53. Lex
Chapter fifty-three
I’ve spent the last five nights at home with my brother, but now it’s time to start the two-hour drive back to Heart City. A feat that’s hard enough most times I leave my childhood home, but it’s even harder now that I’m leaving behind my brother and my unborn nephew.
I can’t believe Dylan is going to be a dad to a little boy.
He’s the best big brother, and I know he’s going to be an amazing dad.
Becca seems nice enough, but I can tell how scared she is by everything.
There are only six weeks left until her due date.
I just hope I can take off work quickly once the baby is born so I can spend some time with my nephew.
I’m sure they’d both like some help when the baby is first born.
I don’t want to overstep. I just want to be there with my brother, anyway that he needs me.
“Hey, Guppy,” Dylan calls out. “There’s roadworks on the main highway. You might want to cut through Trevally Falls on the way home.”
“Oh, okay.” Trevally Falls is another tourist town halfway between here and Heart City. I normally go around it because it’s quicker. You have to cut around the hillsides to get into the pretty little town, where it sits at the bottom of huge falls. “That’s alright, it’s a nice day for a drive. ”
“Thanks for coming down, sis,” he says and pulls me in for a hug.
I squeeze him tighter, not wanting to let go. “You gonna be okay?”
He pulls away and scrunches his nose. “Yeah. Anna went through everything with me, and Becca’s pretty chill. She doesn’t speak to her family when I’m around, but I guess she just doesn’t know how to introduce me. It’s cool. We’ll figure it out.”
If it weren’t for the way Dylan scrunched his nose, I would have believed him. I feel even worse about leaving now. I pull him back in for a hug. “I love you.”
“I love you, too. Now get out of here. I don’t want to be on your boyfriend’s bad side for keeping you so long,” he chuckles.
“Call me if you need me,” I say, with no room for argument, as I step into my car.
I text Caleb to let him know I’m on my way back, and then I start up an audiobook for the drive home. At the last second, I make the turnoff for Trevally Falls, nearly missing it because the enemies in my book just got to the hotel, and there’s only one bed. I mean, who could blame me for that one?
My jaw drops as I make my way down the steady decline of the hill. The mountainside is covered in thick green foliage and pink wildflowers. As I come around the final bend, the waterfall the town’s named after comes into view.
Water cascades down the rock face, falling into an open spring below.
I can see a few families playing in the shallow pool where the waters are calm.
There’s a bridge up ahead that my car rumbles over for a few metres.
I look through my passenger-side window and see that the water flows through a shadowed creek, with the ocean just in the distance.
I continue driving through the landscape until I make it to the town’s centre. It’s a lot more built up than the last time I passed through here. That was maybe ten years ago now. I can see restaurants, cafes, and a pub. There’s a library and a sign advertising a street festival.
My phone starts ringing through the Bluetooth, and Caleb’s name pops up on the screen.
“Hi, Honey.”
“Hi, baby. Where are you?”
“I took a detour through Trevally Falls. I can’t believe how pretty it is here. It’s been so long since I visited.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I wonder if we can do a weekend away here sometime. It’s honestly so beautiful. I’m stunned.”
“I know someone with a holiday house there. You should have a quick look, since you’re passing through. Do you want me to send you the address?”
“Yeah, send it through.”
I pull over so I can put the address into my GPS and then follow the directions. Seven minutes later, I’m pulling up to a big, rundown house. The driveway felt like two of those minutes.
“I don’t know if this would meet your star rating for accommodation, Honey.” I laugh.
“I think it’s got potential,” he says, just as I notice him standing on the front deck of the house, a smile pulling at the side of his mouth.
I quickly turn off the car and rush up to meet him.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, launching into his open arms once I clear the small set of stairs.
He holds me tight, breathing me in for a moment before placing me back on my feet.
Picking up a hand, he leads me over to a chair on the corner of the deck, overlooking the land in front of the house.
The falls can be seen in the distance, and the crash of the ocean not far behind us tickles my ears.
Caleb sits down in the chair, pulling me onto his lap. “I’ve been doing some thinking. ”
I nod, laying a hand on top of his, where it rests over my thigh.
“I know you’re feeling torn between living in the city and moving back home with your brother, especially with the baby on the way.”
“Yeah.” It’s true, I am torn. I love my family, and right now, it feels like I have two of them. More than I’ve ever had in my life, and I just want to hold them all close to me.
“So, what if we move here?”
My heart trips over itself before finding a steady rhythm again. “Move here?”
“Trevally Falls is halfway between the city and the bay. We could easily make a one-hour drive up or down, but we’ll make this our base. The land is big enough that we could build a guest cottage so our family could visit anytime.”
Thoughts hit me at rapid fire, problems and solutions shooting out like balls from a pitching machine.
Could this work? No, it feels like far too much.
All that driving. But one hour is a lot more manageable than two, and it’s not like we’d do it every day, and maybe we could alternate weekends in the city and here.
I’d still be able to see my brother and nephew.
I wouldn’t be giving up my life in Heart City completely, and I wouldn’t be letting go of my plans to move back home either.
“But what about your work?”
“I can set up an office here to work remotely and have scheduled days that I work from the city. Riley can help me figure it all out. A perk of owning the company, Siren, is that I can make the rules.”
“Your company is so important to you, though. Your family is.”
He places a hand against my cheek. “You’re my family, Lex.”
His thumb sweeps across my bottom lip. “Heart Assets and continuing the legacy my grandparents built are still things I’m passionate about, but they’re not the only things I have room for.
I want to keep growing in life. With you.
We can always change our minds later and spend more time in the city or more time with Dylan.
But I think for the moment, setting up here, right in the middle of our two lives, would be a good place to start. ”
As gentle tears fall one by one down my cheeks, I take a deep breath and look at the landscape in front of us.
Life hasn’t taken the exact path I saw for myself, but every moment with Caleb has brought me happiness.
He’s helped me find confidence without question when before, I used to sit and deliberate.
He’s made me feel wanted instead of left behind, heard even in the silence.
He’s made my world bigger, bringing a love with him that fills all the spaces.
“This does seem like the perfect yard for a dog,” I smile.
“Mason came with me to see this place earlier. We can either renovate the existing home or knock it down and rebuild. But I want to show you something else.”
He pushes at my hips to help me to stand and walks us off the deck, around the side of the house.
The dark wood is a little run down, but looks good enough.
The footprint looks small compared to the size of the land, but Caleb already said he could add a guest house.
I assume we’d extend the main house for what we wanted as well.
As we clear the back of the house, the land is flat, fenced in by looming Karri trees, peace encapsulated by their towering branches.
Caleb walks us to the back of the property until we hit a trail, a gravel path that cuts along the coast, joining each property to the next, and when I look ahead, I’m greeted by an endless ocean.
Shrubs eventually give way to sand as the land meets the sea.
Smooth rocks litter the shoreline and stretch into the water, creating natural little pools.
Further up, I can see where it becomes more accessible, with steps leading down into a flat bay.
Towels, umbrellas, and beach goers indulge in the cool March sun .
Sunshine competes with rain clouds more and more lately as we move into autumn, but today is idyllic. Peaceful and resolute, perfect for slowing down and embracing all that life offers.
I turn to Caleb, my hand still clutched in his, and he looks out toward the ocean with a contented smile.
“Would this make you happy?” I ask him.
This is a lot more in line with the life I’m used to, the life I was hoping for. It’s a big change from the city, which is all Caleb has known so far. He’s travelled all around the country, all around the world. Would he be content in a small town?
My mind flits back to Dylan, talking about when he might settle down.
Knowing he’d want someone who wanted the same out of life as he did.
Small, slow, intimate. Am I setting myself up for the same failure that my dad did, hitching myself to a person who needs bigger things? More exciting things. Just more .
“You make me happy, Lex. All I need is you.”
I look over the ocean, then back to the trees behind us, where the tiny town lives. “I don’t want you to regret giving it all up.”
He rears back. “For starters, what am I giving up? We’re not saying goodbye to the city.
I’ll still need to attend events and travel outside the state.
” He smiles as he pulls me into his chest. “We’ll get to have nights where we dress up and schmooze with the big spenders, but then we get to come back here, slow down, and enjoy the moments.
The only thing I’d ever regret is not spending every moment I can with you. ”
I wind my hands around his neck and pull him down to seal my lips against his.
“I love you.”
He takes one hand in his and slides it down until it presses over his chest. Right where my name is inked.
“I love you, Lex. No matter where you go, I’ll follow. My heart is tethered to yours, and it’s never letting go.”