Chapter 1

 

Wyatt wanted to get away, to live far away from the influence of his disapproving family. But in the end, maybe he had put too much distance between him and his brother. The reconciliation he always dreamed of would never happen now.

Weeks late, he was hearing the terrible news over the phone and every remaining shred of hope was crushed. His aunt had finally tracked him down and gotten in touch with him. Now her voice was breaking as she said his name.

Before she even told him anything, the sound of her voice was so rough and pained. Knowing without a doubt that she was about to tell him something terrible, Wyatt felt like a cold hand closed around his heart. He listened to what she had to tell him with utter dread.

"I'm so sorry to have to tell you this, honey," his Aunt Debbie told him. Then her voice broke again, and she barely got the words out. "Our Lloyd, he... He's gone."

Lloyd and his wife had died in a car crash. Wyatt could hardly absorb this news. It hit him like a freight train and he couldn't draw a breath as his chest constricted painfully.

It was too late to say goodbye, too late to go to the funeral. Too late for everything.

That wasn't all of it. She had more to tell him. "Lloyd and his wife left behind two boys, and someone needs to take care of them," Aunt Debbie said.

Wyatt figured that his aunt would do that. She had been good with him and Lloyd when they were kids. But she regretfully told him, "I can't do it myself. I have my Tom to take care of. His MS is much worse. For now, he's staying with his sister, but he needs to get back home and so do I. I'm staying with the boys right now, but I need to know if you can come and take over."

"Me? Aunt Deb..." Wyatt started to say. How could he take care of two children? Plus there was another issue. "Aunt Deb, I don't think Lloyd would want me to be the one to take care of his kids." His throat tightened as soon as those words came out. It was a harsh truth.

"Is that so?" she said in a stern tone. Aunt Deb wasn't one to let anyone shirk their family responsibilities. "Then you better listen to this," she commanded him.

He heard some fumbling as she explained. "Lloyd recorded it in the hospital when his wife was already gone, and he knew he didn't have much time left."

After a little bit, Aunt Deb played him a recording. First there were some indistinct noises, beeping and announcements being made in the background. Then Wyatt heard labored breathing then Lloyd. His voice was painfully familiar but weak and he struggled to speak clearly. He said, "Take care of my boys. Please, Wyatt."

Wyatt waited but there was nothing after that. The short silence seemed to last forever until he heard Aunt Debbie's voice again.

"He didn't have much strength left, but I think he made himself plenty clear. So what will it be, Wyatt. You coming to Peach Tree?"

It turned out that Peach Tree was the name of the small town where Lloyd had lived with his family. He moved there after their father died, after Wyatt lost touch with him for the second time. When Aunt Deb asked him to go there, Wyatt could think of only one answer, "I'm on my way."

 

It took him a little while to make the arrangements to come back from Austria. He couldn't leave Barney behind, so the poor little doggy had to endure the long flight. By the time they got to the States, Wyatt felt drained and sort of numb. He clutched Barney's pet carrier like it was his life raft.

Thank God for his friend, Raquel, who met him at the airport and immediately wrapped him in a tight hug.

"My poor sweetie," she called him then took him and Barney straight to her apartment. Wyatt collapsed on her couch while Barney went to sniff the million small rugs she had everywhere.

Wyatt hadn't seen her for years, but Raquel was still his best friend. After he woke up with Barney staring at him, Raquel fed both of them and let Wyatt cry on her shoulder about Lloyd and the regrets he would probably carry with him as long as he lived.

She also single handedly put him and Barney on the road to Peach Tree, a place Wyatt had never heard of until his aunt told him about it. Behind the wheel of a brand new SUV that Raquel helped him buy, Wyatt was still in a fog of grief and disbelief as he drove through the peaceful looking countryside.

With hardly any houses around, it seemed to Wyatt like he might be in for some lonely times ahead. After all this wasn't just a visit. He was going to be living here, for a while anyway. Good thing he had brought along his little buddy.

Wyatt turned to look at Barney who peered out of his pet carrier. "You ready to stretch you legs maybe?"

 

***

 

The last time Sam went on a drive and walked around this area, he came across some bushes with orange berries. Thinking they were pretty, he took a branch back to the café, where several people told him the berries came from a firethorn bush and were poisonous.

Sam was going to get rid of the branch, but Mrs. Del Rio, the owner of the café, took charge of the branch with the berries. She agreed that they were pretty, and she wasn't scared by the fact that they were poisonous. "If I had more of these, I would make a wreath for my verandah," she said.

That was just like her. She had been that way the first time Sam walked into the café. Some of his bruises still fresh, he had asked her for a job, and she hired him with no hesitation.

She looked at the berries appreciatively, not the least bit daunted by what people said about them. "I like them. Next time you see them, get me a whole bunch of these."

That's why Sam was now in the midst of these firethorn bushes that grew in a clump on the side of the highway. He found plenty of good branches and picked several while getting scratched up by the thorns.

Figuring he had enough for a wreath, Sam was about to get back to his car when he spotted an SUV on the road. It was coming his way. Hanging back, he waited for it to pass.

Sam's car was parked behind the bushes, and he was still hidden from sight. It might have been a little too cautious of him, but he didn't want to reveal himself needlessly.

The car didn't pass him by though. It slowed and Sam got worried. His heart started to race. He couldn't see the driver, so he had a good look at the car instead. The car was a tan Nissan Rogue. It looked new even if it did have some road dirt on it.

Brian wouldn't have a nice, new car like that, but as long as the driver remained a mystery, Sam couldn't convince himself that it somehow couldn't still be him.

When he finally saw a blond, well built man step out of the car, Sam only breathed a little easier. He was still a stranger, and God knows what he might be up to.

He watched the good-looking man stand by his car and stretch for a second like someone who had been driving for a long time. The man then went to the back of his SUV and leaned into the back seat. Soon a little fuzzy, white dog jumped out of the car and Sam grinned.

The man crouched and petted the dog. "Look, a whole field for you to pee on. How great is that?" he said as he put a leash on the little dog.

"So I guess I should watch my step," Sam said. He wanted to announce his presence and not startle the guy and his dog, but he did anyway.

The man jumped a little then spotted him coming out from among the bushes. He gave Sam an intense, blue eyed stare then he smiled apologetically. "Oh hi. Sorry. We've been on the road a while," the man said. "We didn't mean to intrude or trespass." Maybe he thought Sam owned the field.

"Me either. It's not my field. If you're trespassing, then I am too. I was just picking these," Sam told him.

Seeing the armful of branches he carried, the man said, "They look interesting."

"They're firethorn berries, and they're poisonous, so keep your dog away from them." Sam was glad he knew to tell him that. He'd hate for such a nice dog to get himself into trouble.

"Did you hear that?" the guy asked his dog then he turned to Sam. "Thanks for the warning. For a minute there, I was thinking of letting him off the leash so he could run around on his own. Now I know better."

"He seems like a good dog," Sam said.

"He is and he wants to say hello to you," the guy let his dog get closer and rest his front paws on Sam's shins so he could look up at him.

"Hello, there," Sam said to him and he wished he could pet him, but he had all those thorny branches to keep away from him.

"His name is Barney, and he has never seen such open places. He's a city dog. Aren't you?" the man said and then got down to rub the dog's side and kiss the top of his head. When he stood up again, he frowned at Sam's arms. "You got scratched up."

"That's nothing. It's for a good cause. My employer asked me to get her these. She's been good to me, so I don't mind," Sam said. He caught himself smiling at the man because he looked so concerned.

The guy had startled him when he pulled off the road so close to where he was, but he seemed nice and his dog was sweet. Glancing all around, the guy now looked a little uneasy, especially when his sad, blue eyes stared off into the distance.

There was nothing there that would make Sam uneasy. In that direction, the fields stretched out to the horizon. There were plenty of hills dotting the landscape in other directions, but Sam liked the flat, open spaces to the west. They gave him peace of mind.

"We've been traveling for a while. This seems like a nice area," the man said, but he seemed kind of doubtful of that.

"It is. It's very peaceful," Sam told him. He wanted to keep talking to this guy, but he couldn't think of any excuse to keep hanging out there. Plus his shift would be starting soon. He had nearly forgotten about that.

When he set out for this spot, he had planned to be back in plenty of time. Now he might be late. It had been a while since a good-looking guy could distract him so easily. To Sam, guys like this one were like firethorn bushes -- enticing but dangerous.

Sam noticed that the dog was now straining at his leash. "Looks like your dog is ready for that walk," he pointed out.

"He's reminding me why we came out here," the man said.

"Bye, Barney," Sam told him as he went off with his firethorn branches. Setting them on the passenger side, he got behind the wheel of his old Honda and realized that he had learned the dog's name but not his handsome owner's.

Oh well, it wasn't like Sam would ever see him again. He was probably just passing through. Most likely the man would continue on this road, blow right past the little town of Peach Tree and never look back.