Long Road Home (The Barker Triplets 4)

It was past dinnertime, and he was hungry, but something made him take a left when he should have taken a right. Bobbi wasn’t back yet—he’s sent her a text before leaving—and not long afterward, he pulled up at the old cemetery he’d found a few days ago. The sun was just starting to set, her long fingers of gold turning a vibrant red over the horizon. It lit up the old church something fierce. Shane snapped a few photos with his phone before pocketing it and wandering among the silent tombs.

It was peaceful here. All the noise in his head stopped.

It was also interesting to see history through the eyes of an old cemetery. He spent some time along the back, where some of the tombstones were so old and worn, he couldn’t see what was written on them, while others had stood the test of time but were neglected.

He was about to head back to his bike when he thought he heard someone singing and followed the noise up to that big old oak tree, and the elderly gentleman he’d met the other day.

“Well, hello, Shane. I wasn’t expecting company this close to dusk. Most folks are scared off from places like this. Too many ghosts.”

“I guess I don’t believe in ghosts.” Shane cracked a smile. “How you been, Manly?”

“I been better, don’t mind saying so. Miss my Annalise something fie

rce.” He made a small noise. “Don’t listen to an old man like me. How you been doing with that thing you lost?”

Shane leaned against a small bench a few feet away. “I decided to take things slow and win her back.”

“You are a man with a plan.” Manly’s eyes sparkled. “You seem lighter than the last time I saw you.”

“I guess I am.”

“Things are going well, then. Tell me about it. I don’t get much conversation these days, and conversation is something I do enjoy.” He paused. “If you don’t mind saying a piece.”

“No.” Hunger forgotten, Shane settled on the bench and stretched out his legs. “I took her to this place out in the middle of nowhere, with the strangest name I’ve ever heard.”

“Back the truck up. I know what’s coming out of your mouth.” Manly nodded. “Uh-huh. You went to Moss Growed Over, I bet.” He slapped the top of his thigh. “That place is a treasure the locals only share with a select few. I’m glad you got to enjoy it. What about your lost-and-found? She enjoy it too?”

Shane smiled to himself as an image of Bobbi’s face danced in front of his eyes. “She did. It was like all the bad stuff never happened.” His smile slowly faded. “At least while we were there.”

He couldn’t lie. He’d been hoping she’d break her rules and come to bed with him. And not just for the sex. He missed the smell of her in his bed, the feel of her next to him. He missed the little faces she made when she was thinking hard, and the way she curled her toes when she stretched, or how she arched her back just so when he was inside her. But most of all, he missed waking up knowing he had another day to spend with the only person who’d ever understood him and accepted him fully for who he was.

She’d taken the blemishes along with the good.

“Son, when two people fall so far from the person they love, it takes some time to get back to where they were and even more to get to a better place.”

Shane leaned back. The old man was right. “We had a nice night, and I was hoping for more of the same, but she’s gone somewhere and won’t be back until tomorrow night or Wednesday. And the thing that pisses me off is I didn’t ask where she went or what she’s doing because I don’t feel like I can right now. Like it’s not really any of my business. We’ve been apart for about three months and we’re in this weird place.” He shook his head. “I don’t like it.”

“But it’s the first step. And listen, anybody can take that first step, but it’s a real man who takes the next step and the next one after that. Because that’s when things get real tough. When you’re looking across the table at the woman you love, but you’re not in Moss Growed Over having a cold beer and eating a plate of shrimp, but in a room with nothing but four walls and all the hurt between you two spilling out onto the table.”

“You and Annalise ever have troubles like this?”

Manly was quiet for a few moments, his eyes downcast and shoulders slumped. Shane was just about to tell him he didn’t want to pry when the old man spoke so quietly, Shane had to strain his ears to hear.

“After our fourth child was born, I did something…” He let out a long breath. “Our house was hectic, and Annalise was tired all the time. The babies were cranky. I was acting like a child myself. Hurt because this woman who’d brought life into the world wasn’t paying me any mind on account of the fact she was raising our children. I took to town one night, got liquored up, and I strayed. God forgive me, but I did. Of course, in a town as small as ours, it didn’t take no time for the news to reach my Annie’s ears, and it broke her heart. Her pain was more than I could bear. It would have been easy to leave all my problems and go off somewhere else. Because pain is hard. Especially when it’s pain you’ve caused.

“Annalise kicked my butt out of that house and told me not to come home until I was a man and not a boy hungry for something else. I came back every single day, and it took nearly an entire year for me to pick up each little piece of her heart that I’d broken and put it back where it belonged. It was the hardest year, and it was the best year. And I wouldn’t be the man I became without it.”

“I’m glad you two worked things out.”

Manly glanced back toward the tree and the burial plot. “We surely did.” He frowned and glanced up at the quick darkening sky. “I should go.” Manly turned back to Shane. “I hope you come back for another visit.”

Shane got to his feet and would have offered his hand up for a shake, but the old guy was moving toward the big oak at a good clip. Shane watched until he disappeared around it, and then, shaking his head at the strangeness of it all, headed for his bike.

It had been a long day. A good day.

And he was counting down the minutes until Bobbi came back to him.

Chapter Fifteen