Episode One Hundred and Ninety-Seven: Family Promises

Onyx relaxed, and he nodded at me. “Promise me you’ll come back, even if it’s just a visit.”

I blinked twice at his sudden tone shift. “I promise, like I said…”

“Good.” He turned back to the windows, yet things felt different between us.

The silence weighed down on me. “What about your work, how are things going?”

This time he chuckled. “I finished my next book, and now it’s off with editing. I think it’s going to do well, but you never know with these types of things.”

“Have you thought about a vacation? Or is this that?”

“You got it in one.” He smiled brightly. “I’m hoping to come up with something good while we’re on the road.”

His fingers tapped on the armrest. “I already have some ideas, and I love the forests we drove through to get here.”

“Gonna steal the setting?”

“Yes, absolutely. No clue about the story yet, but it’s going to be in a forest, or maybe an orchard. I kept having flashes of something important on a farm.”

I chuckled, thinking of the sunflowers I’d given Umber. “Well, you have plenty of inspiration from Umber for a farming story.”

“Eh, it’s not like that.” He shrugged his shoulders before leaning back into the couch. “It doesn’t fit the vibe I’m going for.”

“Tell me about it.” I snagged the blanket on the end of the couch and pulled it up over me.

“Mist hanging in the air, trees heavy with fruit and fields of berry bushes… There’s this scent in the air, something sweet but also tangy.” He shook his head a little. “I don’t know what it is, but a farm that’s been in the family for centuries.”

“So, not Umber’s place…”

He chuckled. “Not at all… I couldn’t believe it when he made everyone breakfast and then told us all he wanted to buy the old farm next door.”

“Mom looked like she was going to faint,” I added, remembering her pale face. “Dad said we’d figure it out.”

“It was Cerulean who asked how much it was going to cost…” Onyx smiled. “He helped pay for it, you know.”

“What?” I asked.

“Yeah, he helped pay for the down payment, and now it’s on Umber to make the yearly payments for the land. It helps that Farmer Jim didn’t have anyone who wanted it. When he passes, he said the rest of the loan will be forgiven.”

I sat up at that news. “I didn’t know that.”

He nodded. “Umber knows the money he pays is what keeps Farmer Jim going, not to mention he comes around and helps on the farm for fun.”

“He always needed to be moving,” I said, trying to remember the old man. “He grew massive pumpkins, and the most amazing carrots.”

“He still has a pumpkin patch on the property, but Umber doesn’t care. Umber wants to put in an orchard, but that will take years to produce. The rest of his focus is on growing what the town needs, and he’s doing well at it.”

“If he hired Jackie, then he must be doing well.” I kept running my fingers along the edge of the fuzzy blanket.

Indigo suddenly jumped on the couch and padded closer to me before curling up on me. 

It made me smile, and the scent of soup hovered around her. Hopefully, she’d liked it.

“I told him he needed help if he wanted to get all his projects done. He was running himself into the ground.” Onyx let out a small sigh. “Mom agreed with me, Dad too.”

“I bet Cerulean was like ‘Let him do his own thing!’ and Cyan, just shrugged…”

“Close,” he said with a smile. “Cerulean offered to help, but warned Umber his schedule is all over the place. Cyan’s been doing some painting on the farm, way fancier than it needs to be, but it somehow fits.”

My chest felt all warm and fuzzy with everyone pitching in to help Umber accomplish his dreams. I ignored the minor ache that I couldn’t help, but at least I’d sent him some seeds. And encouraged Jackie to figure out if she still liked him.

“That has to be amazing.”

Indigo snored as she drifted off to sleep. I resisted cuddling her close.

Onyx chuckled at the noise.“You’ve built a life here.”

“As long as Dad doesn’t try to steal Indigo.” I really didn’t think she’d go, but I knew she’d love to visit. Still, she wouldn’t want to be a cat but a dragon. 

“It's obvious the two of you are close.” Onyx smiled at the cat curled up on me. “I never took you for a cat person.”

“I think I’m an everything person.” I didn’t know what else to say about cats, since neither of them actually acted like cats.

“Oh, looks like the snow is clearing up,” mumbled Onyx. “That’d make grilling even better. Maybe we can have a fire in the fire pit outside.”

A rock settled in my stomach, since I couldn’t go outside, though maybe if it was like the rooftop deck it wouldn’t be a problem. 

Betty didn’t like fire though, so the fire might be a no go.

“I don’t know if there's wood for the firepit,” I said with a swallow. “I haven’t explored outside yet.”

Onyx pushed off from the couch and stood. “I can check and see if the grill needs to be cleaned or what not.”

“Sleeping cat… I’ll be here…” I motioned to Indigo.

He nodded and headed to the slider that led to the patio. With a small bit of cold air, he was outside. He searched around and I tried not to watch him, but somehow he found a shovel and started cleaning off the pavers around the firepit and grill.

“Soup good,” whispered Indigo.

She glanced up at me, then outside at my brother.

“It’s my favorite," I said with a smile as I scratched her ear. It was strange her having fur. It actually felt like fur.

“I stay with you, not follow dad…” she added.

“I know. Though my Dad is amazing.” I smiled even bigger.

“Smells wrong, sick.”

Everything inside me stiffened.