Chapter 20 - The Unbroken Line
The sun slipped below the western ridge, painting the sky in deep shades of amber, violet, and gold that stretched across the Vermont valley like a banner of fire.
Inside the ranch house, the wood stove was banked low for the evening, casting a gentle, rhythmic glow across the living room floorboards. Paulette was humming softly in the kitchen, her hands moving effortlessly across the low butcher block as she prepared dinner, while Vernon sat in his recliner, listening to the muffled broadcast of a Red Sox game on the radio.
Brett stood on the front porch one last time before heading in for the night, looking out over the dark expanse of the mountain trails. The stars were beginning to punch through the twilight sky, bright, sharp, and countless.
The debt was paid. The ledger was closed. And for the first time in his life, when the night wind swept down off the high peaks, the house didn't even shiver.
A pair of headlights swept across the lower curve of the driveway, slowing momentarily as a silver pickup truck turned around at the gate before heading back down toward the valley. Brett watched the taillights fade into the dark timberline, wondering briefly if it was Caitlyn, or just a lost traveler looking for a way back to the main highway.
It didn't matter. Whoever they were, they were on their own road now.
May you like
Brett turned back toward the warm, brightly lit doorway, his hand sliding easily into his pocket, where the brass keys to a life built on solid ground rested quietly against his palm.
He stepped inside, pulled the heavy cedar door shut behind him, and threw the deadbolt with a solid, resounding *clack*.
