“Liz? You home?” Jayson’s voice calls out.
I scramble up off the floor and wipe my eyes. “Yeah! Be right there.”
I do a quick check of my appearance in the mirror above the dresser, my red eyes and nose brighter than a neon sign. Great. There’s no way he’s not going to notice that I’ve been crying.
“The back door was open,” he says from the end of the hall when I walk out of the bedroom.
I put on an overly bright smile. “Wanted to air out the kitchen. Christopher cooked some fish he caught at the pond last night, and the smell was getting to me.”
Jayson chuckles when he replies, “I thought I smelled something…fishy.”
“Har har. Not that I mind because you are always welcome anytime, but what are you doing here?”
I wasn’t expecting him to drop by, and he didn’t mention it when we spoke earlier.
“I wanted to talk to Ry and visit him one last time before—” He stops me and lifts my chin. “Have you been crying?”
So much for hiding the evidence. “I’m okay.”
His worry transforms into a concerned frown. “That’s not what I asked.”
Meeting his eyes, I assure him, “I promise I’m okay.”
His hand falls away from my face. “Want a hug?”
This time, my smile is genuine. “I would very much like a hug.” I take solace in his embrace, gaining strength from it. “You always gave great hugs,” I mumble against his chest.
“One of my many superpowers.”
I don’t know how long we stand there, holding one another, but by the time we pull apart, I come to a decision.
“Can I join you to see Ryder? Or do you want to be alone?”
“Come with.” Our hands gravitate toward one another, our fingers entwining. “Think he’ll like the ‘Odyssey’? I brought it with me,” Jayson says.
I kiss his stubbled cheek. “He’ll love it.”
Chapter Forty-Six
FALLON
Waiting for You
Sitting out on the veranda,the last week of August carries the summer humidity like a blanket trying to smother everything around it. The night songs of insects are constant, like a hum buried under the heartbeat of the land. How can a place so quiet be so noisy at the same time?
My thumb traces through the condensation dripping down the glass of iced tea I’m holding, wishing I had a beer instead, as Marcus and Chris work on an old KTM dirt bike in the garage. Chris’s laughter rings out, followed by Marcus’s deeper voice, both melding with the music blasting out from the Hellcat’s speakers. The two of them are so different in a lot of ways, but also the same in many others. There’s a rhythm to the way they interact, a language all their own spoken in half-sentences, a unique bond only siblings share.
Seeing them together makes me miss my brothers and sisters and regret the time I stayed away. I would see them maybe once or twice a year when I happened to be in the States, but I made sure to talk to each of them often. Elizabeth had wanted to take the kids to Texas to see Harper and Jordan before school started,but with Jay’s sudden reappearance and all the other shit going on, they never did. I’ll need to remedy that soon. Elizabeth has missed out on too many things, never doing anything for herself because she’s too busy taking care of everyone else.
When I hear the back door open and close, I don’t even bother looking to see who it is. Jay takes the rocker opposite me, and I exhale the irritation I feel about his intrusion into my moment of solitude.
“It’s really peaceful out here,” he comments.
It was until now.
“Is that Ry’s old KTM?” he asks.
Probably. I shrug and take a sip of my tea. It’s mostly water since all the ice has melted.
