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“Yeah. It really was.”
“And that’s when you came back here?” asked Luca. “To Northhold?”
“Not at first,” I admitted. “For the first week or so I just drove around pretty aimlessly, marveling over what it was to be free again. It felt incredible, actually. Even though I had to leave everything to do with my old life behind.”
They looked at me pityingly, which I didn’t want. I cleared my throat and dried my eyes.
“But eventually, yes, I came back here. I wanted to be somewhere familiar, someplace safe. Even with my parents and siblings moved on, this place is still home for me. Always has been.”
“Always will be,” Tyler murmured, laying a reassuring hand on my shoulder.
My apartment was cold, even with the boys surrounding me protectively. That part was nice, but I found myself wanting the house again. I wanted the kitchen, the living room, the fireplace. The warmth of all the memories we were slowly building within its walls.
“I always knew Elijah would find me again if he wanted to,” I shrugged. “My hometown was never a secret I kept from him. But for the past year, he’s left me alone. My guess is he’s been distracted by something or someone else. But now…”
“Now the asshole lives across the street from us.”
I sighed heavily and nodded my head.
“Not for long,” snarled Luca.
Thirty-Six
TYLER
The over-occupancy citation came on Tuesday, the other violations in the days that followed. The board of health showed up to measure the diameter of every piece of plumbing within the restaurant, and the fire marshal’s assistant came in his stead, probably because he was too cowardly to do his dirty work.
By Friday afternoon, Aegean II was closed.
None of this was surprising. Jenna had prepared us for the eventuality of what Elijah might do, along with who we needed to contact in order to get everything cleared up again. Jay knew enough people to get the ball rolling on a lot of the fixes, and I’d been in enough town board meetings to know what came next. Even our landlord was surprisingly cool, and got moving quickly on whatever was within the scope of his purview.
Still, as with everything to do with plans, approvals, and town inspectors, it all came down to time.
The public outcry over the restaurant being so abruptly shut down was massive, and we hoped it might factor in when it came to resolving everything quickly. Until then however, all we could do was wait. It gave us plenty of time to work on the house, and to advance whatever projects Luca’s contractors weren’t currently working on. Jay was busier teaching boarding lessons as the snows fell more regularly, but he jumped in wherever he could. Together, the four of us got a ton of shit done.
It took several days before we got Jenna over feeling responsible for what happened, but eventually she came around. Using her own logic against her, we convinced her she’d done nothing wrong. That didn’t stop her from feeling badly, though. Even with all the extra hours she had been working at the spa and studio, she still pitched in.
With the holidays looming and the restaurant stuff stalling because of it, we were all pretty exhausted and strung out. So when Jay mentioned he had keys to one of the empty cabins up on the mountain, we jumped at the chance to get away.
“I know it’s kinda late but… wanna get the hell out of here tonight?” he asked, dangling the keys themselves.
Jenna was beaming. She glanced at me hopefully.
“Get packed,” I smiled back. “This is exactly what we need.”
She and Jay bounced off, leaving Luca and I standing there, holding our pair of end-of-the-day beers. We watched through the window as they piled into Jay’s ride and sped off to pick up clothes from their respective houses.
“Gotta do something real quick before we leave,” I said, shifting my gaze his way. “You with me?”
Luca chuckled. I had a feeling he was reading my mind. “You’re kidding, right?”
Together we headed for the door. On a whim I grabbed the basketball Jay had brought over a few weeks ago, after some two-on-two with friends.
Outside the air was cold but delicious, with a winter snap to it. We crossed the street in silence, walking with purpose. There didn’t need to be a plan. Nothing needed to be said.
But something needed to be done.
Approaching the house, we walked straight up the driveway and down the walkway to the front door. I rapped three times in rapid succession, waited a few seconds, then knocked again.
