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1
The house hadn’t changed much since the last time Zack Winslow had been home. The trees lining the long winding driveway were taller and the flowers in front of the wrap-around porch were different, but it was still mostly the same.
He and his siblings had grown up in this rambling old Victorian with the black shutters. They had played in the yard, jumped in mud puddles when it rained, and eaten ice cream on the back patio on hot summer nights. His early years had been happy ones, filled with so many wonderful memories. He’d had a magical childhood in this little town.
To get here from the airport, he’d driven through Winslow Heights - the town his ancestors had helped found many generations ago - and it hadn’t changed much either. There were a few new businesses in the quaint downtown area, but most of it had almost been frozen in time. He could have navigated his way here with his eyes closed. He’d seen pictures of it from back in the 1960s, and it didn’t look much different today except that the cars parked on the streets were modern.
In a way it was comforting to come home to something that held on so fiercely against the tides of inevitable change and what some people called progress. There was a certainty in it that was a balm to the soul.
Sameness didn’t always equal happiness, though. He was sure that there were things that should have changed but hadn’t. At least not for the better.
The door flew open, and their housekeeper Emma stood on the front porch with her arms outstretched and her smile wide. Emma was also a constant in the Winslow home and a good one. She’d been with the family since Zack was ten, and every year she talked about retirement. And every year she said maybe next year. At this point, she only managed the staff needed to maintain a house and grounds this large. She wasn’t taking care of little kids or scrubbing bathtubs.
There was more gray in her hair than the last time he’d seen her, but she still looked energetic and vibrant. Her blue eyes twinkled as she beckoned to him, reminding him of all the times he’d sat in her kitchen and had an after-school snack. She’d feed him brownies and juice all the while asking him about his day. No detail was ever too small.
“Come give us a hug,” Emma laughed. “Damn, it’s good to see you. I think you’ve grown another foot since the last time.”
Emma always said stuff like that even though he was the same height he’d been when he left for college eighteen years ago.
“If I grew as much as you seem to think I do, then I’d need a whole new wardrobe every few years,” he said, giving her a warm hug. She always smelled of Chanel No. 5. She said it had been a gift from his mother, and she’d instantly loved the scent. “How are you doing, Emma? Life treating you okay?”
“You’d know the answers to those questions if you were around more,” she shot back. “When was the last time you were here? Five years ago?”
He knew exactly how long it had been. He’d come for Christmas three years ago. Zack and his father had argued about the family firm, ruining dinner according to his Aunt Kimberly. Zack had left two days early. He hadn’t been in a hurry to come back.
“Not that long.” He took a step toward the doorway and then paused, thinking better of it. “How bad is it?”
Emma sighed and shook her head, her hands on her hips.
“It isn’t pretty, I’ll tell you that. Your aunt’s in a tizzy, and your dad is trying to keep her calm. He’s on the warpath, too, about your sister.”
“Frankie or Piper?”
“Both, if I’m honest. Frankie is back in town, but she says she’s not coming to the wedding although she also says that she’s here because Cooper asked her to be. Piper isn’t coming either, but your father didn’t expect her to. He expected Frankie, though. He’s not happy about that. Kim is upset too.”
“What about Cooper?”
Zack knew that his brothers Tate and Sam would attend. But Cooper? He was a wild card.
“How is it that I talk to your siblings more than you do? Don’t you talk to your brother? I thought you two were close.”
Of all his siblings, Zack had been closest to Cooper. They were only two years apart, so it had seemed natural. They’d had fun together as kids and then teenagers, but somewhere along the line Cooper had become a stranger, getting married and then divorced, all the while wandering the world aimlessly. He’d come back to Winslow Heights a few years ago and didn’t appear to have any source of income but he didn’t seem hurting for money either.
Cooper romanced the ladies in four counties, seeming to have all the time in the world to simply have fun. Zack was afraid that his brother’s devil may care attitude and abundant charm was going to get him in trouble one day. As it was, Cooper might deal drugs or rob banks for all Zack knew.
“He doesn’t call me either,” Zack replied defensively. “The phone goes both ways.”
To be fair, Cooper had come to New York City to visit Zack about eighteen months ago, but Zack had barely spent any time with him. His job - make that former - had him working insane and inhumane hours. Cooper, on the other hand, had gone out every night and had a blast, always inviting Zack along, of course.
“Cooper says that he’s not coming to the wedding either. I hope you can talk to your brothers and sisters, Zack. Your father is very hurt about all of this, as is Kim.”
“They’re adults, Emma. They make their own decisions.”
Zack wasn’t all that sure why he was here, either, although he didn’t say so. He’d been of two minds about attending this wedding, but eventually, he’d decided that he didn’t want to have regrets later. Besides, he didn’t have anything better to do anymore.
“I thought I heard someone out here,” a familiar voice boomed from the doorway. “We could have sent a car to pick you up from the airport if you’d told us when you were flying in.”
His father. Joel Andrew Winslow.
