Harper's Hill, Chapter 14: A Bitter Winter Visit

As if Winter wasn't cold enough, Harper's Hill welcomed the new year with a blizzard, unlike any that the town had seen in years. While watching the snow fall outside from inside his home at 54 Pine Way, Raymond Pierce felt grateful. He felt grateful that he wasn't on the streets anymore, and that he didn't have to deal with those conditions. He felt grateful that his roommate, Marty, let him borrow his truck so he could drive to work instead of walking.

However, any time there was a snowstorm, Raymond couldn't help but think of his late wife, Sharon.

No, they weren't ever technically married, but they were considered common-law by the time that she passed. Plus, they filed their taxes together and had two kids together. How much more committed could you get than that?

Because he was thinking of Sherry, he was thinking of Emily and James too, but especially Emily. Over the holidays, he had finally worked up the nerve to reach out to Alex, Sharon's youngest brother, and ask to get in contact with Emily. After all, he had seen Alex and Emily getting coffee together at Morgan Diner in Redwood Valley, and ever since then, he couldn't stop thinking about how he wanted to get his family back together.

Over the years, he had finally become the man that he had always wanted to be. He had become confident, and emotionally capable, which was someone that he had always felt so far away from. When Ray was young, he felt bitter, and angry, and cold. Now, he knew why it was important to let in light and try to deal with his emotions. He wasn't perfect, but he was trying, and he thought that maybe that would be good enough for his children.

Spring of 2025 would be four years since Raymond took a drink or used a substance, and he was ready to get to that point, just to say that he finally did it. He wanted people to be proud of him, for once, and he wasn't afraid to admit that. He hoped Emily and James could be proud of him someday.

He knew Emily would be more receptive to contact than James, so that's why he asked Alex for her number. But Alex said no. He refused to give out Emily's number, saying that it really wasn't his to give as he didn't know her that well, either.

Raymond knew better than to argue, so he gave up. That's how he ended up here, sitting on his couch, watching the snow fall and thinking about the family that he missed desperately, even though it seemed like he would never get them back.

A hard knock on the front door broke Raymond's trance and he got up, walking to the entrance of the house to answer and see who was there. No one else was home, but Raymond had no reason to be scared... or did he?

He opened the door to see a lean man, taller than him. Raymond had to look up at him to see him completely, seeing this man's sharp jawline and dark brown-reddish hair. If this was the man he thought he was, last time he had seen him, there were no streaks of grey in his hair like there were now.

Time had aged him, as his skin was slightly weathered with a quiet resilience. However, the feature that have gave him away were his deep-set dark eyes, and this made Raymond recognize the man fully.

"Nate?" Raymond asked, a bit shocked to see this man standing on his front porch. He didn't know whether it was wise to invite the man in or not, but he himself was trying to be a better man. "Do you want to come in?"

"It's Nathan," Nathan said. "No one calls me Nate except for my wife, and my sister..." He trailed off, kicking some snow off of his boot as he looked down at the ground. "And no, I'm not coming in." He looked directly at Raymond. "This won't take long."

Raymond hesitated, feeling like that was some sort of threat. He peeked around Nathan, seeing if he had brought his other brothers for some sort of ambush on him. "What's going on?"

"I'm not gonna beat you up, Ray," Nathan said. "I am gonna say one thing to you, and I'm only going to say it once, so open your ears."

Raymond gulped.

"Your daughter is a beautiful young woman with so much potential," Nathan started. "She reminds me of Sherry, and if you had stuck around to see her grow up, you'd see aspects of my sister in her, too.

"She's opinionated, and she's got the same sense of humor as Sharon... and her independence is a little like the way Sharon felt the need to rebel against every aspect of her life... which worries me, but Emily seems to carry this trait well.

"Not only that, she's driven like Sharon was — before she met you. Before you ruined her with all of your fucking bullshit," Nathan finished talking with a scoff, looking away from Raymond as if he couldn't bare to look at him at all. He spit on the ground and then continued talking.

"I'm not gonna tell you that you can't see your daughter, because I have my own daughters, and I wouldn't do that to another man who at least seems to be trying," Nathan paused, and then smirked. "I've looked into you, I own a construction business, so I know who built your house. I know all about what you're like now. You're cool and collected, a better man, they say.

"But I still don't trust you and your intentions, not yet. Be careful with Emily, because if she loses her spark and ambition the same way that her mother did, I swear to God, I will..."

Nathan stopped, because he was closer to Raymond than he realized. He pulled himself back quickly and straightened himself out. "I've shown more care to your daughter in a week than you've shown her in 10 years," Nathan said, disgust lingering in his tone. "How fucking hard is it to love your child?"

With that, Nathan turned and left, feeling satisfied with everything that he had said. Raymond didn't say anything as he watched Nathan walk down the front steps and get into his car, and then eventually drive off.

Raymond just kind of stood there, not really knowing what to say. He hadn't seen Nathan in years, and they had never had the best relationship, and now Raymond saw how he really thought of him.

He went back inside the house and tried to brush it off, feeling conflicted. He knew in his heart that he had good intentions for reaching out to Emily, but now he was so scared that he would do something to hurt her that it almost paralyzed him.

He sat back down on the couch and stared out the window again, this time replaying every memory in his mind where he had done something that had hurt his children. And after each memory, he saw Nathan coming at him with a fist.