by Beth Flynn
I hesitated at first, unsure if I was ready to take this stroll down memory lane. In my shock at finding out where he lived and subsequent curiosity, I’d forgotten to consider how I would feel after stepping in Kenny and Jonathan’s childhood home. A home I knew intimately. The small living room with a fireplace would be on my left. A wall would separate it from a tiny kitchen that faced the back of the house. Directly in front of me would be a small dining area off the kitchen. To my right, there would be two bedrooms separated by a solitary bathroom.
I stepped over the threshold and was immediately greeted by a huge German shepherd.
“Out of the way, Henry,” Jake commanded the dog. “Let the lady through.”
Henry whined and took a few steps back.
“You have a dog?” I squatted down and started scratching his ears. “When did you get him or have you always had him?”
Jake tossed his keys on a table to the left of the front door. “Henry is old and his bones hurt, but he is the most loyal and well-behaved animal I’ve ever come across. He’s retired from the K-9 unit a few towns over.”
“K-9 unit?” I abruptly stood. “Is he one of those dogs that chases down suspects and attacks them on command?”
Jake bent down and stroked Henry’s soft, thick coat. “Nope. He’s a cadaver dog. In his younger days he helped law enforcement find dead bodies.”
I grimaced and looked at Henry. “Well, this is a good place for him to enjoy his retirement because he’s not going to find any dead bodies way out here. And with all the acreage that comes with this house, he’ll have a lot of room to run. He can even come visit me when he feels like it.”
Jake gave me an odd look. “Do you want to see the rest of the house?” he asked cautiously.
“Yes, I’d like that,” I answered as I eyeballed the small living room. There was a comfortable-looking couch against the wall that separated it from the kitchen. It had one side table that was home to an unremarkable lamp and the remote control. His coffee table was comprised of three old crates. The side wall sported an old masonry fireplace that probably hadn’t exuded warmth in over forty years. In the far corner was a flat-screen TV that sat on a shelf unit. Below that was a DVD player and a stack of movies. The wooden floors were old and battered, with the exception of a few newer boards that stood out.
“I’m going to wait to refinish the floors until the whole place is fixed,” Jake said from beside me.
I tried to imagine what kind of story the decades of dust buried deep between the floorboards could tell. I gulped when I realized I was looking at the spot where I gave myself to Kenny almost forty years earlier while Dolly Parton serenaded us from a battered old radio.
I felt a tug on my hand as Jake pulled me back to see his kitchen. He was right. It was raw and outdated. I could see where he’d re-hung some cabinet doors that had fallen off. It was obvious by the shiny new hinges. The huge farm sink that was below the back window was stained with rust, but otherwise clean. “What are we having tonight?”
“I hope you like tacos. I’m not much of a cook,” he confessed. He motioned toward the dining room and added, “And as you can see, I don’t have a table. We’ll have to take our plates to the couch.”
“I watched you the night we had Brunswick stew at my place and again the night you scraped your knuckles. You know your way around a kitchen,” I reminded him.
“Nah,” he said without looking at me. “I’m just a good prepper.”
“Tacos sound wonderful, and I normally eat in front of the boob tube. Kitchen tables are overrated. Unless you have a big family.”
“Then I’ll probably never have a table,” he said from beside me.
I gave him a questioning look.
“I don’t have children and don’t plan on having any. And without any living relatives, it’s only me. Has been for a long time.”
I felt my heart squeeze in my chest. “I only have Fancy, and honestly, I don’t consider her family anymore.” I slowly shook my head. “I haven’t for a long time. But I have Darlene. If there’s one thing I’ve learned recently, your closest relationships aren’t always defined by DNA.” I reached out to stroke his arm. “You must have a close friend you consider family.”
He’d abandoned the rest of the house tour, turning his attention to the taco preparation. “Not anymore.”
“What do you mean, not anymore?” I prodded.
“I had a couple of best friends, but that was years ago. I lost touch with one and the other one died.” He shrugged nonchalantly. “I’ve had acquaintances,” he corrected. “But not anybody close. Except for Emmy of course.”
And she’d died too. He’s known nothing but loss, I sadly realized.
“But don’t feel sorry for me, Barbie. I’m a loner. I don’t mind the solitude. Not everybody is looking for a gaggle of geese to keep them company.”
I laughed at his description and realized we had that in common. “I didn’t remember to grab the bottle of wine I was going to bring,” I admitted even though I wasn’t in the mood for alcohol.
“No worries. I already have some and forgot to offer you a glass. Some host I am, huh?” He held up two bottles, and I was impressed by the choices but asked for a pass. “I think I’d rather have something a little lighter if you don’t mind.”
“Dr. Pepper or sparkling water?”
We carried our food and drinks to the living room and munched on tacos as we talked. Between mouthfuls, he asked me, “You said something interesting before when I introduced you to Henry.”
I swallowed and wiped my mouth with a napkin. “What was that?”
“You said that he would have a lot of room to run with all the acreage that came with the house. Exactly how much property do you think I own?”
I’d been getting ready to take another bite of my taco and stopped. “The Pritchards owned at least forty-five acres.”
“Maybe they did back when you lived here as a child, but this house came with only two acres.”
“That can’t be right.” I felt my forehead puckering. “If not you, then who owns the rest of the property?”
He shook his head and looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “I can’t believe you don’t know this, Barbie. Weren’t you involved in the original sale of your grandparents’ house? Didn’t you know what you bought back from the bank after it was foreclosed on?”
“Of course I knew, Jake. Why are you asking me this?” I set my half-eaten taco on my plate and gave him a serious look.
“When I bought the house and the couple of acres that came with it, I saw a survey of the surrounding land.”
“And it showed you who owns the other forty-three acres?” I asked.
“Yeah.”
I was getting not only impatient but anxious to know who’d bought ninety-eight percent of the Pritchard land without me knowing it. “So who owns the property, Jake?”
“You do, Barbie. It belongs to you.”
Chapter 33
Do You Have Any Other Secrets?
After some more debating, we both determined that unbeknownst to me, Mr. Pritchard at some point had started selling off his property to my grandfather. I was a kid and had been none the wiser. When my grandmother died, I’d sold the property never knowing it included forty-three acres my granddaddy had purchased over the years from Mr. Pritchard.
“I’ve hiked the acreage. I’m going to say that most of the old stills and a couple of underground storage bunkers I found belong to you.” Jake scooted up to the edge of the couch, and after setting his plate down, rested his elbows on his knees. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure. Ask away.”
“I was surprised when I inquired at the county office about buying the house that it was still in Mr. Pritchard’s name. I’d have thought that when he passed, and Jonathan became a ward of the state that South Carolina would transfer the property into some state agency name and sell it off. The lady at the Pickens County Land Assessment and Tax offi
ce had no clue as to why that never happened. And she brought up something curious.”
I reached down to pet Henry who’d been lying quietly at our feet, tucked in between the couch and Jake’s makeshift coffee table. I knew what he was going to say and saved him the breath. “I’ve been paying the property taxes since I was in college,” I explained about my curiosity and the original reason behind my decision.
“But Kenny died, what? Ten years ago?”
“Eight years ago,” I corrected.
He shook his head before asking, “Why would you still keep paying it?”
I let out a long breath. “First of all, it barely cost anything. When I was a struggling medical student, yes, it was difficult. But after I became a physician, it was a drop in the bucket. When Kenny died, I thought about stopping the payments and letting the chips fall where they may. But Jonathan was still around…” I shook my head slowly. “I don’t know, could be my sentiment has been misplaced all these years. I didn’t like the thought of the house being in arrears to the county. It would be a mar on the Pritchard name even though they weren’t supposed to still own it, and with Jonathan being the only living Pritchard it didn’t feel right.” I felt my shoulders sag. “The Pritchards had a bad enough reputation for so many years. Letting some unknown face in the county tax office think they were slackers or loafers didn’t sit right with me. I kept up the payments for Jonathan. All the while knowing they could notice their error and sell the house anyway. Dumb, huh?”
“Whew!” He leaned back against the couch. “You are seriously tied to this house. This family. Aren’t you?”
“When you say it like that you make it sound like a bad thing.”
He shot back up and turned to face me. “No, Barbie. I didn’t mean it like that. I only meant that you’re the most loyal person I’ve ever met. And I can believe there was a glitch in the computer system.” His tone was sincere. “I had a friend who was pulled over on a random traffic violation. Turned out there was an outstanding warrant for his arrest because he hadn’t shown up for a court date when he was seventeen and had been charged with disorderly conduct.”
“Seventeen? How old was he when he got stopped?”
“He was forty-something. The county where he’d lived had recently updated their computer system. When it rebooted, it brought up a ton of outstanding warrants that had fallen through the cracks.” He laughed and remarked, “I think they got an eighty-year-old man on a twenty-two-year-old ‘fishing without a license’ charge too.”
Henry picked that time to jump up and snatch the last bit of taco from my plate. Jake reprimanded him, but he gobbled it down with satisfaction, and then looked guilty.
We headed into the kitchen where I helped him clean up. Afterward, we went back to the small living room and he called me over to the TV. He pointed to the stack of DVDs and said, “Pick one.”
I sifted through some eighties and nineties movies, mostly chick flicks, and asked him, “Where did you get all of these?”
“Sheila let me raid her shelves. See anything you like?”
“I like all of them. Are you in the mood to laugh or cry?” I held up two movies.
“Laugh.”
“Then it looks like you’re about to meet Tootsie.”
“Speaking of chocolate…” He bent low and opened the bottom cabinet. He pulled out an expensive box of chocolates and handed it to me. “I wasn’t sure what kind you liked so I guessed.”
“You can’t go wrong with me and chocolate. These are pricey, and you shouldn’t have.”
“You can always share my favorite.” He reached back into the cabinet and snatched a bag of York Peppermint Patties.
“That’s your favorite chocolate?” My eyes were wide.
“They’re my favorite candy of all time,” he admitted while tearing open the bag.
“Mine too!” I exclaimed. “We love the same candy. How cool is that?”
“Very cool, darlin’. Very cool.” He put the DVD in, pressed play and led me back to the couch.
I was happy that the movie made him laugh. We only took two quick breaks and that was for him to let Henry out and then back inside. When the credits started rolling, he jumped up and took the DVD out, carefully returning it to its case. “Good choice, Barbie doll.” He still had his back to me and I thought it might be the making of an awkward moment when he turned around and said, “There’s something else I need to tell you.” He stuck his hands in his front pockets and said, “Well, I don’t need to, but I want to.”
“Okay, go on,” I urged.
“I don’t know how to say it, so I’m going to just come out with it. Do you remember the first time we had coffee together?”
“Of course I do. It was when you took Darlene’s seat at the Crossroads Diner.”
“You told me that there was a spike in your utility bills.” He blew out a long breath. “That was because of me. I hadn’t bought this house yet and was squatting here, trying to figure out if I wanted to buy it. I’d tapped into your electric and was using it to juice the house.”
I shifted on the couch, not exactly sure how I should react. Jake had technically stolen from me. Did I care? A nasty thought about his prison record in Texas came to the forefront of my brain, and I quickly stifled it before I said something I would regret. I was glad I did.
“I didn’t know how to repay you so I did some odd jobs for you without you knowing.” He took a deep breath and gave me a sheepish grin. “I saw a gutter dangling out front that I put back up.”
Dustin, I inwardly scoffed. You let me think you fixed that gutter. You cad.
“Your new HVAC system was making a loud racket so I tightened a loose bolt.” He stared at the floor like he was gearing up for a big reveal. “There’s more.” I was right about his guilt-ridden body language. “There was a huge surge that knocked out my power, forcing me to reset the breakers. I went to your place to see if your power had been knocked out too. It had.” His chin was down but he peered up to meet my eyes. “I wasn’t sure if you were back full-time or not and I didn’t want your food to spoil so I found the key, let myself in your house and reset your breakers for you.” He adjusted his posture and said, “It’s how I knew you had an aluminum baseball bat behind your front door. I saw it when I was leaving.”
I felt myself squirm. “You were inside my house?” My voice was barely a whisper.
“Yes.” He walked over and squatted in front of me. Taking my hand in his, he said, “Only to reset your breaker box in the pantry, Barbie.”
“That feels like a violation,” I admitted.
Letting go of my hand, he stood back up and gazed down at me. “I did for you what I would’ve done for any neighbor.” When I didn’t reply, he brushed his hand through his hair and said, “It’s not like I went through your panty drawer, Barbie. Or looked at the balance in your checkbook.” He narrowed his eyes at me before adding, “That you’d left on your kitchen table where anybody could’ve stolen it. And by anybody, I mean any person who could easily find the house key in your lame hiding place on the porch.”
I bristled at the rebuke, but realized he was probably right. How many workmen had been at my house over the past few months? How many times had he hinted that I needed to find a new hiding place for my key? I was pondering all these things and more when he said in a gentle voice, “I went straight to where I guessed the breaker box would be in your pantry and back out the front door. I didn’t give myself a tour of your house, Barbie. I was only there trying to help.”
“Of course,” I told him. “And you didn’t have to tell me, but you did. Thank you for owning up to it after the fact.” I tilted my head to the side and teasingly asked, “Do you have any other secrets?”
He gave me a crooked smile and said, “Sure. Don’t you?”
It was a fair question. Of course I had secrets. Don’t we all? I shuddered at the thought of playing true confession concerning past regrets. I smiled up at him and with a mock sternness as
ked, “So, is it true you played baseball when you were a kid or did you make that up when I put you on the spot about my aluminum bat?”
“Little League All-Stars two years in a row,” he boasted. I could tell by his wide smile and the relief in his expression that he knew all was forgiven.
Chapter 34
Your Grandmother Was a Tool
“You’re telling me that on one hand, having Jake living so close is giving you pause about having sex with him, and on the other hand, you’re wondering why he hasn’t tried anything?”
“Shhh, Dar! Somebody might hear you,” I whisper-yelled. It was Thanksgiving and we were on dishwashing duty in the kitchen at Hampton House. It was something Darlene volunteered for every year so the people who would typically have to work could have the day off to spend with their families. As soon as we finished, she was heading to Dicey’s house for a second dinner. “And yeah, I feel weird having him so close as a neighbor. Especially if we ever do take it to the next level. You know.” I paused while I tried to articulate my conflicted feelings. “If it were to go south with him, we’d still be neighbors, and that doesn’t sit right with me.”
She shrugged and said, “Sounds like your problem is already solved if he’s not trying to take things further physically.”
“But why? Why isn’t he taking things further?” It had been a few weeks since I’d discovered Jake had bought the Pritchards’ old homestead. And we’d spent a lot of time together since then. Quality time that never progressed past some spine-tingling lip locks and heavy breathing sessions.
She removed her left hand from the soapy water and swiped her forearm across her face. “Maybe because he feels the same way, Barbie. It’s possible that he’s one of those men who has truly considered the consequences if you two don’t work out. You know, living in the same small town and all.” She passed me a pot to dry and added, “Everybody knows Jake is a gentleman. I think we’re seeing that he’s the real deal.”
