Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
CHASE
I paced the length of my basement bedroom as I re-read Elliot’s text in the family group chat for the hundredth time.
ELLIOT
Driving to Detroit to help Tessa’s friend Elena move. We got an early start, but we’ll be back late.
My hands itched to text her, but what would I even say? Hey, heard you finally left your abusive dickwad husband. Wanna grab coffee? Yeah, that would go over well.
I flopped onto my unmade bed, the springs creaking in protest. Through the small basement window, fat snowflakes drifted down, coating Sable Point in a fresh blanket of white. Perfect snowboarding weather, but I couldn’t focus on anything except Elena.
Will she want to see me?
She’d said, “see you soon,” but then I had to go and text her that I missed her, and I got crickets in response.
Would I ever stop fucking things up with her?
The last time I saw her... Christ. Her ribs had been a canvas of purple and blue bruises, stark against her tan skin. The memory made my jaw clench, anger burning hot in my chest.
My phone buzzed in rapid succession, but I didn’t wanna look. I just wanted to drown in this misery, this anxiety.
I need a drink.
Nope, I needed a distraction. I picked up my phone to see five new messages.
DAD
10-4, Son. Let me know if you need me to keep Mike and his crew in line today.
TESSA
Keep them in line? Please! You’d be having them all take a break for a game of euchre by ten.
JASPER
She’s not wrong…
MOM
If anyone should be tasked with keeping an eye on the construction crew, it’s me. I’ve managed to keep you lot in line for decades.
JASPER
Yeah, everyone except Chase
Fuck you very much, little brother.
CHASE
Hey, leave me the fuck outta this
MOM
Chase Matthew, watch your language.
CHASE
Who the hell started this group chat anyways?
CHARLIE
Me! I miss you guys. Who’s ready for me to move home?!
Charlie was wrapping up her final semester at Michigan State and would be heading home just in time for the cidery to open in June.
The texts kept rolling in.
NATALIE
ME ME ME!
TESSA
Me too!
MOM
So excited to have you home, sweetie.
CHARLIE
39 days!
Something to look forward to, at least. My little sister was a sweetheart. She was quiet and shy and innocent, but she took no shit from her big brothers. She was also the only other member of this family who had no interest in working the orchard.
Charlie was one of those people worth protecting at all costs.
Like Elena.
I scrubbed a hand over my face, and my phone buzzed with a private message.
TESSA
Hey… I need a favor
I perked right the fuck up. Did they need me to come help? I’d break every speed limit to get to her.
But Tessa didn’t know that, so I needed to play it cool. My sister-in-law had already warned me off her best friend once. As soon as I was finished proving to Elena that I could be what she needed, I’d prove it to Tessa, too.
And everyone else.
CHASE
What’s up?
Cool. Casual. Totally normal.
TESSA
I found a rental in town for Elena, but I haven’t had a chance to go over there yet. I don’t want it to be gross when she gets there.
My heart leaped into my throat. A chance to make sure Elena had a perfect place to come home to? Fuck yes.
But I couldn’t agree too quickly. That would be suspicious.
CHASE
Doesn’t that seem like more of a job for Jasper? or Mom?
Why ask me?
Good job, Chase. That sounds like some asshole thing you’d say.
TESSA
Idk, figured maybe you could get off your ass and help someone who needs it for a change.
Damn. Shots fired. But very fair, well-aimed shots. Tessa didn’t fuck around, especially when it came to the people she cared about. Elliot was lucky as hell he got her to marry him after how shitty he treated her over the years.
Hopefully I’d get just as lucky with Elena.
CHASE
Whatever. Address?
TESSA
6081 Maple Street. The little white cottage with the blue shutters.
Thanks Chase
CHASE
Anything for you dear sister
I threw on a pair of gray sweats and a hoodie.
It was still early, only ten, and I didn’t have to work today.
I’d lost my job on the construction crew after my massive fuckup, but my job as a ski instructor was still safe.
Turned out, skiing and snowboarding while drunk and high wasn’t all that tricky once you had the practice.
But that all stopped now, because by tonight, Elena would be a resident of Sable Point.
And she’d be all mine.
This place was a dump.
When I’d pushed open the cottage door, a wave of musty air hit me square in the face. The previous tenants had left the cottage looking like they’d hosted a frat party for raccoons.
Empty beer cans littered the living room floor, alongside pizza boxes sporting various shades of mold. A thick layer of dust coated every surface, and cobwebs decorated the corners like demented party streamers.
The kitchen wasn’t much better. Dishes with crusty remains piled in the sink, and something that might’ve been food in a previous life had fossilized on the counter.
Elena can’t see it like this. She needs this place to feel like home, not a horror movie set.
The bathroom made me wince—rings of mildew in the toilet bowl, a shower curtain that had seen better days during the Nixon administration, and tiles that—
My nose caught another whiff of that musty smell, and underneath it, something way worse. The stench hit me like a slap to the face—stale piss mixed with something that made my stomach churn.
How the fuck did any landlord in their right mind rent out a place in this condition?
When I found out who the fuck this slum lord was, we’d be having words.
Until then, it was time to get to work. I’d grabbed a few cleaning supplies from under Mom’s kitchen sink, but I’d need to take a trip to the store to get more.
I pulled out my phone and fired off a quick text to Tessa.
CHASE
Need cleaning supplies. Lots. And maybe a hazmat suit.
TESSA
Oh no. That bad?
Understatement of the fucking century.
CHASE
Place looks like it was used for amateur taxidermy experiments. Getting supplies now. I’ll handle it.
I pocketed my phone and headed for my truck. The winter air bit at my exposed skin, but the cold helped clear my head.
The hardware store wasn’t far enough away for the heat to even warm the cab.
After greeting Jim, the store’s owner with a bald head and a long gray braided beard, I loaded my cart with industrial-strength cleaners, scrub brushes, rubber gloves, and enough cleaning supplies to stock a janitor’s closet.
The total made me wince, but I didn’t care.
Anything for her.
Back at the cottage, I cranked up some music on my phone and got to work. The physical labor felt good—like penance for my recent fuckups. Every surface I scrubbed clean was another step toward redemption.
Hours passed as I attacked years of grime. My muscles burned, but I didn’t stop.
She deserves a fresh start. A clean slate.
The bathroom proved to be the biggest challenge. On my hands and knees, I scoured every tile until the grout lines emerged from their grimy prison. The toilet required three rounds with the brush before I was satisfied.
My stomach growled, and when I looked at my phone, it was already six in the evening. I also had a text from hours ago.
TESSA
Hitting the road now. Probably be there around 7.
How’s it looking?
I took stock of my surroundings. The place didn’t look half bad. It was in no way good enough for a Harvard-educated doctor, but I couldn’t imagine she’d be staying here forever—just long enough to get away from that douchebag and get settled.
CHASE
Sorry, just saw this.
Looks better. Want me to grab some pizza? I can help you unload.
It was an innocent enough offer. Tessa didn’t need to know my motives behind it. I held my breath while I waited for a reply.
TESSA
That would be great. Thanks, Chase. You really came through.
CHASE
No prob. See ya in an hour.
Fuck. An hour. I needed a shower—bad.
I loaded the industrial-strength cleaning supplies back in my truck, leaving Elena a few bottles of the household cleaners under the sink.
On the drive back to Mom and Dad’s house, I ordered a pizza for pickup. When I got home, I bounded down the stairs and across the basement, shedding my clothes as I went. The hot water hit my tired muscles, and I scrubbed away the day’s grime with drug store body wash.
My reflection in the foggy mirror revealed dark circles under my eyes. Not my best look. I ran my fingers through my wet hair, trying to achieve that perfect balance between styled and effortlessly messy.
The clock ticked away as I dabbed on some cologne—not too much, just enough. My hands shook slightly as I put on jeans and buttoned up a clean flannel shirt. I grabbed my keys and headed for my truck, stopping quickly in the garage to steal a six pack of beer from Dad.
I reached the Sable Point Pizza House with ten minutes to spare. My fingers drummed on the carryout counter as I waited for whatever high schooler was supposed to be waiting on me but was probably in the back making out with their girlfriend. It’s what I would have done.
When three minutes ticked by, irritation got the better of me. “Hello! Anyone here?”
“Chill, man,” the little pimpled prick said when he finally came up front.
I pointed a finger in his face. “Do not tell me to chill. I’m picking up for Everton.”
By the time I finally had the pizza in hand, it was nearly seven. Fortunately, the cottage was just around the block.
When I pulled up, there were two cars in the driveaway.
And one woman standing on the walkway to the front door.
My woman.