Chapter 1: The Homecoming

Chapter 1: The Homecoming

The scent of pine and wet earth hit me as soon as I stepped out of my rental car, a flood of memories washing over me like the summer rain that had just passed through Pine Ridge. Twenty-five years, and this place still smelled exactly the same. I wasn't sure if that was comforting or suffocating. My fingers lingered on the car door, as if holding onto the last piece of my carefully constructed life in Seattle.

The old maple tree still dominated the front yard, its branches reaching toward a sky that seemed impossibly big compared to the urban landscape I'd grown used to. How many nights had I spent beneath that tree, dreaming of escape? Now here I was, finally escaped but dragged back by duty and death.

My boots crunched on the gravel driveway of my childhood home, each step feeling heavier than the last. The white paint was peeling now, the porch swing Mom loved so much listing slightly to one side. She'd always meant to get that fixed. Now she never would. The last time we spoke, just three weeks ago, she'd mentioned wanting to repaint the house. "Summer green," she'd said, "to match the trees." I'd promised to help her pick out the color when I visited for Christmas. Another promise I wouldn't get to keep.

"Mr. Mitchell?" A voice called out from next door. Mrs. Henderson, her hair now completely silver, waved from her garden. "Caleb, is that really you?"

I forced a smile, knowing the next few days would be full of these encounters. "Yes, ma'am. It's me."

"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry about Katherine. Your mama was the sweetest soul in Pine Ridge." She started walking toward the fence that separated our properties, and I could see the questions forming behind her eyes. The same ones I'd been dreading since I got the call about Mom's heart attack.

Are you still living in Seattle? Did you ever marry? Why didn't you visit more often?

The last one stung the most because she'd never understand. How could I explain that every street corner in this town held a memory that cut like broken glass? That the thought of running into him had kept me away for all these years? That every time Mom asked me to come home for Christmas or Thanksgiving, my courage failed me?

"Thank you, Mrs. Henderson," I managed, keys jingling in my trembling hands. "I should probably head inside. Lot of arrangements to make."

"Of course, dear. Let me know if you need anything. I made a casserole – I'll bring it over later." Her voice carried the weight of years of neighborhood watchfulness, and I could already imagine the phone calls spreading through town: Katherine Mitchell's son is back. The one who left. The one who never married.

The house key still stuck slightly, requiring that familiar upward jerk to turn. Mom never did get that fixed either. The door creaked open, and the silence inside hit me like a physical force. No smell of coffee brewing, no sound of her humming while she worked on her crossword puzzles. Just still air and dust motes dancing in the afternoon light streaming through the windows.

I dropped my bag by the stairs, my footsteps echoing on the hardwood floors as I moved through the house. Everything was exactly as I remembered, frozen in time like some sort of museum dedicated to my past. Family photos lined the walls – carefully curated snapshots that told a story Mom wanted to see. Me at graduation, at college, at my first job in Seattle. What wasn't shown spoke volumes: no wedding photos, no grandchildren, no partner standing beside me. Just the steady progression of a son growing more distant with each passing year.

In the kitchen, a note sat on the counter in Mom's flowing handwriting: "Caleb, if you're reading this..." I couldn't bring myself to pick it up. Not yet. Instead, I grabbed a glass from the cabinet and filled it with tap water, trying to ignore how my hand shook as I lifted it to my lips.

The water tasted different here – mineral-rich and sharp, nothing like the filtered stuff I was used to in Seattle. It transported me instantly to summer nights spent by the creek, stolen moments and whispered promises that seemed so absolute then. God, I'd been so young, so certain that love could conquer anything. Now, at forty-three, I knew better. Love might conquer all in fairytales, but in small towns like Pine Ridge, it got crushed under the weight of tradition and expectations.

My phone buzzed in my pocket – probably Marcus, my business partner, checking if I'd arrived safely. He'd offered to come with me, but this was something I needed to do alone. Face my past, bury my mother, sell the house, and leave Pine Ridge behind for good this time.

The phone buzzed again, and this time I pulled it out. Not Marcus – Dad. "Dinner at 6," the message read. "We need to talk about the arrangements." Short and to the point, just like always. Even Mom's death hadn't softened his edges.

I leaned against the kitchen counter, feeling the cool granite against my palms. Mom had been so proud when they'd finally renovated the kitchen five years ago. I'd helped her pick out the countertops over FaceTime, one of the many ways I'd tried to be present while staying safely distant.

But as I stood in that kitchen, watching the sunset paint the walls the same shade of amber as his eyes used to be in the right light, I knew it wouldn't be that simple. You can't just pack away twenty-five years of ghosts in a few cardboard boxes. They linger in the spaces between heartbeats, in the shadows of familiar rooms, in the taste of water from the tap you grew up drinking.

The funeral was tomorrow. And in a town this small, there was no chance of avoiding him. Ethan would be there – probably with his wife, maybe even grandchildren by now. The thought made my chest tighten in a way that had nothing to do with grief for Mom.

I took another sip of water, letting the familiar taste ground me in the present. I was forty-three now, not eighteen. A successful architect, not a scared kid trying to hide who he was. I could handle seeing him again.

I had to.

The lie tasted bitter on my tongue, but I swallowed it down with the last of the water. Tomorrow would come whether I was ready or not. For now, I had a letter to read and a lifetime of memories to face in this empty house that no longer felt like home.