“Oh,” I chuckled as I focused on Jax. “I’m sorry. I have a habit of getting lost in my head. What were you saying?” I asked, hoping that I didn’t annoy him with my flightiness.
“I was asking if I could get you a glass of water or something before I showed you to your cabin,” Jax repeated.
“That would be great,” I admitted with a smile.
Turning around and heading up the flight of five steps leading to the farmhouse, “You coming?” Jax called over his shoulder. Placing my bags on the porch next to the screen door, Jax opened up the door and waited for me to make my way up the stairs and into the house.
“Do you live here?” I asked as I slowly climbed the stairs and felt a sense of familiarity settle in my soul. Looking around my new surroundings, I tried to figure out why I felt like I was returning home.
“No, I live in one of the guest cabins.” Jax explained as I walked past him and into the house. “Gus! We have company!” Walking past me, Jax led the way through the darkened house toward the sound of Skyye’s giggles.
“Are you scaring the guests?” an older man sitting in a wooden chair at the kitchen table teased. Turning to greet me and Jax, he dropped his glass and stared at me with wild eyes.
“Gina!” he gasped as he grabbed his chest and continued staring at me.
Chapter Ten
I hadn’t heard that name in so long. It was a blast from the past and made me shiver to hear my mother’s name; especially coming from this old man. Looking at the old man sitting across the room, I wondered how he knew that name. Taking a step into the room and really focusing on his old weathered face, I saw a hint of familiarity in him. I could tell that in his younger days, he was a real catch.
“Gus!” Jax and Skyye both exclaimed at the same time, pausing my exploration of Gus. Rushing into the kitchen, Jax ran to the old man and bent down on one knee to check him over. “Say something!” Jax pleaded as he looked up at the old man. Tears were streaming down Skyye’s face as she rushed to her brother’s side. It was clear that this old man meant something to both Skyye and Jax.
Keeping his eyes locked on me, the old man continued to stare at me as if I was a ghost from his past. “Gina,” fell from his lips as he tried to stand up. The tone of his voice was smooth and I knew that I could get used to hearing it. I bet he had tons of stories from his many years on this earth and I suddenly wanted to hear all of them.
“Gus!” Jax called out as he jumped up and reached out for his friend. Trying to get the old man to calm down and breathe, Jax looked from Gus to me and then back to Gus. “I’m going to need you to calm down.” The quiver in Jax’s voice told me that he was really concerned for his friend.
“Gina?” Gus said again, not able to tear his eyes off me. “I’m so sorry!”
“No, my name is Autumn. Autumn Grant,” I said. Not able to move from the spot my feet seemed to lock themselves to, I looked over to Skyye.
“Gina is Gus’ daughter. She left home about thirty years ago and he hasn’t seen or heard from her since,” Skyye explained with tears still streaming down her face. She was still visibly upset and was having a hard time calming down.
“My mother’s name was Gina,” I whispered into the room. The realization of the situation slapped me like a ton of bricks, and I knew why I got the feeling of home when I walked into this place. Jax, Skyye and Gus turned their attention to me. The silence that accompanied their stares was deafening. I instantly felt like an outsider with two heads and wished that I could close my eyes and open them back up in the comfort of my own room with Paige bursting in to check on me. I missed her so much. She would know what to do right now.
“What did you say?” Jax asked, bringing me back to the here and now. His face contorted into something that I had never seen on anyone and didn’t want to see again. I didn’t know if he was angry at me or scared of what was going to come out of my mouth next. “What did you say?” Jax repeated, not taking his eyes off me as he helped Gus sit back down in his chair.
Clearing my throat, I focused my gaze on Jax. I let everyone and everything else fade from the moment and used Jax as an anchor. “My mother’s name was Gina.”
“Gina what?” Jax asked, as he left Gus in Skyye’s care and took a step closer to me.
“Gina Grant,” I said, not recognizing my own voice.
“No! Her name is Gina Arrington!” Gus clarified as he stared at me. “Her name is Gina Arrington.” The tone of Gus’s voice softened as repeated himself. He was right and I didn’t know what to do or say next.
Taking a deep breath as I nodded my head, “Her name was Gina Arrington.”
Chapter Eleven
“Oh, my word,” Skyye whispered as she placed a visibly shaking hand on Gus’ shoulder. Looking at Jax, “I think I need to call the airline and let them know that I won’t be able to make my next flight.”
“I think that is a good idea,” Jax said as he stared at me. “Why are you here?”
“Excuse me?” tumbled from my lips as I felt the tears build up in my eyes and the room start to spin. Reaching out and grabbing the wall to support myself, I willed my tears not to spill down my face or my legs to not give up on me.
“WHY. ARE. YOU. HERE?” Jax repeated with a bit of bite to his words. I watched as the concern for Gus contorted into hatred for me.
“I’m sick,” I said quietly.
Marching over and stopping directly in front of me, “I don’t know what type of game you are playing here, but I am not going to sit back and let you hurt Gus! He is the only family that Skyye and I have left, and I will protect him with my life. I think you need to leave!”
“I...I...I…” I stuttered as my battle with my willpower ended and my tears started flowing down my face.
“Stand down, Jax!” Gus demanded, standing up from his chair. “Look at her! She’s my Gina’s little girl.” Slowly walking across the room, Gus made his way to me. Hesitating for just a second before he threw his arms around me, “She’s one of us.” Feeling this stranger wrap his arms around and embrace me stole the little bit of control over my emotions that I was barely holding on to. I sobbed while he held me tighter and rubbed my back. “Welcome home, Autumn. I’m your grandpa.”
“Gus!” Jax demanded. His anger and frustration were radiating off him and I suddenly didn’t feel safe being in his presence. I needed to put as much distance between him and myself as possible. Taking a step back and breaking Gus’ embrace, I looked up and realized that I was no longer in the kitchen. I was back in the hallway and closer to my goal of freedom. I needed to be away from everyone and process what I had just discovered. I froze when my eyes landed on a picture that was hanging on the wall in the dark hallway. I had seen this picture before, many times in my mother’s photo album. I remember sitting between her legs as a little girl and taking a trip down her memory lane. She would tell me a story about each picture as she greased and braided my thick brown hair. This picture that I was staring at, I remember the last time my mother told me the story that went along with it.