Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Andy had spent most of his teenage years at the big house with Craig and the rest of the Carlson clan. He’d felt just as much at home there as at his own house, maybe more some days. It had been years since he’d walked through the doors but the moment he did, it felt just like old times. Especially because the sound of the Carlson siblings’ raised voices coming from the kitchen was the first thing he heard.
He hesitated, but only for a moment before making his way down the hall.
“We need to know what’s on the list. That’s all there is to it.” He heard Asher’s voice first.
“No we don’t,” Charli’s calm, controlled voice said. “Whatever’s on the list is Kat’s business. If she wants to share, she will. And if she doesn’t?—”
“Then we’ll never know if she can complete everything.”
Again, Andy hesitated. They were obviously discussing the outcome of the family meeting, and even though he was just like family …he wasn’t family. He turned to sneak away, not wanting to interrupt, but before he could make his getaway, he was spotted.
“Andy? Andy Fisher, is that you?”
Too late.
Andy turned around to see Annie Darling come around the corner. “Hey.” He lifted a hand and greeted her with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. He’d known Annie when they were in school years ago, but he’d seen her more recently as Chase’s fiancée.
“Do they know you’re here?” She pointed toward the kitchen, and Andy shook his head.
“I was actually going to come back later,” he said. “It sounds like family business, and I?—”
“You are family.” Annie linked her arm through his. “Besides, you’ll be a good distraction. They’ve been like this since they came out of the office,” she said. “Just between you and me, I’ll be glad when these meetings are finished with and they can all just move on.” She winked. “But I’m not complaining, because they did lead me to Chase.” Before Andy could add anything, Annie stopped at stared at him. “Oh. Do you think Kat will finally find someone now, too?”
“What do you mean?” He didn’t like the flush that raced through his body at the suggestion that Kat would find someone.
“Oh, come on.” Annie smacked his arm a little. “You know exactly what I mean. Every time a new part of the will is read, that Carlson sibling ends up not only completing their task, but falling in love. It’s Kat’s turn now.”
Andy had a strong, almost violent reaction to the idea of Kat falling in love, but he forced himself to swallow and paste a smile on his face. “Symon mentioned that, too.” He shrugged. “I guess we’ll see.”
She gave him a sly look. He wasn’t stupid; Andy knew there was a very good chance Kat had told her at least something about the two of them hooking up. But Annie also knew better than to say anything. Nobody needed the rest of the family finding out.
Together, they walked into the kitchen, arm in arm. “Look who I found in the hall.”
Everyone in the room turned to look at them.
“Andy!” Craig was the first to greet him with a hug and a friendly slap on the back.
“Glad to see you’re feeling better, man. Sorry to intrude. I can come?—”
“Just a twenty-four-hour thing,” Craig interrupted him. “And don’t you dare think about leaving. This conversation needs to end anyway,” he said in his ear before stepping back.
“It’s good to see you, Andy.” Asher greeted him next, followed by Chase before he gave Charli another hug.
By the time he was done greeting everyone properly, the tension in the room seemed to have dissipated a little bit. He looked around, one critical person missing from the group. “Where’s Kat?”
“She’s probably?— ”
“She went home,” Charli said sharply, giving her younger brother a strong look. “To read her letter,” she added. “Privately. Which is her right.”
Asher looked like he might disagree again, but after a moment, he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the counter, silent.
Charli nodded with satisfaction as Symon joined them in the kitchen, along with Noa, Asher’s new fiancée.
“Have you told them the good news?” Symon looked pointedly at Andy, who shook his head.
“Good news?” Craig raised an eyebrow. “I think we could all use a little of that right about now.”
It wasn’t how he planned to tell the Carlson family, but there didn’t seem to be any reason not to. Andy shrugged and held his hands out. “Well, it turns out that you’re all going to be seeing a lot more of me in the future, because just before I came over here, I officially accepted the position of the head trainer for the national downhill ski team. I’m moving back to Trickle Creek.”
His announcement was met with various cheers and whoops of congratulations, followed by more hugs and kisses that filled him with the kind of happiness he hadn’t felt in a very long time.
“Thank God you’re going to be around more,” Craig said as he handed him a beer to toast to the news.
“Why is that? I mean, I know you missed me and all.” He laughed and clinked bottles with his friend.
“Things with the shop have really picked up,” Craig said. “And now that Lucy and I…well, you know how it is when you couple up.”
He didn’t. When Andy didn’t say anything, Craig continued. “Well, anyway, we’re all so busy with everything that I’m a little worried about Kat right now and the pressure she’s under.”
“I take it that has to do with the meeting you all just had?”
Craig nodded. “She was given a list of things to do instead of just one thing.”
“A list?”
“But the thing is, we don’t know what’s on it.”
The argument Andy had walked in suddenly made a lot more sense.
Craig took a drink from his bottle before he continued. “Anyway, I think it’ll be good to have someone else to talk to who isn’t one of us. Besides, we’re not allowed to help.” He shook his head. “Anyway, you’re like a brother to Kat. You’ve always been close.”
If only he knew.
Andy nodded while he drank to avoid making eye contact.
“I know you’ll probably have a lot to do, what with moving back and starting a new job, but if you?—”
“Consider it done, man.” Andy agreed before he could think better of it. “Don’t give it another thought. I’ll be there for her.” He swallowed hard. “Whatever she needs.”
The moment she walked into her apartment, Kat knew she’d made the right decision not to open the letter in front of her siblings. The quiet welcomed her, and she went straight to the kitchen to make a cup of tea before she took her envelope into the living room, where she pulled her fluffy knit blanket over her legs and settled in.
The little two-story space over her hair salon wasn’t big and it wasn’t fancy by any means. But it was hers. And it was peaceful. Free from the bickering and clamor of her siblings, who were no doubt still at the big house debating how they could force her to tell them all what was on the list their father had left her.
Kat smiled a little to herself with the knowledge that they were probably all going crazy because she’d slipped away.
There was very little doubt in her mind that she was going to share the contents of her letter and the list with the rest of them. But at least for now, she could have the space to process things on her own first.
She turned the manila envelope over in her hands and took a deep breath. “Okay, Dad. What have you got for me?”
Kat exhaled slowly as she slid her finger under the envelope flap and slid the papers from within. Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of her father’s handwriting. She’d known it was coming. All her siblings had their personal letter from Michael Carlson; of course she’d have hers, too.
Still .
Holding it in her hand felt different as it all became very, very real.
Kat. My baby girl.
I’m sorry I had to save you for last. I’m sure the last few months have been hardest on you while you waited your turn.
You were never very good at that.
She shook her head with a laugh. He wasn’t wrong.
But there was a very good reason for that and I think you’ll agree, because this challenge might be the hardest one yet. At least for you, kiddo. First, I want to make sure that you know how proud I am of you.
Her chest tightened, and Kat pressed a palm against her heart. She knew her father was proud of her, but she couldn’t remember ever hearing the words come out of his mouth. She blinked back tears as she continued to read.
I never said that enough, did I? Or maybe not at all. And for that, I’m so sorry, kiddo. Because I am immensely proud of your talent and your hard work. You’ve always been so driven and known exactly what you wanted. And then you’ve gone after it. What you’ve created with your shop at such a young age is nothing short of incredible and a true testament to all your unrelenting hard work.
A swell of pride rose up inside her. Even from beyond the grave, her father’s words impacted her deeply.
You’re so much like me in so many ways, kiddo. I’m afraid that not only did you inherit your exceptionally high drive to succeed and ability to focus on a goal from me, but also your workaholic tendencies. It took me a long time to learn that there needs to be a balance in life, and truthfully, I wasn’t always good at achieving that balance, especially after your mother died and I threw myself into work as a way to cope with losing her.
But if there is one thing I know for sure, it’s that life is so much richer when your work—no matter how much you love it—isn’t your only focus. I see you already going down the same path as I did, but only at a much younger age. And that’s why I’ve given you this particular challenge, Kat. I don’t want you to waste even one moment of your life by working it away.
I’ve given you a list of sorts. Some of these things might be familiar to you as something I wished I would have done, or made the time to do. Some might surprise you. But I promise you that each and every task I’ve given you has been thought out and they are all equally important, so don’t dismiss anything out of hand.
I know that everything you do, you do with one hundred percent effort and a full heart, and I know this will be the same, kiddo.
Have fun with it and try to think of me a little bit on the way because I wish I could be right there tackling each of these challenges alongside you. Well, most of them. But you’ll know which ones are for you and you alone.
Love always, Dad.
Kat took a moment to let her father’s words sink in before she slid the second piece of paper from the envelope. From the moment William announced that their father had given her a list of items to complete, she’d suspected that she might know what a few of the tasks were, based on some conversations she’d had with her dad over the years. After a quick scan of the list, her suspicions were confirmed.
— Learn to paint.
On more than one occasion, he’d told her how envious he’d always been of people who had true creative talent. That one didn’t surprise her. She smiled at the thought of her wielding a paintbrush. No doubt it would be an epic disaster, but it was doable.
— Skydive, bungee jump, or parachute.
Her smile twisted into a frown. That would be a lot harder. Kat hated heights. When her dad had first told her that he’d once had the opportunity to bungee jump when he was young on a trip to Australia and he’d always regretted not doing it, she’d shaken her head and told him at that time that it was something she’d never do.
Apparently, he’d had other plans. Kat kept reading.
— Sing karaoke in public.
Kat laughed out loud. She had the worst singing voice in the family, second only to maybe her father.
— Hike to the top of Pulpit Peak.
Her breath hitched in her throat. They’d talked about doing that hike together one day. It was one of the most infamous hikes in the area, and a badge of honor for many of the locals. Kat had never been a big hiker beyond some of the local trails, but on one of their monthly lunch dates, her father had mentioned how he’d always wanted to do it, and she’d agreed to do it with him.
Of course, something always got in the way; they’d both been too busy and he’d died before they got that chance.
And that was the point of the list. She blew out a breath and kept reading, skimming through a few more items.
— Learn another language.
That one might be a reach. How was she supposed to learn another language in such a short time?
Kat shook her head and kept reading.
— Learn how to salsa dance, and perform in front of an audience.
Her eyes got wide at that one. Dance? The only dancing Kat ever did was when she’d had a few drinks and there was live music at Brickhouse. And even then, it could hardly be considered actually dancing.
Still, the list mostly seemed manageable. Although a few of the items were going to be challenging, the final thing on her father’s list just served to prove that everything else leading up to it was just the warm-up to the main event.
— Go on a solo overnight backpacking trip and sleep under the stars.
She sucked in a breath. Her father knew exactly how she felt about being alone in bear country. In fact, he’d been the one who’d hammered home safety in the woods and how they should never go out alone.
She swallowed hard and shook her head, because it didn’t matter what crazy things he’d put on his bucket list. Her father had known, just as she did: no matter what, she’d cross off every single thing.