“I can’t make any promises.” When she pulled back, her matching eyes bounced between my own. She knew as well as I did that the only time I came over was when I’d been practically dragged. And today was certainly no exception.
“Well, come on in. Everyone’s out back. Food should be done shortly.”
I gave her nod before letting my mom usher me inside and through the house. I didn’t know why we couldn’t just walk around the back, but I didn’t dare ask. These days, I hated going inside the house. It was filled with far too many reminders of happier times. Of a happier me.
I wasn’t that person, nor would I ever be that again. Never again would I be the naïve man that thought nothing bad could ever touch him. I knew better now because I’d been touched by the darkness, consumed by it.
“Wow, you really did show up.” Theo eyed me in surprise from near the back door where he was helping to man the grill. Meanwhile, his wife and two children were sitting at the table under the huge oak tree.
I stood, looking over the back yard, as Mom went to gush to Dad about my arrival. “Yep.” Of course, he knew my reasons for being here.Damn conniving bastard!
As if he could read my mind, Theo barked out a laugh. He may very be the only person on this planet that could read me, no matter how hard I tried to hide it. All thanks to his training with the military.Stupid Army Corps,I mentally cursed. “I’ll get you the info in a few minutes. I’m watching the food burn at the moment.”
I gave him a mock two-finger salute knowing damn good and well that he was holding that information hostage in order to ensure I stayed longer.
“Uncle Z!” a tiny voice shouted. I barely had enough time to prepare before a small force crashed into my legs. Instinctively, my body froze at the initial impact for half a second or so before I managed to force a breath out from my lungs.
“Hey, kiddo.” My nephew looked up at me with a wide smile as I ran a hand through his jet-black hair before he dashed off to join his mother.
“The kids sure have missed you,” Theo noted about the same time our dad clamped a hand on my shoulder.
“Good to see you, son.”
I nodded in acknowledgment.
“You tired of living in the woods yet?” Dad studied me, a grumble to his voice. I knew he would never understand my need to have peace and quiet. No one would. Except maybe those who had experienced the same things I did.
“Nope. Not by a long shot. Wanna join me out there one night?” I lifted a brow, daring him to agree.
“Yeah right,” Dad sniffed. “I like my city life. Far better than having to deal with the bears and God knows what else you have out there in those woods.”
Even after all these years, I still found myself wondering how we could possibly be related. For such the manly man my father tried to appear to be, he hated camping and hiking. He didn’t mind keeping a yard and doing all the work that a home required, but living in the woods alone freaked him out.
I suppose you could say I was destined to be the oddball.
“Give my baby a break,” Mom sweetly interjected as she wrapped her arm around my waist and rested her head on my arm. “Why don’t you go say hello to everyone, dear?”
I nodded, giving her a tight-lipped smile before making my way over to where my sister-in-law sat, bouncing her youngest on her knee after have moved to sit at the table. Everyone knew better than to tell my motherno, and regardless of what I’d endured those two months, I was no different in that respect.
The small babbles of the seven-month-old struck my ears as I neared, causing me to smile. In truth, my niece and nephew were the only reasons that I was still in town. Well, near town. If it weren’t for them, I’d probably have bought a cave and lived in it until I died without hide nor hair of another human being.
My family meant well, but some days they drove me nuts. It seemed every time they saw me they asked the same questions. It was as if they somehow expected different answers, not realizing that would likely never happen.
When I was first released from the hospital, no one fucking left me be. One day in particular I had escaped to the bathroom in hopes of getting ten minutes of uninterrupted peace while I took a shower. That, of course, didn’t happen because someone began banging on the door a couple minutes later. Sure, I understood why no one wanted me out of their sight–but for fuck’s sake–I just needed time to process. Something I still hadn’t exactly done.
“Hey, Zeek.” Sofia smiled softly as I took a seat in the metal chair next to her. “You seem tired today.”
“No more than all the other days.” I scratched my chin, feeling the stubble that was just beginning to decorate my face with a five o’clock shadow.
“Would you mind taking her for a minute?” she asked, handing over the baby before I could even respond. “I need to use the bathroom and I don’t think I can hold it much longer.”
“I’ll take you any day, little one,” I cooed as Lilly squealed in happiness, slapping her tiny hands on the table in front of us.
“Maybe if you’d show up more often, you wouldn’t miss out on so much,” Theo muttered, taking a seat beside me. “Here.” He pulled a brown envelope out of his pocket and slid it across the table to me.
My heart froze in my chest. Had he really found the information I so desperately sought?Was it even the right person?
“Well?” he pried when I didn’t move to open it.
