Chapter Eight

 

* TRENT *

 

The house seemed quiet when I arrived, but Megan’s car as well as the caretaker’s car were parked in the driveway, so I knew they must both be here. I knocked gently on the front door, and it was the caretaker who answered. I didn’t recognize her, but she seemed to recognize me.

“Come on in,” she said, opening the door wider. “I have a feeling Megan’s grandma is on her final hours. Megan’s going to need family around.”

I started to tell her that I wasn’t technically family, but then shut my mouth. I figured I was as close to family as Megan actually had. I followed the caretaker into the living room and sat down, declining when she offered me something to eat. I heard laughter coming from one of the nearby bedrooms, and I looked in the direction of the sound, surprised that anyone was laughing when the specter of death hung over the house. The caretaker noticed my confusion and explained.

“Her grandma is more lucid than she’s been in weeks. It’s a gift for Megan. She’s getting one last chance to talk with her before she passes away.”

I nodded, and sank back against the couch. I definitely wasn’t going to interrupt Megan when she was having a last conversation with her grandma, but I wasn’t going to leave either.

“I’ll just wait here in case Megan needs me,” I said. The caretaker nodded and told me to come find her in the kitchen if I needed anything, then left me alone in the living room.

For several minutes I sat there, wondering what to do. Eventually, I stood and went to listen outside the bedroom door for a moment. I wasn’t intending to eavesdrop. I just wanted to make sure that Megan was okay. What I heard startled me.

“Did you go to Mr. Miller’s funeral today?” a raspy but surprisingly strong old lady’s voice asked.

“Yes, Grandma.”

“Good. And Miller’s boy? Trent? Did he go?

“He did. He made it back for the funeral.”

I winced. I hadn’t exactly made it back for the funeral. I’d only come to deal with the land. But Megan’s grandma seemed happy with Megan’s response.

“Good. Trent’s a good boy. I wish old Miller would have realized sooner what he was missing by not taking good care of him. It was only in the last month before he died that he started trying to get a hold of Trent and apologize.”

My eyes widened. My dad had been trying to reach me to apologize? I’d had no idea. I’d always told my secretaries back in California not to take any calls from family, but I’d never expected to actually get a call from family. I felt a pang of confused sadness. Maybe I shouldn’t have been so hard to reach. My dad had been a horrible father, but I didn’t want anyone, not even him, to go to his deathbed unhappy. I could only hope that he’d found some peace in leaving me his land. That must have been his way of apologizing.

Megan’s grandmother was talking again, and I strained to listen.

“So, are you and Trent dating yet?”

“Grandma! Really!” Megan sounded flustered. My own eyes had widened again. How would Megan’s grandma have known there was anything going on between us? I hadn’t even seen the old lady since I got back into town.

“I’m just saying,” her grandma continued. “You two have always been perfect for each other. Don’t let him get away again, now that he’s back.”

“Grandma, he came for his father’s funeral!”

“I know. But regardless of why he’s here, he’s here. Don’t miss the opportunity.”

I stepped back from the door, doing my best not to chuckle. I didn’t feel right listening to them talk about Megan’s love life when they thought they were talking in private, even if they were talking about me. I went back to sit on the couch, amused by the thought of the old lady playing matchmaker on her deathbed.

At some point, I fell asleep, lulled into dreams by the lazy afternoon sun streaming into the window. I awoke later to the caretaker shaking me.

“Mr. Miller. Mr. Miller!”

I opened one eye, surprised to find that the room was now full and quite noisy. Several paramedics were here, and Megan stood outside the door of her grandma’s room, sobbing. The afternoon sun was long gone, and the sky outside was glittering with stars.

“I think Megan needs you now, Mr. Miller.”

I didn’t like being called Mr. Miller, but I didn’t bother correcting the caretaker right now. Instead I sat up straight and looked over at the busy paramedics. “What happened?”

“The old lady passed away. The paramedics came to take care of removing her remains.”

I nodded and stood, feeling dazed all of a sudden. Everything felt surreal. Megan and I had both lost our only family in the span of a week’s time. The circumstances had been very different, but I got the feeling that we had never needed each other more than we did right now.

“Megan,” I said, walking quickly toward her. She looked up, her eyes red and puffy from crying, and seemed to notice for the first time that I was there.

“Trent,” she choked out. “She’s gone. She’s actually gone.”

“I know. I’m so sorry.” I held out my arms to her and she melted into my embrace. I held her there for a long time, letting her cry. Eventually, I took her out to the back patio, thinking some fresh air might do her some good. She stared up at the stars and managed a smile.

“I think she’s up there now,” Megan said. “With the stars.”

I reached over and squeezed Megan’s hand. “I think you’re right.”

Megan squeezed my hand back. “Thank you for coming. I didn’t want to bother you with all this, especially on a day that was so hard for you already.”

“It’s fine, Megan.” I turned her so that she was looking into my eyes. “I’m here for you. Always. I know this relationship between us is new, but I’m all in. It’s you and me against the world now.”

Megan smiled and wiped at her eyes. She was so beautiful, even when she’d been crying. How had I gotten lucky enough that she was smiling up at me with so much tenderness?

“I’m sorry I called you an outsider,” she said. “I was wrong. You might have changed a bit, but at the heart of things you’re still Trent. Still one of my best friends.”

“It’s alright. I probably deserved the criticism. But don’t worry. I’m still a local deep down. And I’m never leaving you or this island again.”

She sighed and leaned into my arms once more. I held her close there for a long time, looking up at the twinkling stars. It wasn’t the right time or place to kiss her again. There was too much going on inside the house, and her emotions were too high with her grandma just passing away. But I swore to myself that as soon as things calmed down and the timing was more appropriate, I was going to give my body fully to her, and show her just how much she deserved to be loved.

For now though, this moment was enough. For perhaps the first time in my life, I truly felt like I was home. That’s when I realized that home wasn’t a location on a map for me. Home was Megan’s arms.

And I was never leaving home again.