Chapter 55
jeremy
Five Days Later
Everything was in boxes, ready to be sent to storage, and the lawyer was due any second. I had no idea what the fuck I was going to say, because the entire deal with the ag company would fall apart without her there.
For once in my life, I was walking around directionless.
I shoved a hand through my hair, my chest tightening as I stepped off the porch into the backyard.
The cornfield swayed in the summer wind.
Back then, Luna would vanish between the stalks, barefoot and wild, and I’d chase after her until my lungs burned.
“Jer.”
I turned to see Dirks coming down the porch steps, his hands shoved deep in his pockets, shoulders tense.
“She couldn’t come.”
I shook my head, jaw tightening. “Right.”
“Has the lawyer come?”
“He comes in a bit,” I muttered, kicking at the dirt near the steps.
Without asking, Dirks reached out and grabbed my shoulder, his grip steady, grounding. He steered me back toward the porch like I was some stubborn kid.
“Sit,” he said, guiding me down onto the top step.
I let out a dry laugh, glancing up at him. “Wow. Giving directions now? Careful, man—usually you’re the one on your knees taking them from Luna.”
“Yeah, well . . . desperate times. Somebody’s gotta keep your ass in line.”
The air shifted, his silence pressing harder than the joke.
“She couldn’t come,” Dirks said again softly, almost apologetic.
I let out a bitter laugh that didn’t sound like me. “Right. Of course. Always some fucking excuse.” My jaw clenched, teeth grinding. “She’s probably halfway across the world, pretending none of this matters.”
“No, Jer. She’s here. Just a few towns over. She wants to be near you. She just . . . she can’t come here.”
My heart stalled. “Can’t? What the fuck does that mean—can’t?”
“With her permission, I’m telling you this because you need to understand. Think about it. Why was she the only one with the private room?”
I froze. My pulse faltered, then pounded. “What—what does that matter?”
“You grew up in that house, Jer. You know none of the other kids had it. Not a single one of you. But Luna did. And then . . . after she left, you had it.”
I staggered to my feet, pacing, gripping the back of my neck like I could hold my skull together. “Wait— wait. You’re saying—” My throat went dry. I forced the words out. “You’re saying the only reason she had that room was because— because Arthur—”
I couldn’t finish it. The thought sliced through me like glass.
Dirks’s silence said everything.
“Oh my god. That’s why she never— fuck, that’s why she panicked. That’s why she couldn’t set foot on this porch without shaking. That’s why she shuts down when I bring this place up.”
My knees gave out, and I dropped onto the step, hands clawing into my hair. My whole body shook as the pieces slammed together.
“She was just a kid,” I rasped, eyes burning. “We were just kids. And he—”
Bile hit my throat, and I gagged. I dragged my hands over my face, choking out, “I lived in her nightmare. I fucking slept in it. And I never knew. I never—”
Dirks placed a steady hand on my shoulder, but it barely anchored me.
“Oh my god. That’s what he did to her. That’s why she can’t come back. That’s why she never told me.”
The horizon blurred as tears burned my eyes, and for the first time since Arthur’s funeral, I felt it—the full horror of the man I once called family. I finally understood what Luna had been carrying all alone.
“I’m a horrible person.” My throat burned as I said it out loud. “I didn’t put it together. God, what the fuck was I doing all that time? I should’ve seen it. I should’ve— I should’ve done something to protect her then.”
“I think you did. That’s why she loves you—why she’s never let you go, no matter how bad things got.
This hot and cold between you two . . . I think it’s because of this secret.
It’s been festering between you both. And now, it’s out.
I think that’s why she’s breaking, and why you’re breaking, too. ”
“I need to go to her. Fuck the house. Fuck this deal. I was wrong to even try. She’s what matters.”
“No. That’s where you’re wrong. If you walk away from this, it doesn’t just haunt you, it follows her, too. You think she wants to lose everything you’ve both bled for because Arthur set fire to her past?”
Before I could answer, the crunch of gravel cut through my fury.
Perfect fucking timing.
A few minutes later, the lawyer appeared at the edge of the porch, briefcase in hand, eyes scanning the property like it was nothing but acreage and numbers.
“I’m here to—”
“Fuck the house,” I snapped, swiping at my wet face so he wouldn’t see the evidence of my breakdown.
Dirks clamped a hand on my shoulder before I could bolt. He gestured to the two weathered rocking chairs lined up on the porch, his voice firmer than I’d ever heard it. “We’re ready to proceed.”
“Proceed? She’s not here—how the fuck are we supposed to—”
“Sit down,” Dirks demanded, his tone leaving no room for argument.
The lawyer set his briefcase down, snapping open the brass latches with calm precision.
“We’ll keep this simple. The agricultural company has their paperwork lined up.
Now, both beneficiaries have to sign. Jeremy, you’re already noted.
Ms. Pierson . . . Well, her signature is missing.
Without it, the entire agreement is voided. ”
I let out a sharp, bitter laugh, throwing my hands out. “Exactly. She’s not here. She’s not coming here. So what the fuck are we doing?”
The lawyer adjusted his glasses. “Unless she’s designated a power of attorney.”
I froze, the words like static in my ears. “What?”
Dirks shifted beside me. “She did.”
I whipped my head toward him. “What do you mean she did?”
“I’m Luna’s temporary power of attorney. She signed it last night. I can act on her behalf when it comes to this estate.”
My breath stuttered out of me. “You’re— you’re what?”
“She trusted me to handle this so she wouldn’t have to step foot in this house again.”
I turned sharply to the lawyer, pulse hammering. “Would that . . . work?”
The lawyer flipped through a different folder, finding the form Dirks passed to him.
He read it quickly, lips pressed tight. Then he nodded once.
“Yes. This is valid. With your signature as co-beneficiary and Mr. Dirks’s authority, the sale can proceed.
The ag company will have no grounds to object. ”
The world tilted. For a second, I couldn’t breathe.
Dirks leaned forward, locking eyes with me, firm but not cruel. “This is how we finish it, Jer. This is how we set her free. This is how you get set free, too. You’ve carried this place like a chain. Now you get to drop it.”
My throat closed around the words I couldn’t form.
The lawyer slid the papers across the porch table, pen already uncapped. “Initial here. And here. Then both signatures on the bottom.”
My hand shook as I scribbled my name. Dirks followed, pressing Luna’s authority into the ink.
The lawyer glanced over everything one last time, stacking the pages into a neat folder.
“That’s it. The transfer will be finalized today.
Funds will be wired into your account by five p.m.” He snapped the briefcase shut, adjusting his glasses like it was nothing monumental, just another Tuesday.
“The ag company now has full control of the property. House, fields, and all associated land.”
He was gone. Like that, it was over.
I stared out at the corn, at the house that had rotted me from the inside out, and bile rose in my throat. “Jesus Christ,” I muttered, pressing my palms to my knees. “It’s done. It’s fucking done.”
Dirks leaned back in the chair.
“I can’t even stand to sit here another second.
This soil . . . it makes my skin crawl. Every breath feels dirty.
I don’t want it, Dirks. I don’t want a single splinter of this place.
I’ll—” I stood abruptly, pacing toward the edge of the porch.
“I’ll see you back in Chicago. I just— I need a second. ”
Dirks rose slowly, his gaze steady on me.
“Tell Luna. Tell her it’s done. Tell her . . . she never has to think about this place again.”
“Jer. Come over.”
I turned, shaking my head before he could even finish.
“She’s waiting.”
“No. I can’t. Not right now. I can’t see her like this.”
Dirks frowned. “Jer—”
“I have to do something first. If I walk in there right now, all she’s going to see is the fucking mess I am. The blood on my hands from not seeing what was happening to her back then.”
“You think she wants perfect? You think she’s waiting for some shiny, cleaned-up version of you?”
“I don’t know what she wants, but I know what I need, and that’s to face this fucking thing before I face her.
Because if I look at her right now, if I see her eyes on me .
. . ” My throat closed, the confession clawing its way out.
“I’ll break, Dirks. And if I break, I don’t know if I’ll be able to put myself back together. ”
Finally, I forced myself to take a step off the porch, then another, my back to him. “Tell her I’m not running. Tell her I just . . . I have to do something first.”