“How’d it go today?” Patrick asked as he passed the mashed potatoes, while balancing his curly-haired toddler on his lap.
Patrick had been my best friend for as long as I could remember. Our moms were best friends so our friendship had been inevitable, but him losing his mom and me losing my dad when we were both in high school bonded us even more. It didn’t helpthat his dad was a deadbeat who left when he was a kid, so he basically became a brother to me. We spent so many after school evenings and weekends together that I was convinced he was the favourite son sometimes. Now, with me running the family business and him being a single dad and the chief of police, it was hard to get together, so we made these family meals a priority.
“It’s going. Everything’s been really dry this season which makes the trees come down easily. But we need to be extra careful with our equipment.” One wrong backfire of an engine and we could be the ones causing the next forest fire.
“Goodness, I always worry about you boys out there.” Grandma Trixie shook her head at us, like it wasn’t the life she grew up living. It was because of that experience that made her so cautious, though. She had seen one too many accidents and close calls that I really did appreciate her care.
“We’re always careful, Gram.” I tried to calm her anxieties, giving her my most confident smile.
“How’d your chat with Carter go?” Mom asked me.
“What’s that punk up to now?” Garrett chimed in.
Carter was a year younger than Garrett but had made a name for himself when they were in high school at the same time. Garrett hadn’t been particularly pleased when I brought Carter on the crew, but I argued that people changed after high school. Although Carter hadn’t been proving me right lately, unfortunately.
I sighed. “Just taking longer lunch breaks than he should. Said he got tied up at the bank.”
“Ha.” Garrett’s sarcastic laugh was joined with a dramatic eye roll. “As if we don’t all live in the same small town. Nothing is everthatbusy.”
“Yeah, I told him it can’t keep happening, but honestly I don’t know what I’d do if we were down a guy. We’re already behind as it is.”
“Hey, it’ll all work out, man,” Garrett assured me while Mom silently watched our conversation.
I glanced over at Stella, who was sitting across the table as she chatted away with Melody. My sister was great at that, just like Grandma Trixie. She was always so in tune with other people. She had such a warm and welcoming personality that made everyone feel safe and celebrated. I could tell that was the energy that Stella needed as her body relaxed, and her smile softened over the course of the meal.
As we finished supper and split into separate areas of the house, Stella carried a stack of plates into the kitchen behind Grandma.
“Absolutely not!” I heard Grandma’s stern voice as I started to get a fire going in the living room. It was still late summer, but the nights cooled off and there was nothing better than an evening fire at Grandma’s. “You are aguestin this house, and you willnotbe cleaning up after us. Now, shoo.”
I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped me. No one stood a chance against Grandma Trixie when she told you how it was going to be.
“She’s pretty, isn’t she?” Patrick nudged me while Garrett looked on with that troublesome gleam in his eye. “Maybe I’ll shoot my shot with her.”
My glare narrowed in on Patrick as laughter shook the walls.
“Relax, Cal, we’re just pulling your leg,” Garrett responded. “Man, I’ve never seen you act like this. Like, yeah, I get it, we’re protective of our people. But I’ve never seen you sobroody.”
I took in a few deep breaths and re-centred myself by taking in the atmosphere of the living room. The bed and breakfast was the house that Grandma had grown up in, and it still held so much life. She had lived here with my grandpa where they raised my dad and uncles. After their kids grew up and moved out—my dad taking over the company and my uncles moving on to big city jobs, the house was too big and lonely for them, so theydecided to bring in guests and create new experiences out of the old farmhouse. Grandma Trixie was still holding on to it long after Grandpa passed, and now that my mom had moved into the basement suite things ran smoothly for them.
Looking around the living room, you could tell the amount of love this house had fostered. From family photos hanging on the walls, to homemade crafts decorating the space from when we were kids, to the notches on the wall by the stairs to mark our heights as we grew, this space had seen many versions of my family. Although I had my own house now, this was the place where I felt most at home.
“That door shouldn’t have been open. What if it had been Grandma picking berries, or if one of the local kids or Casper was playing around out there?” I knew mentioning Patrick’s two-year-old son would bring him to reason. “Or if we weren’t close by? That could have been a very different outcome.”
A serious look replaced the playful expression on both my brother and best friend’s faces.
Patrick’s already dark brown eyes deepened with his sincere tone as he eyed Casper, now playing with blocks on the living room floor. “No, you’re right, Cal. We didn’t mean to downplay the severity of the situation. But you can’t hold it against yourself either. That’s not your fault. And most people out here know to carry bear spray with them when they’re outside.”
I realized he was right. Apart from just securing that rail house door, I could do something else to make sure Stella was safe while she was here.
Just then, Stella poked her head in the living room. “Sorry to interrupt, I’m just going to grab my books here and head up to my room.” She motioned to the stack of library books she had still been clutching when she ran up to the house and dropped when I touched her.
They were on the end table beside me, and as I went to grab them so did she. Our hands softly grazed each other, but shepulled them back like I had burned her. Maybe I had, her touch had been so cold.
I picked up the books and handed them to her, her hands trembled slightly as she quickly grabbed them from me and pulled them close to her chest. It took everything in me not to grab her shaking hands.
“Thanks. For the books and for the rescue earlier.” Her self-deprecating laugh broke me while the pink that softened her cheeks threatened to steal my breath.
“Always,” I told her. It was a truth I didn’t even realize until that moment.
