Page 26 of Shuttered Hearts

“You’re right.” Dad smiles at Caleb, then turns to me. “Come on, Bean. You’ve got a party to host.”

fourteen

QUINN

I fallonto the loveseat in the living room, exhausted from the long day. “Thanks for staying to help clean up. You didn’t have to. I know it’s been a long day for all of us, but it’s very much appreciated.”

It’s almost ten o’clock, and we’ve just finished cleaning up from Max’s birthday party. Considering everything that went down today, the party went pretty well. We had to adjust some plans to account for the interruption, but it seems everyone had a good time.

Max went up to his room shortly after his last friend was picked up, but not before each of us had a chance to make sure he wasn’t going to brood in his room. Dad took Declan back to his room to show him something while Caleb and I are now sitting on the couch, and Emily refuses to sit still.

“It was no trouble,” Caleb says, pulling Emily down to his side when she moves to pass him on her mission to stay active. “You can sit now.” His words are meant only for Emily, but I hear them and try to hide my smile.

“Sorry, I’m restless.” Emily presses a quick kiss to Caleb’s cheek before turning to look at me. “What happened with your mom? We haven’t had a chance to talk,” she asks through a yawn.

“I’ll tell you on the way home. I know that look, and you are about to pass out.” Caleb stands and turns to gently help Emily up from the seat he just forced her into. “Let’s go, baby.” A look of pure reverence crosses her features as she accepts his help.

I ignore the pressure that suddenly sparks in my chest and stand from my seat. “You do look pretty exhausted.”

“I didn’t realize I was as tired as I am until I sat down.” Another yawn breaks free. “But I want to talk to you about everything too.” She reaches out for me.

I move toward her, pulling her into a tight hug. “Call me tomorrow and we can talk then. Maybe we can go for coffee or something.”

“Okay. Make sure you get some rest,” Emily says.

“You’d think the two of them never see each other or something,” Caleb says to Declan as he comes back into the room.

“Don’t complain that your wife and your sister get along. Think about how hard your life would be if they didn’t,” Declan jokes, giving both of them hugs goodbye.

“Yeah, yeah. Love you both.” Caleb gives me a quick kiss on the cheek. “We’ll see you soon,” he says as he guides Emily out the door.

I stand in the open doorway, watching them until their car disappears from view. “You okay? All things considered?” Declan asks quietly from my side.

“I don’t know,” I tell him honestly. I stand there for another minute staring at the empty street before turning toward him, leaning against the doorjamb. “Dad okay?”

“Yeah, I think the day took it out of him. He said he was gonna go to bed.” Declan turns and mirrors my position against the opposite side of the doorjamb, studying me for a bit. “Do you want to talk about it or take a little time for yourself? You’ve had quite the day too.”

“I don’t know.” I look at Declan and see nothing but understanding in his gaze. “I don’t think I want to be alone quite yet, but I’m not sure if I’m ready to talk about all of it.”

“Okay.” He doesn’t say anything else, or move from his position. He seems perfectly content to stand in this open doorway with me until I’m ready to move. A shiver runs up my arms, and I don’t think it’s from the cold night air.

“Want some hot chocolate? Or something else to drink?” I ask.

“Whatever you’re having is fine.”

I push off the doorjamb, moving back into the house. “Come on. Let me lock up the house, and we can go to the cottage out back.”

Declan follows behind, helping to make sure all the lights are off, and the back door is locked. “You staying out there instead of in the house?”

“Yeah. I was going to stay in the house, but Dad was adamant I still have my own space, so staying out there felt like an easy compromise. I’m still close if Max or Dad need me, but I have my privacy.” I grab my keys from the hook by the front door as Declan waits for me on the front porch. “I hear I have you to thank for all the updates, making it livable again.” I lock the door, and we begin our walk around the house to the guest cottage.

He shrugs as if it’s not a big deal. “I don’t like sitting idle, and I ran out of projects in my own house. Scott wanted to update the cottage so you would have your own space whenever you could visit.”

“Did he tell you why he stopped maintaining it?” My voice is barely audible as I ask the question. His answer might force me to talk about everything regarding my mom, and I wasn’t lying when I said I wasn’t sure I was ready to talk about that.

I’m afraid of being like her. I look like her; I sound like her, and at the first chance I got, I left this town and never looked back. I may keep in close contact with my family, and I’ve made trips back here and there over the years, but I’ve always made those trips as quickly as possible. The idea of staying in this town when I was eighteen was my worst nightmare.

“I know your mom lived there before she left, after they separated, but your dad doesn’t talk about that time often.” Declan’s voice is as soft as mine.

---