Page 33 of Javier

“I’m Javier Cabrera. Your dad and I grew up together.”

“Never heard of you.”

“Yeah, it’s a story. Not of the breakfast variety.”

“Who are all those people? Why are they camping in my meadow?”

“Our meadow, Eben.” Memphis corrected her brother, earning her a haughty look from Arla.

“A reunion of sorts.” Javier softly brushed his knuckles over Memphis’s shoulder, then held it again. “Family and friends. You’ve never heard of them either. It’s a discussion you, your sister, Daphne, and I should have later.”

“And me.” Arla added.

Daphne joined the group. “I don’t think so. Good morning.”

“Good morning, Mom.”

“I didn’t even get around to asking. Did you sleep well, Nana?”

“I did, Memphis. Thank you.” Daphne kissed her and Javier on their cheeks. Her eyes filled with tears when they settled on Eben. “Why you’re the spitting image of your father,” said, her voice cracking.

Eben frowned at her. “You knew my father?”

“I raised Ransom. He was my son.”

“You’re my grandmother? Memphis called you ‘Nana.’”

“Yes. Why don’t you” —Daphne wrinkled her nose— “and your, uh, Arla, join us all for breakfast?” She rearranged her face and smiled. “There’s plenty. You can get to know your family and learn some of your Torch River roots.”

Arla took Eben’s hand and tugged. “Let’s go. Daddy hates tardiness. Come on.”

Eben appeared stricken by everything he was hearing and pulled free of his fiancé. “I’ll catch up with you later.”

“Eben!”

“Just go, Arla.”

“What do I tell Daddy?”

“I’m confident you’ll come up with something.”

She marched through the house, slamming the front door hard enough that some of the dishes rattled in the kitchen cabinets.

“I didn’t want to go anyway.” Eben admitted. “Trey Rooney is getting on my every last nerve.”

“Let’s eat. My belly is yowling.” Javier finished his coffee and lifted the mug. “Is there more outside?”

“Of course. Even though I like the view, maybe a shirt, Jav?”

“Okay.”

* * *

To the delight of Memphis, the wedding was off. Eben and Arla had a huge fight and her efforts to pressure him into invalidating the trust backfired.

Yesterday Memphis found her brother leaning against the trunk of the Witness Tree. “Hey, mind if I sit?”

“I’d like it. Kind of nice having all four of us here together.” He swiped at his eyes and sniffed. “I miss him, sis. I was such a dick to Pops because I felt so—” He exhaled a long shaky breath. “I felt so responsible for Mama dying. I wish Pops and I had been able to have a talk like the ones I’ve had with Javier and Nana,” he said, having claimed Daphne as his grandmother. “I blamed myself. Nana said Pops blamed himself. We were both broken but unable to talk about Mama. It helped to know that Pops cared enough about us to ask Nana to come when Mama died.”

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