Page 71 of Letters of Faith
When Kip and Brooks came into my life, I never thought we would end up here—in a place where my relationship is starting to heal with my dad, and my brother is becoming one of my best friends. But here we are, and I don’t regret it, despite how much I thought I would.
“I have to find the letter. It’s my only chance of getting her to believe me.”
A wide grin spreads across his face as he stands. “So let’s find that letter.”
And for a minute, despite the heartbreak of not having Georgia here by my side, a sense of peace overcomes me because I have my brother on my side—something I never realized I needed.
Chapter 31
Georgia
My hands tremble on my steering wheel as I take the last turn that leads to my house. My real home—the one that I’ve avoided for a year because going back meant having to relive the day Nate died again, and I wasn’t ready for that.
Now, I need to be close to him—to find closure in the place he left me because maybe then I will understand what he was thinking when he sent that letter to Grayson.
Betrayal sits hot in my stomach. It was easy to accept that he thought I couldn’t take care of myself when I was the only one getting the letters, but now that I know he trusted me so little that he had to ask Grayson to take care of me, too—it stings.
Memories run through my head as the house looms in front of me.
The day Nate and I bought the house. He’d swept me up in his arms and carried me across the threshold with a big smile.
The time he nearly fell off the ladder trying to hang Christmas lights for me. My heart had dropped to my toes, but he’d merely laughed it off.
Every time we sat on the porch, rocking in the rocking chairs and discussing the plans for the future.
Sometimes, I still think about what we would be doing now if he was still here, but those thoughts happened less and less when I was with Grayson.
Instead, I had started to imagine a future with him, and that’s part of the problem—despite the letter, I’m still imagining a future with Grayson, but how can I have a future with someone who didn’t trust me? How can I trust that he’s not with me because of a sense of duty to Nate?
The cold starts to sink into my bones as I sit in the car, staring at a house I no longer have a future in. This place is full of ghosts now, and I’ve let the ghosts of what could have been haunt me long enough.
A knock at my window startles me, and I turn to find my neighbor standing beside my car. She’s a frail, elderly woman but one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met. After Nate and I moved in, she made us a dessert every Friday and brought it over. I think she was lonely. Her husband had passed a few years before, and none of her kids ever came around. Guilt pricks at me because now I’m that person for her, too. I didn’t check on her after Nate died, and I should have. It’s one more place that I failed. The list is getting long.
Opening my door, I step out of the car to stand in front of her.
“Hello, Clara.”
“Oh, Georgia, don’t you be shy. Get over here and give me a hug.”
She’s shorter than me, so when her arms wrap around me, I have to bend so she can reach me. She smells like apples and cinnamon, and that smell is my undoing. Tears slide down my face as she holds me.
“I’m sorry I didn’t come back to check on you after Nate died,” I whisper as I press a kiss to her weathered cheek.
“Honey, don’t you apologize. I know what it feels like to lose the other half of you. It’s hard to see past that grief. I’m just glad you’re back now. Besides, I’ve been getting updates on you from that nice young man who comes around every once in a while.”
Pulling back to look at her, I ask, “What young man?”
“You know, that handsome one with all the tattoos.”
“Grayson?” I ask, my heart picking up speed inside my chest.
“Yes—that’s his name. I’m not great with names. I’m getting old, you know.”
My brows dip as I consider what she’s telling me. “Why was Grayson here?”
When she sees the confusion on my face, she chuckles. “Well, I guess that boy has it worse than I thought. I assumed he was coming around because you asked him to keep up with the place, but now I can see it was something else entirely. Look around you, Sweets. A house doesn’t stay this organized when you don’t come around for a year.”
There’s no judgment in her voice, but it hits me anyway. The truth is, I didn’t even think about keeping the house up while I was away. I should have, but I didn’t.
