Preston

Standing at the window, I gazed out as the snow slowly fell. Feeling my mother’s hand on my shoulder, I smiled slightly. “Preston, dinner is ready.”

Nodding, I turned and followed her into the formal dining room. Stopping at the table, I looked at the seat Harmony had sat in at Thanksgiving. Uncle John was now occupying it as he talked my father’s ear off about the Patriots’ last game.

Pulling my chair out, I sat down. Staring down at my plate, I felt my sister bump my shoulder. “She’s going to call. She has to. It’s Christmas.”

Attempting to smile, I gave her a quick nod and then looked back down at my plate. My father stood up and hit the side of his wineglass to get everyone’s attention. I didn’t feel like looking at him. I didn’t feel anything. My chest ached where my heart was, my stomach felt sick, and my head was pounding—evidence of how much I’d had to drink at the pub last night. Finn ended up having to come and pick me up.

We’d stopped at Harmony’s and I quickly packed up what I could. I was half drunk out of my mind as I wandered around her condo. When I opened the hall closet to see if my coat was in there, I saw all the presents.

Grabbing my coat, I headed out the door with my bag. There was no way I was planning on going back to that condo. I felt lost and alone without Harmony there.

“Now, let’s all stand and give one hope for the upcoming year,” my father said as he looked around the table.

Tuning everyone out, I sat there in a daze. Where is she? What is she doing? Who is she with? My mind was racing as I kept coming up with all these scenarios. Maybe she’d met someone and was too afraid to tell me.

“Preston, it’s your turn,” Angie whispered.

“Just pass over me,” I said, barely above a whisper.

Clearing his throat, my father’s voice boomed across the room. “Preston James, it’s your turn.”

Looking up at him, I shook my head. “I’m going to pass on the Christmas traditions this year, Dad. I don’t really have much to look forward to in the new year.”

“Preston,” my mother said as she stood. “For your father.”

Glancing around the table, I saw that everyone had their eyes on me. My mother gave me pleading eyes. I stood up and pushed my chair back, causing it to fall backward.

“The one thing I’m looking forward to next year is…” Glancing at Uncle John, I let out a laugh. “Saint Patrick’s Day, a day when I can get drunk and don’t have to answer to anyone.”

“Preston!” my mother and Angie both said at once.

“Excuse me, I’m not much in the mood for eating.” Leaning down to pick up the chair and pushing it back in, I headed up to my room, but not before I stopped in the living room and grabbed a bottle of rum from my father’s liquor cabinet.

Once I was in my room, I sat down in the chair and stared at my bed. As a took a shot of rum, I could almost feel her hands moving across my body as she softly moaned in my ear.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, but I ignored it. I had lost count of how many times I had sent her a text or called and left her a message. Harmony Banks did not want to talk to me. Letting out a laugh, I pulled out the phone number that was shoved into my pocket from last night.

Karen Mitchell. From what I could remember, she was pretty cute. Finn said he would have banged her had she given him her number. But she gave it to me. Said she had the perfect cure for a broken heart.

Tossing my head back, I laughed. “Fuck.” Holding up the rum bottle I said, “This! This is the perfect cure for a broken fucking heart.”

Opening the bottle again, I drank straight from it until I’d finished it off. I stood up, stumbled to my bed, and fell face-first on it as I passed out. Finally, I had drunk enough booze to pass the fuck out.

Sleep had finally come to me.

ONE MONTH LATER

Wiping down the bar, I looked up when the door opened. Uncle John walked in and gave me a smile. “You’re here early.”

Shrugging my shoulders, I simply said, “I was thirsty.”

Walking around the bar, my uncle gave me a push. Not just a small push, but a push so hard it caused me to lose my balance and fall on my ass.

“What the fuck, Uncle John?”

He pointed at me. “Don’t get up. Sit there for a second while I talk to you.”

Not moving an inch, I sat there, frozen. I’d seen my uncle beat the shit out of men twice my size. No way in hell was I gonna move.

“Are you finished yet?”

Tilting my head, I looked at him. “Excuse me, sir?”

Slowly shaking his head, he let out a breath. “Are you done walking around with your goddamn head stuck up your ass, trying to drown your problems in alcohol?”

Looking away, I shook my head. “I don’t know what else to do.”

Laughing, he gave me a kick.

“Ouch. Motherfucker! That hurt, Uncle John!”

“Good! Maybe it will wake your ass up. You don’t know what to do? Son, you find her.”

Standing up, I wiped my ass off and rolled my eyes. “I don’t know where she is. I have no damn clue where to even think of finding her.”

Frowning, my uncle narrowed his eyes at me. “Is that so? Maybe you don’t love her like you thought you did.”

It felt like someone had just punched me in the gut. “What?”

Taking off his coat, Uncle John hung it up and then walked over and poured himself a draft of Guinness. Taking another glass, he filled it and slid it down the bar to me. Grabbing it, I took a drink.

“There once was this Irish lad I knew. Couldn’t have been more than twenty at the time. Fell deeply in love with a girl named Abby. Abby got spooked and ran off. O’Ryan wasn’t going to have it. He packed a bag and began searching for her. Took him four months before he finally found her. It took some winning over, but O’Ryan ended up marrying her and they popped out six kids.”

“How did he know where to look?” I asked as I watched my uncle down his beer. Wiping his mouth, he looked at me like I had just asked the stupidest question ever.

“He knew all of her favorite things. Her favorite places. He kept going until he found the one where she was.”

Pulling my head back, I let my uncle’s words sink in. “Favorite places, huh?”

Nodding, he pulled out his phone and showed me a picture. “Seems to me there was a beautiful young lady who you brought in a few months back. First thing I noticed was all of the New York Yankees shit she had on.”

Smiling, I let the memory of that day fill my body with warmth. “Uncle John, she’s been gone over a month. What if…”

Holding his hand up, he shook his head. “I’ve seen the way she looks at you, Preston. She’s waiting for you to find her. She may not know it, but she’s waiting.”