hands. She looked into his eyes and held his gaze for a moment, much like Randolph had at the restaurant the night before, looking into him rather than at him.
“You are meant for great things. You are about to see. Be aware that all is not as it seems. There are strangers in town that would seek to help you. Others, if they knew who you were, to undo you. Do you want to know? Are you ready to know?”
Connor nodded his head in agreement, anything to get going. “Okay, I will. Thank you, Mrs. Hayes, but I have to get going.”
She nodded her head now, pursing her lips as though she were in deep thought.
And that’s where Connor left her. It was just after eleven o’clock now, and with his meager breakfast that morning, Connor’s stomach was staging a protest against hunger. Pulling into a drive-thru at the local hamburger joint, Connor shook his head, remembering the words Mrs. Hayes had told him. Three families, he was meant for great things, strangers in town. Could she have meant Laren and her brother or Randolph? No, what was he thinking? It was foolish trying to make sense of the words of a crazy old lady. Shaking his head free of these ideas, he ordered his food and was soon working his way through mid-day traffic, burger in hand.
The weather hadn’t changed much in the last few days. It was cool with a few clouds rolling lazily through the sky. Traffic wasn’t horrible, and soon Connor found himself in the nicer part of town.
Smaller shops like his mother’s gave way to name brand stores. Burger joints like the one he had just passed through were nowhere to be seen, and instead, fancy restaurants with five star ratings appeared.
Houses seemed to grow in size with each passing block. Connor was all too familiar with his current destination. He had driven the same way numerous times to pick up and drop off Katie. She lived in the biggest house on the block. It was a massive structure, any bigger and one could have called it a castle. Large red brick walls made up most of the house, with four white pillars in the front and white trim complimenting the building.
The large black iron gates that stood sentry around the estate were adorned with a huge emblem of a sun. The sun was the same color of the gate and about three times the size of a basketball. It was a large flat orb with flames shooting out in every which direction like fingers pointing everywhere.
Connor pulled up to the intercom and pushed the talk button. Very soon a familiar voice came through the line. “I was hoping it would be you delivering today and not Pete or Joe. They’re nice, but they always argue about the best way to unload the truck.”
“Well, open up the gate and you and I can argue how to unload the truck.”
“Hmmm. How about I open the gate, we don’t argue, and while you unload the truck, I’ll get you something to drink.”
“You drive a hard bargain, Kat, but you have yourself a deal. Where do you want this stuff?”
“Probably in the back near the guest house. See you soon!”
The gates swung open and Connor drove through. Passing the house on the way to the backyard, he recognized all the familiar vehicles: there was Katie’s father’s BMW, her mom’s Cadillac, and of course her Volkswagen Passat. Aside from all of these there was one car Connor had never seen before, a newer, white Audi. Connor was unsure of the model, but one thing he was sure of, it was very expensive.
The guesthouse looked like a smaller version of the actual house. It was made out of the same red brick and white trim and had a walkway that snaked through the backyard and connected with the rest of the property.
Connor stopped his truck, and as he began to unload, he had to laugh. Here he was, a small time local boy in a beat-up truck, in the middle of what might have well been the White House. It would have taken three or four of his trucks to equal the value of just one of the cars he saw when he drove in.
The money factor had never bothered Connor when he was dating Katie and it still didn’t now, Connor just couldn’t help but find it ironic.
He picked up the various insect repellents and bug sprays from his