“It’s good that they’re still so close.”
“Yeah, I think my dad was disappointed when she got her own place, but she needs to be able to move on with her life, and living with your deceased fiancé’s father doesn’t make that easy.”
“I can imagine there would be a level of awkwardness if she brought home a boyfriend.”
“Exactly.”
We’re not even out of the car, and the front door swings open and a little boy who looks to be about six years old comes racing across the driveway. Aaron crouches down and stretches his arms out. Jamie launches himself at him, and Aaron lands on his butt and rolls backward. “You’re getting so strong you knocked me right over! You must be eating all your vegetables!”
“I get to see you two weekends in a row, Unca A-A! I love birthdays!”
Aaron stands up with Jamie still wrapped around him like a koala bear. “That makes two of us, little man. I barely even had time to miss you.”
“I know! And I loved coming to visit you! The lake is so fun. Do you think I can come back again soon, even though it’s not my birthday anymore?”
“We can definitely make a plan for that.” Aaron sets Jamie back on the ground but happily takes his hand. “Do you want to meet my girlfriend?”
“Yay! Mommy said you might bring her!”
“I did, and she’s pretty excited to meet you.”
I get out of the car and smile down at the little boy who looks so much like his uncle. “Hi, Jamie, I’ve heard so much about you. I’m so glad I get to meet you! I’m Teagan.”
He ducks his head, suddenly shy. “Hi, Teagan. You’re even prettier in real life.”
I laugh. “Well, thank you, and you’re even more adorable in person!”
“Unca A-A has lots of pictures of you on his phone. Probably more than he has of me.” Jamie’s eyes are wide, and he’s grinning.
“Ah, come on, man, don’t go throwing me under the bus like that.” The tips of Aaron’s ears turn red.
“I don’t see a bus.” Jamie shrugs and takes my hand. “Come on, I want to introduce you to my mommy and Grampy.”
I glance over my shoulder and smile at Aaron, who shakes his head and hits the release button on the trunk before retrieving our bags. He packs light. Backpack light. Jamie has no intention of waiting for Aaron; instead he pulls me along and bursts through the front door.
“Unca A-A is here, and he brought his girlfriend!”
More than one set of footsteps can be heard coming down the hall from different directions.
“You must be Teagan.” The woman I saw on the dock last weekend doesn’t offer me her hand, instead pulling me in for a hug. “I can’t tell you how great it is to meet you. Aaron can’t say enough wonderful things about you. Thank you for coming. I know how much it means to him.”
“Thank you for inviting me. It’s so wonderful to meet you too.” I want to tell her I’ve heard all kinds of great things about her, but last week was the first I’d heard of her existence, so that would be a lie.
Aaron’s father comes down the stairs, and I can see exactly where Aaron gets his height and broad shoulders from. Aaron looks very much like his father. Just like Lydia, he hugs me instead of shaking my hand. “It’s so great to meet you. I had hoped that Aaron would bring you along one of these times.”
“It’s wonderful to meet you, too, sir. You have a lovely home.”
“Just call me Arnie, and this place is getting to be far too big. I keep telling Aaron he should subdivide his property and let me build my own little cabin so I can retire up there.”
Aaron snorts a laugh. “Little cabin my a—butt. You’ll build some monster home and steal all my afternoon sun on the dock. Besides, I don’t live on the right side of the lake for the kind of place you’d want to build, and I can’t subdivide my property. I can set up a nice tent trailer for you, though.”
Arnie shrugs and gives me a wink. “Guess I’ll have to look at some listings and see if I can’t find my own slice of heaven out there on Pearl Lake.”
Aaron and his dad are quickly pulled away by Jamie, who wants to show them his new LEGO set.
“Are you okay for a bit?” he murmurs, kissing my temple.
“Of course. I’ll help with lunch, and then we’ll join you.”
“Jamie’s a LEGO fiend,” Lydia explains. “He’s been waiting for Aaron to get here so they can start the new project.” She calls out after Aaron’s retreating form, “And I’m warning you now that it’s probably going to take up a good chunk of your afternoon.”
Less than ten seconds later his head appears around the corner. “Fifteen hundred pieces? He’s freaking six.”
“It says twelve and up. Between the two of you, you should be able to manage.”
Aaron purses his lips and gives her an arched brow.
“You pretend to be put out, but we both know you love LEGO as much as he does.”
“Come on, Aaron, Jamie’s already opened the first two bags,” Arnie calls out.
“What? No! One bag at a time!” Aaron disappears into the living room.
Lydia reaches out and gives my hand a squeeze. “I know I’ve already said this, but I’m so glad you came this weekend. Aaron has been on his own for a long time, and it’s so nice to see him putting himself out there again. It’s like you breathed new life into him.” Her eyes fill, and she shakes her head. “Oh my gosh. I promised him I wouldn’t do this.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t tell.” I wink and give her what I hope is a reassuring smile.
“Thank you. You know, he puts on this amazing front, but I can see the difference you’re making in his life. This is the happiest I’ve seen him since we lost Devon.” She stops arranging crackers on the tray. “They were so close. Losing him was hard for all of us, but especially for Aaron, because he blames himself for what happened.”
This is what I’ve been hoping for—insight into Aaron from someone who knows him better than I do. I glance toward the living room. I can hear Jamie chattering away and Aaron’s words of encouragement. “Can I ask about that?”
“Aaron hasn’t told you?” Lydia’s expression shifts to sadness.
I shake my head and drop my voice. “He said hypothermia, but that was it. I just found out about all of you last week.” I explain what happened to precipitate my coming here.
“Oh. I had hoped he’d made the conscious choice to tell you.” She leans against the counter. “Aaron has a lot of guilt over how Devon died. There are a lot of layers to him, and to the situation, starting with the way he was raised and what he believed about his dad. I know his mother was just trying to protect herself, and it was a complicated situation, but Aaron was the one who lost out, and Arnie.”
Lydia glances over her shoulder. “Aaron came with us on a family vacation during winter break of his senior year. We’d spent the day skiing and then came back and hung out in the hot tub. Arnie was already in bed, and I was exhausted. Devon and Aaron were thick as thieves. They could stay up all night talking, and I knew if I stayed up any later, I’d have a terrible time getting up to ski in the morning.