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Prologue
Callan
As the crisp Washington air blows across my skin, I find myself lost in the rhythmic sound of waves crashing against the shore. There’s no place like home. It’s funny that I forgot this for a long time. My brothers, Blaze and Zach, did too. It took losing Gramps to realize the importance of home and family. Why is it that it takes tragedy to wake so many of us to truly living?
The salty scent of the ocean fills the air, and I inhale deeply, loving the blend of salt and sweetness from the fragrant flowers beginning to bloom. Bees circle them, continuing the beauty of spring in the Pacific Northwest.
We’re gathered tonight at the ranch, celebrating my brother Blaze’s upcoming marriage to his beautiful fiancée, Cori. I’m not sure how he was so lucky to find this woman, but he’s managed not to screw it up, and I’m more than happy to add her to the family. She’s a perfect fit. It wasn’t too long ago I scoffed at love, but seeing the two of them together might be changing my mind about some happily-ever-afters.
I turn to see the main house sitting up on the hill and realize how lucky I was to grow up in this piece of paradise. Blaze, Zach, and I are triplets and our parents died when we were teenagers. Gramps immediately took us in. We were angry, confused, and heartbroken, but he made it all better. Of course we grew up, thought we were too cool for family, and went off into the world to find ourselves. Zach and I came back home far more than Blaze, but I feel like we all let Gramps down. We placed our careers and our own lives ahead of our relationship with the man who gave us so much. It was wrong.
There’s nothing we can do about that now, but we can do what he wanted most, and that’s be together more. Gramps was an incredibly wealthy man, but he always told us all of the money in the world doesn’t matter if a person doesn’t have love and family. I thought that was foolish but now I realize how right he was. My throat tightens so I pull away from these sorts of thoughts. It will do me no good.
When we were young we believed those we loved would be around forever. The older we get the more we realize just how fragile life is. People we care about most can be ripped from us in the blink of an eye. There have been times in my life I wonder what the purpose of this existence is. Each day we wake up, work a job we either love or hate, go to sleep, then repeat this over and over again. Why? Just so we can die old, frail, and alone?
Other times, I appreciate my life, and want to live it to the fullest. I’m not sure what this means. I’m thirty-four years old, pretty fortunate with my looks, and have always been naturally talented. I’m one of the lucky ones. I work hard so it isn’t as if Gramps handed my brothers and me everything on a silver platter, but I’m well aware I was blessed from the moment I was born. I was arrogant about it when I was young, but the older I get, the more I appreciate how great life can truly be.
I head back to the lodge where Blaze, Cori, and Zach are waiting. It’s funny to see my brother so excited to get married. The wanderer has come home, and even odder, he’s perfectly content to do so. He’s happier than I’ve ever seen him before, and it’s all because of Cori.
I realize I’m lost right now. An uneasiness gnaws at the edges of my consciousness. It’s not about my brother’s happiness, it’s what he’s expecting of me today. It’s foolish really. I don’t know why I feel this way. It’s just a stupid box.
A year ago when our Gramps passed away, he left these three strange boxes on his desk that we’d received sixteen years earlier from some strange woman at a lake near our college campus.
We ignored the boxes and shipped them home that summer with the rest of our things. Gramps must’ve found them. What’s so strange about the whole thing is on his dying day he left them on his desk with notes for us to open the boxes one at a time. We could fight it, but we haven’t put up too much of an effort.
How did Gramps have anything to do with boxes from a lady he didn’t know? I have no idea. Blaze was the first to open his box, which sent him on a treasure hunt with Cori, who’s now about to become his wife. A shiver rushes through me. I’m not necessarily opposed to marriage, but I want it to come on my terms, not because Gramps is messing with me from the other side. I don’t see how I’m going to get out of this one though, not with my brothers pushing it.
I walk into the house and hear laughter. Following the sound of voices, I find my brothers and Cori in Gramp’s office, our gathering place. It’s not a typical office. The room is huge with a fireplace, plenty of seating, a beautiful liquor cabinet, and of course, the legendary desk he sat at for many years. I still remember being a young boy, rushing into the room and sitting on Gramp’s lap as he let me open drawers to find untold treasures inside. This makes me smile. Damn, I miss him more and more each day.
Two boxes still sit on his desk. We haven’t removed a single thing from Gramps’s office other than Blaze’s box. We’ve dusted, but that’s about it. This desk will stay just as it is for as long as we live. I don’t know what it is about the desk remaining as it was that makes us think Gramps is here with us, but it’s comforting.
“You’ve been gone a while, brother,” Blaze says, leaning against the back of the couch, a drink in one hand, his other arm wrapped around Cori, who looks like an angel.
“A storm’s brewing. I’m surprised Cori wasn’t down there with me,” I say.
She laughs. “I was there for hours earlier,” Cori says. She’s the first to dance in the rain in a good storm... one more endearing thing about the woman. My brother really did get lucky. I’d certainly be up for marriage if I could find someone as great as she is.
“I think you were hiding,” Zach says with a cocky grin.
“I don’t hide,” I assure my brother. Everyone laughs. We all act tough, but we have our soft sides too. There just aren’t many people who get to see this.
“Quit stalling. We’ve waited an entire year for you to open your box. The wait’s officially over,” Blaze says as he stands and moves to the desk, lifting my box. “I want to know what fate has in store for you.” He hands me the box. A surge of static rushes through my body.
I hesitate as I run my fingers along the worn surface of the box. A huge part of me wants to toss the thing in the blazing fire heating the room. I’m not sure I’m up for whatever challenge this box contains. I want to simply continue living my life the way I’ve been living it. No surprises.
Honestly, though, another part of me, a much smaller part, is curious and can’t resist the pull of this damn box and whatever’s inside. I’m not the adventurer Blaze is, but I do have a love of challenges... and this is most certainly a challenge.
With a sigh, I pick up a letter opener and slice the tape on top of the box. Inside are several miniature buildings. I pull each piece out and set it on the coffee table in front of the couch. My brothers are looking at this with curiosity and confusion, just like I am. It’s a miniature village with trees, animals, a small pool, a tennis court, and tiny people.
“What the heck?” Zach asks with a chuckle. I shrug.
“Maybe you’re supposed to have a village,” Blaze offers.
“It’s adorable,” Cori says. She lifts up a horse and trots it through the air.
On the bottom of the box is a card. My fingers tremble as I pull it out. I don’t recognize the handwriting, which fills me with disappointment. I want it to be from Gramps. Maybe this truly is from some strange woman we saved from the lake sixteen years ago. But if that’s the case how had she managed to send Blaze on such an adventure? I don’t get it.
“Open it,” Zach demands, sitting on the edge of his seat. It breaks the spell I’m under. I open the envelope, pull out the card, and read it once, even more confused. Then I read aloud before my brothers and Cori rip it from my fingers. None of us are known for our patience.
