"Damnit!" she screamed as she jumped out of the shower the next morning, her whole body shivering. The water had stayed warm for a couple minutes before it turned icy cold. In all the drama from the day before with the journal, she had completely forgotten the reason she'd been in the garage in the first place. But she was done. Giving up. It was time to call for reinforcements. She reached for her towel and wrapped it around her cold body, and then grabbed her phone and called Kiel.

"Hey there, girl," he said cheerfully after answering the phone on the third ring. She grinned. Kiel's happiness was always infectious. "What's up?"

"Hi," she said, trying to keep her teeth from chattering as drops of water fell from her wet hair to the floor. "Sorry to bug you."

He laughed in her ear. "Who the hell am I talking to? The real Emersyn knows she can call me any time she wants. What's going on, sweetie?"

"Well," she said, throwing a if-looks-could-kill glare at her shower. "I think there's something wrong with my water heater. Every time I try to take a shower, the water only stays warm for a few minutes, and then it freezes me out. Do you think you might be able to fix it for me? I can pay you."

"Okay, now I'm offended," he said. "I can come by this afternoon and check it out for you. But you can't pay me, because I don't take money from family. You know better than that."

She smiled despite the fact that she was still freezing. "You're the best. Thank you."

"Love you," he said into phone. "Be there in a bit."

"Love you too," she replied, and she hit the hangup button.

Emersyn had unblocked her mom's number in the middle of the night, so now in the top corner of the screen, she could see a bunch of unread texts from her mom. But the calls were getting less frequent now. She'd only called once so far that day, and it was almost noon. She still hadn't bothered to listen to her voicemails, and she had no intention of listening to them at all. The love she had for her mom was strong enough to unblock her number, but not strong enough to hear her out at the moment. She needed space, and whether her mom liked it or not, Emersyn was going to take it.

She got dressed and threw her hair back in a messy bun, deciding to let it air dry rather than blow dry it. Then she did her makeup and thought that, after everything that happened the day before, it might be a good day to go for a grounding walk. When she was living with her grandparents before, she would try to do a grounding walk at least once a week. But she'd broken the habit when she moved into the city, mostly because walking around outside barefoot wasn't all that safe with so many people around. But like working out, she always felt good when she'd walked the earth barefoot.

The day was a nice 70-degrees, and there was a light breeze tickling her cheeks. The sun was warming her skin like a blanket, and she knew that just a few days outside would bring out the freckles across the bridge of her nose. She walked all the way to the old park down by her house, and then sat on the swings, closing her eyes and just rocking for a while. It was nice. So peaceful and quiet. Nothing like the city, where everyone was always moving. Never taking a minute to just stop and smell the flowers. She couldn't even remember the last time she'd done this, but she vowed to herself to do it more often now that she'd picked it back up again.

The journal was still in her head, but she was trying to force those thoughts away. Feeling so much anger wasn't good for her. She knew that much. So she wiggled her toes in the grass and sighed, feeling the coolness of the earth beneath her feet and allowing the fury from the day before to seep into the soft green blades. It was relaxing, and she swore to start doing this more often. Maybe work her way back up to once a week. For her, grounding was better than therapy. Nature was her counselor. The sky was her confidant. The breeze was her best friend. She didn't need anything else.

She went back home at around two in the afternoon, thinking that she wished she'd brought a sketchpad with her so she could get some of her emotions out on paper in art form. She considered grabbing one and heading back out, but as she walked up the street to the old, dingy yellow house, she saw Kiel's beat up Ford sitting in the driveway. She picked up the pace a bit, and just as she got to her door and reached to open it, she was startled to find the screen door swinging out at her.

"Oh, shit," a voice she only half recognized said. "Sorry. I didn't see you there." She was stunned for a minute, wondering who this guy was in her house. But then it dawned on her. It was the guy from the graveyard. The one she'd helped read the headstone. "Oh hey!" he said as he seemingly recognized her too.

"Hi?" she said accusingly. "Zeke, right?" He nodded his head enthusiastically. "Right. So... what are you doing here?"

His eyes widened. "I'm here to help fix your water heater. You called for help today, didn't you?"

"I called my Uncle Kiel," she replied, still confused as to why he was in her house.

"Yeah, he's here too," he said, gesturing behind him. "He's inside checking out the water heater. I just came out to get some tools."

She thought back to the breakfast she'd had with Kiel just a couple mornings ago, and then she remembered. "Oh! You're the new hire!" He nodded his head again, and she laughed. He smiled. "I'm sorry. I was just... I saw you in the house, and I just thought... who the heck is this random guy in my house?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, I guess I could see the concern there. I'm sorry if I freaked you out."

"No, no," she said, shaking her head. "It's totally fine. I didn't know you were with Kiel. So he's here too?"

"In the back. I was just running out to grab some things from the truck. You can come in though." She raised her eyebrows. "I mean... of course you can. It's your house. Sorry. Again. I'm just going to... stop talking."

Now she laughed. "It's fine. Really. I still have a hard time believing it's my house. This was my grandma and grandpa's house, but it was willed to me. And... I don't know why I'm telling you all this."

"Glad I'm not the only rambler around these parts," he said with a smile, and there it was again. That southern drawl. She wondered vaguely where he was from. But just as she was about to ask him, she heard footsteps coming from down the hall.

"Hey, Zeke, will you get me the-," he stopped when he saw her. "Oh hey! There you are. You weren't here when we got here, so I just let myself in. Did you meet Zeke?"

She nodded her head. "Yeah, you know, funny thing. We met at the graveyard a couple days ago. I was there visiting, and he was there doing... something?"

Kiel smiled. "Ah yes, the quest. He's told me all about it."

"Quest?" she asked, feeling her eyebrows shoot up toward her hair.

"The quest to find my family," Zeke said, coming back from the truck with whatever it was Kiel needed. "My mom told me once that my dad was buried in that graveyard. Never told me his name or anything though, so I'm just collecting names and seeing if I can find some sort of connection. Hoping that, if I find my dad's name, that I can find his family and reconnect."

"That sounds like a bit of a longshot, doesn't it?" she asked, walking inside the house with them and shutting the door behind her. "I mean, how will you know if it's your dad if you don't even know his name?"

He shrugged his shoulders, handing the tool to Kiel. "I guess I'm just hoping for a miracle," he said with a smile. "But it's definitely taking a ton of research. Just glad that I have a place to stay while I'm doing it."

Kiel disappeared into the back again, and she sat with Zeke on the old couch, dust flying in the air. "Sorry! I spent the day yesterday going through the garage, and haven't had much time to clean the whole house yet. Guess I should probably start with dusting a few things, huh?"

He shook his head and waved his hand. "Don't worry about it. I work with sawdust and paint and other smelly stuff all day. A little dust never killed anyone."

"You know," she said, almost thinking out loud. "After I'm done cleaning up the house and everything, I'm not going to have too much to do. Other than look for a job to keep me going while I'm here." She didn't like the way that sounded. Like she wasn't going to be staying for long. But she shook it off and continued. "So you know, if you want help looking for your dad, I know a lot of the families in this area. My grandpa was the church pastor, and my grandma was really into the town history. She even has some old books about it in the garage. If you want, I might be able to help you."

She had no idea why she was offering her assistance to this guy she barely knew. All she could think about was the journal. Her whole life she'd wanted her mom to be with her, but after reading the journal, it was clear her mom never wanted to be a parent at all. The only family she had left was Kiel, and he wasn't even blood related. Sometimes she felt truly alone in the world. And there was something about this Zeke guy. She just didn't want him feeling that way. If there was something she could do to connect him with his family, then she wanted to do it. Because she wanted it for herself so badly, and she knew it would never happen.

Zeke's eyes lit up, and she felt something like a tickle in her stomach. "Oh wow! Are you sure?" She grinned and nodded her head. "Yes, that would be great! Thank you! I go to the graveyard after work every day. Except Mondays. I'm not in the area on Mondays."

"You're not?" she asked, curious. "Where do you go on Mondays?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Into the city. I have some business I take care of on Mondays in Seattle, so I just stay the night out there. But I always come back on Tuesdays."

"Well, okay," she said. "How about we meet up tomorrow when you get off work? I've got some stuff to do around here anyway. Clearly," she said, gesturing to the dusty coffee table sitting in front of them.

"You also have some stuff to do in town," Kiel said, walking back into the room and wiping his hands on a rag. "Didn't you say something about getting a job in town to help get you by?" She nodded her head and rolled her eyes. "Okay great. Well, you're going to need that job sooner rather than later, because your water heater is totally shot."

"Perfect. Just perfect." She slammed her head on the back of the couch in frustration. More dust flew in the air, and she winced.

Kiel gave her a sympathetic smile. "Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, kiddo."

She gave a heavy sigh. "It's fine. I'll probably just use the money from the estate to replace it." He gave her a disapproving stare. "But I do plan on getting a job. Plus, I'm going to start working on my art again, so maybe I'll be able to sell some pieces for extra money."

"You're an artist?" Zeke asked incredulously. "That's really cool. What kind of art do you do?"

"Oh, a little bit of this and that," she replied. "I work with pottery and acrylics and all sorts of mediums. It just depends on the day." She didn't tell him that she'd left most of her art supplies in Seattle. Or that she'd had to pack only what she could carry when she left. Her heart broke knowing what she'd left behind, and she just hoped her mom wouldn't throw it all away. It was so expensive, and to be honest, it all meant something to her. She never felt quite right unless she was getting her hands dirty with paint or clay or whatever she was working with on any given day. The idea of the tools that helped make her who she was getting tossed out with the weeks old leftovers hurt her soul.

"That is so awesome," he said, beaming at her. She blushed a little, and she hoped Kiel didn't notice. She looked up at him though and saw he was looking at his phone. His face was screwed up. He hit a button on his phone and held it up to his ear.

"Hello?" he asked. There was a moment of silence. And then his face fell a little. He looked at Emersyn, and her stomach dropped. "Sure. One second." He handed his phone out to her and said, in a slightly annoyed tone, "Your mom is on the phone. Says she wants to talk to you."

Chapter Six

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