by L. B. Dunbar
I don’t believe in ghosts, and I don’t feel Michael’s presence here, but it’s too much.
Another noise draws my attention, and I follow it, eventually coming to the laundry room to remember Silver, finding him curled up on a doggie pillow, yipping in his sleep.
“Jesus, Silver. You scared the crap out of me.” I lower to pat him, hesitant as he doesn’t know me, and I don’t know anything about him other than the crazy story James told me. My fingers spread in his soft fur, and I scratch along his neck as James did. I’d once been told never to look a dog in the eye, but I can’t help noticing the crisp blue watching me.
“Where did you come from?” I whisper to him, and he lowers his nose, nudging at my wrists. Leaning forward, I press a kiss to his head, inhaling his doggy scent and noticing a woodsy fragrance to him. He lowers to his belly, melting under my attention to his ears, but I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with him. Does he need to go for a walk? How about food?
I have no instructions for him, but notice he’s stocked in both water and nourishments.
“Mom, can we get a dog?” I hear it in my head. Michael’s sweet voice mixed with a whining beg. I don’t know why I never said yes. I should have said yes a little more often.
On that note, I decide I need to get out of this house. While it isn’t haunted, it’s haunting me, and I don’t think it’s healthy to stay here all day alone.
I send a quick text to James wondering if there’s anything special to do with Silver, but when he doesn’t answer me in ten minutes, I leave the dog where he is and get out of the house.
+ + +
Once I’m in town, I wander the streets as I did a week ago without entering anywhere. Eventually, I find myself meandering along the route intended to be the future walking path.
James and I still have yet to discuss the community center and his involvement, if any, in its development. I’d learned some information from an internet search, but I really wanted him to give me the particulars. Stepping outside of town, I walk east, sticking along the soft gravel edge of the road leading to the old First Church property. It was a beautiful old building, and I never imagined one could turn a church into something other than it was intended—a place of worship. But I understand that the place is antiquated, and if the congregation had other land to build on, it might have been cheaper than renovating this original building.
As I near the site, I’m surprised to see quite a few vans and trucks for a Sunday. A cameraman is following around a man dressed like a too-polished construction worker while another group of men lingers near the hood of a truck. Drawing closer to the vehicle, I don’t recognize anyone and simply wave. I take a moment to stare at the old building, imagining it polished up and spiffy both inside and out. I picture Michael at an event inside—maybe attending a Halloween party. Perhaps he’d be outside, playing on the future ballfield, winning a championship game. Maybe he’d even hang out on a swing even though he was old for play equipment. Whatever he might have done here, he would have liked the center.
“Cool,” he would have said, knowing it was to bear his name. Children will come here for years, families, too, and hopefully, they’ll recall the spirit of a boy who loved his town.
“Excuse me,” I call out to one of the workers near the truck. “Can you tell me when the groundbreaking ceremony will be?”
The website for the park district still said date to be announced, and I didn’t want to discuss the center at the wedding with Charlie.
“We’re on target for the ceremony to be in two weeks,” answers a pleasant man in his forties.
“Thank you.”
He nods at me, and I head back to town, making some decisions as I walk. Nearing town, I decide to eat at the Pub again. Inside Blue Ridge Microbrewery & Pub, I expect the crowd to be thin for a Sunday evening, but the place is pretty full as I take a seat at the bar.
“Evie?” I turn to find Letty Harrington standing behind my stool.
“Letty? I thought you and Giant would be on your honeymoon.”
Letty waves a hand. “We only had the one night,” she teases, and I recall the ranger outpost James and I stole from their wedding night.
“About that. I’m so sorry. I had no idea about James and—”
Letty places a hand on my forearm, stopping me from continuing. “I think it was very romantic, and I hope you had a good night.” Her eyebrow wiggles, and I chuckle at her suggestive expression. I won’t be sharing any secrets with her, but I smile in response.
“It was a nice night.”
“Nice?” Letty squeaks. “How is James Harrington nice?” She laughs. “That man is only nice if you mean niii-ice.” She exaggerates, emphasizing the heat of my husband. I’d be irritated if she weren’t giving him a compliment.
“He has to be good,” she says, leaning in, and I laugh despite my unease at her suggestive words.
“What are you two talking about?” Giant asks, walking up behind her.
“Girl talk.” Letty winks at me before turning to him. “And Harrington men.”
Giant looks toward the ceiling a second. “Ignore Cricket, Sunshine. She can come on a little strong at first.”
I chuckle at how well he knows his new wife, and she leans into him. “Don’t mind grumpy Giant. He’s more fun than he lets on.”
Oh boy.
“Okay, I think it’s time to get you home.” He wraps an arm around his bride.
“We should get together.” Letty reaches for my forearm again. “I need to learn all their secrets from another outlander. Or are we considered out-ridgers?”
I laugh at her reference to the historical term and the name of a popular book, and her new word. Giant huffs a laugh as well.
“Woman, you are always chirping about something.”
“Let’s do something. Is coffee tomorrow too soon? I’m trying to keep Finn out as much as I can while the weather is still nice.” It’d been a mild autumn so far, and a hike through the fall foliage might not be a bad idea.
“Let me just check with James.” The words tumble out of my mouth before I realize what I’ve said. I don’t need James’s permission, but it’s more the implication that James and I are speaking. Or maybe it’s just an old statement of habit. Giant gives me a knowing arched eyebrow while Letty smiles deeper.
“You can tell me all about what that statement means when we meet,” she says, and Giant shakes his head.
“Okay, Cricket. Out we go.”
I chuckle after the two newlyweds.
“They’re sickening to look at, aren’t they?” A man addresses me from behind the bar. He’s average height with broad shoulders, a bit of a belly, and pants that don’t seem to zip all the way. His hair is a little wild, and his beard rugged, but he smiles as he tips his head after Giant and Letty.
“They’re sweet,” I say in response.
“What can I get for you?” he asks, his voice deep and matching his stature. He’s a misplaced lumberjack, in my opinion, with his flannel shirt and corduroy pants.
“I’ll take the fall blend and a cheeseburger.” I don’t even need to glance at the menu.
“Spoken like a woman who knows her way around here, but I haven’t seen you in here before.”
“Clyde, don’t be flirting with my sister-in-law,” Billy Harrington says, coming behind the bar himself, and I shake my head. I’m surrounded by this family today. Clyde turns bright red, stammering as he tries to clarify he wasn’t flirting, just taking my order. He shuffles away as Billy approaches, and Billy leans against the bar to address me.
“Hiya, love.”
I roll my eyes. “Now who’s the one flirting?” I tease.
“Me? Flirt? Never.” Billy laughs, and I smile. I’ve seen him with his forever girl, as he calls her, at the wedding, and he’s so in love it’s a surprise he still knows how to flirt.
“You did a great job at Giant’s wedding.”
“Can you believe that shit? Me a minister, and tho
se vows.” He laughs at the list of conditions as he jokingly called them during the ceremony and then corrected himself to say he meant vows.
“When are you going to make your own list of conditions?” I ask, and Billy smiles, giving me a mischievous wink.
“Already have a list. Just waiting on her to say yes.” This surprises me, but I’m happy for him. It seems each of the Harrington men is achieving a happily ever after lately. All but James.
“Who is that man filming around the old church?”
“Rehab Dad?” Billy chuckles. “That’s Milton Duncan.”
I laugh with him. I do not recall Milton looking like the fine man in construction gear. That man was a builder, bolder, and very silver.
“He’s filming the groundbreaking?”
Billy nods once. “And handling the rehab of the church, bringing it up to code while converting what they can. Duncan Hardware donated the materials, and Milton’s donating his time. It’s been a real community effort.”
“James mentioned the ride by Rebel’s Edge and Giant’s match from the brewery.”
Billy smiles slowly, nodding again.
“This Oktoberfest, we’re hoping to make enough to donate the play equipment outside and the field renovations.”
“Oktoberfest? Oh my goodness, how could I forget?”
“Week before Halloween,” Billy proudly states, reminding me of the annual event he’s taken from the back alley to a massive street tent. I’d only heard about it through Giant.
“How are you holding up?” Billy asks, softening his tone.
“I’m doing okay,” I answer, looking down at the bar top.
“Is he giving you a hard time? Need me to kick his ass? I can set Roxanne on him.”
I laugh. “I think I can handle James.”
“Can you?” Billy questions, his tone turning serious. Can I? It echoes back through me. Have I handled him so far or tolerated him? Have I done what he asked or enabled his grief? These are questions not lost to me but keeping me awake some nights.
“I think so,” I state, drawing confidence I don’t feel. What are James and I doing? And what are we going to do next?
“You know, I always thought you were too good for him.” Billy teases. “You should have run away with me.” He’s playing, and I know it. He says these things to irk his brother, poking at the bear, so to speak. I shake my head at him, dismissing his antics with another chuckle.
“Always the player.”
“Not anymore. Roxanne made an honest man of me. That’s what a good woman does, I’m learning. You did the same thing for James.” His serious tone returns.
“I tried,” I say.
“No one blames you for anything, Evie. We all know you were too good for him.” I’ve been told this on repeat, along with James’s desire to push me away to save me from him. It’s all too much, and I’m tired.
“He still loves you,” Billy says, drawing closer to me with his arms on the bar top.
“So everyone says, but James.”
“What don’t I say?” I turn to see James behind me, and I feel my evening coming full circle.
“What are you doing here?”
“Watching my brother flirt with my woman like always.”
My brow lifts at the reference to me as his, and when I turn to Billy, I notice the same expression on his face.
James loops his arm around my neck, gently resting it there and kissing my temple while his glare remains on his brother.
“Well, would you look at this?” Billy says, slowly standing upright and keeping his gaze on his brother as well.
“Evie?” Billy questions of me, asking me with his eyes if I’m okay with the position I’m in.
“I’m good.”
“Burger and the fall blend,” Clyde says as he sets it before me, and James speaks over me.
“Hey Clyde, could I get the same? Evie and I are taking a booth for some privacy.”
Clyde turns red in the face again and points at a booth near the front corner. James reaches for my plate and mug, and I slip off the stool.
“See ya, Billy.”
“I hope to see you more often, Evie.”
25
Fights and Fumbles
[James]
I was on a dinner break. I didn’t have much time, but since Evie hasn’t returned my calls, I decided to drive to the house. Riding through town from the firehouse, I find her Jeep outside the Pub and stop. Once inside, I see that damn fool Billy deep in discussion with her, and if I hadn’t seen him with his new woman, I’d think he was hitting on Evie like he always has. But my brother is finally in love again. When I overhear my name, it stops me in my tracks, and I really want to know what they are discussing. Instead, I keep my cool, carry Evie’s plate and beer to a booth, and we sit. Suddenly, I’m reminded of a hundred nights just like this where she would meet me somewhere for a quick bite, so we could see each other.
“I see my brother’s up to his old tricks,” I scoff, and Evie gives me a shy smile across the table.
“I don’t recall you being so possessive.” She brushes her hair back from one side of her face and looks up at me with those beautiful eyes.
“I’ve always been possessive of you, Evie. You’re mine.”
Her lips twist at the defensive tone. “You’ve had a funny way of showing it.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I shoot back at her, aiming my gaze over the table at her once again.
“Nothing,” she lies.
“Are you trying to start a fight with me?” I don’t know why I’m egging her on, but I instantly recall pushing her to her limits earlier today, and I’d love a repeat. I’m strung tight myself, hating that I had to leave her alone so quickly after what happened, and worrying I’d return home to find an empty house.
She doesn’t answer me. Instead, she picks up her beer for a sip, and I continue watching her, puzzling over the look on her face.
“What happened today?”
“What do you mean?” she asks, setting down the glass and picking up a fry on her plate.
“Did something happen?” My voice lowers as I attempt to rein in my temper mixing with concerns.
“I walked over to the church.”
“And?”
“It’s going to be a nice building. The groundbreaking is in two weeks.”
“What the fuck?” I scowl.
“What do you have against that place?”
“I don’t have anything against it. I just don’t think it’s a good idea.”
Evie looks down at her plate. “But why? You don’t think a building in his name is an honor?”
“Of course, it’s an honor. I just . . .” Fuck, I don’t know what. Maybe it’s the constant reminder that my son will have a building named after him because he isn’t here to be in it. Maybe it’s that it feels like my family went behind my back to honor Michael without me. I just don’t have a specific reason other than I don’t think it’s a good idea.
Evie continues to stare at me, waiting on more, so I turn it around on her. “Why do you think it’s okay?”
“Because Michael loved his hometown, and he loved being outdoors. The walking path will be a place for kids to ride bikes and people to wander. They’re building a baseball diamond there. He’d love that.”
“He loved the woods,” I remind her, and her eyes shift to the window at her right.
“I suppose if they built a community center in the woods, then you’d accept this better?” she retorts.
“I don’t want to accept it at all. I don’t want a building named after our son.”
Evie takes a deep breath. “Well, what if I do? I’m his mother.” Her words are like a wake-up slap.
“Of course you’re his mother, but—”
“But what? Are we back to this where you’re the only one who lost him?” Evie shakes her head and crosses her arms.
“Okay. Fall blend and a burger,” Clyde announces, setting the plate before m
e. “Need anything else?”
“No,” I snap, but Clyde isn’t looking at me. He’s watching Evelyn.
“Sweetheart?” Itching to jump from this booth and tackle him to the ground, I fight the urge to do either. Maybe I’m the one looking for a fight because I’m messing this up, and I feel her slipping through my fingers.
“I’m all good, Clyde,” she says sweetly, and I can’t take my eyes off her. In less than five minutes, Clyde is smitten with my wife, and it’s a reminder she could have anyone she wants when I want her to want me.
As Clyde walks away, I scrub a hand down my face, trying to pull myself together. “What else happened today?” I ask, deflecting the community center conversation and her comments with Clyde’s interruption.
“I saw Letty and Giant when I arrived here.”
“Jesus,” I mutter, taking a sip of my beer. “And then you saw Billy. It was a Harrington invasion.”
“I only need Charlie and Mati to bring it full circle,” she says, her lip crooking up in the corner. She’s looking at me, wary of me, and I hate that she feels this way. I reach across the table for her hand, and she glances at my outstretched fingers for a second before stretching forward to join mine.
“People are going to talk,” she whispers, leaning over the table.
“What? They’re going to say I’m holding hands with my wife?” I mutter. I don’t care what this town thinks of me. I just care about the woman sitting across from me. “Are you still my wife?”
Did she sign the papers?
She drops my hand to reach for her burger without answering me, and my mouth waters as I watch her chew. She notices me observing her, and her lips crook up again. Her eyes twinkle, and I recognize that spark. It’s an arrow to my heart and a trigger straight to my dick. I want to clear this table and take her right here, returning us to this morning.
She shakes her head at me, and I tip mine. “What?”
“Don’t you what me, Ranger?” she mocks, taking another sip of her beer. She knows me so well, and I watch her throat roll, wanting to place something in that mouth to make her swallow.
