“Is that the house?” he asks a few beats later, pointing at the fenced-off section on the opposite side of the lake.
“Yeah, that’s it. I’m not sure why it’s cordoned off and not open to the public. I would give anything to get inside that house.”
“Perhaps it’s unsafe.”
“Yeah, maybe. Shame they don’t invest in fixing it up.” I glance at my watch and jump up. “Fan! We need to leave now, or we won’t be back in time.”
Callan follows me as I race back the way we came, ducking under the trees to reenter the forest.
“Tell me about your parents,” he says, coming up alongside me as I push my limbs hard, stalking through the woods with purpose.
“So, my mom isn’t my dad’s first wife,” I begin explaining, glancing briefly at him. “He was married before. To Nora, his childhood sweetheart. They both grew up here in Ryemont, knew one another since kindergarten.”
“Does she still live in town?” Callan reaches out to grab my elbow when I almost trip over a fallen branch on the path.
“Thanks, and no.”
His arm lowers back to his side.
“She died when she was thirty.”
“That’s rough.”
I nod. “Yeah, Dad told me he was heartbroken when it happened. They’d been together from the time they were fourteen, got married at twenty-five, tried for kids only to be told they couldn’t have them, and then, two years later, they discovered she had leukemia. Dad nursed her through it, but she was gone less than a year after the diagnosis.”
“That’s awful.”
“It must have been hell. Dad said he went through a dark period where he’d given up hope, and he didn’t even consider finding anyone else. He thought Nora was the love of his life, and that was it for him. He was alone for five years before he met Mom. She was twenty, and she’d only moved to the US eighteen months previously from Ystad. She was in Ryemont for a modeling gig and had to go to the dentist when she felt severe pain in her mouth. Turns out it was an ulcer, and my dad rode to the rescue.”
I’m smiling as I relay their story. “He said it was love at first sight, but he fought it at the start because it confused him as much as it gave him hope. He let her leave town without saying anything. Two weeks later, he looked up her number to call her because he couldn’t get her out of his mind. Before he had the chance, she showed up at his dental practice to tell him she couldn’t stop thinking about him, and they were basically together from that point on. And like I said before, within six months, they were married and expecting me.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah.” We emerge from the cover of trees, and I blink until my vision adjusts to the brightness. “Dad thought life as he knew it was over. That everything he’d hoped and dreamed for his future was buried with his first love. But fate intervened and, in the end, he got everything he ever wanted.”
My parents’ story is so romantic and inspiring. It’s what I want for myself, but I hope no one dies for me to get my fairytale. “It sucks that Nora had to die for it to happen, but Dad believes everything happens for a reason. That what he went through was a lesson in patience and resilience. He told me to never stop hoping and believing because life has a funny way of delivering on dreams even when you least expect it.”
11
ASTRID
The snapping of fingers in my face yanks me out of the daydream in my head. “Girl, you were completely zoned out,” Gwen says, leaning her elbows on the reception desk. “You didn’t hear anything I just said, did you?”
“Guilty, sorry.” Glancing around at the mostly empty hotel lobby, I’m glad no one was witness to my fugue state.
“I’m only on break for five more minutes,” Gwen says, “so I don’t have time to deliver my pre-prepared speech. Please, Azzie.” She seals her hands together in a pleading gesture and pins me with her best puppy-dog expression. “Please come to the party tonight. I know the others will be there, but?—”
“Okay.”
“—it’s not the same as having my best wingwoman by my side. I know Scott will… wait, did you just say okay?”
I grin. “Yes. I’ll go, but only for a couple of hours. I promised Callan’s mom I’d help with the porch tomorrow morning before work.”
“Yes!” She fist pumps the air. “This is going to be so good!”
“What is?”
We both whip our heads around at the sound of Callan’s voice.
