“Here, Grandma, let me get it,” Garrett told her softly, bending down to pick up the pot and wipe the spill as I walked into the kitchen.
“Oh dear, Stella, I’m so sorry. The state I’m in has me all jumpy.” She wiped her eyes. The sight of this strong and resilientwoman, who had done so muchto heal me, now looking so defeated had broken me in a way I didn’t think possible, and I rushed to pull Trixie into my arms.
“I can’t believe we’re going to lose it all.” Her small frame shook in my arms.
“Not if I have something to do with it,” I whispered, only to myself. I knew this family wouldn’t accept a handout, and that’s not what I wanted for them either. But I did have the ability to help, I just had to be sure. “Trixie, who owns the old rail house down the road?”
I could tell the question took her by surprise and she took some time to think it over. “Well, it’s on my property, so I suppose I would. It would be part of the farm.”
Perfect. That had been my guess based on the maps of Love that were displayed in the post office. That would make this process so much easier.
I proceeded to tell Trixie and Garrett about my plan, and slowly watched the light come back into their expressions. I loved this family beyond measure, and even if my feelings for Calvin weren’t a part of the equation, I would still want to help them. I was thrilled to do something for them while also finding a place of my own.
“So, my brother finally got lucky, huh?” Garrett asked with his goofy grin back where it belonged on his face, but only shock filled me.
How did he know? Calvin was still asleep and had spent the entirenight with me. He wouldn’t have told Garrett, not yet anyway.
A laugh escaped Garrett at the look on my face. “If you think I don’t know the face of a woman who was thoroughly satisfied last night, you are very, very wrong.”
“And this morning,” I answered shyly, face turning red.
“Fuck yeah!” he cheered, patting me on the back like a sibling would. “Maybe he’ll be less of a grump today.”
I sure hoped so. Both because of the sex and what I was about to do.
My eyes widened as we rounded the corner and the old rail house came into view. I had walked past the white brick two-story building countless times in the months I had been here, but today I was seeing it with fresh eyes. The pillars stood proud and the way the snow sparkled on the rooftop told stories of the magic that had the potential to lay within those walls.
“Looks like the door is still intact so there shouldn’t be any Pooh Bears inside,” Garrett playfully mocked me.
“Ha-ha. Very funny,” I replied without feeling any ounce of annoyance. I wouldn’t change a single thing about how the Harts came into my life, even if the reality of that was how I’d embarrassed myself in the process.
We cleared the snow away from the front of the rail house, and then Garrett took the crow bar to the door and started taking off the wood, piece by piece. There had been a lot of them.
Before Garrett removed the final few boards he turned back around with a pained expression on his face. “You’re sure about this, right?”
“As sure as I’ve ever been about anything.”
“Okay…that’s good. It’s just…Calvin, he—” I’d never seen Garrett struggle so much for words before. He was the smooth talker, always had a one-liner, ready to make anyone laugh at the drop of the hat. This was a side of him I’d never seen before. “Calvin is going to hate it,” he finally got out and then took a deep breath. “I mean…he will love it. But before he loves it, he’s going to hate it. My big brother has always been the greatest male role model in my eyes. He’ll tell you he only picked up the slack when Dad died, but I promise you he had been doing it much longer.”
That was news to me. As far as I knew, it was the loss of Calvin’s father that triggered his protective instinct, but it seemed his self-responsibility ran much deeper than that.
“It was Calvin who pushed the other kids off me when we were kids on the playground. It was Calvin who went to Melody’s father-daughter dance when he was almost thirteen and she was seven. It was Calvin who took care of my mom as she was inconsolable while my dad was on hisbusiness trips.” He finished that last part with obvious disdain.
We sat down on the front step of the rail house as he took in a breath and gathered his thoughts. “Our dad was an asshole who never treated us or our mom right. As kids, we saw it but never understood it until we were older. It’s never been said, but I am certain he was cheating on Mom. His own unhealthy habits bringing him to a heart attack would have almost been a blessing, if not for the heartbreak and struggles it still left us with. Calvin already hates that he hasn’t been able to fix all the debt he left us in. And to know you are essentially spendingyourlife savings to make up for what he views ashisshortcomings is going to kill him.”
The lack of photos of their dad along Calvin’s walls made more sense now. He must not have been as prominent of a figure in their lives as I had assumed.
I wasn’t here to give them a handout, though. That wasn’t at all how I saw this situation, and I didn’t want anyone else to see it that way either. “This isn’t a quick fix. I’m still going to need him to work for this if he wants it to work.” It was the truth. It was going to be a long road, but I believed we could make it happen. “Garrett, your family saved my life. This whole community has. This is more than just helping your family, but aboutgiving something back to this town that was lost a long time ago. This is about finding a spot for me and giving back to myself as well. There’s no way I am ever going back to work in a place where I might run into Nick, so this is something formejust as much as it is for Calvin.”
“Well, that’s something I can get behind then,” Garrett said, the mood effectively changed to be more positive. “When he gives you a hard time, I’ve got your back.” He rustled my hair as he stood up and took the last few boards off the doorway to the rail house.
One final push and the door fell away from the opening, clouds of dust sparkled in the sunlight that streamed in through the cracks in the boarded up windows, and I gasped.
In one reality, the rail house was the rundown space we saw in front of us. The ceiling was caving in, plaster peeled off the walls, rotted floorboards stuck up like the hazards they were. But in another reality—the one I was currently seeing—it was a beautiful and expansive ballroom. Gorgeous chandeliers dripped like diamonds falling from the sky. The curved staircases against the back walls held bridal parties and the mezzanine on top was where the bride and groom would say“I do.” This little town that stole my heart was going to get a lot of love poured back into it.
“It’s going to need a lot of work,” Garrett said, looking around.
“Don’t we all?” I beamed up at him.
