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“I think school was easiest for me,” Gareth said. “I was the first Halverson of my generation to go through the school. The others had to deal with teachers who had already taught me and Kayleigh.”
“Was that bad?”
Gareth chuckled. “Well, for the ones who studied hard and were well-behaved, it was fine. For others, like Wilder, it was a trial. He’s more of a free-spirit and felt that studying certain subjects should be optional. He got compared to us older kids in a more negative way.”
“Oh. Yeah, I can see how that wouldn’t be much fun for him.”
“Do you have brothers or sisters?” He was pretty sure that Janessa had said Aria was alone after her mom died, but he figured it was a good way to keep the conversation moving.
“Nope. I’m an only child.”
“There were a few times when I was younger when I’d wished that was the case for me. Once I left for college, I didn’t feel that way as much.”
“How about now?”
“Living on my own makes dealing with the antics of my younger siblings a lot easier. Some—okay, mainly Wilder—still drive me bonkers at times.”
“Why does he do that? He seems nice.”
Gareth smiled. “Wilderisnice. He’s super nice, in fact. But I struggle to understand how unfocused he can be. He’s a drifter. During the winter, he works hard as a ski instructor to the rich, but once the snow melts, he’s gone.”
“Where does he go?”
“That’s the question of the day,” Gareth replied with a huff of laughter. “Wilder just heads off and sends a few texts or postcards as he wanders around the country. He’s also jumped on a plane and flown halfway around the world.”
“How do your parents feel about that?”
“Well, they aren’t thrilled because they’d like him to settle on a career or something,” Gareth said. “But since they’re off travelling too, they can’t very well come down too hard on him.”
“I can’t imagine living life without some sort of plan.”
“You and me both,” Gareth agreed. “I am happy to put down roots and stay put.”
When Aria didn’t respond to that, he glanced over to find her staring out the passenger window. His curiosity about what was on her mind was high, but he chose not to pry.
“There’s not much else to see around town,” he said as he pulled to a stop at a stop sign on a residential street. “Are you ready to head back to the house?”
She turned and gave him a quick smile. “Sure. Janessa might be wondering where I am.”
“If she was too worried, she’d be blowing up your phone,” Gareth said. “She might not even realize you’re gone if she hasn’t checked in on you yet. Janessa has always been one to give people their space.”
“Yeah,” Aria agreed. “I was always so grateful that she was respectful of my need for space when we were roommates. Not space from her. I’m talking about space from other students. She never tried to force me to go to parties or stuff like that. Though she did strongly encourage me at times.”
Gareth smiled with affection at the thought of his younger sister. “Yep. That sounds like our Nessa.”
It didn’t take him long to reach the large house and pull to a stop at the curb in front of it. Gareth hadn’t planned to get out of the car, but then the front door swung open to reveal Janessa. She walked out onto the porch and stood there with her arms crossed. Oh yeah, she was definitely wondering what was going on.
With a sigh, he turned off the SUV and got out. Aria closed her door, then walked beside him up the sidewalk to the house.
“Are you missing a friend?” Gareth asked as he reached the bottom of the steps.
She arched a brow at his question. “Perhaps.”
“I went for a walk,” Aria said. “Gareth spotted me, and when he realized I wasn’t dressed for tromping around town in winter, he offered me a ride.”
Janessa’s gaze flicked between the two of them before she said, “I’m going to need to look through your wardrobe and help you dress more warmly if you’re going to go for walks.”
“Oh.” Aria turned to Gareth as she pulled off the gloves and held them out to him. “Thanks for letting me use them.”
