Page 100 of The Sound of Harmony

ChapterTwenty-Six

Kendrick hadn’t been sleeping well all week. It took him half the night to fall asleep and half the morning to wake up again. But he bolted upright at nine o’clock when he heard what sounded like the rumble of Emma’s truck on Cricket Lane.

That was impossible. Emma wanted nothing to do with him. Why would she be here? He closed his eyes again, convinced he’d dreamed the whole thing. But when he heard a truck door slam, he leapt out of bed and raced downstairs with an idiot grin on his face. She was back, she was back, she was—

Across the street.

He stood at the front window and watched Emma make her way up Maude and Murray’s driveway to their front porch. His breath caught in his throat. Please, Emma, look this way. Please.

She turned, but her gaze traveled no farther than the front yard, and then Maude opened the door and she stepped inside.

Kendrick gripped the windowsill and watched her disappear. She was gone. Back to working for herself, running her own business her own way, probably halfway to getting over him.

And maybe, given enough time, he’d get over her, too.

Kendrick spent the morning practicing his flute. He was working on the lower octaves, trying to improve his darker tones. He’d had enough of the harsh, edgy upper register and needed to work on sounding mellower. In the afternoon, he listened to his favorite CDs, drowning out any sounds from across the street. By the time he looked outside again, evening was closing in and Emma’s truck was gone.

Mitch was due at six, stopping by to bring the contract and to place the Bell Real Estate sign in the yard. These last few days had dragged by as he waited for Mitch to prepare the documents, but now it would finally be over. The house was already in show-ready condition and they’d priced it for a quick sale. Packing wouldn’t take long. He still had the boxes from last time stacked in his garage. It would be easy to move out as soon as he found a new place to live.

He ran a hand over the top of his piano, opened and closed the nearby cabinet a few times, and pushed in his dining room chairs. He stood next to the fountain, listening to it burble.

Leaving would be the easiest thing in the world. Nothing to it. Whatever made him think he belonged here, anyway?

Mitch’s arrival was announced by country music playing so loud Kendrick could hear it from inside his house. It cut off with the engine and Kendrick joined his cousin in the driveway.

Mitch handed him a folder of papers, then opened up the tailgate and got out a bright red plastic sign that folded like a sandwich board.

“This is it?” Kendrick asked. He’d assumed that Mitch would come with a big hanging sign and a post-hole digger to get it into the ground, not one of the little ones he used for his open houses.

“I save the big signs for the hard-to-sell properties.” Mitch jerked his thumb toward the house. “I’ll unload this one in a week.”

Kendrick didn’t argue. A week sounded good to him. He opened the folder. The contract with Bell Real Estate was on top, authorizing Mitch to sell his house. All it needed was Kendrick’s signature.

Mitch closed the tailgate of his car. “You know, things always work out for the best.”

“Do they?” Kendrick asked. “Or do things work out the way you make them work out?”

“That’s what I said.”

Kendrick closed the folder and looked up at the house. “I think I understand why Grandmother left me this place.”

Mitch hefted the sign. “That again?”

Kendrick thrust out his chin. “I finally see it. She wanted me to have the experience of selling it. She wanted to force me to let it go. To let her go. To really feel and understand that she was gone. To accept it.”

“She probably didn’t think you’d take this long, but you got there.”

“So it worked out.”

Mitch mock-punched his shoulder. “Told you.”

Kendrick nodded, wondering why doing the right thing felt so wrong. He gazed across the street again, picturing Emma’s truck in the Zelinskis’ driveway. How long would she be working there? Would she see him moving out? Would she come to say goodbye?

Mitch trotted the sign to the midpoint of the sidewalk in front of the property. He moved a few feet into the yard. “Here?”

“Anywhere.” Kendrick tucked the folder under his arm. “This is for the best. I imagine it’s awkward between you and Emma now.”

Mitch looked up at him sharply. “Did she say something to you?”