Where Forever Ends: Maplewood Falls: Book One

by Street, K.

  A few days had passed since the barbeque, and I’d kept myself busy, researching preschools for Knox. Happy Hearts had excellent reviews, and I had called to schedule a tour. If everything worked out, I would start my new job next week, working for my brother at Chadwick Designs and Development. That meant I couldn’t put off enrolling Knox in a program.

  I got out of the car and walked around to the rear passenger side. I unbuckled Knox from his restraint and reached to pick him up.

  “I can do it.”

  “All right.” I stepped out of his way.

  He held on to the interior door handle with one hand and his car seat with the other and jumped onto the ground. His feet landed on the blacktop with a thud.

  “See? I did it.” Knox raised his arms in victory.

  “You’re such a big boy.” I adjusted my purse on my shoulder. “But you still have to hold hands in the parking lot.”

  Together, we walked inside. A light breeze followed us through the double glass doors, stirring the air and drifting the aroma of playdough and old crayons to my nose.

  My heels clacked on the speckled white commercial floor, which appeared freshly waxed. A painted butterfly garden mural adorned the wall to my right. Knox let go of my hand to go check out the colorful scene.

  A total of eight cushioned chairs were positioned near the wall. Perfectly spaced in two rows of four that faced each other. Straight ahead were two doors with stick-figure signs attached to them, marking the restrooms. Corridors led in each direction to what I assumed were the classrooms.

  “Good morning.” A beautiful woman emerged from behind the tall counter to my left.

  She looked to be around my age, maybe a little younger, with a friendly smile and a sassy pixie cut that showed off her bone structure.

  “You must be Mrs. Ferraro.”

  My slight flinch went unnoticed. “Please call me Saylor.”

  “It’s so nice to meet you, Saylor.” She extended her hand for me to shake. “I’m Jenna, the director of Happy Hearts. We spoke on the phone yesterday.”

  “It’s nice to meet you.”

  With the pleasantries out of the way, I focused my attention on Knox.

  “Knox, come here, please. There is someone I would like you to meet.”

  “Mommy! Look, a butterfly,” he said in awe, ignoring my request and pointing to a purple insect on the wall.

  “I see. It’s beautiful. Come say hello to Miss Jenna.”

  Jenna walked over to where Knox stood and crouched to his eye level. She pointed to the butterfly he was so enraptured with. “This one is called a purple emperor.”

  “What does em-fur mean?”

  Jenna bit back a giggle. “Em-per-or,” she corrected. “Now, you try.”

  “Em-per-or,” he repeated.

  “Great job, Knox. An emperor is a ruler. It’s kind of like the boss over a kingdom.”

  Jenna looked at her watch and then back at Knox. “How would you like to go check out the playground?”

  She held out her palm, and Knox skeptically looked at her.

  “Is it got a slide?”

  Jenna smiled. “Yes.”

  “Can Mommy come?”

  “Yes. Of course,” she assured him.

  Knox ignored her outstretched palm and walked over to me. He took my hand, looked at Jenna, and said, “We go see the slide.”

  “Right this way.” She laughed and then gestured down the hall.

  Forty-five minutes later, the paperwork had been filled out, and the first month’s tuition was paid.

  * * *

  I made three plates of spaghetti, carried them to the kitchen table, and set them in their respectful places, next to the drinks I had already poured.

  “Dinner’s ready,” I called out.

  Easton, who had gotten home from work minutes ago, came into the kitchen with Knox attached to him, piggyback-style.

  “It smells good,” East said, setting Knox in his chair.

  I grabbed two bowls from the cabinet, then snatched a pair of tongs for the salad from the canister on the counter, and sat down.

  “Here.” I gave one of the bowls to my brother and filled the other one with salad for myself before setting it down.

  East looked up from the spaghetti he was twirling around the tines of his fork. “How did it go today?” he asked, referring to the preschool tour.

  “Great. The facility is beautiful. I really like their program.”

  I turned my attention to Knox, who had almost as much sauce on his face as he did on his plate.

  Usually, I cut up his noodles, but in the rush to get dinner on the table, I had forgotten. I reached for his food. “Here, let me help you.”

  “No.” He dropped his fork and held on to the edges of the dish.

  “Excuse me?” I raised a brow and gave him the look. The one that suggested I had surely heard him wrong.

  “No. I do it. I am a big boy.”

  Pick your battles, Saylor.

  “Fine.” I lifted my palms in surrender. “You can do it.”

  Satisfied he had gotten his way, Knox picked up his fork and began eating again.

  I took a bite of my own dinner.

  “Do they have a spot for him?” East asked.

  I swallowed what was in my mouth and lifted the glass of iced sweet tea to my lips for a drink before answering, “Yes. There was a waiting list, but the few kids on it were already enrolled in other programs.”

  “Right place, right time.”

  I nodded my agreement. “He starts Monday, which means I can start Monday.”

  He muttered something under his breath that sounded like, Thank God.

  Nine

  Saylor

  The rest of the week had flown by.

  Margie, my real estate agent, had called me on Friday to present me with three different bids. A couple with four children under the age of eight had made an offer that was fifteen thousand above asking price. Tears filled my eyes when I told Margie to accept their proposal. The words made my heart ache. Letting go … selling the house … it all felt so final. Through the sadness, a part of me had experienced a sense of relief, knowing the house would be filled to the brim with babies. It had been the plan all along after all. Only the babies wouldn’t be mine and Colin’s. At least I had Knox.

  Today was Knox’s first day of preschool and my first day at a new job. It was Monday morning, and the day stared me down like a bullet. I had knots in my stomach. On the inside, I worried about how my little boy would handle the separation and a hundred other things. On the outside, I appeared cool, calm, and collected.

  I had done my best to prepare him over the weekend. I made his new school sound exciting, like part of our great adventure. I’d reminded him about the playground and the emperor butterfly he had been so enamored with when we visited.

  Knox’s small backpack, with a few supplies and an extra set of clothes tucked inside, was secured to his back as we stepped inside Happy Hearts Preschool.

  Parents and children went this way and that. A chorus of, “Good morning,” and, “Hello,” greeted us.

  I held on to Knox’s hand as we walked to his classroom. His teacher, Miss Keri—whom we had met during our tour last week—stood at the door, welcoming students. Miss Winnie, the assistant teacher, was inside, supervising the children as they put away their belongings.

  I released Knox’s hand and knelt to look at him.

  His gaze was fixed on his shoes.

  “Hey, little man. Look at me.”

  Knox did as I had asked. The expression on his face was a combination of fear and sadness.

  “Don’t be sad. I’ll be back before you know it.”

  “I wanna stay with you.” His bottom lip quivered.

  I pulled in a deep breath. “I know. But Mommy has to go to work. And you need to make new friends. Besides, don’t you want to play on the slide later?”

  He perked up a little at the mention of his favorite thing.


  “All right, give me a squeeze, and I’ll be back to get you soon.”

  His arms went around my neck, and I hugged him to me.

  “You will be back? Promise.”

  A lump rose in my throat. “I promise.”

  It was a bitter lie so easily spoken. A promise I didn’t possess the power to keep but made anyway.

  I closed my eyes, but it didn’t stop the memory.

  Colin spoke softly against my lips, “I love you, sweetheart. Have a good day.”

  We stood in our driveway.

  I wrapped my arms around him, careful not to bump his coffee mug. I breathed him in, soaking up his scent of coffee and soap. “Love you, too.”

  He hugged me with his free hand. Then, he got into the driver’s seat, started the engine, and pressed the button to roll the window down.

  “Bye, Mommy,” Knox said from his car seat.

  “Bye, little man. Have fun today.” I turned my focus to my husband. “Drive safe.”

  “I will.” He winked and then pointed a finger. “You, too.”

  A blush crept into my cheeks as I recalled the ticket I had gotten out of a few days before.

  I leaned into the open window and kissed him one more time. “See you tonight.” I took a step back, waved, and watched him drive away.

  The memory rocked me to my core. It was the last time I had seen my husband alive.

  “Ready, Knox?” Miss Keri’s question brought me back to the present.

  I kissed Knox’s cheek. “I’ll see you later.”

  I stood and watched as his teacher smoothly led him through the doorway. Once they were inside, the door clicked behind them, and I turned to leave. I reached the end of the hall right before I needed to turn left into the lobby when I heard my little boy.

  “Mommy.” The panic in Knox’s voice nearly brought me to my knees.

  I twisted around.

  He crashed into me, nearly knocking me off-balance.

  “Knox, it’s all right.” I rubbed his back.

  Keri appeared in front of me, a sympathetic smile on her lips. “He’s fast.”

  “He is,” I agreed. “Can you give us a second?”

  “Sure.” She bent to speak to Knox, who was still wrapped around my legs with his cheek pressed against my thigh. “I know you’re scared and maybe a little sad, but next time, I need you to tell me what’s wrong. You can’t just run out of the classroom.” Her reprimand was gentle.

  Knox continued clinging to me without acknowledging her.

  “I’ll talk to him,” I assured her.

  Keri walked away.

  I spent a few minutes consoling my son before I ushered him back to his class. I waited outside the door hidden from view. I didn’t want to leave until I knew he was okay. After ten minutes without hearing him cry, I left to go to work.

  * * *

  Chadwick Design and Development was situated on a hill at the corner of Main Street, a few blocks from the historic Maplewood Falls town square.

  I parked around back in the private drive and checked my appearance in the visor mirror. I smoothed on a sheen of red-tinted gloss and hoped like hell I didn’t look as frazzled as I felt. To say this morning had been rough was an understatement. Mom guilt was the worst, and the struggle was real.

  “You’re going to get through this,” I told my reflection.

  I got out of the car, walked to the rear entrance reserved for employees, and stepped inside my new place of employment.

  Easton had gutted the interior and transformed it into a modern office space with plenty of natural light. Interior walls constructed of glass gave it a sleek appearance and made it feel open.

  “Hey.” Easton stepped out from what appeared to be a break room.

  “Good morning.”

  “Did Knox do okay?”

  I crossed my arms over my chest. “We got off to a rocky start.”

  East gave my shoulder a squeeze. “I’m sure he’ll settle in. It will just take some time.” He dropped his hand. “Come on; I’ll show you around.”

  “All right.” I fell in step behind him.

  “This is my office.” Easton came to a stop inside a doorway.

  There was a large desk with a phone and two computer monitors on top. Positioned on the opposite side of the room stood a drafting table with a high-back chair facing the vista. A few tall cardboard tubes containing what must be blueprints were off to the side.

  “Nice view,” I commented.

  “Yours is almost as good.” He motioned for me to follow him.

  My office was next door to his, and the setup was similar, minus the drafting table and extra computer monitor.

  We walked inside, and I pulled off my sweater and dropped it along with my purse into the chair.

  My brother pointed to a thick file on my desk. “That needs your immediate attention. And those”—he pointed to the pile of manila folders—“need to be recorded and categorized when you’re done.”

  “Wow.” I huffed out a breath. “You weren’t kidding when you said things had been chaotic since Molly left.”

  He ignored my comment. “Let me introduce you to Helen. She’s our receptionist. Helen handles the phone and my schedule, and she takes care of the coffee.” His grin told me he had been teasing me before about me having to satisfy his need for caffeine.

  After I met Helen, Easton pointed at the restrooms, which were located across from the break room, where I had entered. Then, he left me to it.

  * * *

  Nearly three hours had passed when Easton popped his head into my open office door.

  “How’s it going?”

  I looked up from the spreadsheet on the computer monitor. “It’s going.”

  “That bad?”

  “No. Just cross-checking receipts against bank statements. Oh, and the checks have been written; you just need to sign them. Regarding payroll, you might want to think about moving to direct deposit. It would make things a lot easier.”

  “I know. Look into it for me and figure out what I need to do.” He looked at his watch. “I have a long lunch meeting, so I won’t be able to eat with you today. There’s a café in the square, or I can have Helen order something in for you.”

  I waved him off. “It’s fine. I’ll figure it out.”

  “All right. I’ll see you later, kid.”

  “You can’t call me that at work!” I yelled after him. There wasn’t anyone in the office aside from me, him, and Helen, so my yelling wasn’t a big deal.

  Easton ignored me, per usual.

  * * *

  By the time I looked up from the computer again, it was a quarter to one.

  I decided to walk the few blocks to the café. I stood and walked around my desk to retrieve my purse and sweater from the chair, and then I made my way to the door.

  As I exited my office, I nearly bumped into Jase.

  “Hey, Socks.” His face lit with a smile.

  “Jase, what a surprise. What brings you by?”

  He held up a cardboard tube. “I wanted to drop this off for East.”

  “He has a lunch meeting.”

  “Yeah, that’s what Helen said. I was just going to leave this for him.”

  “Sure. You can put it on his desk, or I can take it if you want me to.”

  He gave me the tall cylinder, and I put it on my desk for the time being.

  When I turned around, Jase’s hands were shoved into his pockets.

  “I was just about to go to lunch.” I wasn’t sure why I’d said it.

  “Want some company?”

  I thought about it for a beat and realized I didn’t really want to eat alone. “That would be great actually.”

  “After you.” Jase gestured with his arm.

  I slipped in front of him, and we stopped by Helen’s desk on the way out.

  Helen appeared to be in her late fifties. She was plump and had laugh lines around her eyes. Her clothes were loud, and her champagne-blonde hair was st
yled like she had just left the salon.

  “I’ll be back. I’m going to grab some lunch.”

  She glanced between Jase and me, mirth dancing in her gaze. “Well, you two enjoy.”

  I opened my mouth to tell her it wasn’t like that, but Helen was a stranger. Giving her an explanation would have made things much more awkward.

  “Thanks,” I muttered and walked out the front door with Jase behind me.

  The breeze was cool against my bare arms, so I slipped on my sweater. Glancing at Jase, I asked, “You’re working on a project with my brother?”

  “He’s helping me design a tasting room.”

  We turned left at the sidewalk toward the square.

  “A tasting room? For, like, wine?”

  “Exactly.”

  My eyes were fixed on the horizon, and I tripped over the uneven concrete. Jase reached out to steady me.

  “Shit, Socks. Are you all right?”

  My skin heated from the intense way his eyes roamed over me.

  “Yeah.” The answer came out a little too breathy, so I cleared my throat. “Yes, I’m fine. Just a klutz.”

  “You’re sure?”

  An energy buzzed between us. A connection I couldn’t explain because I didn’t know what it was. It felt traitorous though.

  “I’m good,” I assured him.

  We began walking, and this time, I made certain to pay more attention to my footing as we crossed to the next block.

  Uncomfortable silence settled between us, and I found myself needing to fill it. “You were telling me about the tasting room.”

  “Right.” He kicked a small rock off the edge of the sidewalk. “My grandfather passed away right after harvest season last year. He left me the family vineyard, the winery, and the farmhouse. All of it is mine.” It wasn’t as though he was bragging. He’d spoken the words more like he didn’t quite believe them. “I thought he would’ve left it to my dad, but apparently, my father had known about it.”

  “Wow. That was pretty generous.”

  “Pop knew how much I loved that place. And Mom and Dad are close to retiring.”