Lakehouse

Chapter 3

Parker calls a cab to take him to his hotel. When he leaves, I pull a box out from under my bed. All the pictures from college are stored in this box.

Most of them are of the three of us. Chase and Parker were best friends. They were random roommates their freshman year and became inseparable.

When Chase and I met at the beginning of our junior year, I could hardly stand Parker. But over the years we've become close. We had a mutual love - Chase.

Chase loved that Parker and I eventually became friends. It was important to him.

My phone rings and I decide I should answer it. Its Catherine.

"Hey Cath."

"Did you know Parker was in town?"

I continue to flip through pictures. "Mhmm. I just saw him. We bumped into each other in Grant."

"My parents are thrilled to see him."

"I was too. I'm actually going through college pictures right now."

"He's staying at the house. You should come over for dinner."

"I was just over the other night."

"I'll see you at 6." She hangs up.

As much as I want to be alone, being with his family is making this easier. I throw some pictures into my bag to show his mom - she'll love to see these.

On my drive to Barrington, I let myself cry. Hard.

I don't want to cry in front of his family again.

When I pull up, I thank the Lord that Catherine is in the driveway. I didn't want to decide if I should knock or not.

She smiles when I pull up. "Hi."

"Thanks for inviting me." I climb out of the car.

"My mom is excited you guys are here. She cried when Parker showed up on the doorstep."

"I was so surprised to see him."

We walk into the house. Parker smiles at me. "Long time no see."

I chuckle. His mom walks into the room carrying flowers. "The Norbert's sent flowers."

"They're beautiful." Catherine murmurs.

"I hope you guys are hungry!" Todd walks in with a plate of steaks, setting them on the table.

He winks at me. We all fill our plates and sit down at the table, leaving Chase's spot empty.

About halfway through the meal, Jennifer sets down her fork.

"Kameron, we have something we'd like to talk to you about." She says in her soft tone.

I glance at Todd and then Jennifer. "Okay."

Jennifer nods at Todd, reassuringly. Todd smiles at me. "We are thrilled that Chase left you his trust fund and we want you to have the ultimate decision in where it goes. But we would really love for you to use it to expand your bakery."

Jennifer sighs. "You've been talking about this restaurant for so long and you only have the bakery, Chase wanted to help you do it so this seems like the perfect opportunity to use the money on the expansion."

I raise my eyebrows. "I guess I haven't really thought about what I would use the money for. But I do love the idea."

"I think Chase would be happy." Parker mutters.

I smile. "I'll think about it."

Catherine perks up. "And I would really like to invest in the restaurant."