DustyDog: Didn’t know if any of the welcoming committee made you an offer you couldn’t refuse. Show you the sights of town that you might have missed.
Me: Are you trying to get me laid, or are you hoping to live vicariously?
DustyDog: laughing emoji barfing emoji
DustyDog: Neither. The wife heard from three different friends that they gave you their contact info, and it sounds like there might be a lottery. (I can’t tell if you’re the prize or the victim.)
Me: I told you. I’m not interested. It’s nothing personal.
DustyDog: I’ve passed along your message, but Sparrow had that look in her eyes that tells me she has Ideas.
Me: Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
DustyDog: I’ll be highly amused, but I don’t know about you.
Me: Why did I want to come back to Sierra Rose Ridge?
DustyDog: You’re obviously a glutton for punishment.
DustyDog: See you at seven, sucker!
I laughed. There was enough time to plot out my first big projects, and I’d hit the hardware store in the morning.
A couple of patio chairs and a folding table would suffice. I didn’t expect guests, but if Patricia or Daniel wanted to check things out, they needed places to sit.
My heavy-duty rolling tool box was locked in the garage, ready to move to Dusty’s shop. Mechanics preferred to use their own tools, and I was no exception.
Maybe I’d get a pet. I never wanted to bring an animal into this house as a kid, even if I’d been allowed. And with my job, pets weren’t an option. A dog would be good here. Liven the place up and give me something to think about besides wishing for things that would never be.
Far-fetched dreams tried to invade my mind as they always did when I pictured my future, but I shoved them back. Dreams were more dangerous than any of my ghosts. The impossibility a future with Dani reminded me of my conversation with her dad.
“Why would you want to live in that place where you have so many bad memories?” Daniel asked after we gorged on tiny lasagnas.
“Sierra Rose Ridge is my home.”
To me, it had always been that simple.
“Sure, but there are other houses in Sierra Rose Ridge that wouldn’t be tainted by all the bad things that happened to you.”
“It’s a house,” I shrugged. “It didn’t hurt me. And it brought me you, all of you. You’re my home more than any address. I haven’t had a physical home in a long time, but this was always the one I wanted to come back to.”
His eyes glittered.
“Get your ass over here so I can give you a hug. If I get up and down too many times, it hurts, but I can’t let something like that pass without acting on it. Love you, boy, and I’m proud of the man you are.”
I bent to hug him.
“I’m glad you’re home, son. We missed you.”
I hadn’t cried in years, but some of that old poison leeched away with a few tears. I wasn’t magically cured from the shit my father put me through, but some of the heaviness lifted. It was enough.
Not only were there no demons barring the door of my old house, my guardian angels welcomed me home again. Despite my niggling worry on the drive here, no nightmares haunted the halls. As I told Daniel, it was only a house.
“Enough maudlin bullshit,” I told myself. “It’s time to run the gauntlet again.”
With a groan, I washed up, but it would be easier to get it over with than dread it. The diner was the next hot spot to pay my respects to the town gossips.
I still wasn’t ready to see Dani, though a reunion at the Tavern might be better than something more private. Maybe I was more of a pussy than I thought, but I needed to shore up my defenses first.
