Chapter Two
“You’re quiet tonight,” Sarah said.
“And you’re still here.”
Sarah burst out laughing.“You don’t like me spending time with my family.”
“I don’t mind, just think you’ve got a family at home, right?”Hawk asked, but he looked up at his sister with a smile.It had been good to have her around.
His sister helped keep their mom at bay.If it weren’t for Sarah, Hawk knew he would have been coddled, and he hated that more than anything.At the moment, he didn’t have a place of his own, and he was living with his parents, in his childhood bedroom, along with all the memories.Like today.
“I saw Katie Smith today.I mean Palmer,” Hawk said.“She looked ...happy.”
“Yeah, Katie has had it rough the past few years, but Palmer Gifts is what keeps her going.Adam did a good thing.”
“She married Adam Palmer?”Hawk asked.
“There was only one kid in Hope with the name Palmer,” Sarah said.
“Shit, I haven’t seen him in years.Can you give me his address?”Hawk asked.“Man, I have thought about Adam a couple of times.”
He glanced toward Sarah, and it looked like she had swallowed a wasp.“What is it?”Hawk asked.“You know Adam and I were friends.”
“Yeah, I know, you guys were voted as having one of those weird friendships.”
Hawk burst out laughing.“Tell me about it.Everyone thought I was going to use him to cheat.None of them knew that I was the one teaching him how to work the computer.Man, that always made me laugh.No one knew.”
“Uh, Hawk, Adam passed away seven years ago,” Sarah said.
Hawk stood frozen.“What?”
“Yeah.It was a rough time for Katie and Adam.I mean, they married straight out of high school, and I believe within a few years he was diagnosed with cancer.He beat it, but it came back, and when they were twenty-eight, he, uh, he didn’t make it,” Sarah said.
Hawk looked at his sister, and he moved toward the chair at the kitchen counter.His sister was preparing dinner for everyone.
“Wow,” Hawk said.“I had no idea.No one told me.Adam and I stayed in touch for a little while, but then, I don’t know, I got busy, and the letters and emails stopped.I figured he got bored.”He ran a hand across his face.
The grief struck him hard.Sure, they hadn’t been brothers, but he had liked Adam.A couple of his friends over the years often asked him why he didn’t beat the shit out of him.He always told them to fuck off.Adam had been a good guy.He hadn’t bought into any of the bullshit said about Hawk.It had been so good to keep it real with him.Running a hand down his face, he tried not to think, but it was hard.
Sarah moved around the counter and placed a hand on his arm.“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m okay.What about Katie?What happened to her?”
“I don’t know.Some people believe Adam made demands after he died.She moved out of their home, into a small place, and she has dated, but nothing serious.She runs the shop they opened together, and it does really well.She’s amazing,” Sarah said.“She helps me out over Christmas with all the gifts I need to get the family, and she’s a rock.”
“I can’t believe he’s gone.”He got to his feet.
“The service was at the church, and his resting place is near one of the apple trees,” Sarah said.
“Do you mind if I ...go?”Hawk asked.“I know dinner is coming soon, but I just, I kind of need to, uh...”He couldn’t finish his sentence.
“Go, go, don’t you worry about me.I can fix dinner.”His sister gave him a wink, and Hawk left the house.It was pretty warm, and the sun was still up.The heat wasn’t as harsh as it had been a few hours ago.
In a t-shirt and a pair of jeans, he left the ranch and climbed into his dad’s old truck, the one he often drove around when he was a kid.He hadn’t purchased a car yet, as he’d enjoyed the walks into town.It relaxed him.
Driving down the long driveway, he pulled onto the main road and saw the sign that told him how long to the town center.Hope wasn’t a big town, but the surrounding area made it seem large.So many forests, hiking trails, camping grounds.It was a dream setting, and one Hope had never given up on.
Making his way into town, he went straight to the church, and then started to look around the cemetery.The land around the cemetery had expanded since he was last in Hope.He knew exactly where Sarah had meant, and he went straight to the plot.
