“What do you mean, what was left in his care?” Aiden asked, slightly confused. She knew from the note that there was some story awaiting her, but even though Edward had passed, she figured whatever it was had died with him. TJ cleared his throat and came to a stop outside a heavily locked door. “Before he passed the torch to me, my father informed me of a few client files that had some… extra requirements attached to them. You were expected to turn up years ago, according to what is in his notes. Bill died under… unusual circumstances, you see. Maybe even suspicious ones. So when you didn’t, and no one else came calling, my father wrote down his account of Bill’s story and put it together with a file he kept under lock and key… Until today, I guess,” he finished up before unlocking the heavy door and pushing it open. “I’ll have to ask you to wait out here before we head to your deposit box.”Aiden was speechless, barely registering that Mitch had taken hold of her good hand while eye
Stacks of deposit books, some old-looking certificates, and a small, leather-bound journal greeted her gaze. Under the journal were a few small velvet jewelry boxes. Aiden felt her brow furrow before she looked up, confused, and opened the journal. The same scrawling hand from her grandfather’s note covered the pages and she quickly glanced over the contents. Like the letter, it was addressed to her. She thumbed through a few pages while Mitch stood by, patiently waiting for it to dawn on her just what everything in there meant. “It’s… wow. It’s basically a long letter to me about his life and how he met Nan…” She smiled. “It’s actually really beautiful to hear all this from his perspective.” One line in particular caught her eye and her gaze widened just so. “Well. That’s how he knew my name,” she said with a slightly emotion-choked voice. “My parents let him pick it.”She smiled up at him with just a hint of tears shining in her eyes and he drew her in for a soft kiss at that momen
A small smile played on her lips as she found herself getting lost in her grandfather’s words, the scenes playing in her head as he retold the story of the night he met Adelaide. She was almost giggling out loud by the time Mitch came back with the drinks. She looked up with a smile and the relief washed over him to see it. “What did you end up picking?” she asked with growing curiosity. “Grown up variety dirty vodka martinis,” he replied with an answering grin. “Perfection,” she said with a happy sigh and moved over so he could drag his chair to sit beside her. “Look. It’s his version of the night he met Nan,” she said, pointing at the start of the story. Mitch settled in close beside her to read, laughing every now and then at Bill’s colorful language and masterful turns of phrase - ‘rat bastard’ was one that stuck out at him, and an echo of Bill’s voice saying that exact thing sounded off in the depths of his memories. “From what I remember, he was quite the character,” he said
“Ughhh, do we have to?” Aiden asked on an exaggerated whine, an arm thrown over her eyes as she kicked the sheets away from her bare form. Mitch had pulled out and rolled off of her to check the text messages that had piled up in the last half hour or so and she let out a sigh as he nodded and returned to her side.One strong hand slid up the length of her torso to cup a breast and she shivered in delight. Only moments ago, he had all but had her screaming the house down in pure ecstasy during a sultry, hard and fast tumble in the bed while they waited for Jessie and Jacob to decide where they wanted to go that night. “‘Fraid so. We’re all booked for Cuvee tonight.”“Leave it to Jessie to pick a wine bar when she can’t even drink,” she giggled softly.“Well, in all fairness, they do have pretty good food now,” he said, joining in on the laughter. “She must be craving something in particular is my only guess.”Aiden shook her head and rubbed lazily at her eyes. “I’ll trust her judgment
It all started with a social media post:'Hey Pebble Point, I’m down for the day! HMU.' --------------------- It wasn’t often Aiden came home anymore. In the handful of years following her graduation from college, many of her friends had scattered from their tiny seaside town and onto brand-new paths. She’d certainly done the same after her Nan had passed away, only too eager to escape that heartbreak and dive into adulthood and adventure in the heart of her favorite City. Nan had raised her since toddlerhood after she lost her parents and, though her roots were and always would be there in Pebble Point, all sense of ‘home’ seemed muted, fading, the longer she spent away. Gone into the ground with those she loved best, and into the wind with everyone and everything she missed most. It was that much easier to justify being away when her life and career were taking off, leading to all the new experiences she’d craved throughout her teenage years. Still, despite getting away from her
“Aagghhh!” She immediately ran the tap again and stuck her hand under the cold flow of water, trying and failing to see if she needed anything more than a bandaid. Her uninjured hand made a grab for the lip of the sink to steady herself - barely - as she closed her eyes for a grounding moment. The sight of her own blood instantly made her wobbly and nauseated, just like always, and it was only this that distracted her from immediately looking up to see who’d unexpectedly joined her. Suddenly, that bacon-egg-n-cheese wasn’t sitting so nicely anymore.“Whoa! Sorry, Aiden!” came a familiar, deep voice, usually booming with good cheer but now strained with concern. “Shit, I didn’t mean to scare you, I’m really sorry,” he continued, reaching for a wad of paper towels, his usually mischief-filled aquamarine eyes crinkled at the edges with worry. A strong hand wrapped around her arm as she swayed, before Mitch gently guided her to the kitchen table to sit. “Whoa, whoa… easy there, I got you
"So… if you're up for it, wanna come with me?" He glanced at his watch before returning his gaze to hers. "Gotta go in a few to make it on time, either way." But his tone was anything but nonchalant, even hopeful if Aiden was honest. A slow smile crossed her lips and she shoved an errant lock of hair from her face, already feeling a little flicker of excitement at the prospect of spending some solo time with Mitch, as well as seeing Jessie again. It hadn’t been too long; Jessie had dropped in for a weekend a few months before, and Aiden had visited her in Chicago a few months before that. Jessie and her parents were only a few of those she’d stayed consistently in touch with. But it was the first time they were both back home at the same time in ages and, combined with the hours-long ride before her, it was a no-brainer. “I’d love to.” She stood up slowly, making sure her lightheadedness had passed, only to find he’d already stood and taken her arm anyway. “Easy,” he urged, making s
"Gosh, well… there are a lot of them flying around in there right now. But I guess I'm mostly thinking about how much everything's changed and how, for the first time, it's really hitting me. Them selling the house sort of… sends that feeling home."He nodded. "If it's any consolation, I don't think they're ready to do that just yet. They're just feeling out plans, you know? And besides… if they do decide to sell, I'm probably the one who's going to take it on." "You're really planning on staying here then? I have to say, I'm surprised, but I'm not mad about it."He laughed, giving a little shrug. "You know, it surprised me, too. I didn't start out thinking I'd end up back home, but somewhere in the middle of my residency, I started getting real homesick. Not just for my family, but for all of it. The town, the beach, just… even knowing it wasn't the same, I wanted to be back here. So, I did something kind of 'out there' and took some psychic advice. The girl I was sort of, well, ser