Chapter 2 Tyler #2
Looking at Jerry, it’s like life is giving me the gift of seeing what his son would have looked like years down the road.
They are carbon copies, although, a light dimmed in Jerry the moment Georgie died.
But with the sun shining on his skin and Scarlet by his side, I can see the travel has lifted their spirits a little.
“It’s finally warming up. I’ve been able to get the bike out again,” I say. “It’s nothing like that view you’ve got though.” Jerry knows I had to sell my motorcycle before going overseas years ago, and I crave the way I feel free, letting go when I take off for a few hours on a bike ride.
The motorcycle sitting in the garage was Jerry’s until recently.
I take it out throughout the warmer months, but it’s too dangerous to ride when Boston’s cold weather greets us come fall.
He gifted me the bike when I moved out here, something he once dreamed of doing for Georgie.
I can still remember the tears pooling in his eyes the day he handed over his prized possession, proclaiming how thankful he was that his son found a friend like me.
He turns his head toward the ocean behind him and smiles brightly, lifting his glass. “Well, I would have to agree with that, son.”
Something tugs at my heart when he calls me son, knowing that these two people have felt more like parents in the few short years I’ve known them than the actual people who share my DNA. My smile is genuine as I look at him through my screen.
Jerry has been working remotely for a while anyways, so he can work anywhere they can find internet.
He started out as a general contractor, but he now oversees his own business.
Since becoming the boss, he manages everything from his computer.
This gives him the freedom to work from paradise, as he’s doing at the moment.
Scarlet sold her business shortly after Georgie’s death; her heart wasn’t in it anymore.
Prior to his passing, she ran a successful home design company.
She was highly sought after, with a long list of clients when she decided to walk away.
Technically, Scarlet and Jerry don’t need to work anymore, with enough savings and investments to keep themselves afloat.
But Jerry says he enjoys staying busy with his company, even if it’s just remotely.
He mostly handles the contract agreements and phone calls with clients so that his team is free for the hands-on portion of the job.
The only problem was, the heartache they felt being in this house was overwhelming.
When I confessed I was hoping to settle down after traveling throughout the States for a stretch of time, they asked if I would consider caring for their home.
I had been looking for a place to live and I jumped at the chance help them out.
I’ve been living in their house since they decided to travel the world, leaving me behind to care for their home in Boston.
When I got back from the Army, I had seen and experienced far more than anyone ever should.
I never thought I’d recover from the devastation I’d witnessed.
Therapy and months of work on myself got me through it.
I’m thankful for the hours I invested in myself, and I can finally say I’m through those dark times in my life.
I’ve been steadily building my social media account as an influencer throughout the years since returning to civilian life.
People have been following along as I work out in different locations throughout the States.
Posting and connecting with the online community has proven to have a positive impact on me.
At first, I never imagined anyone would watch my content.
I did it for me, hoping it would help me decompress from the stress I endured on a daily basis.
And I’ll admit, I’ve enjoyed building my following once I saw it take off.
Seeing different parts of the United States was exciting at first, but the constant movement from one place to another became tiring.
Looking back from the man I am now to the young kid I once was, it’s strange to see how much I’ve evolved.
Seeing so much of the world helped me grow and I’m grateful I haven’t become more bitter and recluse.
I could have let the ugliness of what happened in the Army push me further into depression, but I was able to find help, which I’m grateful for.
Many don’t have the same story to tell. I’ve surrounded myself with the right people.
Although, I know I’ve pushed one special person away; which I will admit, that might be one of my biggest regrets in life.
My social media content became a type of journaling for me, where I got to document my life and connect with others.
I never expected it to take off. I posted some videos I had from my time in the service, some of which were workouts I had saved on my phone; but most of my content is newer, focusing on how my workout routine benefits me physically and mentally.
As time passed, I started to realize I needed to settle somewhere and finally find a career that differed from military life and the social media life I had cultivated.
I wanted to find a group of friends and build solid, meaningful relationships again.
I had pushed many of the people I cared about away because of Georgie’s passing, feeling incredibly lost when he died.
Even though I now work at the firehouse, having the social media presence helped bring steady income when I first retired from the Army.
Even though the guys at the station have been making fun of the fact the female following is only growing by the day, I think keeping it up as a side-gig is something I’d like to continue.
Apparently, there’s a SpaceBook group out there now named Hunt’s Prowlers.
I don’t look at it, nor do I manage it, but the guys constantly read the comments when we have slow nights at the firehouse.
It gets a laugh out of me how these people will become fascinated by the fact I’m working out without a shirt on.
The last time I had seen Jerry and Scarlet prior to moving to Boston was for Georgie’s funeral service, five years ago. Their heartbreak was my own. And then, I shattered what little remained of my own world shortly after that day.
By the time Georgie’s parents connected with me again, I was in a better place in my life and that’s how I found myself in Boston.
Being here gave me the opportunity to start fresh.
They gifted me a chance to find myself again in a community rich in culture and life, something I was craving more than I realized.
“Where did you go, Hunter?” Scarlet asks, eyebrows knitted in concern.
“Sorry, got lost in thought,” I tell her, a smile tugging on my lips.
“Oh? Is it about a girl?” Scarlet waggles her brows.
“Scar, don’t make the boy uncomfortable,” Jerry says, shaking his head.
“What? The boy is young and so handsome. I bet he has a line out the door. What’s the big deal?” She puts her hands on her hips.
“Don’t give him the third degree. This isn’t one of your romance novels.” He takes a drink of his beer and sits back in his chair. “Speaking of which, have I told you, Scarlet reads porn now?” Jerry makes a face. “Ow, what was that for?” He rubs at his upper arm after Scarlet smacks him.
“I do not read porn, old man!” Scarlet seethes at him. “I read romance novels that happens to have sex in them.”
Jerry brings his face closer to the camera. “It’s porn. I read some lines when she was in the water earlier. It’s dirty.” He chuckles and it’s hard to keep a straight face.
“Really, Jerry? So, you like reading my smutty books? Wanna buddy-read them with me?” She looks over, intrigued.
“Buddy-read? What’s that?” He looks confused.
These two are as bad as Clay and River. I rub my hand down my face then snap my fingers. “Hey, remember me?”
“Sorry, Hunter.” Scarlet looks back at the camera. “Jerry gets jealous I give my book more attention than him.” She rolls her eyes, but gives him a small smile. “But seriously, is there anyone special in your life?”
“No special someone. Still getting used to everything at the station. I’m liking it a lot though. A few more months before I’m no longer a probie.”
I joined back at the end of summer, so I have a few more months until I reach my one-year mark.
I thought it would be a bigger adjustment for me to fit in, but the guys welcomed me right away.
Personally, I hang out with River, Clay, and Malloy, but even those who I’m not close to outside of the firehouse have been easy to bond with.
“I’m glad you found your fit in the city. Boston is a great place. Have you made it to a Gaels game yet?” Jerry asks.
“Not yet, but I’m hoping to go soon. I actually happen to know someone that works at the organization. She’s engaged to one of the firefighters at my station.” I grab ingredients to make a protein shake.
“Well, we’re going to let you go. I need to take a dip in the water. I can feel my skin burning under the sun,” Jerry says as he fans himself with his magazine.
“Before you go, Scarlet, what book were you reading?” I ask.
“Oh, look who’s into dirty books after all,” she says with a satisfied look on her face.
I roll my eyes. “It’s not for me. It’s for my friend. He’s actually in a smutty book club.”
“Sure. I bet you’ll be in that club soon enough.” She winks at me.
She reads off the name and I write it down on a piece of paper. We say our goodbyes and the moment the screen goes blank, the silence is deafening.
I’ve gotten used to the silence throughout the years. It’s something I chose for myself and the longer I’m alone, the more used to it I’ve become. It doesn’t mean my mind doesn’t wander to years ago, when I saw it leaning in a different direction.
There was a time I let myself fantasize a bit; imagining I would come home to something different because I’d let my heart soften. I’m not the hardened person I once was from years ago. My Indy did that.
All the letters she sent me slowly started to chip away at that cold exterior of mine.
She helped me find a piece of myself I didn’t know I was capable of offering the world.
I started to dream of a lighter life. I started to believe I could have a brighter future; something my parents never let me accept I was worthy of.
The moment my thoughts drift to Indiana, I can’t help but wonder what her life is like today. I know the last connection I had with her, she was in Chicago. She had a whole life ahead of her and I have no doubt she’s flourishing.
I know now I handled my grief over Georgie wrong with Indy, but pushing her away was all I knew at the time. I was hurting, the pain all-consuming. She’s a ray of light and I would have dimmed it.
Fuck, I would have torched it and her entire life had she allowed me to stay near her back then. Thinking back to that time in my life, I wish I could go and do it all differently. But that’s the hard part of our past mistakes—when the fog clears, we see our miscalculations differently.
If there’s one lesson I learned when I started to fall in love with Indiana Ranton, it’s that I could never let her experience the kind of loss I had. Even if I never confessed my true feelings for her before I shattered her world, my pain was worth saving her from the same fate.