Legacy

Chapter 11

Rowan stood in front of the door. She didn't want to knock on it, not by herself, but if the man at the college party's mind was telling the truth, then she needed to be as out of sight as possible. She breathed deeply and knocked hard. She could hear words spoken inside the house, getting louder, coming in her direction.

They're here? They can't be. Kiewrath said they were ten minutes away five minutes ago, I—

"Hello" Rowan heard the voice faint, on the other side of the door. She remembered that voice with great affection, but she could not understand why. The voice came back.

"Oh, my god, Kiewrath! Yes, yes, hold on." The door opened to reveal a man unchanged by the years. She remembered him clearly from Adrian's dreams, but she barely remembered interacting with him. He stood in front of her, silent. He put his phone away and stepped aside from the entrance to the house and motioned her to come in. Rowan walked slowly, taking in the modern inside of a house that looked like a gothic manor on the outside. She heard the door click and turned around.

"Uncle Reese? Is that you?"

The man smiled, grey eyes looking back at her. "Yes, Rowan. It's me."

For some reason she didn't understand logically, but knew, she ran into his arms and let go of all the stress and the pain and the surprise and the fear she'd been holding in, trying to be strong for Adrian. She cried, screamed and Reese never let her go. She had forgotten to focus, and her mind was suddenly flooded with images.

Reese and her mom talking, laughing in some beach. Reese and all the other aunts and uncles, talking about things she couldn't understand. Reese touching his mom's belly and kissing her, twirling her around, and...

She broke contact, short of breath. Reese looked confused, and she looked into his eyes again. Understanding dawned on her. Her eyes; his eyes.

"You... I remember you. You're... you're not my uncle."

Reese sighed. "It was best to keep us apart, hun. Kiewrath needed taking care of, and your mom already had Adrian. And of all of us, I'd be the closest they'd watch. I couldn't risk you."

"But—but my mom. And—and dad..."

Reese chuckled. "Rob is a very dear friend. Of both of us. But he always thought of your mother as a sister."

"Wait, so my dad basically gave up his life to watch me?"

Reese shook his head. "I wouldn't say he gave up his life. He's had partners, but our lives tend to be solitary ones, Ro. At some point he got tired of hiding who he was and just... preferred his own company and your mother's, and he never made it far enough with anyone for them to really matter."

Rowan opened her mouth to speak, but the door opened, and she faced it, looking around the room for heavy objects she could throw at whoever came in. She saw Kiwerath and relaxed. All six came in, all six without a scratch. She waited until the door was closed and hugged as many as she could. Anna and Liann were asking questions over each other, and Jacob, John, Adrian and Kiewrath started walking them to the living room; they sat down and continued their conversations. Kiewrath got up and went to the kitchen, where Reese had started putting water in seven glasses. He got close and whispered.

"She's just like me, dad. I'm not alone."

Kiewrath hugged Reese and went back to his cousins. Reese stopped mid-pour, put the pitcher down, and sighed.

This was going to be harder than he thought.