He throws a piece of popcorn at me playfully. I love this side of him. “He actually owned a mechanic shop. Lived and breathed grease and motor fuel. We sold it right before he passed. Donated the money to a start-up fund for kids who always struggled in school and wanted to attend trade school. Any type of blue-collar work, really.”
“That’s incredible and sounds like such a rewarding way to honor his memory.”
He nods, lips curling into a soft smile. “It was hard to part with it, especially since he spent most of his adult life under the hood of an old car. Hell, he taught me everything I know, too. Makes me want to buy a beater and fix it up just because those were the small things that brought him peace. Butselling the auto shop was the one thing he asked of us. Well, that and everything with Sydney of course.”
Silence finds him and as if I can read his thoughts, I know he’s thinking about them together. Ben and Sydney. “They really loved each other, huh?”
I’d expect him to get defensive when talking about the woman he almost married, but instead he laughs—it’s full and genuine—smiling so bright it tugs at my heart. “It was almost sickening how much. Sydney was Ben’s everything. They had that ‘to the ends of the earth’ kind of love. Never hot and cold. Always headfirst and resilient, despite anything that came their way. Especially cancer.”
Why do the good ones always die first? Why can’t it be the molesters? The child abusers? The rapists and the true criminals? They are the ones who deserve that kind of penance.
I know voicing that won’t change anything. He’s already gone.
“I wish I could have met him. And her. I think watching the three of you together would feel like my sister and me spending years apart and being reunited again.”
His eyes lift to meet my thoughts. “If only, right?” I catch the double meaning in his voice. The way it makes him both happy and sad to think about Ben being here.
In his currentnow.
Meeting me. The woman who was once nothing more than a stranger, turned acquaintance, turned friend, turned…something more.
“There’s actually something I wanted to ask you,” Easton stammers, and my heart races fast. “Remember how I told you Ben left me a note before he passed?”
I nod. “Yeah, of course I remember that.”
“Would you…” Oh no…shatter me in two, Easton Voss. “Would you mind reading it for me? Reading it to me? I don’t know if I’ll be able to do it alone.”
This sweet man. Sweet, kind, and compassionate man with nothing but love to give in his misunderstood heart. But one thing has changed—he’s no longer lost.
No, Easton Voss has found his purpose. His greater meaning. His asking for my help is the purest sign of it.
I love this freedom for him. I’ll cheer him on with green flags waving.
My hand finds his, and my heart stirs a bit in my chest as he pulls me to sit on his lap. “I’d do anything for you, East. Just say the word.”
He tucks a loose strand of hair behind my ear, and his forehead meets my chest as he exhales deeply. “I wish I could keep you, Cols. Bring you home and show you my world.”
Cols
We’re on the same page.
“We bloom where we’re planted,” I whisper to him softly. “And we both have some neglected watering to do.” Lifting his head slowly, I pull his distraught gaze to mine. “I’ll find you where the mountains of Salt Hollow meet the ocean of Timber Heights. Remember?”
Easton nods, not entertaining the conversation anymore. We both know it’ll make leaving tomorrow that much more difficult. “Let’s see what Ben has to say, okay? I’ll handle it with care. I promise.”
And he hands me the letter.
28
EASTON
East,
The day is finally here, huh?
Don’t let me hear of you being a coward and hiding this letter. I know you. If being your twin has taught me anything, it’s that you’re shit with feelings. I got the good genes in that department.
You and I both hate what’s coming. It’s inevitable and for you it’ll probably hurt worse than breaking your arm in third grade did. I’m just hoping God gives me some Dwayne Johnson kind of body when I get to the other side. Big abs and a killer smile. All those perfect angel ladies will come flocking (Don’t tell Syd).
