Come Back for Me (Arrowood Brothers #1)(3)

Chapter Two


Connor





“And now that’s over,” Declan says as he stares down at the hole in the ground where the casket rests. The graveyard is old with a few headstones that are still broken from the bonfire night where we all were idiots.

It’s quiet, and the smell of farming fills the air. A bit of manure, a bit of smoke, and a lot of regrets. I thought I would feel better now that he’s dead, but all I feel is anger.

“Not completely,” Sean reminds us. “We still have to figure out what to do with the farm and the land.”

“Burn it,” I say without feeling. Being back here makes me itch. Even with him dead, I still feel as if he’s watching, judging, and preparing to raise his fists. Hell, it still feels as if the secrets we’ve kept because of him are trying to choke me.

“Connor has a point. Although, it would make me feel better if the old man were still in it when we set it on fire,” Jacob tacks on.

I agree. My father used to be a good man. He loved his boys, his wife, and his farm, giving everything he was to each one. Then my mother died and we lost both parents.

Gone was the kind, fun, and hardworking man who taught me how to ride a bike and fish. Instead, he became a hollow drunk who used his fists to speak his rage.

And boy was he angry.

At everyone. At everything. Mostly, at my brothers and me for reminding him of the woman he loved and God took way too soon. As if we weren’t grieving the loss of the most wonderful mother who ever drew breath.

Dec shakes his head. “This is the only thing the bastard left us, and it’s worth millions. It’s also where Mom’s ashes are scattered. We’re going to be patient, like we’ve been, and sell it. Unless one of you wants it?”

“Hell no.” I don’t want a damn thing to do with it. I want it out of my life so I never have to come back to Sugarloaf again.

Everyone else grunts in agreement.

“Well, we’re all going to have to meet with the lawyer sometime this week, and then we sell the fucking thing.”

I have no doubts Dec has already pulled strings to get us the hell out of here as quick as possible. Just like the rest of us, he has a lot he wants to avoid in this town, which won’t be possible if we’re here more than a day.

The four of us pile into Sean’s car and head back to the house, but as soon as we get to the entrance, the car stops.

The wooden pillars with the sign overhead and our last name burned into the wood is aged, but still standing strong. I try not to remember my mother’s voice, but the memory comes too strong and too fast and I’m eight years old again.



“Now, what is one truth about an arrow?”

I groan as her brow lifts and she waits for the answer. “Mom, the new Nintendo game is at home, and I want to play.”

“Then you best answer me, Connor. What is one truth about an arrow?”

I saved money from my last birthday, but it wasn’t enough so I had to borrow money from Jacob for the game. He’s so mean, he made me do his chores for six months, but now I have the new Mario. All I want to do is play. I don’t care about the arrow.

She puts the car in park and crosses her arms. Mom used to be my favorite.

“Why do we have to say this each time?” I ask.

“Because it’s important. Family is what matters in this life, without that, you have nothing. When we cross this threshold, we’re back home. We’re with those who love us and this, my sweet boy, is where you will always belong.”

My mama is the best person I know, and as much as I want my Nintendo game—and I really want it—I want to make her happy more. I like making Mama happy.

“You can’t take a shot until you break your bow,” I grumble, hating that this is one fact she makes me recite.

She smiles. “That’s right. And why is that important?”

“Mooooom,” I whine because the game is calling me.

“Don’t, Mom me,” she tsks. “Why is it important?”

“Because if you don’t break the bow, you’ll never go forward, and an arrow was meant to forge ahead.”

Her eyes fill with love and happiness as she stares over at me. “That’s right, and you were meant to go places. Now, let’s go to the house to see if your brothers have left it standing.”

“And I get to play my game.”

Mom laughs. “Yes, and that—after your chores.”



“I can’t do it,” Sean admits as he stares at the dirt driveway.

One by one, my brothers left this place, and each of them took shifts coming back until I was old enough to leave as well. They protected me in a way I couldn’t appreciate at the time. Jacob delayed going to college by a year to make sure Sean could play ball and I wasn’t alone with Dad as much. Sean would take me to games, making sure I got out of the house once in a while after Jacob left. Declan went to college but spent his summers back at the farm, ensuring he could shield me from Dad’s fists whenever possible.

He looks the most uncomfortable, but he’s also the strongest willed of us all. “What is one truth about an arrow?” Dec chokes the words out, and I close my eyes.

Mom. What would she think of us now? Would she understand why we all left this place? Did she see the hell he put us through and what we became because of his choices?