Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 128083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
Someone who’d been meant to build him up, not tear him down.
He could articulate that to himself now, and yet he still felt the echo of hurt when he pictured his grandfather’s narrowed gaze, staring at him with disdain.
Rex sighed. The old man had raised two daughters who were nicer than he was, but one liked the bottle just as much, if not more. For whatever reason, her father’s constant criticism hadn’t affected his aunt Carolyn. Or maybe she’d even used it as motivation to prove him wrong. Who could say why one person was more affected by casual cruelty than another.
It was funny how getting out into the world and growing up some clarified the place you’d started out. He’d spent eleven years away from Aspen Cove, only coming home here and there for holidays and then returning to his life. He’d met all kinds of people from all sorts of places, all of whom had their own stories, many better than his, some much worse.
He spotted an old photo on the wall of his grandpop’s time in the military. He was wearing army fatigues and standing in some desert, his arm slung over the shoulders of another soldier as they laughed into the camera. A photo of Rex in uniform was tucked into the side of the frame. His mother must have given one to Grandpop. Rex’s eyes lingered on that photo, and knowing his grandfather had tucked it in next to his caused a ball of emotion to clog his throat. He couldn’t explain the feeling that came over him, but seeing that photo there felt strangely like the apology Rex had never received and hadn’t even known he needed.
He made his way through the house and opened the back door, the scent of flowery perfume wafting in on the breeze. Holy shit. He gaped at the wild, colorful display of flowers growing in every possible direction. The last time he’d been there, it’d been overgrown; now it was a veritable jungle. He looked down and spotted a stepping stone. It was one of those mosaic ones made of broken glass, and it was mirrored and iridescent and added to the strange otherworldliness of the space. “You were a nut, old man.”
Rex stepped onto the stone, and from that one, he could see another one almost hidden underneath the bending branches of some heavy purplish flowers he couldn’t identify. He moved forward onto that one and could see another one from there. He paused and then turned back toward the house. It appeared there was some method to the madness here, but Rex didn’t have the patience to figure it out right now. What he did know was that this needed to be torn out if this space could become a usable backyard for a family willing to buy the property.
As he pulled the door closed, he paused, glancing back. Some of these plants had been here for decades, and though his grandpops hadn’t maintained anything, there was beauty here among the chaos. Maybe there was a park or an old folks’ home looking to add to their garden that would be willing to dig up these plants and relocate them elsewhere. Perhaps a young couple who’d used every last dime buying a fixer-upper would be willing to wade through this mess for the roses he could smell but couldn’t see.
Maybe he’d put up a listing on Facebook Marketplace and see if there were any takers. And if not, he’d be absolved of any guilt when he started tearing the flowers out by the roots and tossing them in the dumpster.
He returned to the living room and looked around for a moment, wondering where to even start. “I guess it falls to me to clean up for you,” he murmured. Because his mother sure wasn’t going to do it. If he could even find her. She’d moved to a new address with her latest boyfriend, and her phone was off.
He’d phoned his aunt Carolyn, too, who had been working as a traveling nurse for the last few years, but she didn’t have her sister’s latest information either. In fact, she’d told Rex that his mom had hung up on her the month after Carolyn had tried to offer some unsolicited advice. That sounded exactly like his mom, and he wasn’t the least bit surprised.
Rex walked out of the house, seeking fresh air so that he could make arrangements to clear up a lifetime of rubbish.
Chapter Fifteen
Cami hefted a box up on the counter of her gift shop, and Bess looked up from where she’d been unpacking new mugs on a shelf near the register. “The sample of your chrysalis kit is here,” she said with a smile.
Bess sucked in an excited breath and walked to where Cami had set the box. She opened the lid and lifted out the prototype of the item Bess had designed. It was a beautiful terrarium with curved glass and antique brass accents. Even without the flowers and greenery inside, it looked like an heirloom piece that had been handed down through generations.