I guess Eli looks like him.Just an older version but with blue eyes that are greyer than Eli's deep ocean blue.John looks rough and rugged but is really just a big ol’ teddy bear when he lets you in...kind of like he is eldest son.
“He talked about you, you know, your dad,” Maggie adds softly.“Said you were smart as hell, tough as nails, and stubborn as he was.”
My eyes burn.I blink fast, smile shaky.“He did?”
“All the time.”
I hug them all.It feels like belonging, like something heavy sliding off my shoulders.
Kenzie links her arm through mine.“So obviously I’m riding shotgun.You’re not getting out of that.”
I laugh, the sound full and real.“Fine.But only if you promise not to DJ.”
She gasps.“Blasphemy.My playlists are sacred.”
Judy insists I come for a barbecue later, Diane adds that Clara just had a baby girl, and Cassidy’s expecting now, and before I know it, the whole group’s planning my evening for me.
Judy’s eyes sparkle.“Are you seeing anyone these days, Tessa?”
I laugh, shaking my head.“Just patients, Judy.They drool and kick and eat hay...give the best kisses, so I’m good for now.”
She clicks her tongue like she’s already matchmaking.Kenzie snorts, and I shoot her a look that saysI will throw you to the wolves if I have to.That just makes her laugh harder.
And for the first time in a long time, I don’t feel like an outsider looking in.
I feel seen.Rooted.
Kenzie elbows me.“You’re not getting out of drinks at Adam’s tonight, by the way.”
I laugh, the sound surprising me.“Guess not.”
I think this is what my therapist meant when she said forgiveness doesn’t mean forgetting.It means carrying the good parts forward, letting them live alongside the ache instead of underneath it.I could stay angry and hurt by what my parents did and didn't do and push this life away.Or...
We make our way to the parking lot, and John offers to drive my car back to Hawthorne Ridge so I can take the truck.I hesitate, then hand over the keys.Kenzie squeals, already climbing into the passenger seat like she’s claimed it as hers.
We pull out of the lot to a chorus of honks and waves.The truck’s engine rumbles under my hands, familiar and foreign all at once.It smells faintly of motor oil and pine, like home and something new.
“See?”Kenzie grins, blonde curls bouncing around her.“Told you it’d suit you better than that city car.”
I roll down the window, letting the air rush in, tugging my hair free from its braid.“Yeah,” I say quietly.“It feels right.”
The highway opens ahead of us, the sky streaked in gold and lavender.
For the first time in a long time, I don’t feel like I’m unsettled or missing anything.
