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Water's Edge comes into view. Today might be the perfect day for this. Partially cloudy but still hot enough to want a beer, and I’m sure there’s a sports team playing today. So, setting up shop here is perfect.
The first people I see are Ella and Piper setting the last table up on the patio.
“This looks amazing!” I call over with an almost bounce in my step as I walk up to my friends.
When I called Piper and Casey to see if they wanted to help, they jumped at the opportunity. I had to talk Casey out of giving Oliver an earful for not telling them what was happening.
“The lady of the hour is here!” Piper cheers, and I can’t help the smile and blush on my face. I’m not a hugging kind of girl, but Piper pulls me into a tight embrace before whispering in my ear, “Thank you for looking after that idiot.”
We pull apart with my face still burning. “I couldn’t have done any of it without you guys. Piper, I need to thank your dad for letting us use the patio.”
“I’m sure he’ll come out eventually. You can thank him then. I think he secretly likes the idea because as much as he pretends not to care, my Daddy is a big softy.”
I look over the tables filled with junk from the Gordon house. I didn’t know what to do with it, but the least my birth parents could do was help Oliver from the afterlife.
After a few hours, there was a couple that wanted to argue the value of a few of the items, but the minute I mentioned Oliver’s name, their expressions changed. They practically threw the money in my face. Apparently, Oliver helped fix a dripping shower head that had been bugging them for weeks, and professional repairmen kept canceling on them.
That was the first of many stories I’ve heard tonight, but all of them end in people wanting to help Oliver. My cheeks hurt from smiling so much.
“How is everything holding up?”
A deep voice catches my attention as I come face to face with a very tall and very thick man. He stares down at me with a smile I can barely see past the bush of his beard.
“It’s going great, Mr. Ralston!” I try my best to chirp.
He shakes his head, a scowl forming on his face. I think I’ve messed up when his hand lands roughly on my shoulder. I’m surprised I don’t plummet into the ground. Piper says her dad is a softy, but I’ve also heard from Oliver that he’s also rough to the point that he wanted his daughter to try out for the football team.
“That makes me sound too old.” He barks out a laugh. “Please call me John. My daughter speaks pretty highly of you, and that’s rare for someone she’s just met—especially when it’s not one of those goddamn boys she runs around with.”
“Mr. Ralston—” John arcs a brow. “I mean, John. Thank you so much for the space. I don’t think we’d have half as many people interested if it weren’t for you.”
“I may not say it much, but Oliver is a hard-working kid. He might be reckless from time to time—don’t get me started on when he and Jaxon are in the same room together—but he’s also had a hard life. Most would have expected him just to give up, but he’s here every shift, ready to do anything we need that day.”
Warmth floods my whole being.
John pulls out his wallet. “If I can help, I want to. Just make sure he doesn’t know. Can’t let these boys think I’ve gone soft on them.”
He pulls a few bills out, but before he can hand them to me, Piper comes out of nowhere and snatches the money from her father.
“Told you he’s a big softy!” Piper sings while walking over to Tyler and giving him a quick kiss before dropping the money in the box.
“I better hear nothing about this from them, especially Jaxon. I still don’t like him!”
John walks off toward his daughter, and I find myself sorting through the remnants of the sale. I think after a few of the donations we’ve gotten from people, we might have raised a little over half of the cost needed.
The plan was for me to cover the rest of the cost with the money I got from the Gordons. They didn’t leave me much, but it was enough to cover expenses this summer. The idea of using their money for myself leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, but using it for Oliver is different. He deserves the best.
I take picture frames from the table full of power tools and walk over to the family heirloom table. While all the pictures were removed, I didn’t know how else to organize them. We have a rack of old clothes—mostly my birth mom’s since Damian must have only worn jeans and polos. Christina at least had blouses, dresses, and some heels.
After tidying a few more tables with leftover dishes and books, I rake my hand through the different dresses my birth mom wore. She never really wore them when I was around.
Maybe she started wearing them again when I was out of her hair. My hand pats over the fabric until it runs over something different. There’s a shift near the waist that doesn't feel like just cloth.
My brows pinch together, and my hand searches the area again, feeling another bit of resistance as my fingers glide over it. That’s when I see a pocket stitched within the dress and find a piece of paper inside.
A pit forms in my stomach to the point that I’m surprised my lunch doesn’t fall on the surrounding floor.
The paper shakes in my hand a little more. I should be through with them. The twist in my stomach is from anticipating their words, but also the relief from being one step closer to closing the door on this chapter.
