Page 9 of Together Is Where We Belong

As I pulled out of the repair shop and drove down Main Street, I let myself take in the familiar, yet different, sites around me. There were new stores that weren’t here eight years ago, but the small town feel of Haven Valley remained the same. I couldn’t wait to stop in Café Latte and try every single coffee they offered. Or go into the boutique, Sew Lovely, and check out the styles they offered. While I was unsure of my return at first, and I still had reservations, a piece of me, albeit small, was excited for this new journey.

Taking a deep breath, I turned off Main Street down the back road to my parents’ house. They still lived in the same small three-bedroom rancher that I grew up in. While they wanted me to return home the moment they found out about Luke, I stayed on course and found every way possible I could make it work to stay in South Carolina. I wanted to travel. I longed to see the world. But those two pink lines a month after I’d left had changed everything for me. For the better. Now I couldn’t imagine my life without Luke. It was a rough road to get to where we were today, but that little boy had saved me in ways he’d never understand. He grounded me in ways I never thought possible. And the moment our safety was threatened, I knew the one place I needed to return to ensure our safety.

I pulled into the drive and parked my SUV, quickly grabbed the groceries, and went inside to drop them off so I could meet the landlord in time.

“Hey, Mama. Did you grab the brownies I wanted?” Luke barreled into the room, running behind me as I set the groceries on the island.

He was always so full of energy, but I loved how excited he was to see me after a long, tiring day.

He reached on the island to try and snoop in the plastic bags.

I ruffled his hair as his search came up empty.

“I sure did, but you need to wait until after supper to eat one,” I reminded him.

He looked up at me with a pout, making sure to poke his lip out extra far, as if that would make me give in.

“After supper,” I reminded as I quickly pulled the remnants of fruit and snacks from the bags, making sure to put his favorite cookies, chocolate chip, on top of the fridge out of his reach.

He let out a huff, hung his head, and moped off.

I shook my head and laughed as I put the fruit in the fridge to rinse off later when I had the time.

“I’m off to meet the landlord,” I yelled to my parents, who I assumed were in the den with their shows on in the background while my mom knitted her blanket and my dad read the latest book he was reading. They were nothing if not predictable.

“See ya in a bit,” my dad, Wade, shouted in response.

I looked around the kitchen one last time to make sure I didn’t forget to put anything away before I took the few short steps down the hallway to the front door.

Once outside, I closed the door behind me and stood on the front porch for a beat. Taking a deep breath in, I clutched the necklace that I never took off and sighed.

“Please let this place go through so we can get back some normalcy,” I whispered the prayer and looked up at the sky before I walked down the stairs to my vehicle.

The drive was short, no more than ten minutes down the road, which would come in handy for when I went to work. I’d applied at the local doctor’s office the day I’d arrived and had an interview that same day. Thankfully, I got the job. It would be a change of pace from what I was used to, but the hours were better and I’d get to be home with Luke in the evenings and weekends, which was a blessing.

I pulled into the gravel driveway and stopped in front of the chain link fence for the backyard. The road was quaint with houses on about two acres a piece, still close to the neighbors, but not close enough to feel like you were on top of each other. I loved the porch that had a swing on one side and rocking chairs on the other. I envisioned myself drinking coffee in the mornings or a glass of wine at night as I opened the door and got out of my SUV.

I walked a few steps to the porch and barely had my foot placed on the bottom step when I heard the gravel crunch behind me.

Turning, I shielded my eyes from the sun as I watched the man approach. The brightness of the sun prevented me from seeing who the man was until he was almost in front of me.

None other than Gus from the repair shop stood in front of me. I thought a woman would be meeting me based on who I spoke to on the phone. I schooled my features so I wouldn’t come off as rude and greeted Gus.

“Nice to see you again, Gus,” I said as I held out my hand.

“None of that, Carolina. We hug around here,” he said with a laugh before putting his arm around my shoulder and giving it a squeeze. I laughed as I returned the nice gesture.

“I am kind of confused, though,” I said as I pulled back.

“I bet you were lookin’ for my wife to come by,” he said as he held out his hand to motion for me to continue climbing the stairs.

I nodded as I walked up the creaky wooden stairs and stopped just in front of the front door.

“She didn’t trust me enough to make sure the cookies she was makin’ didn’t burn,” he said with a laugh as he pulled a large set of keys from his pocket.

He tried a few before he found the one for this door. The hinges creaked, an easy fix with some oil, as he pushed the door open. A ray of light shone on the dark mahogany wood floors as I stepped inside.

There was an open floor plan, I noticed as I stepped inside just enough for Gus to follow. I didn’t want to appear like I owned the place by walking inside and making myself at home.