Summer, Year 3, Month 6

The kids had long ago been put to bed. Reeve had offered to stay downstairs and wash the dishes so Kathy could take them all up. With Benjamin passed out on his shoulder, Rhys followed Kathy upstairs and left Reeve alone for the first time all evening.

She was grateful for the mindless activity of washing dishes, the repetitive motion, the scalding water. The day had turned out pleasant enough but too many things were so different and yet eerily the same, Reeve found herself simultaneously overwhelmed and extremely nostalgic. Dinner had gone well. Kathy was an excellent cook and her dad was still a master at the grill.

If she had closed her eyes, with the warm summer breeze and the smell of charcoal wafting her way, she would have been transported back to her mom's house, the summer before she turned eleven, the summer before her Dad left them to move to New York.

Luckily, the kids' constant energy and chatter kept the mood light and Reeve's mind focused on something other than the tidal wave of emotions threatening to overtake her. Her half-sister, Zoe, did her best keeping the conversation moving, her questions multiplying on themselves with every simplified answer Reeve managed to give her. Emma added in stories of her own, everyone quieting down when she spoke so she could be heard. Reeve found herself leaning in when her youngest half-sister spoke as her words came out soft but she always had something worthwhile to say.

Benjamin bounced happily on who's ever knee was available, grabbing for whatever food was in front of him until he snuggled into Kathy's arms and fell asleep. Reeve held him for a while until his constant tugging on her long hair started to verge on violence.

If someone had viewed their dinner scene from the outside, they would have seen a happy, healthy American family. And yet Reeve felt surrounded by strangers.

She hadn't lagged behind long enough and could hear soft murmurs coming from Emma and Zoe's bedroom down the hall when she climbed the stairs. The low glow peeking through the cracked door coupled with the warm tones of a family nighttime routine kept Reeve from going into her room, her hand hovering over the doorknob for a long pause.

At the sound of Kathy and Rhys coming out, saying their final good nights, Reeve opened her door and shut it behind her. Kathy paused by Reeve's room on her way past, calling out a hushed 'Good night' that Reeve responded to in kind.

She changed into her pajamas for something to do and sat at the edge of the bed with her knees tucked up beneath her chin. It was Dani's room, unofficially. Yet another house where Dani stored clothes and stayed at occasionally. It was officially the guest room, as the simple decorations, verging on plain, even bland, would have told you. The pillows looked hard and the bed uninviting. It was too hot for all the blankets so Reeve settled for laying on top, hoping without conviction for a chance at sleep.

It didn't come. She knew better than to expect it after a while. Her mind couldn't quiet down. For at least an hour, it pulled up images from her past and compared them to images she had seen that day. Even her mother's living room, the layout, the décor, the homeyness of it all, was put side-by-side next to the perfectly fine home Kathy had created. Reeve couldn't help remembering how it used to be and compare it to how it was now.

Her parents were the same age. But Kathy was only fifteen years older than Reeve. Her half-siblings would grow up with an older dad. Reeve could remember Rhys teaching her how to ride a bike down their quiet neighborhood streets, running right alongside her while she learned to pedal on her own.

Reeve climbed out of bed as her thoughts reached a manic velocity. Fresh air was calling to her and the small amount that floated through her open window was not enough.

Peaking out the doorway, she found the hallway empty, even the cracks around the door leading to her dad's room gone dark. Moving slowly and quietly, she inched down to the hallway to keep from waking any of the kids but halted when a reflection caught her eye.

Retracing her steps, Reeve stopped in front of the room right next to hers, right before the stairs. Moonlight was pouring in through a wide window facing the front lawn and illuminating what looked to be an office. Reeve pushed the cracked down open further. She found what had caught her eye immediately. Across the room, resting in its stand, was her father's dark red electric guitar. Reeve hadn't seen it in years but would have known it anywhere.

Entering the room all the way, Reeve found an upright piano standing next to the guitar, a replica of another relic from her childhood. It was the same make and model as the piano still sitting in her mother's living room, the piano Rhys had taught Reeve to play on.

Reeve ran her hand along the top of the piano, pulling her hand back when it swept across a thick layer of dust. Wiping her hands on her shorts, Reeve crouched down to run her hand along the frets of the guitar. Rhys had started her out on an acoustic, one she was sure he still had somewhere and wondered for a second where he kept it. But still, the strings of the electric guitar felt familiar against her finger pads.

Moonlight lit up dust mots that floated into the air as Reeve inspected the instrument. She caught sight of a line dust along where the neck met the body and turned away from the sight, her heart constricting.

She closed the door almost all the way behind her, afraid even the lightest click would rouse someone. She floated down the stairs and through the living room, hurrying through the kitchen for the sliding glass doors that would lead out to the deck. With the house securely closed up behind her, Reeve crossed the wide deck, avoiding the orderly set of outdoor couches and the picnic table where they'd had dinner. They were made to seat many people and facilitate conversation. Reeve was by herself and wasn't looking for conversation.

It was hard to be there, in her father's new house, reconnecting with his new family, and not think of her mom. Molly Keller glowed in Reeve's mind, her smile an almost permanent fixture on her soft face. It made it hard to like Kathy with her mother constantly on her mind. And yet, she did like Kathy. She was sweet and smart and so loving towards her kids and Rhys. Reeve knew her mother would want Reeve to get to know Kathy.

Reeve knew what her mom would say if she was there with her. But she never would be. This is the one place in the world Molly Keller would never go.

"She's a part of your family now, Olivia," Reeve could hear her mom say. "She deserves a chance to prove herself. The least you can do is let her."

Reeve let in a deep breath of the fresh night air. Letting it out slowly, she counted back from ten. Crickets were filling the air with their quiet chirping. A few fireflies hovered over the pool that took up most of the backyard. What wasn't water was bright green grass and a playground Reeve could tell was worn and well-loved.

She turned at the sound of the sliding glass door opening. Rhys stepped from the shadows of the house and gave her a silent nod as he closed the door behind him. His bare feet padded across the wood planks and he came to sit by Reeve without invitation. The stairs were wide enough that there still lay inches between them but it was the closest Reeve had sat near her dad in years.

"Hey," he whispered.

"Hi."

"Couldn't sleep?"

Reeve shook her head. Rhys nodded.

"Yeah. Me neither."

Their words were barely even whispers.

"Thanks. For coming out. I'm glad you could make it."

It was Reeve's turn to nod.

"I'm glad I did. The house is nice, by the way. Bigger than your last one."

"With Ben on the way, we had to find more room."

"Makes sense."

A long pause extended between them as they let the crickets fill the silence.

"He's adorable, by the way. I don't think I ever said congratulations."

Rhys smiled, looking down at his hands to hide the pride that had raced to his face.

"He's a keeper for sure."

Reeve thought about the four daughters Rhys had had to have to finally get that son he always wanted. He had never mentioned his disappointment of not having had a son first but Reeve wasn't stupid. She had known for years. And now he did have a son. She was surprised to have learned that he didn't name Benjamin after himself as he had always planned. But then again, she was the one he had named after himself. The old family name had been passed down through her.

"Are you back for good?"

Reeve thought for a moment to find the simplest answer to that surprisingly complicated question.

"I'm back for now."

"Are you staying at your mother's house these days?"

"No. I, um, I bought a house. A few months ago. Pretty much right after I moved back."

"Ah."

Even in the dark, Reeve could see a million questions fill her dad's eyes but she knew he would never let himself ask even the ones he was most curious about.

"Are you near your mom or-"

"In the city."

"Which neighborhood?"

The answer to that one question would answer so many of the others he had. Reeve had to take a breath as it brought up a sticky subject.

"Back Bay."

Reeve could see price points race through her dad's mind as he shrank back from the conversation. She tried picking it up where he had let it drop, trying to keep it moving forward, away from the subject of money.

"Kathy mentioned something about piano lessons for Zoe."

"Yeah. We're hoping it'll help focus some of her energy. She's so excitable and energetic. It's great, don't get me wrong. I'm just hoping if we find something she likes, something she wants to work hard at and accomplish, she'll become a bit more focused."

"Are you going to be teaching her?"

Reeve almost mentioned the piano upstairs but shut her mouth at the thought of the thick layer of dusk it had accumulated.

"Uh, no. I'm not. We're working on finding someone."

They had hit another snag in their conversation, another touchy subject that both silently let drop. But sitting talking with her dad was less awkward than sitting and not talking with her dad.

"How's work? Are you still at Rochester State?"

"Just got tenure last fall."

"Congratulations. What classes are you teaching nowadays?"

"We're off for the summer. But still music appreciation and a few others."

Reeve nodded, a flash of her dad at her elementary school teaching a group of fifth-graders how to play the recorder racing to the front of her mind.

"But we've added a more advanced version of the History of Music. It's for people who want a more in-depth look at classical music. And then, of course, I'm still doing advanced guitar and jazz band."

"Okay. Cool."

She had a quick thought of students entering his class for the first time and finding someone who looked like her with a name almost as similar. Phonetically they were only one letter off, Reece Keller versus Reeve Keller. And she shared his same looks while Dani took after their mom.

The thought of a hoard of confused college kids struck her as funny somehow and she let out a little laugh.

"What?"

Reeve shut it down quickly, shaking her head.

"Oh. Nothing. Sorry."

Reeve didn't have any else to say. She feared another lag was on the horizon and she didn't have the energy to force the conversation any further if it wasn't going to propel itself. The empty guest room was starting to seem a viable option when her father asked her a question.

"And what about you? How's your, um, how's, you know... How's work?"

It looked like it pained him to ask. They had never broached the subject of her job since she had told him she had gotten signed so many years ago. It was the ultimate tense topic between them.

Rhys shifted so he was leaning against the railing the encircled the deck. He was looking right at her and genuinely interested to hear what she had to say if a little awkward.

"Well, um, you know, work is work."

Rhys nodded. Reeve kept going.

"It has been a bit of a challenge recently. I, um, I've got this deadline for my next project and I keep having to push it back. My boss isn't too happy about that."

"Is that why you moved back? To work? I would have thought everything you needed would be in California."

"Theoretically, yes. And my boss would agree with you on that. But I found it difficult to work out there. It was... not going well for a while. I just needed some space. Home seemed as good a place as any."

"But all your equipment, everything that goes into... into a project like that..."

He was trying really hard and Reeve had to give him points for that.

"I have it. Everything, on this coast. There's a studio I, um, acquired a few years ago and it's been furnished with everything I need to work. I even brought out my producer. He moved out with me."

At the words 'studio' and 'producer', Reeve could see her dad withdraw an inch. They had been talking in vague terms. She could have been an insurance adjuster for all anyone knew if they had been listening in on their conversation. Reeve wished she hadn't said it but Rhys pushed through.

"Are you going to be able to complete your project?"

"Honestly? I'm not sure."

"What happens if you don't? If you can't?"

"Then I would have to pay my boss a lot of money. I would be free of him and done forever but..."

"But you wouldn't have finished what you set out to do."

Reeve nodded. She was looking at her toes, speaking to the warm grass that tickled her feet.

"Are you considering paying him the money and leaving for good?"

Reeve shrugged.

"Maybe. There were... times... when it felt like the only option I had."

"But you're not going to."

It wasn't a question. It was almost a command but Reeve found herself agreeing with him.

"No. I'm not going to."

Rhys nodded and smiled, the first Reeve had caused all night.

"Good. You've been given an extraordinary opportunity. You'd be a fool to take it for granted. I didn't raise you like that."

His words rang true if Reeve looked past the hints of old wounds and bitterness hiding behind them. But they felt unsolicited, awkward, inappropriate since he had left Molly to raise Dani and Reeve when they were eleven and eight.

But Rhys had given Reeve the gift of music. And for that, she would always be in his debt.

A/N:

Another one of the earliest scenes I wrote. And one of my favorites. It really helped me shape what this book was going to be.

The emotional subtext. It's just *chef's kiss*.