Page 5 of Home to You

Devyn laughs dryly. “Are you kidding me? They were the first to disappear, except for Chloe, who became my manager, and my lawyer, who made sure I got half of everything, especially the rights to my songs. Not all of them, unfortunately, but enough that I don’t have to worry about money.”

“No plans on getting back together?”

She looks at me in surprise. “With Harrison? What makes you think that?”

I shrug. “He’s playing at the music festival this weekend.”

“So?” Devyn rolls her eyes. “I would have called him for help if that were the case, but no. No way.”

Relief floods through me, and I force myself not to look too happy. “So, where do you plan to go from here?”

“Chloe’s getting married next month, and she’s been bugging me to start heading that way, so that’s what I was doing. With stops along the way to check out the sights, of course. Four Corners. Shiprock,” she replies. “Hopefully, the camper will be fixed before then.”

“Carl’s good. Your camper is in good hands.”

She takes a deep breath. “I don’t want to abuse your hospitality, Todd. We didn’t really part in good terms.”

“That’s the past, Dev, and ten years is pretty much a lifetime,” I say. “We can’t remain the same people we used to be. Can you imagine how boring that would be? Not that we weren’t boring, to begin with.”

She chuckles. “We were boring, weren’t we? Spending nights at home playing music.”

“The beach was right outside our studio apartment. The sound of the waves and the music you made were all we needed.”

“We were so broke.”

“We sure were.”

“But we had each other.”

My throat tightens, but I force a grin. “We sure did.”

For a moment, Devyn doesn’t say anything, as if she just realized what she said. Then she clears her throat. “Would you mind if I play a few chords later?”

“Not at all. I’d love to listen.” Hell, I could listen to her sing all day.

After dinner and a few minutes outside to let Sarge do his business, Devyn brings her guitar to the living room and strums a few chords on the couch. It’s just what she used to do when we lived together.

For the next hour, we talk about a time when we were both a lot younger, naive about success, and our dreams yet to be fulfilled. We laugh about the times I accompanied her as she busked along Sunset Boulevard and then later, Santa Monica Promenade, where Harrison discovered her—only we don’t mention that part. I’d rather pretend none of that happened and that the last ten years passed us in the blink of an eye.

To say Devyn isn’t beautiful is an understatement. She’s gorgeous with her dark brown hair and her big brown eyes, and that luminous voice. Her skill with words is even more beautiful, reflecting a kind heart that Harrison would take advantage of. Her songs are still being played even if his name is attached to them. It’s her name that people remember. Her voice. Her soul imprinted in each song.

Seeing her now, older and wiser but still with kind, knowing eyes makes me happy. Harrison didn’t break her like I feared he would. She made it out.

And now she’s here.

She sings two songs for me, one about the hope she held onto when things fell apart and the other about the love she longs to find, but only if he accepts her for the woman she is now. I could tell her I’ve always accepted her the way she is, but I don’t.

They’re just songs, and this moment—Devyn and me in the middle of the desert—is all temporary. It’s also too perfect, like a memory plucked from the past returning to remind you of how lonely you are.

ChapterThree

DEVYN

The following day, Todd takes me on a community tour, past similar houses just like his with dome-like roofs and glass bottle walls. He even stops by ongoing construction, and I see what he meant by the foundation walls comprised of tires rammed with earth stacked one over the other, providing efficient insulation throughout the year.

I love listening to him talk about everything, from sustainable homes to the sagebrush that grows everywhere, filling the air with its scent. He introduces me to Sawyer, his wife Alma, and their two children, Tyler and Drea. And then there are Dax and Harlow Drexel who live in the Pearl with their twins, DJ and Ani-pea.

Todd wasn’t lying when he told me it’s the best home he and his brother have built. Twice as big as his place, it even has a mini-golf course they made for the twins (although Dax admits the grownups use it a lot, too) and a trampoline. Inside they have the same indoor garden, and next to it, in an extension he and Sawyer built a few years ago, a tilapia pond which Todd checks every few days since it was his idea to install one.

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