Page 113 of Home Town Advantage
“Definitely.”
He’s leaving. I can’t let him go with us fighting, so I try to lighten the mood. “I barely felt that punch. You hit like a girl.”
The corners of his mouth turn up as he reaches over and flicks the back of my hair. “At least I don’t look like one.”
I chuckle as we try to engage in normal chitchat for the rest of the ride despite the black cloud hanging over us.
I hug him hard at the airport. “See you in seven months.”
He nods as he hugs me just as hard. “Take care of them, Vance. Please.”
PRESENT
“Those are the last words he ever said to me in person. It was as if he knew what was coming. He was gone three months later. I did a lot of soul searching in the months after his death. I naively hoped the baby would come late, and you wouldn’t know it wasn’t his. You all were so excited about having a piece of him left. I didn’t want to take it away from you. But when the baby came, you realized the truth of the situation. It was only a matter of time before the whole town knew the baby wasn’t Finn’s. Maddie would be vilified. Exiled. Cheating on a war hero? It doesn’t get much worse. He wouldn’t have wanted that. Whether I agreed with him or not, she was the love of his life. He was fiercely protective of her.”
A tearful Sulley finishes my thought. “So you made yourself the villain in this story. All for him.”
I nod. “Taking care of her and that baby was his dying wish. How could I not?”
She and Nancy are sobbing. So is my mother, even though she already knew the story. Frank has tears streaming down his face too. He stands and holds out his hand to me. When I take it, he steels his face and says, “You, Vance McCaffrey, are the most honorable man I know. Thank you for being such a loyal friend to my son. I’m sorry for the things I said to you when everything went down all those years ago.” He turns to my parents. “I’m sorry for allowing people to treat you the way they did that first year. I should have done more. I should have stepped in earlier. I’m ashamed of my actions.”
My father shakes his head. “You were a grieving father, Frank. I never once faulted you for any of it.”
Frank pinches his lips together, still overcome with emotion.
I stare at Sulley. I feel like the weight of the world has been lifted from my shoulders. Like everything that was standing inour way is gone. This barrier between us no longer exists. Can she feel it too?
I watch for her reaction. Eventually, she stands. Unable to look me in the eyes, she croaks out, “I’m sorry, I need to leave,” before she practically sprints out the front door.
Nancy stands to go after her, but I hold up my hand. “I’ve got this.”
TWENTY-SEVEN
SULLEY
I’m finding it hard to breathe. My head starts spinning after everything I’ve heard today. I stand and mutter, “I’m sorry, I need to leave.”
Turning around, I run out the front door, gulping down the fresh air as soon as I do. I place my hands on my knees. The world feels off its axis right now. Up is down. Left is right. Nothing makes sense. Everything is blurry.
Suddenly, Vance’s hand is on my back. “Are you okay?”
I shake my head. “No, I’m not. Take me somewhere. Anywhere but here.”
He helps me into his old truck, and we take off. All I can think of is that if Maddie hadn’t gotten knocked up by a stranger, my brother wouldn’t have extended his tour, and he would still be alive. I’ve never hated her more than I do right now.
I’m so consumed with my hatred for her that it feels like only a few seconds later that we’re pulling into my family’s driveway.
After helping me out of the car, he takes my hand and pulls me toward the backyard. I’m on autopilot, trusting him to guidemy body. Before I know it, we’re climbing the ladder into my treehouse.
A sense of calm washes over me as I ascend into it. I take in the familiar scent. It’s the fall trees, the aged wood of the treehouse, and the mustiness of the blankets that have been out here a little too long. It’s home.
We sit, positioned just as we were the night of Finn’s funeral. Facing each other with bent knees and toes touching.
“What’s going through your mind, Gully Sulley?”
I take a few long, deep breaths. “I don’t think I appreciated the depths you were willing to go to in order to honor Finn’s last wishes.” I look him in the eyes. “Is that what we are, Vance? Another obligation you feel to my brother?”
He reaches for my hand just like he did that night, intertwining his fingers through mine. It was the first intimate touch we ever shared, and I never forgot it.
