Chapter 6
I grunted as I slammed the hammer against the nail, as if the force of it could force the memory of Stella’s scream from my mind and the feeling it gave me from the pit of my stomach. Maybe if I made sure nothing like that happened again, I’d never hear her make that terrified noise.
I finished nailing the last board and gave the rail house door a solid shove to ensure it was secure.
By the time I got back to the house, the sight of Stella with a plate full of food surrounded by my family was the thing that finally eased my tension.
She didn’t look at ease, however she appeared much more relaxed than the state I saw her in less than twenty minutes ago.
Conversation flowed easily as plates of food were passed around the table.
“How’d it go today?” Patrick asked as he passed the mashed potatoes, while balancing his curly-haired toddler on his lap.
Patrick had been my best friend for as long as I could remember.
Our moms were best friends so our friendship had been inevitable, but him losing his mom and me losing my dad when we were both in high school bonded us even more.
It didn’t help that his dad was a deadbeat who left when he was a kid, so he basically became a brother to me.
We spent so many after school evenings and weekends together that I was convinced he was the favourite son sometimes.
Now, with me running the family business and him being a single dad and the chief of police, it was hard to get together, so we made these family meals a priority.
“It’s going. Everything’s been really dry this season which makes the trees come down easily. But we need to be extra careful with our equipment.” One wrong backfire of an engine and we could be the ones causing the next forest fire.
“Goodness, I always worry about you boys out there.” Grandma Trixie shook her head at us, like it wasn’t the life she grew up living. It was because of that experience that made her so cautious, though. She had seen one too many accidents and close calls that I really did appreciate her care.
“We’re always careful, Gram.” I tried to calm her anxieties, giving her my most confident smile.
“How’d your chat with Carter go?” Mom asked me.
“What’s that punk up to now?” Garrett chimed in.
Carter was a year younger than Garrett but had made a name for himself when they were in high school at the same time.
Garrett hadn’t been particularly pleased when I brought Carter on the crew, but I argued that people changed after high school.
Although Carter hadn’t been proving me right lately, unfortunately.
I sighed. “Just taking longer lunch breaks than he should. Said he got tied up at the bank.”
“Ha.” Garrett’s sarcastic laugh was joined with a dramatic eye roll. “As if we don’t all live in the same small town. Nothing is ever that busy.”
“Yeah, I told him it can’t keep happening, but honestly I don’t know what I’d do if we were down a guy. We’re already behind as it is.”
“Hey, it’ll all work out, man,” Garrett assured me while Mom silently watched our conversation.
I glanced over at Stella, who was sitting across the table as she chatted away with Melody.
My sister was great at that, just like Grandma Trixie.
She was always so in tune with other people.
She had such a warm and welcoming personality that made everyone feel safe and celebrated.
I could tell that was the energy that Stella needed as her body relaxed, and her smile softened over the course of the meal.
As we finished supper and split into separate areas of the house, Stella carried a stack of plates into the kitchen behind Grandma.
“Absolutely not!” I heard Grandma’s stern voice as I started to get a fire going in the living room.
It was still late summer, but the nights cooled off and there was nothing better than an evening fire at Grandma’s.
“You are a guest in this house, and you will not be cleaning up after us. Now, shoo.”
I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped me. No one stood a chance against Grandma Trixie when she told you how it was going to be.
“She’s pretty, isn’t she?” Patrick nudged me while Garrett looked on with that troublesome gleam in his eye. “Maybe I’ll shoot my shot with her.”
My glare narrowed in on Patrick as laughter shook the walls.
“Relax, Cal, we’re just pulling your leg,” Garrett responded. “Man, I’ve never seen you act like this. Like, yeah, I get it, we’re protective of our people. But I’ve never seen you so broody.”
I took in a few deep breaths and re-centred myself by taking in the atmosphere of the living room.
The bed and breakfast was the house that Grandma had grown up in, and it still held so much life.
She had lived here with my grandpa where they raised my dad and uncles.
After their kids grew up and moved out—my dad taking over the company and my uncles moving on to big city jobs, the house was too big and lonely for them, so they decided to bring in guests and create new experiences out of the old farmhouse.
Grandma Trixie was still holding on to it long after Grandpa passed, and now that my mom had moved into the basement suite things ran smoothly for them.
Looking around the living room, you could tell the amount of love this house had fostered.
From family photos hanging on the walls, to homemade crafts decorating the space from when we were kids, to the notches on the wall by the stairs to mark our heights as we grew, this space had seen many versions of my family.
Although I had my own house now, this was the place where I felt most at home.
“That door shouldn’t have been open. What if it had been Grandma picking berries, or if one of the local kids or Casper was playing around out there?” I knew mentioning Patrick’s two-year-old son would bring him to reason. “Or if we weren’t close by? That could have been a very different outcome.”
A serious look replaced the playful expression on both my brother and best friend’s faces.
Patrick’s already dark brown eyes deepened with his sincere tone as he eyed Casper, now playing with blocks on the living room floor.
“No, you’re right, Cal. We didn’t mean to downplay the severity of the situation.
But you can’t hold it against yourself either.
That’s not your fault. And most people out here know to carry bear spray with them when they’re outside. ”
I realized he was right. Apart from just securing that rail house door, I could do something else to make sure Stella was safe while she was here.
Just then, Stella poked her head in the living room. “Sorry to interrupt, I’m just going to grab my books here and head up to my room.” She motioned to the stack of library books she had still been clutching when she ran up to the house and dropped when I touched her.
They were on the end table beside me, and as I went to grab them so did she. Our hands softly grazed each other, but she pulled them back like I had burned her. Maybe I had, her touch had been so cold.
I picked up the books and handed them to her, her hands trembled slightly as she quickly grabbed them from me and pulled them close to her chest. It took everything in me not to grab her shaking hands.
“Thanks. For the books and for the rescue earlier.” Her self-deprecating laugh broke me while the pink that softened her cheeks threatened to steal my breath.
“Always,” I told her. It was a truth I didn’t even realize until that moment.
She started to back away toward the staircase, and I stood up a little too quickly, making her jump. I couldn’t imagine what would cause her to react that way suddenly, but I made a mental note to slow my movements around her.
“Actually, I have something for you. Come here for a sec.”
“Oh, okay.” Her quiet steps trailed mine to the porch where I reached into my coat pocket and pulled out a small container of bear spray.
“Keep this with you when you’re walking around outside.
You never know what kind of wildlife you’ll run into around here.
” I handed her the canister and showed her how to use it—which way to point and how to squeeze.
My hands fit on top of hers like finding a missing piece to a puzzle, and I relished in the moments I got to warm up her frigid fingers.
Then I started pulling open a few drawers, looking for something I knew had to still be here.
“There it is,” I said, fishing out a big clunky satellite phone. “This is Melody’s old phone, we just keep it here for emergency use, but it already has all our phone numbers saved in it. Take this with you, too. It will work anywhere, and you’ll never be alone.”
“Thank you.” Her voice was barely above a whisper and her eyes were shining with unshed tears as she clutched the phone and books like she gripped the blankets in bed last night.
I almost told her about how I had covered her up when she quickly turned away to head up the stairs. Watching her walk away from me, I instantly knew that was a sight I didn’t want to get used to.
As the evening wound down, I found my mom and grandma playing cards in the kitchen.
Grandma Trixie may have been my dad’s mom, but you’d never know.
They had an instant affinity for each other when my dad first brought Mom home, but losing both of their spouses in such a short timeframe brought them closer in a way I wouldn’t wish on anyone.
“Good night, Mom, good night, Gram,” I said, pressing a kiss on each of their heads.
They gave each other a knowing look before Mom put her hand on my forearm and stopped me. “Calvin, sweetie, we’re going to be all right. I know it’s hard to see sometimes, but we’re doing okay, and we’re going to manage.”
I knew she was talking about the business.
While we each ran our own aspects of the business, it was a constant battle between us trying to lighten the other’s load, and I knew she was taking on too much stress as the numbers hadn’t been working in our favour for a while now.
Regardless of if I believed her now or not, I wouldn’t accept any other option.
Of course, we were going to be okay. I would make sure of it.
“I know, Mom.”
“Good. Don’t forget to chase your happy while we get there, okay? There’s enough of it in Love for all of us.”
“I’ll try.” Although I tried to smile, I was sure the empty promise was written all over my face.
Guilt led the way as I drove the short distance to my home.
Once I got my feet settled in the family business, I had decided to build a house for myself on our land.
Something I knew my parents wanted for each of us siblings, but I had been the first one to make the move.
I modeled my house after my grandparents’ classic farmhouse.
Complete with a wrap-around deck on all four sides.
There were five bedrooms, four bathrooms, and a huge entertainment space in the basement, along with my gym.
There was still some unfinished space on the third floor that I was waiting on a spark of inspiration for, but otherwise my house was perfect.
The only thing missing was the family I thought I’d have filling it by now.
I wanted to follow my mom’s advice and chase my happy, but I didn’t know how to do that while still providing for my family and making sure they didn’t take on too much.
As I pulled up in front of my house, I thought I saw movement out of the corner of my eye but when I looked to the bushes that edged my property, I couldn’t make out anything but the silhouette of the trees.
Probably just an animal roaming around now that it had cooled off, or maybe that bear cub still finding his way.
The thought was gone the next moment as I opened my door and was greeted with an attack of claws and a sound that was more a screech and a howl than it was the meow of a typical cat.
“Hello, Bernard. Yes, I missed you, too, you terrifying beast.” I laughed as he nuzzled his head into my neck.
Who needed romance when you had the love of a cat every time you came home?