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“What’s wrong with you?” I asked Aiden, shoving him hard in the chest. The man was such a tank, his feet didn’t budge.
“The same thing that’s wrong with you and Theo,” he said.
“You’re a sick fuck,” I said.
Aiden nodded. “I know. That barn is why I bought this place.”
“Why would you want to see that?” I asked. “And from your own backyard, no less.”
Aiden turned from me and stared off at the barn again.
Theo lifted his head, his face pale. “Why?” He forced out between labored breaths.
“Because,” Aiden said, his voice so quiet, I had to lean in to hear. “I wanted to be close to Logan.”
Logan was buried in the Baptist cemetery in Peace Falls, but he’d spent his last night in the barn on Old Man Crawford’s farm. While her grandparents visited friends in Richmond, Crawford’s granddaughter had hosted a final party before everyone scattered to their post-high-school lives.
Aiden kicked the fence post by his foot. “I moved here to be close. Earlier this year, I bought Crawford’s place too.”
“You bought the barn?” I asked.
Aiden nodded.
“So you could knock it down?” Theo asked. Some of the color had returned to his face. Skye licked his hand, and he rubbed her ears.
“No,” Aiden said. “Maybe. I don’t know. I just wanted it. At the rate Peace Falls is growing, it’s only a matter of time before a developer builds subdivisions out here. I figured I ought to snatch it up while I could. Plus, Old Man Crawford needed money. We made a deal that lets him stay in the house as long as he wants.”
“So, you’re going to build a subdivision?” I asked, still confused.
“No,” Aiden snapped. “Hell, no. I like it out here. It’s peaceful. I bought it so no one else would.”
“Because you feel close to Logan here,” Theo said.
Aiden nodded. “I know it seems dumb. It’s not like it’s the football field where we practiced together or any other place in town with so many memories I want to choke. The barn is special. It was the last place our lives made sense.”
Theo nodded. “Still, it’s triggering as hell. I wouldn’t want to look at it every day.”
“Yeah,” Aiden said. “Hurts every time I do.”
“Then why do you?” I snapped. “You give Theo shit for his tattoos and cutting, but what you’re doing is worst. Not to mention, you thought it’d be a good idea to drag us here to suffer with you.”
“Just you,” Aiden said, slapping my shoulder. “Sorry, Theo. I took one look at Cal and knew it was time, but I should have given you a head’s up.”
“I get it, man,” Theo said, standing. He pulled Aiden into a crushing hug, thumping his back.
“Well, I still don’t,” I said, crossing my arms.
“Do you want to tell him?” Aiden asked. “Or should I?”
“I’ll do it,” Theo said. “If he takes a swing at me, hold him back.”
Aiden nodded.
Theo took a deep breath and said, “You can’t run from it anymore.”
“Run from what?” I asked, bending to check Skye’s ears for ticks. I should be home watching a game I hated, not standing in a bug-infested field talking riddles.
“The grief,” Aiden said.
