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And of course he had to be in the orchard.
I approached the cluster of apple trees, both nostalgic and reluctant. My dad had died inside the orchard, when I should’ve been there with Beck.
Part of me wanted to run, afraid that my guilt would come crashing down.
However, I knew if I wanted to settle things with my siblings and truly find peace with the past, I had to stop running. I didn’t want any ghosts or demons lingering to poison the future with Emmy and my kids. So I picked up my pace and headed into the orchard.
When I was nearly to the center of it, I saw the old stone arch, bench, and giant wishing tree. But there was no sign of Nolan.
Or so I thought until I glanced up and spotted my brother halfway up the wishing tree, sitting on a branch, twirling a leaf between his fingers.
“Don’t you have a fancy contract where you can’t do dangerous shit like that?”
Nolan glanced down and shrugged. “What my agent doesn’t know won’t hurt her.”
He climbed down and jumped to the ground. As he dusted off his hands, Nolan tilted his head and asked, “What is it?”
Nolan didn’t tease and beat around the bush like Zach did. No, he always knew how to get to the heart of things. Even as a kid, Nolan had been so fucking mature for his age.
I leaned against the wishing tree and crossed my arms over my chest. “First, what are you doing here?”
“Making a wish, of course. And no, I won’t tell you what it was.”
“Out of all the wishes we’ve made over the years, how many have actually come true?”
“Not many. But hey, I figured it couldn’t hurt asking for one more.”
I studied my younger brother. All the Wolfe siblings had dark hair and were tall. Nolan’s eyes were more hazel than blue, though, and always seemed to hold secrets.
If I were closer with him, I might’ve pushed. But as it was, I needed a favor, and I didn’t want to piss him off. So I changed the subject. “Your friend Adriana became a fancy lawyer in San Francisco, didn’t she?”
Nolan sat on the stone bench and placed his hands on his knees. “Yes. But she doesn’t deal with custody battles, West.”
“But I’m sure she knows someone who does. I need a good one, no matter how expensive, to ensure I win.”
Nolan studied me a second and smiled. “You wouldn’t let me help you pay for the lawyers, but Emmy is going to, isn’t she?”
“Yes. And it’s not that I didn’t appreciate your offer, Nolan. But…”
Glancing down at his hands, Nolan rubbed his legs. “It’s funny. I didn’t set out to become a famous actor for the money. It’s nice, of course. But it’s frustrating as hell when your family won’t let you help them, no matter how often you offer to do so.”
I sat beside him on the bench. “We’re all stubborn fools, Nolan. You know that.”
He glanced at me and said dryly, “That’s the understatement of the year.”
I laughed, and Nolan finally smiled.
I said, “But you do help people you care for. I mean, what you did by recommending your friend to Emmy, Nolan, well, she’ll never forget it. Not to mention all the videos and ads for Starry Wolfe Wine you’ve made, which has most definitely helped the winery. Youarehelping your family, more than you know.”
“I suppose.” He studied me for a second and then added, “It’s nice to have you back, West. I know I was a pain in the ass back when we were kids, but I looked up to you. You didn’t put up with Beck’s shit, and yet you still had soft spots for the twins and Abby. I wish you would’ve come home sooner, but better now than never, right?”
In retrospect, I wished I would’ve taken more time for Nolan when we were kids. He was five years younger than me, three younger than Beck but nearly five years older than the twins, and seven older than Abby—meaning he’d never really had a chance to grow close to anyone because of the age differences. Maybe if things had been different, he and Beck would’ve been closer. But Beck had been forced to grow up when our dad died, leaving Nolan without a sibling close enough in age to be a real friend.
Well, I couldn’t change me leaving and forcing Beck to step up for the family. All I could do was try to get to know my brother now.
Which meant being honest. “How do you come here and not think of Dad?”
“Oh, I do. But Mom made a point of taking us here a lot after he died so that we wouldn’t associate the orchard with death. Beck managed to stay away, but the rest of us were too young to really resist.” He lifted one shoulder. “Plus, I had my first major make-out session in this orchard. And for a teenage boy seeing boobs in the flesh for the first time, well, that memory outshone any others.”
