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“With the overgrowth on the rubble, it doesn’t look like anyone has tried to repair it in a decade.”
“Do you think we should keep going?” I asked second-guessing our decision.
“If they didn’t want us to be here, why would they put a welcome sign?”
“Good point,” I said speeding up and very quickly seeing our first buildings.
It really was a functioning town. And there were more signs of life than I would have guessed. Although the town was sparse, there was a gas station, a restaurant, and what looked like a mom-and-pop grocery shop.
“What do we do?” I asked the detective who was scanning the town as intensely as everything else.
“Let’s go in and say hi?”
“You want to be social? You? The guy I had to force to go to a party?” I said tickled.
“Somewhere here could be answers to your past. I don’t want to set up unreal expectations. But, your mother could have lived here. It’s possible that she still does.”
Pain gripped my chest hearing Quin’s words. He was right. If my father did work at the hospital and that hospital was the closest one, this might have been where she lived. My heart pounded at the possibility.
“Where do we go?”
“Should we see if the general store has jackets?”
I parked the truck in front of the quaint wooden building and took a breath.
“Are you okay?” Quin asked watching me stare at the building.
“It’s a little overwhelming.”
“I don’t want you to get your hopes up. This could just be another town in the middle of nowhere.”
“Right. Or, it could be where I find out the thing I’ve been wondering about my whole life.”
“It could be that too. But, we can’t expect it to be.”
“You’re right. I need to reign it in. Okay, I’m good.”
The two of us left the comfort of our heated truck and were hit by the biting cold evening air. I had a bit of bulk to me to keep me warm, but I could see the cold air cut through Quin like a knife. It was only a few feet to the door, but I quickly wrapped my arms around him to keep him warm. This was the first time I had held him like this. It aroused me immediately.
Scrambling into the general store, I wasn’t quick to let him go. A bell sounded when we entered. Still holding Quin, a portly, dark-skinned man with a friendly face approached.
“Can I help you two?” He said in a way that immediately made me wonder if he was gay.
“Yes. Do you sell jackets?” I said forgetting that Quin was still in my arms and that there was anything unusual about it.
“We sell a few. They’re right over here,” he said leading us to the far side of the small store. “You two here to check out the falls?”
“The falls?” Quin asked as he held onto my waist not allowing me to let go.
“Sure. There are a group of falls a few miles away. They make for incredible viewing this time of year.”
“I bet they do,” I replied. “Quin, that sounds amazing.”
“You should check them out. Unfortunately, it’s getting dark so you probably wouldn’t want to go tonight.”
“That does sound amazing. But we’re just driving through. And we have a long drive back,” Quin said as if he had a plan.
“Stay over. There’s a bed and breakfast close by.”
