13. Reese
Reese
We made it to Echo Creek, a town about half an hour from Tilikum, when I decided to stop for the night. It probably wouldn’t have mattered if we’d rolled into town after dark, but there was a part of me that wanted to face it in the daylight.
Probably stupid, but after two very long days on the road, no one complained when we stopped.
I went to bed listening to the soft sounds of Summer and Nate breathing in the bed next to me. Thinking about what we were about to do, and whether I was an idiot for getting myself in so deep.
The posing as a family thing was probably overkill. What were the chances Axel and his asshole buddies would bother looking hard enough to find her 1,500 miles away? And even if they tried, how would they succeed?
And yet, as reasonable as that sounded, and as much as I wanted to believe that Summer and Nate would be safe, my gut told me it wasn’t over.
I knew all too well how guys like Axel thought. He’d take their disappearance as an affront to his manhood. And when one member was disrespected, the whole club took it personally.
But in the short term, Mayhem wasn’t my biggest problem. I was just outside my hometown, and a long-dreaded reckoning loomed on the horizon.
I woke early, as usual. Summer and Nate were sound asleep, and he’d pulled most of the covers onto his side of the bed, leaving her with only a scrap of sheet. I didn’t want to risk waking them, but she looked cold. Even in sleep, her brow was creased, and she was tucked into a ball.
Gently, I loosened the cover and tugged it across the bed. Nate shifted but didn’t wake. I settled the blanket over Summer, resisting the urge to lean in and inhale. Or worse, press my lips to her forehead to soothe all those worries she carried.
Not my place.
Anticipation thrummed through me as I grabbed my phone and stepped outside into the early morning light. I needed to get it over with, but the call I was about to make was only the beginning. I had to face them, and it was best to get it done sooner rather than later.
Still, it was hard even just to dial her number.
I did it anyway.
Her voice was clear when she answered. No hint of sleepiness. “Hello?”
“Hi, Mom.”
“Reese.” She sounded understandably surprised. I’d talked to her a few days ago, and I usually went months before calling again. “Is everything all right?”
“Yeah. I’m fine. I’m…here.”
Her gasp was audible. “Here in town?”
“Almost. I stopped for the night in Echo Creek.”
“When can we see you?”
We. Rubbing the back of my neck, I closed my eyes for a moment. “I was thinking this morning, but—”
“Good. You can come now. We’re up.”
“What if I meet you somewhere first? Just you.”
“I really think you ought to come here.”
“But—”
“Reese,” she said, and I recognized her no-nonsense voice from when I was a kid. “You’re almost there. Come home.”
She was right. If I was going to do it, I needed to go all in. I couldn’t avoid him forever.
Then again, he’d probably leave once she told him I was coming.
“All right,” I said. “I’ll be on my way in a few.”
“See you soon.”
I ended the call and stood for a long moment, staring at nothing. Just breathing in the familiar air, smelling the hint of pine.
You’re almost there. Come home.
Stifling a groan—this was going to suck—I slipped back into the room.
Summer’s eyes fluttered open, and her lips turned up in a slight smile.
Beautiful. She was absolutely beautiful. And somehow that sleepy smile made my heart rate slow and the tension in my shoulders loosen.
“Morning,” she whispered.
“Morning.” I kept my voice low. “I need to go out for a little while. There’s something I need to take care of first thing.”
Her soft expression told me she understood. “That’s fine.”
“There should be a few places to eat within walking distance if you want to get breakfast.”
“We’ll figure it out. I’m just going to let him sleep.”
“Call me if you need anything. But I’ll be back in a couple hours at most.”
“Okay. Good luck.”
“Thanks. I’m gonna need it.”
Resisting the very strange urge to lean down and kiss her goodbye, I grabbed my keys and left.
In the light of day, the reality of where I was hit hard. The highway from Echo Creek to Tilikum wound along the river, still running high and fast from the spring snowmelt. Mountain peaks rose on all sides, their slopes dotted with pine trees.
All familiar and laced with memories—both good and bad.
The drive took me past the Welcome to Tilikum sign and into town. A giant wooden squirrel stood behind the welcome sign—that was new—and flower baskets spilling colorful blooms hung from the streetlights.
Tilikum was the sort of place where things always felt the same, even when the details changed. I passed shops and restaurants. Some had been there for years, and others I didn’t recognize. But on the whole, it looked the same as it had always been.
Small. Quiet. A little strange.
Memories flooded my mind, but I pushed them away. It wasn’t the time for nostalgia. And the closer I got to my parents’ place, the heavier the dread in my gut became.
They lived outside town, up a long gravel driveway. I hadn’t been up that bumpy road since the day I’d left. The pine trees looked thicker as I climbed their hill, obscuring their house from view until I was almost in front of it.
At the sight of that house, I slowed almost to a stop.
The log home stood in a clearing, with a big front porch and a chimney toward the back. The side yard had a neatly trimmed lawn with a picnic table and a swing set. The driveway curved in front and wound around to my dad’s shop behind the house.
Movement on the porch caught my eye, and it felt like my heart stopped dead in my chest.
He was there. My dad. Paul Haven.
There was more gray than brown in his thick beard and his face had lines I didn’t recall.
But other than that, he’d hardly changed.
Still had that barrel chest, wide shoulders, and thick arms. He even dressed the same, in worn jeans, sturdy boots, and a plaid flannel with the sleeves cuffed to his elbows.
He descended the porch steps while I pulled my SUV closer and parked in front of the house. I couldn’t read his face, but I knew what was about to happen. I debated whether I should even bother getting out. He was about to tell me to get the fuck off his property.
When he didn’t start bellowing at me, I opened the door and stepped out, my shoes crunching on the gravel. He strode toward me, and for a second, I thought he was going to skip the tongue-lashing and just hit me.
That was exactly what I wanted him to do. I braced myself to take his fist. I wouldn’t put up any defense. I deserved it.
I swallowed hard as he stopped in front of me and looked me up and down. Why didn’t he just hit me and get it over with?
I opened my mouth, unsure of what, if anything, I could say, when he stepped in and wrapped his arms around me.
He crushed me against him, holding me in a tight embrace. I froze in shock, my eyes wide. What was he doing?
I tried to step away. To get out of his inexplicable bear hug. But he refused to let go, his arms tightening.
And in that moment, my dad broke me.
Shuddering with a quiet sob, I put my arms around him and hugged him back.
His arms loosened slightly, and I curled into him, resting my forehead on his shoulder. He patted my back as if I were a child.
As if I were still his son.
I don’t know how long we stood there, wrapped in each other’s arms. I’m not ashamed to admit I wept. How could I not? There was the man who was supposed to hate me. Who’d told me to never come home. And he’d had every right to exile me. I’d deserved worse after the things I’d said to him.
How could he embrace me?
Finally, he let go. The tears in his eyes almost broke me all over again. I’d never seen Paul Haven cry. Not once. And certainly not over me.
“Son…”
I shook my head, still unable to fathom what was happening. Or maybe just unable to accept it.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Reese.” He paused, gazing at me like he couldn’t believe I was there. “Son, I’m so sorry.”
A lump rose in my throat, making it hard to speak. “You’re sorry? For what? I’m the one who left.”
“That’s my fault as much as yours. I shouldn’t have told you to go.”
“Yes, you should have. I deserved it. I—”
I stopped. I didn’t want to repeat what I’d said all those years ago. That I hated him. That he wasn’t my father. That I never wanted to see him again.
“You were a hotheaded kid who had plenty of reasons to be angry. You lashed out at me. You should have, because I should have been the one who could take it. Who could stand up to you without fucking it all up. But I didn’t. I lost my damn temper. And I’ve regretted it every day since.”
I stared at him in disbelief. In all the times I’d imagined this moment, wondering what would happen if we ever came face-to-face, not once had it occurred to me that he had regrets. His apology left me reeling.
“If you can’t forgive me, at least stay long enough to see your mom,” he said. “She’ll murder me if I chase you off.”
“Forgive you?” I spoke slowly, as if the words were foreign. “I need you to forgive me.”
He let out a breath and, stepping in close, he put his hand around the back of my neck. “Son, I forgave you a long time ago.”
Paul Haven was many things, but a liar was not one of them. He meant it.
“Dad.” I hesitated, my chest tightening. I had to swallow again before I could speak. “Just let me get it out, okay?”
Holding my eyes, he nodded and squeezed the back of my neck.
“I’m…sorry. For everything I said. But especially for taking so long to come home. And I don’t have much to forgive, but if you want me to say it anyway, I will. I forgive you.”
Tears glistened in his eyes and a smile lit up his face. He put his arms around me again and hugged me tight.
A weight lifted, not just from my shoulders but from the very depths of my soul.
I was home. And my dad didn’t hate me.
Another hand touched my back. I opened my eyes to find my mom with tears streaming down her face.