by Eryn Scott
Yep. New setup, for sure.
This time Hadley did laugh. “Hold your horses, woman. Nothing’s going to happen. We’re 100 percent divorced.” She shot a can you believe this woman? look back at Luke, but he was staring out the window.
Deborah patted Hadley’s hand. “You keep telling yourself that, dear. As someone who’s been divorced before, I can tell you the spark never dies out. It’s always burning somewhere, however small. Like a pilot light, if you will.” She pulled into a vacant lot. “And here we are, Luke.”
Luke was out the door before Deborah even turned off the car. He strode around the property for a few minutes while Deborah jogged behind him, reading him stats off the listing. Hadley stayed in her seat, but rolled down her window after the air inside became stifling after a few minutes.
“You could build in a variety of spots on this property, but I think this over here would be the best spot since you get a great view of the mountains, especially if you build something that’s a few stories tall.” Deborah squinted in the sunlight and pointed to a flat part of the clearing to their right.
Nodding, Luke appeared to relax out of the uptight mood he’d seemed to be in when they’d first arrived. “It’s a good option. I’ve been thinking more about building.”
They chatted about his options for a few more minutes and then returned to the vehicle.
“It’s nice out here, Luke,” Hadley said once the others were back inside the car with her.
He didn’t even meet her gaze as he buckled in and grunted out a response.
Surprised, Hadley focused on rolling up her window as Deborah started the car and the AC turned on again. Then she spent the five-minute drive to the next property completely chipping the nail polish off her left pointer finger.
What was Luke’s problem?
She didn’t have a chance to dwell on the question, because they arrived at the house Deborah had brought her to see.
“Wait, this is Leo’s rental.” Hadley blinked as they drove down the oak-lined driveway and stopped in front of the beautiful, cedar-shake house. She looked over at Deborah. “I didn’t know he was selling.”
Deborah’s bright red lips curled into a smirk. “It’s not even on the market yet. He owes me a favor, so he told me about it first.”
Hadley couldn’t help but return Deborah’s smile. After downsizing to a smaller house once his daughter went off to college last year, the whole town had been watching what Leo would do with his house. Still unsure what his future held, he’d decided to rent it out, much to the disappointment of the dozen or more townspeople who’d had their eye on the place for the past decade.
No one thought he would ever part with the place. He had called it his refuge, the house he’d purchased after he and his wife had divorced when Jessie was a child.
A single dark cloud darkened Hadley’s excited thoughts as she looked out at her dream house. She couldn’t help but recall how Tyler had let slip the fact Leo’s business was in trouble. Was that part of the reason he’d decided to sell his other house? Was he selling this place instead of the store? She remembered Penny mentioning the store was no longer for sale. The thought sat in her gut like a pill taken on an empty stomach.
Hadley chanced a glance back at Luke. “Can you believe this?” she asked.
He shook his head, surprise lifting whatever odd mood he’d gotten himself into earlier.
“Let’s go look!” Deborah clapped her hands excitedly.
The three of them exited the car. Hadley sighed as the sound of the river enveloped them from where it rushed by at the bottom of a ravine to her right. It was the perfect location: a short walk downhill to the banks, but without having to worry when the river occasionally flooded during the rainy months in the spring and fall.
The property was dotted with old-growth pine trees, enough to throw patches of shade on the house and yard, but not enough to block a good splashing of sunlight.
“As you probably know, the house is just under twenty-four hundred square feet. The deck adds another seven hundred to that, if you consider it an extension of the living space, which I do.”
Deborah led them inside.
The whole house smelled like laundry dried in the summer breeze. Whitewashed walls accentuated the dark wood moldings and accent beams. Sunlight streamed into the kitchen through multiple skylights in the celling, bathing the painted concrete countertops in warmth.
“Is there still a tenant here?” Hadley asked, pointing to a bag visible in the open bedroom and a makeup bag sitting on the counter of the guest bathroom.
Deborah waved a hand. “Jessie’s just staying here for now. Probably wanted her own space since she’s so used to living away from her dad now.” The woman rolled her eyes, letting them know exactly what she thought of that.
She bustled them down the hall and into the great room.
“There are three bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, and a small room which could be used as an office,” Deborah said.
Instead of following Deborah, Hadley walked forward, pulling open the sliding glass door leading out onto the back porch. Bedrooms were one thing, but what she cared about most was what lay outside. Stepping out onto the large deck, Hadley smiled as a full, unobstructed view of the southern part of the valley opened in front of her. She could picture sitting in a nice comfortable chair, reading a book while glancing up to this beautiful scenery.
On top of the awesome view, the backyard also had a mature garden with beds running down both sides and a few fruit trees in the middle. There looked to be peas, lettuce, purple cabbages, strawberries, and tomatoes. Hadley even noticed a few beehives near the back corner, next to a covered stack of firewood.
Hadley turned as Deborah and Luke walked out onto the deck after her. “It’s amazing. Are you sure it’s in my price range?”
Deborah nodded. “Near the top, but yes. I figured this would be one you’d be willing to stretch for.”
Luke asked, “And no one else knows about the place yet?”
“Not yet,” Deborah said. “But you know how this town works.”
He clicked his tongue. “That’s what I was worried about.” He turned to Hadley. “If you’re already going to be stretching to give him his asking price, I don’t know if it’s going to be enough.”
Hadley’s forehead wrinkled in confusion. “Why wouldn’t it be enough?”
“Because I think you’re going to be in a bidding war for this place and asking is only where that will start.”
“Why will I be in a bidding war when no one else knows?” Hadley put a hand on her hip.
Luke crossed his arms over his chest. “Because I want this place too.”
18
Hadley was sure she was going to have to pay someone to refinish the wood floors in her living room from all of the pacing she’d done upon returning home after seeing Leo’s house.
Or maybe she should save her money for the dental work she was going to need to fix the teeth she would likely crack if she continued to grit them like she’d been doing ever since Luke announced he was going to bid for the house too.
She picked up Marmalade—sure she was keeping her, she’d named her after the citrus preserve and its orange color. Petting the kitten’s soft fur, Hadley to try to calm herself.
“That man is the most infuriating… jerk I’ve ever met,” she grumbled to herself as she continued to pace.
“You wouldn’t be talking about me, now, would you, Had?”
Hadley jumped and spun around to see Tyler standing in the doorway to the kitchen. He raised one dark eyebrow as he leaned into the doorframe. He was wearing the same bluish-black jeans as yesterday, it seemed, but he’d changed into a red T-shirt featuring some Seattle brewery’s logo on the front. An odd mixture of annoyance and nostalgia washed over Hadley. Red had always been her favorite color on Tyler.
Marmalade stiffened at the sight of him, however, and jumped out of Hadley’s arms, skittering off to join Ansel on th
e couch.
Tyler peered over at them. “Two cats? We’ve been divorced less than a year, and you’re already becoming a crazy cat lady.” He laughed.
She didn’t.
“What are you doing, Ty? You don’t live here anymore. You can’t just waltz in whenever you want.”
He put his hands up in defense. “I came to help. You said it would be nice if I did.”
Exhaling, Hadley said, “Okay, but next time would you at least knock?”
Tyler agreed, and she showed him to the spare bedroom, where she’d stored all of the things she needed his opinion on.
In only half an hour, they’d gone through all the books in their library and half of the photo albums, splitting things up as evenly as they could. Tyler had begun a pile of things he would bring with him when he went back over the mountains. There was a donation pile, and Hadley brought a box over to pack the things she was going to keep.
She balked as she picked up their wedding album. Her gaze tiptoed up to meet his.
Tyler caught sight of what she held and cleared his throat. “Oh, wow.” But instead of sitting in the discomfort like she was, he took it from her and plopped into the chair in the corner of the room. Flipping open the cover, a wide smile overtook his face. “Man, look at these kids.”
Enticed, Hadley walked over and perched on the arm of the chair, leaning in to see the nineteen-year-old versions of them. His hair was longer and shaggier, while hers was shorter, curled into soft waves hanging around her shoulders. Tyler had bulked up since then, though not necessarily in a bad way. Hadley brushed a hand along her hip, knowing she’d gained some weight in that area. But other than being skinnier and a decade younger, the people in the photo also had an innocence to them which made Hadley want to cry.
“They look so happy,” Tyler said.
“They had no idea what was coming, did they?” she added.
Sadness washed over Tyler’s features as he glanced up at her. After she’d found out about what he’d actually been doing when he said he was going on all of his business trips, he’d said he was sorry so many times Hadley lost count. And while his apologies made it easier to be in the same room with him, they couldn’t erase her distrust.
Letting go of one side of the album, Tyler reached over and took her hand with his. He moved like he wanted to pull her into his lap like he used to, but he hesitated and must’ve rethought that because he just squeezed her hand, instead.
“What should we do with this?” Tyler asked, finally.
Hadley let go of his hand and moved back over to the pile of albums. She moved two and then pulled out a black leather one. “We have two. This is the one the photographer made us.” She pointed to the album still in his hands. “That’s the one your mom put together. You keep that one, and I’ll take this.”
He nodded, then continued to flip through the pages of the one he held.
“Ty,” she whispered. When he looked up, she said, “We’ve got a lot to go through. As much as I’d like to sit down and reminisce about how skinny my arms used to be, I don’t think we have time.”
She also didn’t want to get caught looking through photos bound to make her feel sentimental and push her toward poor decisions.
Tyler seemed to understand. “Right.” He cleared his throat and patted the album cover as he closed it.
Without two copies of the other albums in their collection, they had to employ a much more discretionary tactic for the rest of the pictures, but an hour later they’d finished.
“That wasn’t so bad,” Tyler said, standing and stretching.
Hadley patted off her pants since some of the pictures had been a little dusty and stood. “We haven’t even started looking at furniture.”
Tyler cringed in response, but as it turned out, neither of them needed to worry. They’d always butted heads when they’d been married, fighting over how to decorate the house, what kind of car to get, and even what to make for dinner. But now that they were no longer a couple, compromise felt so much easier. They went through the whole house, putting sticky notes on whatever they wanted.
“Your grandma gave us these,” Hadley said, running her hand along the top of one of their matching bedside tables. “You should take them.”
Running his hand along his chin, he nodded. “Okay, well then you get the headboard since your dad made that.”
“Deal,” she said.
“Deal.” He held his hand out and she shook it.
Instead of letting go, however, he held on, holding her gaze with his just as intensely. She’d always had a soft spot for those brown eyes of his. Tyler tugged her closer to him until she could feel his breath on her neck.
She remembered what Deborah had said earlier about there always being a spark. She couldn’t deny it. This was Tyler, after all. He was the first boy she’d dated and the one she’d spent so many years thinking was going to be her last.
“Had, I’ve missed you,” he whispered as he bent closer, wrapping an arm around her waist.
Before Hadley could decide how she should react, what she should say, her phone began buzzing from where she’d tucked it in her back pocket. She pulled away from Tyler and took out the phone. It was Paul.
“Hey,” she answered.
“You busy?” he asked.
Tyler stepped back, raking his fingers back and forth through his hair.
“No,” she answered. “What’s up?”
“I have a few questions for Barry. I think he’ll take it better if you’re there with me.”
“Uh, sure.” She had some questions of her own, but didn’t want to ask them in front of Tyler.
“Be there in ten minutes.”
Paul hung up before she could answer.
Tyler looked up. “That Paul?”
Hadley nodded.
“Then that’s my cue to leave,” he said, patting his pockets like he always did when he was making sure he had his keys and wallet. “If it’s possible, that brother of yours has gotten bigger since the last time I was here, and I don’t want to be on the receiving end of the knuckle sandwich I know he’s dying to serve me.”
Chuckling, Hadley couldn’t argue.
Tyler walked past her and planted a kiss on her forehead like he used to. Her chest tightened in pain as she watched him leave. They’d been working in the bedroom, and the spare bed was right in front of her, so she let herself fall, face-first into the comforter.
Ansel and Marmalade came trotting in after Tyler left. The sound of paws padding on the wood floor didn’t even entice her to look up.
When Paul got there a few minutes later, Hadley was in the same spot. Ansel was curled up next to her head, and Marmalade had climbed onto her back and was perched there, purring away.
“Hey, you okay?” he asked.
The bed shifted as he sat on the edge.
“Mm ummfued.”
“Come again?”
She lifted her face from the comforter and felt Marmalade jump off her back. “I’m confused.”
“Would this confusion have anything to do with the fact that I passed Tyler on my way here?”
Hadley wrinkled her face into a frown. “Maybe.”
He set a hand on her back and patted it a few times. “Sorry, Had. I know none of this can be easy.”
“I can’t tell if it would’ve been worse having to do all of this packing on my own, but gosh is it hard having him here again.”
Paul shook his head. “I’m still in the I wish he’d never show his face here again camp, but that’s just me.”
Rolling onto her side, she asked, “So why do you need me to go talk to Barry with you? Did you guys hear back about the type of bee responsible for stinging Charlie?”
“Not yet, but we did find out what that sticky substance was on the handle.”
Hadley sat up. “What?”
“Honey.” Paul’s forehead creased together as he watched her react.
“That’s not good.” Focusing on her finger
s, Hadley began to pick the polish of one off her pink nails.
Paul sighed. “That’s why I want to talk with him. I need to give him one last chance to come clean.”
Hadley swallowed as a lump formed in her throat at the idea that Barry might’ve been responsible for Charlie’s death. She got up off the bed.
“Well, I guess there’s only one way to find out.”
19
Barry’s bee farm was only a few minutes away. Paul parked next to Barry’s old red truck, and they headed for his house. It was an odd sensation for Hadley. Most of the times she’d visited the man, he’d been out working around the hives or on his garden. She’d been to Barry’s house close to a hundred times in her life, but Hadley could count the times she’d gone inside on one hand.
Paul knocked on the faded front door. While Barry’s house and farm were all mostly well maintained, they couldn’t hide their age or the reality that one man was in charge of running the whole farm by himself.
When Barry opened the door moments later, he was just pulling on his normal newsboy-style cap.
“The James twins,” he said with a hint of surprise. “To what do I owe this pleasure?” The old man’s voice held a tremor that made Hadley quite sure he wasn’t expecting the visit to be pleasurable.
Her stomach flipped. He knew why they were there, which meant he had done something to Charlie.
“Hey, Barry.” Paul took off his sunglasses and stepped inside. “I’ve got some questions for you.” It didn’t matter that Paul wasn’t wearing his sheriff’s uniform—Sundays being his usual day off each week—his tone, and the way he scanned the room made it clear they weren’t just there for a social call.
“And your lovely sister is here to soften me up?” Barry asked. He set a hand on her arm, squeezing down through the slight shake in his fingers that seemed to have been present for the last ten years or so.
Hadley covered his hand with hers and patted it gently.
Paul tipped his head. “You know us too well, Barry.”
“Come and sit, then.” Barry motioned to the dining room table their father had made for him before they were born.