Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Vaughn
Damn. Not even in town for a week and already, things are fucked up.
I watch her taillights until she drives out of sight, hoping and praying she’ll turn around and come back. Hell, I don’t even have her number in case anything happens with Gus. Something tells me that despite her leaving, she’d want to be kept in the loop.
I didn’t mean to run her off. Didn’t mean to dredge up hurt and reopen tender wounds.
But here I am, twenty years later, still causing destruction. I should pack my shit and go back to Bali.
“Well. Don’t just stand there. Come on in,” Gus calls from behind the screened door.
Well, I’ll be damned. Maybe he won’t shoot me after all.
I avoid the saggy step and enter the house I spent most of my youth in, this time without the buffer of Kate.
It looks largely unchanged. The same rooster wallpaper decorates the kitchen walls.
Neat piles of paperwork are stacked on the scarred wooden table.
The vinyl countertop is clean, if stained in places.
Gran’s wooden biscuit bowl sits by the sink, now holding an array of fruit.
Nostalgia is a bittersweet kiss. The house is as lifeless without Kate’s exuberant personality as I imagine the last year has been without Gran.
“You got a place to stay?” Gus asks as he settles into his recliner, like it’s the first time it’s registered to him that I am actually here. And it’s been days. Did he forget I had dinner here the other night? Did he not see me doing work at some point yesterday?
Or is there more to these medical issues Kate claimed he has?
“Working on it. Been staying in the barn.” Hell, I wasn’t planning on staying in town for long, but now I feel like my quick-turnaround trip just got marked indefinite.
I glance at the framed photo of Gran on the mantelpiece, and my throat grows tight. Lord knows I don’t want to stay on this property with him. But she’d want me to. She’d wanted our reconciliation for years.
Regret slices through me. Guilt for all the ways I’ve fucked up is the spreader that cracks my chest open and lets the past twenty years bleed out onto the floor.
“You okay with that?” I ask. Why is he inviting me in when, not even twenty-four hours ago, he acted like I didn’t exist.
“Got no choice.”
He’s got no choice, because true to what she told me, Gran left the house to Gus and the rest of the farm to me. So, technically, what he’s offering me is a place to lay my head on the property I own.
While he’s in this effusive state, I make him share Kate’s contact info with me.
“Just in case.” Then I meander through the house, remembering Christmases and summers spent with my grandparents.
How we spent a summer and then some here while Dad and Gus built the cabin that should be beyond the barn.
I slam the mental door on the memories before they get too deep, and sort through the linen closet, pulling out sheets and blankets my grandmother quilted.
When I return to the main floor, there’s a snore from the chair. It sounds too perfect to be a real one. Gus is using it as a defense mechanism to get rid of me—something else I remember from being a child. When he was done, he’d fake a nap to get a break.
Par for the course.
I head out to the barn, mainly to avoid getting into yet another fight with him, the list of all the things I need to do before dusk running through my mind.
As weathered and rundown as the house and barn are, the place still has potential, even if I don’t want to see it.
I text Kate, offering my contact info, explaining that I got hers from Gus, and politely ask if there’s anything I need to know about him.
She sends back a clipped response with his schedule but offers nothing else.
With nothing left to tackle in the remaining daylight hours, I make my way back to the house at dinnertime and find Gus in the kitchen, staring into the fridge.
“Got too many of these meals now that the girl is gone. Might as well help yourself.”
The girl has a name.
The thought hangs between us, but like so many other times in the past, the words that need to be said are kept inside.
I mutter my thanks and pull out a random container, then pop it into the microwave.
“What happened to Yankee?”
“Nothing. He’s fine. Glori Jean took him down to her farm since Kate didn’t know the first thing about horse keeping.”
“Why couldn’t you show her?”
He just shovels a forkful into his mouth in a non-answer.
“Gus, I’m just trying to figure out where to start here. Give me a little grace,” I plead while he finishes chewing.
His fist lands on the table, his fork pointed to the ceiling in a death grip as if this conversation is testing his patience. “Boy, I’m giving you grace by letting you set foot in this house, and you can thank your grandmother for that.”
I shove down the sharp retort that zinger calls forth, trying to keep the peace. It’s like he’s intentionally trying to push me away.
“Yeah, well, the woman was a saint. Especially to put up with your grumpy ass for over fifty years.”
“Something we can agree on,” he says eventually, relenting his grip on the silverware. Melancholy falls over the table as he pushes his food around his plate, gazing around the kitchen with such an intense sorrow leaking out of him it steals my breath.
Something else we can agree on is that we both miss Gran.
The tiny seed worms its way down deep, and I find another shred of patience for Gus. He’s a heartbroken old man.
Then he clears his throat, and it’s like a curtain falls over that despair, hiding it away from the world. He pulls his phone from the pocket of his shirt and flips it to me across the table. “Got a schedule that I’m supposed to follow.”
“Yep, Kate sent it to me earlier.” No platitudes. No explanation. Just a to-do list labeled Gus. So what if I looked at that text message a dozen times, wishing I knew what to say back to her. In the end, I just sent a thanks.
With a brusque nod, he pushes away from the table, taking his plate to the trash and dumping the half-eaten remains. “That’s the worst-tasting shit she’s made so far. Be glad when it’s gone. It’s like she’s never heard of salt or butter.”
I consider the chicken and roasted veggies. It’s nothing fancy, but it is healthy and balanced and packaged like it took her some time to put it together. He just can’t see it for what it is. She really was taking good care of him.
“We best go get my truck from the shop. You can return that tiny excuse of a car. I ain’t riding in it, anyway.”
My head pops up. Another concession that we will be working this out together. “Where is it? I’ll go get it tomorrow.”
Plans are made, Gus goes to bed, and I fight the urge to check on Kate. Where did she end up?
A wave of guilt washes over me. I hate that she felt like she had to leave. But maybe it’s better this way. No sense getting too attached, especially when I can’t even fathom the kind of career she’s choosing to move into.
No, it’s better if Kate stays far away from here. We’ve had enough hurt for a lifetime without adding her to the mix.
* * *
The end of the week finds me hauling Gus to an exercise class that he grumbles about while also fidgeting and fussing about not being late for. I drop him off and head to the coffee shop. It’s been a couple of days of us figuring shit out, and I’m ready for a break from his surly attitude.
Two guys have parked lawn chairs outside the shop and are holding a big bowl of popcorn, appearing to be waiting for something. I nod as I pass and head inside and place my order.
“Here you go. Lids and fixings are at the end of the counter,” the barista says, handing me a steaming to-go cup. Wolf whistles sound from outside, and the barista chuckles.
The front door chimes, and the two guys walk in, laughing.
“Did you see Kate?” the barista calls, piquing my attention. Despite not seeing her for a week, I’ve thought about her every day.
One of the guys plants his hands on her hips and kisses her forehead. “Yeah, babe. It was so worth it.”
“Her face was beet red, but she never broke stride. We’ve got to up our game for next week. Thinking we’ll bring the engine. Maybe we can convince Leo to get over his big mad and join us.”
“She’s gonna kill you if you do that.”
“Worth it.”
* * *
Week two without Kate starts, and I don’t want to admit how much I’ve thought about her. I spent all night scheming to find a reason to be at the coffee shop on the off chance I might catch her.
I’ve started making some improvements and doing some repairs on the farm to make it safer for Gus, even if he bitches about the work being done.
Now that I have his truck, I can get the lumber for the front steps and start tackling some of the larger projects.
I make it a point to be at the right place at the right time but only catch a glimpse of flame-red hair as she runs away from me in a haphazard formation with two dozen people.
The backs of the shirts all read Recruit.
I don’t want to think about what that means.
As it is, icy-cold dread races through my veins every time I consider what she’s going to be doing once she graduates.
The next day finds me and Gus arguing over how to properly replace the boards on the deck. Needing a moment of peace, I head to the Daily Brew for a decent cup of coffee, arriving in time to catch the squad of runners from the front this time.
There’s a firetruck parked at the corner, taking up multiple spaces, and the two guys from the previous week are standing next to it, heckling the runners.
I spot the hair and notice the woman. This time around, I get a good look at her face. Even flushed and sweaty from exertion, she’s so fucking beautiful.
I shoulder into the coffee shop before she can spot me.
“Are those idiot firefighters still out there?” the barista asks as she hands me my order.
I glance up once I realize she’s speaking to me. “Yep. What’s the deal with that?”
I don’t want to know, but I can’t help myself.
“They’re heckling our friend Kate. She’s in fire recruit school, and they’re giving her hell. They say the shit talking is all part of it. Later tonight, though, they’ll quiz her endlessly and make sure she’s understanding what they went over in class. They’re like siblings, I swear.”
I don’t know what to say to that. And really, I can’t say anything because I’m too busy swallowing bile.
“You don’t have to pretend, you know. I saw you in here that day. I know you’re coming here every day at the exact right time to catch a glimpse of her.”
Heat blasts across my cheeks. I’ve always blushed like a fucking schoolgirl at the most inconvenient times. It pisses me off to no end.
“No worries, though. I think it’s kind of sweet. I didn’t tell her you’ve been in every day this week. But don’t let Cal and Jackson realize you’re here for Kate. They’re very protective of her. I’m Jules, by the way. How’s Gus?”
Caught off guard and completely unprepared to be social, I stumble over the word vomit she’s just spewed at me. God damn, I’ve spent too much time with Gus. I can’t even hold a conversation.
“Vaughn. Nice to meet you. Gus is… Gus,” I hedge, trying to decide how much to divulge. Might as well stick to the safer topic than to consider why in the hell Kate thinks she needs to be a firefighter. “He’s missing her, I think.”
Jules nods like she knows. “She’s missing him too.”
“You’ve talked to her?” I carefully seal the lid on my to-go cup.
Jules settles in with a hip to the counter. “Yeah, sure. After Cal harasses her, I also check in. I know all about how she stormed out and left you two to fend for yourselves.”
That throws me for a second. I don’t like this woman knowing more about me when I know nothing about her.
“Cal is my man,” she clarifies. “He and Jackson are partners at the fire station. Kate was a medic there before she joined rookie school. Her former partner, Leo, is still mad at her and refuses to talk about it. Jackson belongs to Maggie, who owns the bakery across the street.”
What the hell am I supposed to say to that?
“And you’re telling me this because… why?”
Jules shoots me a grin. “No reason. Just being friendly. Giving you the rundown.”
Fucking small town busy bodies. I narrow my eyes at her as the front door opens.
“Anyway, sleeping on Jackson and Maggie’s couch is only going to hurt her. She could really use her room back at Gus’s if you could find a way to make that happen,” she says quietly before moving to help her newest customers. “See you tomorrow, Vaughn.”
I pick Gus up from class and make a stop by the store at his request. He’s barely talking to me still, but he does mention my to-go cup.
“Get that from that fancy coffee place in town?” At my nod, he continues, “Katie loved that place.”
Katie? When in the hell did he graduate from barely speaking her name to giving her a nickname?
I stop at a red light and really take him in. It’s been more than a week of living on the same property, but other than car rides to the gym, we’ve managed to largely avoid each other.
He’s so frail now, not at all the powerhouse of a man that I once knew. But there’s more to it. I can see the heartache written in the lines of his face. Time and grief have taken their toll.
“Don’t get much greener, boy.” He nods at the light, and the sentence takes me right back to being a teenager and learning to drive with him.
Seeing him with fresh eyes does something to me deep inside. I used to think my grandfather hung the moon. Then he turned on me. Cast me out.
“Saw her from a distance today,” I blurt. The pressure cooker in my chest makes shit fly right out of my mouth.
Gus whips his head toward me.
“She was running with her class,” I say, then add, “She looks tired. Heard she’s sleeping on someone’s couch.”
A low grumble fills the cab, but we fall into silence. When we reach the house, he piles out of the truck. But instead of retreating inside, he pulls a creaky chair onto the porch and sits with me while I work.
I do my best to ignore him and instead choose to let my mind drift back to the image of a flame-haired vixen kicking ass, leading a pack full of runners. I need to hurry up and get this business sorted so I can get the hell out of here before I do something stupid.