Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 73010 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73010 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
You will always be my center, my steady and safe dock when I become unmoored and spin away. I want to—have to—believe we’ll always accept each other’s imperfections and mistakes. That we’ll still grow together and love each other unconditionally. Patiently. Helplessly.
That you’ll still love me on our hardest days and in our tougher years. Because I know this is not going to be easy—for either of us.
Yours forever,
Micah
1
JOHN
PRESENT DAY
It’s been a long night at the bar, and normally, I’m not this tired, but I slept like shit. I’ve already closed for the evening, my barback Seth took out the garbage on his way out, and I’m finishing cleaning the floor when there’s a knock at the door.
Goddamn it. Better not be Walter or one of our rowdier customers who can’t handle their liquor.
Instead, it’s Uncle Chuck, which immediately makes the hairs on my nape stand on end. “Is everything okay?” Our family has had its share of tragedies, and this late-night visit brings it all back.
“Yeah, of course, sorry. Didn’t mean to alarm you.”
“No, it’s cool.” I move aside so he can enter the bar. “Want a beer?”
“Only if you’re having one.”
“Sure, why not?” I usually don’t drink during my shifts, but afterward, a cold one goes down nicely. He plops down on a stool at the bar while I pour us each a glass from the tap.
“So, what brings you here?” I slide his drink to him. “Just blowing off steam?”
“Yeah, maybe a little.” He averts his eyes. “I asked Dina to let me break the news to you.”
“What news?” Now I wonder if this so-called news is the reason I got some interesting looks tonight. But no one had stepped forward to say anything to me, even though there was plenty of whispering. I can’t imagine what it’s regarding, but I suppose I’m about to find out.
“Old Man Malone passed away.”
I frown. Mr. Malone is Micah’s grandfather. He must’ve been in his mid-seventies, and Micah loved him, but they always butted heads. The old man was the alternative to foster care when his dad gave him one too many fat lips.
Though Mr. Malone never abused Micah like his father did, I still never much liked the man. He was stubborn and cold and didn’t provide Micah with the emotional support he deserved, but he did give him a safe place to live while he finished high school over in Sunrise Bay—the school kids from Aqua Vista attended because we were lacking in numbers around here. Aqua Vista would be considered more of a village, while Sunrise Bay was a bigger town with more resources. It worked out well and wasn’t a far drive. In fact, it was closer to the fishing docks where Grandpa Malone worked—and for a time, Micah too.
I tried to reach out to him after Micah left for Hollywood, but he never returned my calls. He became a bit of a recluse, eventually developing health problems and employing Rosie, a live-in LPN who also doubled as his housekeeper.
The rumors that Malone was a grumpy, scary ghost were rampant, to the point where the kids around here would ride their bikes into the foothills, challenging each other to get close to his so-called haunted house.
“Does Micah know?” My gut churns, imagining his reaction. Close or not, it’s hard to hear a family member has passed. Unless it’s his asshole father. That man will get everything he deserves in prison for vehicular homicide. I hope.
Uncle Chuck nods. “Called him after Rosie broke the news.”
“Why did she tell you and not him?” Or me, for that matter.
“He was her first call. I was only on the list because of the potential sale of the property.” Uncle Chuck not only runs a beekeeping business, but is a part-time real estate agent in Aqua Vista. Not many properties to move around here, but he gets the job done. “Malone had it all worked out, with a deed transferring the house to Micah upon his death. He wanted his grandson to decide what to do with the property. He assumed he would sell it and use the money however he sees fit.”
I understand the assumption since Micah has been gone for years. Still, I’m glad to hear he had Micah’s best interests at heart.
“Thing is, not sure the property will get much interest, let alone sell.”
“Why not?” The large Tudor-style house certainly has good bones, but maybe the old man let it go over the years. Overgrown gardens, peeling paint, or whatever.
“It’s a wreck. Malone was a pack rat, and there are stacks of strange things in every corner of that place.”
Come to think of it, Micah did tell me once that there was a room upstairs with a collection of seemingly useless stuff. “Must’ve gotten worse in the last few years.”