Page 43 of Finding a Melody

“Oh, Dad’s home. I wasn’t expecting that,” Micah said.

“Why?”

“He was supposed to go into the office today. Maybe he changed his mind.”

Once I turned the car off, he jumped out. He waited until I was out to lead the way into the house.

Inside opened into a small foyer with stairs directly in front going up. To the right was a hallway and to the left was a living room with an archway leading into a large kitchen.

“We’re home!” Micah called, grabbing my hand and pulling me through the living room and right into a beautiful country-styled kitchen.

“Oh, honey. How was school? Where is she?” a woman asked as she came in carrying a small cardboard box. The kitchen still had boxes stacked around, but everything was clearly being unpacked.

“Right here, Mom.” Micah pushed me in front of him. I felt like I was being sacrificed with how quickly he did it.

“Cadence. Micah showed me a recent picture, but it really doesn’t do you any justice. You have grown up so beautifully.” She rushed to put the small box down and then pulled me into a hug tight enough to break bones.

The best way to describe Micah’s mom was as a fairy. Everything about her was delicate. Her thin frame, pale skin, but bright blue eyes. She had a small nose and thin lips. Her light brown hair was short, slowly growing out. And there was a nice pink in her cheeks.

She looked healthy, the healthiest I’d ever seen her before.

My eyes watered before I knew it as I returned the hug, realizing that even though I could count on one hand how many times I had seen her in person, that she was still important to me. Micah talked about her a lot, about her health, the pranks she liked to play on her son, her strength. And there had been times when we were on the phone and she’d talk to me long enough to say hi and to ask about my health.

“Where is Dad? I thought he wasn’t going to be home until late tonight?” Micah asked, sneaking around the counter and looking in some of the boxes, pulling out an item here and there and then putting them away.

Bayley Halloway pulled away from me and went over to another box, pulling out cups. “He decided he’s going to go in tomorrow. He wanted to check the property lines with a land surveyor, to make sure he knew where our property ended.”

“He’s being overly cautious again,” Micah said.

“Well, that is your father. He’s not relaxed until he knows exactly what’s going on with everything around him.”

“That isn’t a nice thing to say about me,” a man said, standing by the back door.

Graham Halloway wore a dark blue sweater and jeans. Looking at him, I knew exactly how Micah was going to grow. The two of them were practically replicas of each other, just living in different time periods. Curly dark brown hair cut shorter than his son’s, dark brown eyes, deeply tanned skin. The only difference was that he was much taller and in better physical condition. The man took care of his body.

“I only spoke the truth, babe. So, did you find a secret cave out there? Anyone trying to live on our property? Are there ducks?”

He went over and kissed her cheek. “No ducks. Everything is as it should be. Might do a fence line, keep some of the wild animals out.”

“No bears are going to come and eat me,” she said. “I don’t even think we get bears here.”

“We do,” I answered truthfully. “Especially on the outskirts. There was a sighting not far from here at the beginning of the summer.”

Both men groaned as Bayley looked all too excited about the chance to spot a bear.

“Why would you go and do that?” Graham asked as he came over. “And come give this old man a hug. It’s great to see you again, Cadence.”

I patted his back as he hugged me tightly. “Same. And you aren’t that old.”

“Certainly felt like it as I tried to get out of bed this morning,” he joked. “Let’s sit down and talk. It’s been a couple years since we last saw you.”

“Oh! Micah, grab us drinks. I put water and soda in the fridge already, so grab some of that.” Then Hayley came over and nudged me toward the living room.

We spent the next hour visiting and catching up. I told them about the area, the fun places to go, and the not so good parts.

“I heard there’s a gang here,” Micah said.

“And if you ever come home on a motorcycle, with a jacket and tattoos, you’re grounded until you’re an old man,” Hayley warned.