AllFreeNovel
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After an hour's ride, we arrive at the farm, pulling through the gates with Adams etched in the iron of the gate, and Ma smiles at Emery. “Home sweet home.”
She pulls the truck down the driveway, until the white farmhouse I grew up in comes into view, followed by the big red barn behind it.
All these years, and it still hasn’t changed. Well, maybe it could use some paint on the shutters, which I make a note to do before I leave. There are a few missing shingles, and the hinges on the doors look like they’re a little rusty, but it’s nothing I can’t fix while I’m here.
It’s home. Always will be.
When I think of the future, when I’m retired from hockey, and living my life with my wife and kids, I think about living in a place just like this. Land for my kids to run after the dog on, a big house with a wraparound porch, so I can drink my beer and watch them play, and a big pond that ices over in the winter, so I can teach my babies to skate, and to shoot a puck just like my pop taught me. I never forgot those days, and to this day, the memories I made at this house live with me.
All I want is a family who loves me.
A life I’m proud of.
Ma puts the truck in park and hops out, walking up the lawn to greet my little sister Allie, who’s leaning against one of the pillars of the porch with a smirk on her lips. She’s taller, a little more filled out since I’ve last seen her, but she’s got the same mischievous glint in her eyes.
“You ready?” I ask Em, looking over at her.
She nods. “I am. Your mom is the best, I see why you love her so much.”
“Best woman I’ve ever known. She made me a good man. I owe everything to her.”
I open the door and get out, the gravel of the dirt driveway crunching beneath my shoes. Emery gets out behind me and I shut the door, facing my sister.
“Well, well, look at what the cat’s drug home,” she taunts.
“You know what they say, you always come home.” I grin and pick her up, spinning her around for a hug.
Growing up, Allie was my best friend. While I don’t get to see her as much as I’d like with me living in Chicago, and her life here, she’s still that person for me.
It’s why I understand and respect Emery and Reed’s relationship as much as I do, because I get it.
“You asshole, you didn’t bring me any deep dish?” Allie groans when I set her down on her feet.
“Language,” Ma chides, pushing past us into the house.
“Can’t exactly shove it in my carry-on, Allie.” I turn toward Em and grab her hand, tugging her gently against my side. “Allie, this is Em. Em this is my little sister, Allie.”
Allie smiles and gives her a quick hug. “Hi Emery. It’s nice to meet the woman who’s putting up with my brother. I feel for you, I do.”
This makes Emery laugh, a real genuine one that has me smirking in response. “It’s nice to meet you too. Your home is beautiful. Breathtaking and peaceful.”
Allie nods, looking out beyond the porch. “Yeah, it’s got charm that speaks for itself. Did you know my dad built it? He drew the plans himself and worked on it for over two years until it was complete.”
I was always so proud to tell people that. That my dad had a dream, and he brought it to life with his bare hands. That’s the kind of man he was, a man who wasn’t afraid to dream, and believed that by working hard and never giving up, you’d watch those dreams come true.
It’s kind of funny…my father who worked from sunup to sundown, devoting his life to blue collar work, with his head in the clouds.
I miss him. Every day and as my eyes slide over all the places on the farm that he touched, and built, and dreamed, the pain washes over me.
The once bright red barn, now worn with the years of age and weather, sits behind the house, housing my dad’s tractors and equipment. There are stalls for horses and goats, as well as the stray animals Allie would bring around at all hours of the night.
She was always like that, saving strays that wandered onto the farm.
Emery’s eyebrows shoot up in shock. “Wow, I had no idea he was so talented. How incredible, and to have this special piece of him here with you. The details on the house…” She trails off, walking around and running her hand over the white-washed wood of the porch rail.
Then she glances up at me, her blue eyes full of unshed tears. “I’m so sorry for your loss. He sounds like an incredible man. I’m sorry.”
Her hand tightens in mine, squeezing. Those words hit me right in the chest.
