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Avery squealed and pointed toward the creek. “Come on, Wyatt. I saw a salamander, I think. Or maybe it’s a newt? You like that stuff more than me, so come help me find it, and we can show Daddy.”
Smiling, I watched them and started to think how spending their days here might not be so bad.
It wasn’t long before I said we had to go home. Wyatt asked me, “So we can come back here every day for summer vacation?”
There wasn’t any real reason for me to say no. It was safe enough for them to walk between the properties—the only danger had been some asshole out to destroy Beck’s girlfriend, but he was now in prison—and I’d laid out that they had to stay within the fences.
So I nodded. “Yes, as long as you check in frequently and take the emergency cell phone with you, in case you need it.”
Avery hugged me. “We will do both, Daddy! I promise!”
Wyatt nodded. “Yes, I promise too.”
Uncaring if he was embarrassed, I brought my son close, and we had a long overdue group hug. Once Wyatt finally wiggled away, I released Avery and gestured toward the house and barn in the distance. “We’ll say goodbye first and then head home. Make sure to thank Emilia for letting you play on her land during your summer vacation.”
We started walking back, and Avery asked, “Why do you call her Emilia?”
“That’s her name.”
“But everyone calls her Millie.”
Which, to me, didn’t suit her, not one bit.
Although, I didn’t know why she’d started going by that nickname. Maybe I should ask her.
No.The last thing I needed was to get to know Emilia better and maybe start to like her. Well, more than I already did.
I replied, “That’s true. If she ever asks me again to use Millie instead of Emilia, I’ll do it.”
Avery sighed. “I can’t really have a nickname for Avery. I mean, what? Ave? Ri-ri? Both sound stupid. But at least it’s the same for Wyatt. I mean, Wy sounds like Why, and it would only get super confusing.”
“But your Uncle Beck and Aunt Lori call you Tater Tot.”
“I didn’t mind it when I was little, but I’m older now.”
She’d earned the name during the one summer my kids had stayed with my family in Starry Hills, when I’d tried—but failed—to help my wife at her lowest.
Thankfully, we were nearly to Emilia’s house, and my kids raced toward it, so I didn’t have time to go down memory lane. Abby greeted us at the door, dressed in black pants and a light-blue button-up top, probably an outfit left over from her teaching days.
She hugged my kids and then pulled my grumbling ass into a hug as well. I gently patted her shoulder, and then she released me. It was still weird to meet her gaze, since she was only a couple inches shorter than me.
About the only good thing about being away so long was that I’d been instantly able to see just how much she looked like our mother, with the same brown hair and green eyes and slightly too long nose. She probably had fought off the boys in high school, and I wish I could’ve been there to protect her.
But I hadn’t.
Like with the rest of my family, my cowardly ass had let her down too.
Abby lightly swatted my arm. “Do you ever stop scowling? I swear, sometimes I think you’re a grumpy old man in a younger skin.”
Avery giggled. “He’s not like that with me and Wyatt, though. He pretends to be mean and rude, but he’s not. Not really. Just not always happy.”
Abby raised an eyebrow, and I raised one back. I knew about how she’d left her dream teaching job in San Jose and had returned to Starry Hills rather abruptly. She never talked about it—at least to my family—and we both knew it. If she was going to pry, I’d do the same.
My sister rolled her eyes. “Whatever.” She looked at my kids. “Did you have fun today?”
“Yes! We found some salamanders near the creek. Maybe next time, we’ll have the emergency phone Daddy is going to give us, and Wyatt can take some pictures. That’s allowed, right? I know we can’t use it unless it’s an emergency, though.”
I hadn’t wanted to give them cell phones for a couple years yet, but if they were to be roaming Emilia’s land, they needed one. “Pictures are fine. There won’t be any internet or games on it, though. So just phone calls, text messages, and pictures. Okay?”
