She smiled at me, her hands cupping my cheeks. “You know, I always thought of you like a daughter. With how Matthew talked about you constantly, I was sure you were going to be my daughter-in-law someday. But some things in life aren’t meant to happen.”
She hugged me again and then stepped back, wiping the tears from her eyes. “And who is this handsome man you’ve brought with you?”
“This is Andrew. He…” I didn’t know quite how to describe Andrew, especially after what she just told me.
“I’m a friend, and potential murder victim.”
I laughed and Sandy looked confused. “He thought I was a serial killer.”
Sandy burst out laughing. “Well, I can see where you would think that. We all heard about what your father did. I’m glad he came through in the end.”
I bit my lip as I glanced back at my house. “Did you ever see him around town?”
She nodded. “I know everyone else was just spreading rumors, but about a month after you left town, he came back here. He was drunk as usual. I told him if he ever wanted to be worthy of calling himself your father, he would get clean. I found a clinic that took patients that didn’t have money. It took him three stints at the clinic, but he finally did it.”
“And then he stayed here?”
She nodded. “I helped him when I could, but it wasn’t much.”
“Thank you for taking care of him.”
She sighed. “He didn’t deserve it, not after what he put you through, but I knew him from before you were born. It was hard to just walk away. Anyway, you should see if there’s anything in the house you want. I would imagine most everything is decaying at this point.”
“Thank you.” I hugged her again, squeezing her tight. I knew this would be the last time I came back. I could handle everything else from back home, but I didn’t belong here anymore. There were too many bad memories to ever make a home here again.
Walking toward my dad’s house, I did my best to not let the memories overwhelm me. There was so much I wished could be different about my life, but with how it turned out, I couldn’t be upset. I had a new life, a new family, and a man that I knew I could always count on.
I felt his hand slide around mine, encasing me with his strength. I stepped through the broken door and looked inside at the ratty furniture that still remained from when I was a kid. Everything looked the same as when I left, just dirtier with a smell of rot. The house would have to be torn down.
“Is there anything you want?” Andrew asked.
There was one thing I really wanted before I walked out of here, one last memory to remind me of when things were still good. I headed for my bedroom and pulled open the closet doors, digging on the top shelf until I found the old, metal box. I had found it at the mine after it shut down, and brought it home to keep my few prized possessions. Of course, the only things I wanted from it now were the picture of my mom, dad, and me, from before the mine closed. We were a happy family then, and that’s how I wanted to remember us. This picture epitomized our time before my mom was weakened by cancer for the second time, and before my dad became an abusive drunk. Then I pulled out the picture of Matthew and I. We were just kids, hanging out in front of the minimart down the road. We were eating ice cream, something that we rarely got the pleasure of having. I had just shoved my ice cream cone in his face and we both were laughing, without a care in the world.
“Is that him?” Andrew asked from behind me.
“Yeah,” I grinned. “That’s Matthew.”
He didn’t say anything else, just rested his hand on my shoulder in support. I felt the tears trickle down my face before I even realized I was crying. Andrew wrapped me in his arms and held me as I cried. I clung to him as I shed the last of my tears. I would keep this picture of us, but I would remember us for the fun we had and forget the rest. That’s the way Matthew would have wanted it.
“You ready to go?” Andrew asked when I stepped back.
“Yeah, let’s get out of here.”
We headed for the living room and I was just about to leave when I had a thought. I headed for the kitchen and dug around in the cabinets until I found what I was looking for. Andrew looked stricken when I pulled out a cast iron frying pan.
“Is that what I think it is?”
“Yep.”
“You’re…you’re taking the murder weapon with you?”
I looked at the pan and frowned. “Technically, it’s not a murder weapon. Besides, you never know when I might need it again.”
He swallowed hard and took a step back. I rolled my eyes and tossed it over my shoulder, wincing slightly at the large bang it made against the stove. “I’m kidding. We buried that one in the mine.”
He sighed in relief. “Thank God, because for a moment, I thought you were bringing that home in case you needed to use it again.”
“Don’t be silly,” I said, walking up to him and running my finger down his chest. “Why would I want to kill you?”
He chuckled nervously and shook his head. “Who knows.”
I walked past him and winked over my shoulder. “Besides, I can always buy a new one.”
Andrew
“Ugh, I’m so exhausted,” Lorelei complained from the back seat. “Let’s just stay home for a while.”
“That’s fine by me.”
Joe grinned beside me, in the driver’s seat of the truck. “Look
