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“Sounds to me like you could land a ten-year contract, at least.” He laughs.
I shrug. “I’ll contact the network as soon as I get back to the house.”
We ride in a comfortable silence for a few more moments. “So, how many acres is this? Will you split it in half?” I ask, gazing out the window.
“It’s 80 acres. From what we’ve discussed, we will use ten acres to build our houses and then use the rest for cattle. That will give us another source of income.”
He parks next to a pond and motions for me to get out with him. I follow suit and we climb onto his tailgate with our drinks in hand.
“So, what’s keeping you from pulling the trigger?” I ask, sipping from my cup while I enjoy the stillness of the pond.
He shakes his head. “I don’t know. I guess the thought of moving back home and building my business all over again scares me a little. To be honest, I never thought I’d come back to this place until he did, and now I feel like I need to. Grandpa left us some money, and I think this is probably the best thing we could use it for.”
“Do you and your brother get along?”
“Yeah, we do. He’s quite a bit younger than me, but we’ve been through a lot together.” He pauses as his face turns soft, as if the pain is still fresh. “When he was a baby, and I was eleven years old, my mom dropped us off with my grandparents for an afternoon. She told them she had a doctor’s appointment in the next town and she would be right back.” He pauses and looks out over the water. “She never came back. I still don’t know where she went. My grandparents ended up raising us and we never heard from her again. It made Cody and I pretty close.”
I reach over and touch his leg, rubbing at his knee with my thumb. “I’m sorry, Andrew. That’s awful.”
He continues. “My dad was in jail for most of my life. We’ve never had a relationship. My brother doesn’t know who his dad is. Our grandparents are both gone now.” He lets out a breath. “He’s all I’ve got and aside from his fiance, I’m all he’s got. I’d love to be close by, so when he has kids of his own, they will know what it’s like to have an actual family. Hell, I’d like to know what it’s like to have an actual family myself.”
“It sounds to me like you know exactly what you want to do.” I say and nudge him with my shoulder.
If only it were that easy for me.
Chapter 18
I climb out of Andrews’ truck and say goodbye as we part ways. We’ve been parked in his driveway for ten minutes now, but as soon as he put the truck in park we became… preoccupied, for lack of a better word.
What I thought was going to be a gentle kiss goodbye ended up turning into a full on make-out session in his truck. If he didn’t have work to do at Drip this morning, and I didn’t have to get clocked in for my own job, who knows how much further it could have gone.
As I cross his front yard to my house, I can feel him watching me. Just as I open the front door, I turn and look back at him with a smile, and confirm my feeling.
Last night, I thought that our steamy session was only because of convenience and liquor. I’m right next door. We’re both available and lonely. Of course, it would make sense for the two of us to enjoy one another’s company. Today, however, was different. We held hands in his truck; we chatted, and he took me to a special place for my opinion on a tough decision. It’s almost like… we could actually become something.
I have to admit; I like this guy. A lot. Is it a good idea? Absolutely not. While he may live back in Fawn Creek soon, I am still not convinced that I want to stay here. Sure, this short time since I’ve been back has been great. However, do I really want to make Fawn Creek my permanent home all over again? Do I want to be intertwined with my parents again? I shake my head. It just makes so little sense. But what does anymore?
I step inside the house and head straight to the dining room. When Hazel moved in, one wall of the dining room already had floor to ceiling shelves. I’m sure they were actually made for holding fine china and knick-knacks, but Hazel used them to create her own library. She wasn’t exactly a fine china kind of woman after all.
I run my hand along the books on the shelf until I land on one that just seems to stick out to me. The book’s spine proclaims the title, “The Bookshop on Main.” I smirk at the book and pull it towards me, quickly discovering that it isn’t a novel at all. I open the cover and discover that it’s a box painted to look like a book. The detailed paint job on the outside makes it look remarkably like worn leather. Inside, I find a note and an envelope. I quietly unfold the paper and find that it’s addressed to me. Seeing my name in her handwriting brings back a rush of emotions that I wasn’t quite expecting, but again Hazel always seems to know exactly when I need her the most. Through blurry eyes, I unfold the paper and read.
Tyler,
If you’re reading this, I can only assume that I have gone to heaven to be with Grandpa Karl and you are the new owner of my house.
I know you left Fawn Creek some time ago, and I’m sure you are wondering why I left this place to you. No, it wasn’t some elaborate scheme to get you back to your hometown, but more so because I want you to always have a place that you can call home. Maybe you want to fix it up and keep it as a place to stay when you come home to visit. Maybe you’ll rent it out to someone else in town. Perhaps you’ll sell it and use the money to buy a house somewhere far from here.
What you do with this place is completely up to you, but I hope that this house at least brings you back to this town I love so much, even if just for a little while. I hope you can spend some days enjoying the simplicity of a small town, surrounded by the people that love you. Allow this town to slow you down and find you some peace.
And, just in case you have any inkling to do so, I want you to know that I still think you really need to open up your bookstore. While I can’t be your first customer anymore, I’ll still always be cheering for you from above.
I left half of my savings to you, and I feel like that should be more than enough to get started on your dream. You could open one in Fawn Creek, your new town, or somewhere you’ve never been before. It’s all up to you.
Whatever you do with it, I hope you use it to follow your dreams. You were made to change the world. You just might need a little push to do it.
Love,
Hazel
