Okay, so maybe it just took finding the right topic to get him to open up.Itwas no secret theLangsfordmen truly believed in their mission withHarmonyHouse.Itwas one of the thingsIadmired most about them.They’dseen a need, and they’d filled it.Agood part of my motivation in coming back to town was wanting to have an impact beyond simply patrolling the streets and writing tickets.
Ifmy life had gone a different way,Imight have been one of the kidsAnsonwas talking about.Oneof my most conflicted memories growing up was the day my mom told my dad she was leaving and taking me with her.They’dbeen fighting more often in the months leading up to their split, and it was only because of years of therapyIfinally believed their divorce wasn’t my fault.She’dsaid she couldn’t go to a church that would demand parents shun their children simply for who they “chose to love” as if it was a choice at all.They’dthrow chapter and verse back and forth, each determined to prove they were the betterChristian.AsI’dcarried the last of our suitcases down the stairs to the car, my father had screamed for us to burn in hell, and that was the lastI’dseen of him.
“Hey, you good over there?”Ansonpulled into a parking spot in front of the hardware store. “Wasit somethingIsaid?”
“No, nothing like that,”Iassured him.Great.Aftermy frustration over him not wanting to talk,I’dsunk into old memories and blanked the entire last half of the drive.Itugged on the door handle and hopped out of the truck.Evenmy friends inPinevilledidn’t know the extent of the childhood traumaI’dtried to leave in the rearview mirror, soIsure as hell wasn’t about to unload onAnson.Noone inHarmonyGroveknew what led to us moving here whenIwas in high school, and for my mom’s sake,Iwanted to keep it that way.Ipulled out a sheet of paper and handed it toAnson. “Imade two lists, depending on which direction you want to go.”
Ansonscratched the closely trimmed beard on his chin as he ran through the list.Hisface scrunched up, and he made a disapproving grunt. “Iget what you’re saying about the gate, butI’mjust not sure it makes much sense.IfIput the house on the market, that might seem odd to potential buyers.”
Apit formed in my stomach.Eventhough we weren’t particularly close,Iliked to think we’d made some headway over the past few days.Andnow,Ansonwas talking about moving.Itwas probably stupid to be upset about that.Peoplebought and sold houses all the time. “Isthat…?Areyou considering selling your place?”
“Notright this minute or anything, but you never know what the future will hold.”Itdawned on me this was part ofAnsonliking his life in perfect order.Hewas the type of guy who probably had flowcharts for any situation, with backup plans for his backup plans. “It’snothing personal, but most people would think it odd to have a gate from one backyard into the next.”
“Yeah, no,Iget it.”Isnatched the paper out of his hands, hoping he didn’t thinkIwas a complete idiot for even suggesting it or not taking the hint when he wasn’t on board with the idea yesterday.
“Hey, it really wasn’t a horrible idea.”Ibristled when he rested a hand on my shoulder.Itfelt too much like he was trying to soothe me, andIdidn’t need him patting my back to tell me it’d all be okay. “I’veseen things like that a few times, mostly when family members build homes next to one another.I’mjust not sure it’s practical for me.”
“It’sfine.”IhopedIdidn’t sound like a petulant child.Itwas his house, and he could do whatever he wanted.IfollowedAnsoninto the store.
Aswe roamed the aisles, we chatted more about what they did atHarmonyHouseand whyImoved back to town.Ansonlistened intently asIcomplained about struggling to find my place in town outside of work.Sure, it was great serving the community, but there had to be more to life than working and gardening.Iwanted to put down roots here, wantedHarmonyGroveto be more than just a placeIlived for some of my formative years.
“Youjust need to keep your ears open.Thereare always ways to help, and everyone’s constantly bitching about how no one wants to step up to the plate.”Ansonflipped through a catalog of storage solutions.Itwasn’t why we’d come, butIwasn’t in any hurry.Iftoday went well, maybe he’d let me help on other projects around his house. “Ifyou could do anything, what would it be?Thechief is trying to get a coalition together to work with us and other groups in town.I’msure he’d be down for help.”
“Yeah, not really looking to spend even more time with the peopleIwork with,”Iadmitted.WouldAnsonthink it was lame that part of whyIwanted to help was to meet people?Probablynot.Maybe.Thenagain, did it matter? “I’mlooking to spread my wings a bit, maybe get to know more people soIcan get out of the house once in a while.”
“That’scool.Notinto reuniting with your friends from school?”IfollowedAnsonback to the lumber counter.Itprobably wasn’t the most neighborly thing to stare at his backside as he led the way, butIwas only human.Ivaguely rememberedAnsonfrom when we were younger, and he’d always been gorgeous.He’dalso been broody as hell back then, which made him dangerously attractive for some odd reason.I’dalways wondered what it would take to make him smile.Yesterday, when he’d cracked a smile for me, andI’dgotten him to laugh, it had felt like a huge victory.Iwas paying so much attention toAnson’sphysique thatInearly ran right into him when he moved the cart to the side and stopped in front of the counter.
“Theyall have their own lives.It’snever fun feeling like the third wheel, you know?”Whilewe waited for one of the employees to return from the registers,AnsonandIcommiserated about being the single guys.Iwas actually friendly with his younger brother,Danny, and that whole crew in high school, butI’mnot sureI’dcall them friends.Theywere more acquaintancesIenjoyed spending time with.Andnow, every last one of them was partnered up. “Youprobably don’t have to worry about that.Ithink it’s different when you’ve never left town.”
“Ileft,” he protested.
“Collegedoesn’t count.”Ansonraised an eyebrow at my rebuttal, and his lips pursed tightly.Crap.Heprobably thoughtIwas some sort of creepy stalker, following him on social media over the years.Ornot, since he didn’t seem to have any recollection of me the first timeI’dintroduced myself whenImoved in. “Don’tlook at me that way.It’sa small town.Peopletalk.Didyou always plan on moving right back to town?”
Ansonlet out another sigh.Igot the impression opening up wasn’t something he did frequently.Thatjust meantI’dhave to push him ifIwanted to get to know the man better. “Notreally, butIalso never had dreams of moving anywhere else.Iguess you could say it was easy to move home.Peopleknew me, soIdidn’t have to worry about being a junior associate in a huge firm or building my clientele from nothing.Itnearly broke my mom’s heart whenDannyleft, so whenBillyandCarsonmentioned using our inheritance to do something for the kids in town, it felt like the right decision.”
Thatmight have been the mostI’dheardAnsonsay without prompting.Colorme impressed.Insteadof pushing for more,Iwaited silently next to him, hoping he’d offer more willingly.Whenhe didn’t,Ithought about what he’d said.WhileI’dpicked up pieces aboutDanny’sfailed relationship that caused him to spread his wings to theEastCoast,Ididn’t know the sordid details.Well, beyond the fact that his ex was now in a committed relationship with one of the brothers, but that had nothing to do with their split.Familydinners had to be a blast with so many layers of weirdness in the dynamics.
Almostthirty minutes later, we’d grabbed all the screws and hardware we needed and were on our way to the drive-thru lumberyard to pick up the wood.We’dreturned to the awkward silence that drove me nuts.Itsurprised me when he was the one to offer an olive branch of sorts. “Youdid a pretty damn good job of estimating how much of everything we were going to need for today.Didyou build all the gardens in your backyard?Idon’t remember them being there when theAndersonswere still next door.”
“Yeah,I’vealways wanted a big garden, butIalso wanted to maximize the available space,”Iexplained.Gardeningwas somethingI’dstarted whenIwas still in college.Backthen, it’d been a few planters on the balcony of our apartment until, eventually, there’d been no usable space to sit and relax. “WhenIwas looking for a place here in town, one of my biggest requirements was a nice, level yardIcould build out.Eventually,I’mhoping to put in some hoop gardens soIcan extend the growing season a bit.”
“Ahoop garden?”Ansonstopped at the line, holding out his pick ticket when an employee approached.Ireally needed to work on not scaring him off because it would be nice if we eventually got to a place whereIcould ask to borrow his truck or get a ride down here whenIneeded to pick up supplies for my projects next spring.Notthat that was the sole reasonIwanted to befriend him, but it would be a nice side benefit.
“Yeah, basically, it’s a way to cover your garden beds so they’re protected a bit from the cold and definitely from the frost,”Iclarified.Icould talk about gardening all day and not get bored, which was precisely whyIneeded to make surehewasn’t being lulled to sleep by my monologue. “Alot of the community-supported ag farms in the area use them so they can extend the growing season, which allows them to make more money.Myultimate goal is to get to a point whereIcan grow enough to freeze and can my own veggies to get through the winter and only have to buy fruits and suchIcan’t get locally.”
“Doesit save you a lot of money?”
Thatwas the question most people had.AndwhenIadmitted that it was more expensive for at least the first year or two, most people looked at me likeIwas insane. “Thebenefits aren’t just long-term cost savings.It’sabout having something that tastes better becauseIcan leave it in the garden until everything is perfectly ripe.It’sabout cooking and knowing that the ingredientsI’musing were grown from seeds by me.It’shaving a hobby that allows me to enjoy the fruits of my labor, no pun intended.”
“That’spretty cool.Howdid you get into it?”Asthe employees from the hardware store loaded lumber into the bed of the truck,Irambled about how it was somethingIdecided to try on a whim whileIwas in college after seeing the strawberry plants on our neighbor’s balcony and watching the garden grow throughout that summer and the next. “Damn.Andnow you have a backyard that’ll be overrun with produce.You’renot going to start a roadside stand or anything, are you?”
“Nah,I’mpretty sure it would be a bad look for an officer of the law to have an unlicensed food business in an area zoned for residential only.”Iwasn’t about to tell himIhad thought about getting a stall at the market down byMara’scoffee shop.Herlittle weekend market was a huge hit with the locals, but the biggest complaint was that most people sold prepackaged foods, flowers, and crafts.Weneeded a good produce seller down there. “ButImight be persuaded to share with neighbors who appreciate good food.”
“I’llkeep that in mind.”Theemployee approached the window, requestingAnsonget out of the truck to verify everything was correct.Iscrolled through my phone whileIwaited for them to finish and reminded myself the guy was just doing his job, not trying to cut off what was starting to feel like a solid conversation.
Whenwe got back to the house,Bartwas standing in the bay window watching for his daddy to get home. “Ifyou want to let him out,Ican start unloading the truck.”
“Youreally don’t have to.”Hewas wrong.Ineeded something to do because time inside my own mind was dangerous.Iwatched him jog up the front steps.Assoon as the door opened,Bartdarted outside, nearly toppling me over in the grass. “Dammit,Bart!Getyour ass back here.”
