The Uber driver studied Jax in the rear view mirror. “Have you been to Raleigh before?” he asked in a soft Indian accent.

Jax nodded. “I grew up here.”

The man grinned. “Oh, so you are coming home then.”

Jax half-smiled. “Yep.” He stared out the window, watching the houses flash by. It had been almost two years since he’d lived in North Carolina – did it still count as home? He knew it did. It wrapped him up like a warm blanket as soon as he got off the plane. There was something about Ardensville that set his heart right again, gave him perspective. He could be himself. People knew who he was and liked him – the real him, not just the Jax Green on their television screens.

With a sigh he leaned back against the seat and let the lilting music from the radio wash over him.

It wasn’t long until they pulled into his family’s driveway. He climbed slowly out of the car, paid the driver and carried his bag to the front door, then stood immobile for a few moments. What would he find? How could the house still stand when his dad wasn’t inside?

He swallowed the lump in his throat and turned the knob. It wasn’t locked – it never was when someone was home. Ardensville was a safe place to live and a great place to grow up. He glanced over his shoulder down the long street where he’d ridden his bike a thousand times with neighborhood children. He’d lost touch with most of them since leaving for UGA. What were they doing now?

He pushed against the door with his shoulder to open it – something was blocking it. He frowned and pushed harder, scraping whatever it was on the tile floor. He slid through the narrow opening, set his bag on the ground and found the obstruction: a mammoth collection of casserole dishes, cakes and flower arrangements lining one wall of the entryway. “Mom,” he called softly.

No answer.

“Mom?” He walked into the kitchen and scanned the living area. No sign of her. He heard the faint sound of music playing upstairs. He jogged to the stairs and took them two at a time. Past his bedroom, he found his sister’s door shut. He knocked softly. “June?”

The door swung open and she threw her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. “Jax! I’m glad you made it.”

He held her close. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here sooner.”

“No, it’s fine.”

“Where’s Mom?”

She sniffled and pulled back to wipe her nose with a Kleenex. Her eyes were red-rimmed and her skin blotchy. “In her room. She was taking a nap, but she’s been in there for hours. I can’t get her to eat anything.”

He frowned. “Okay, I’ll try.”

She smiled weakly and squeezed his arm. “Can you believe it?”

He shook his head, feeling like he was choking on grief. “I haven’t seen him since March. I was really looking forward to Thanksgiving.”

“I know.”

“I didn’t tell him …”

“He knew you loved him. He loved you too.”

He frowned. He couldn’t cry, not when he had to be strong for June and Mom. Mom couldn’t see him in pieces – she needed him whole. He walked down the hall, knocked on her bedroom door, then pushed it open. “Mom?”

There was a lump beneath the green and white floral covers on the bed. It lifted slightly with each breath Cecelia Green took.

“Mom? Are you sleeping?”

The lump moved. “That you, Jax?” She sat up and rubbed her eyes. Her hair stuck out all over, as though she’d been caught in a vacuum cleaner.

“Hey, Mom.” He sat on the edge of the bed and took her hand, massaging it gently. “How you doing?”

Her eyes filled with tears. “It’s not fair.”

“I know.” He fought back his own grief.

“It wasn’t time. He wasn’t ready – I wasn’t ready.”

“I know.” He kissed her forehead. “I’m so sorry, Mom.”

She sobbed. “What are we gonna do now?”

He shook his head, afraid that if he spoke the floodgates would open.

“He was the one that kept me going – kept our lives filled with people, joy, everything. I don’t know what I’ll do without him.”

Jax’s heart ached. “I know, Mom. I’m here now. We’ll get through this together.”

She collapsed against him, silently sobbing as she clutched his shirt with both hands. He held her until her shaking stopped, all the while wishing he hadn’t missed the opportunity to tell his dad all the things he’d want to say. He’d told him he loved him plenty of times in the past, but he wished he could say it once more. He’d played catch with him at least hundred times – if only he could do it again. He’d prayed with his father countless nights over his hopes, dreams, injuries or a wounded heart.

Jax couldn’t do any of those things now. He couldn’t change the past. But he could do something about the present. He’d be here for his mother and his sister, be their support and their rock. He’d tell them he loved them and pray with them and have no regrets. And maybe even put down some roots in his hometown, spend the offseason here. He’d considered it in the past, but always put it off for later. No more. Time to do the things he wished he’d done before.

The funeral procession crept through the middle of town, from the red brick building that housed Bethel Springs Baptist Church to the Ardensville cemetery. The service had been simple, but the church was packed to the rafters with mourners and well-wishers.

Jax stared out the window of the black limousine, thinking about the weather. It was a dull gray day that matched the heaviness in his heart and gave his throat an ache he couldn’t shake. But if he thought about the weather, the food that would be served at the wake, polite conversation, the creases in his pants, then he wouldn’t have to think about anything else. Years of discipline had enabled him to focus his thoughts wherever he wanted, and today he was putting that training to good use.

Perhaps he should embrace the pain, let himself dwell on the father he’d never see again. Say goodbye … his throat seized, and he cleared it with a cough. No, maybe he was better off with distractions. He turned to his right. “You okay, Mom?”

“It was a nice service.” She patted his leg, but didn’t meet his eye. She’d spoken about her husband, and there hadn’t been a dry eye in the place. Twenty-eight years of marriage – a long time, but not long enough, she’d said. She’d hoped for far more, even though she was grateful for the time they’d shared.

He sighed. “Yes, a nice service.” There had been a few surprises. Jax hadn’t known some of the stories told by the folks who’d known his father the longest. Even his mother shared some he’d never heard before, like how his father had been a huge Springsteen fan and even camped out with Grandpa to buy tickets to one of Bruce’s 1988 Chapel Hill concerts on the Tunnel of Love tour.

He ran fingers through his hair, then patted it back into place. There was still the graveside to attend and the wake back at the house – he couldn’t look too messy. Not that it would bother him, but he wanted to be his best for Mom. She was staring through things, himself included. Would she recover? Logically he knew it’d just take time, but he couldn’t shake the pain he felt every time he looked at her. She seemed smaller, older, as though she’d shriveled since his father’s death.

The line of cars inched down the long drive. Bare trees lined the narrow road, remnants of brown leaves scattered across the dry lawn. The cars stopped just as the rain did. Jax opened the door, unfolded from the cramped space and stood, then held out his hand for his mother. She took it, hers shaking slightly. He was worried – could she manage to stand for the rest of the service? Perhaps they’d have a chair for her.

June exited the opposite door and walked around the back of the car to meet them, taking her mother’s other hand. “Ready?”

Cecelia nodded, her eyes red but dry. “As I’ll ever be.”

They walked together to the gravesite, where the casket already sat perched over the hole. Jax tried not to think about it. How could things have changed so quickly? He’d never really lost someone he cared for before. Well, his grandparents, but their deaths had been expected. There’d been time to prepare, grow accustomed to the idea. This had taken everyone by surprise.

At the grave he led his mother to a chair, grateful she wouldn’t have to stand. She almost fell into it. “Mom, are you feeling okay?” he whispered against her ear.

She managed a tight smile. “A little light-headed, but there’s nothing I can do about it right now.”

“We could take you home.”

She shook her head. “No way. I’m not missing a moment of today. As painful as it is, as much as it’s killing me inside, I can’t be anywhere else. I’ll rest once it’s over.”

He nodded – he felt the same way. It was as though he was close to Dad somehow, though that didn’t make rational sense. Dad was gone. Still, saying goodbye was something he had to do.

Kevin Murdoch, the assistant pastor at Bethel Springs, said a few words. He’d served under Jax’s father for ten years and was as close to him as anyone. Jax appreciated Kevin’s presence, but barely heard what he was saying. His head spun, and coherent thoughts escaped him. He stared at the casket, at the empty grave, his mother, his sister, back to the casket again, a dull ache in his chest.

When it was over, everyone wanted to speak to him and his mother and sister personally. He couldn’t count the number of pats on the back, handshakes, embraces and offers of sympathy he received, but every single one ran off him like water. He embraced Brad Murphy, his best friend from high school, and thanked him, the words sticking in his throat. Beverley Briley, his father’s secretary, was crying as she kissed his cheek. For everyone else, he nodded and thanked them, but his mind was elsewhere. He just had to make it through the day.

Stacey flipped through the realtor’s manual, sighed and rolled her eyes at Brad over the top of it.

“You’re bored already?” he quipped.

She laughed. “Is that bad, boss?”

Brad shook his head. “At least you already have your license, from the last time you considered becoming a realtor and left me in the lurch.”

“I told you I was sorry. It’s just …”

“I know, I know, you want to be an engineer. I get it. But in the meantime you can sell houses, make a decent living instead of working in that greasy spoon. Plus, we get to see a lot more of each other.” He grinned and his eyes sparkled.

“You won’t get sick of having your little sister around all the time?”

Brad walked to her desk and stood beside her. “I’m sure I will. But you’re family, so I’ll just have to get over it.”

She jumped to her feet and punched him gently in the arm. “You’re supposed to say no.”

He laughed and feigned pain as he clutched at his shoulder. “You want me to lie? Ouch!”

“So what’s on the agenda this morning?”

“It’s only your second week, so I thought we’d start with coffee, then go through the list of buyers to see if we can find someone a house.”

She nodded. “It’s your turn to get coffee.”

“We have a percolator in back,” he protested.

“You know I can’t drink that stuff. I need coffee that doesn’t taste like something scraped off the floor.”

His eyes rolled. “Are you serious? You worked in that terrible diner – you can’t tell me that made you a coffee connoisseur.”

“I always made good coffee for our customers, you should know that.” She chuckled. “Besides, I’m a realtor now – a professional woman.”

“Fine, I’ll swing by Java Station, but when I get back I get to be the boss, okay?”

She laughed. “Fine.”

Brad left, the bell over the door chiming on his way out.

Stacey sat back in her chair and opened the manual again. She had to make sure she remembered every law, every rule – she didn’t want to let her brother down again. She’d done it so often, it seemed. But not this time. She’d finally let go of becoming an engineer, at least for now. Her stomach churned at the thought, but the right move now was to focus on becoming the best realtor in Ardensville.

The phone on her desk rang. Usually the office had at least one other person around, but Brad was getting coffee, Susannah Gates the other realtor was out on a client call, and Bree the receptionist was home with the flu. She frowned, her hand hovering over the receiver. Should she answer? She couldn’t let it go to voicemail when she was perfectly capable of answering. She picked it up. “Good morning, Murphy Real Estate, Stacey speaking.”

“Stacey Murphy?”

“Yes.” She frowned – the voice sounded vaguely familiar.

“Hi, Stacey. It’s Jax Green –Brad’s friend from high school?”

Her heart skipped and she gasped despite herself. Remember? How could he imagine she’d ever forget her high school crush? She’d spent hours wishing he’d notice her, but she was Brad’s little sister and Jax was the high school football star. She was surprised he even knew her name. “Jax Green, of course I remember you. You spent a good portion of your childhood at my house.”

He chuckled. “That is very true.”

Her cheeks flushed. “How can I help you?”

“Actually, I was hoping to catch Brad.”

She frowned. It figured. “Uh, sorry, he just stepped out. Maybe I could take a message?”

He paused and she could hear the pain in his silence. Everyone in town knew Rev. Frank Green had died before his time. He was a pillar of the community and loved by all. Over the years he’d hosted community events, preached every Sunday at the church on the corner and ha been a surrogate father to her for a few years. She and Brad had attended the funeral a few days ago but she’d kept her distance from the family. They’d been swamped with well wishers, and she hadn’t wanted to crowd them on what must have been one of the hardest days of their lives. She was surprised Jax was still in town.

“Are you working with Brad these days?”

She shrugged. “Sure am. I’m a realtor now – houses to sell, clients to help …” Ugh – she sounded like a cliche even to her own ears. Pull yourself together, girl!

“I’m actually hoping to find a place here in Ardensville before I go back to Atlanta.”

“Oh! Well, I can help with that if you like.” Could she? Brad hadn’t exactly given her permission to take on her own clients yet.

“Really? That’d be great. I don’t have a lot of time and I want to find a nice home for the offseason. Somewhere of my own.”

She took down his details and hung up before he could figure out she didn’t know what she was talking about. Then she logged into her computer and did a quick search of what properties they had that matched his price range and description. There were only a half-dozen, so she jotted down their addresses and found the keys before heading out to meet Jax at his mom’s house.

As she drove, her heart continued to pound so loudly she almost couldn’t hear the radio over it. Jax Green was in town. He was famous now, but when she’d known him he’d just been her brother’s friend. Even then he was attractive, maybe more so because of his shy confidence. She’d had such a crush on him that she’d hardly been able to think when he was around. He hadn’t noticed, just smiled her way as he bounded down the hall to Brad’s room to play video games. She’d smiled back, braces and all, feeling self conscious.

It had been years since she’d seen him - once he went to the University of Georgia on a football scholarship, he almost never came back. Probably because he couldn’t walk down the street in Ardensville without people stopping him. Nobody famous had ever come from Ardensville before. Now, as a big-time pro athlete, he was even farther out of her league.

Why was she even thinking about him that way? She was a realtor, showing houses to a prospective buyer. It was her job. She should forget about childhood crushes and focus on the task at hand – getting her first commission. Maybe then she could move off her brother’s couch and get her own place again.

Stacey emptied her mind of all thoughts of the Jax Green she’d spent her life loving from afar. Now he was Jax Green, house buyer and her first client – at least she hoped he was.