by Brooks, Abby
It wasn’t like that anymore.
Especially not today, with my perma-grin and the giddy little boy inside me chanting you kissed Maisie over and over and over.
Since Dad’s passing, I almost looked forward to pulling up in front of our old house. The energy was lighter and brighter, especially after Wyatt had the office renovated and all of Dad’s furniture removed. Mom was happier than I could remember her being in years. The kind of happy that had no ifs, ands, or buts behind it. Her eyes were bright and her smile was easy and I swore, she walked as if a weight had finally fallen from her shoulders.
The same could be said for all of us, really.
A shroud had been lifted off our family now that Dad was gone. My two older brothers were married and paraded around like the most satisfied men in the history of the world. While Lucas would always be intense and brooding, he was quick to laugh when he was around his wife, Cat. Wyatt had always been a bright spot in our family, the man who stepped into the patriarchal hole Dad left behind, but so much of that had been a show for our benefit. With all of Dad’s craziness draining out of his system, the difference in Wyatt was noticeable. His marriage to Kara had turned up the colors in his life and looking back, I don’t know how we missed how miserable he used to be. Now, his natural positivity truly knew no bounds.
I pulled to a stop in front of what had once been my family home, then grew to a bed and breakfast, and was now the main building of The Hutton Hotel. It was early still, the sun hanging low and bright over the water, sending explosions of color up to the sky. A breeze sent the palm fronds dancing and the ferns hanging along the wraparound porch swayed their welcome.
Once upon a time, I believed the welcoming exterior to be a lie, knowing that a monster hid inside. But the monster was gone and I finally saw what everyone else did. It was a beautiful place, this home of ours.
Mom pushed open the front door as I took the steps onto the porch. Her red braid hung over one shoulder and her smile fought the sunrise for splendor. “Is that my Caleb?” She held open her arms and I stepped into them. “I didn’t expect to see you today,” she said as she let me go.
“I had a couple things I wanted to talk about. You won’t believe who I ran into the other night.”
And I couldn’t believe who I had kissed last night. After fighting the urge the entire evening, after a lifetime of turning down short-term relationships, after years of assuming I would never see her again, I finally kissed Maisie Brown.
The girl I always thought I would marry.
The girl who always had an inroad straight to the core of me.
The woman who was supposed to leave today—but chose to stay anyway.
I was walking on air while trying not to fall off the edge of a cliff. Thrilled and terrified and desperate to spend every second with her before we had no more seconds left.
“I cooked a big ole breakfast today,” Mom said. “There’s plenty for everyone, even you and your giant appetite. Come, grab a plate. You can tell me everything while we eat.” She stopped, a quizzical frown tightening her brows. “Unless you need to talk in private?”
My stomach started grumbling at the mere mention of breakfast and I shook my head. “Nope. I don’t need to say anything everyone can’t hear.”
Mom beamed and led me back to the kitchen, where our old family table sat, surrounded by windows, with the ocean stretching out behind them. The table was full, and everyone was there except my younger brother, Eli.
As I stepped into the room, Wyatt scooted his chair out and stood to wrap me in a hug, thumping me on the back before pulling away. “Well, look what the cat dragged in.”
With a lot of commotion and a little rearranging, I found a spot next to my sister Harlow. A plate of eggs, biscuits, and bacon appeared in front of me, and I momentarily forgot why I made the drive to The Hut in the first place.
I listened, smiling, as my family chattered, Cat and Kara fitting in with the rest as if they had been part of the family for decades. That thought brought me back to Maisie, who actually had been an honorary Hutton for decades.
I put my fork down and cleared my throat. “I walked down the aisle with Maisie Brown last night.”
That should be enough to shock them into silence.
It was. Momentarily. A few stunned seconds later, the questions started launching my way while I laughed.
“It’s not as crazy as it sounds,” I said. “Though, it’s crazy enough.”
Everyone listened as I explained Maisie’s sudden appearance at the bar, her friend’s dramatic need for a stand-in best man, and how much her life had changed for the better.
“Who’s Maisie?” Cat whispered to Lucas when I was done with the story.
“Only Caleb’s first and longest crush.” Wyatt grinned like a lunatic and wrapped an arm around Kara’s shoulder.
Harlow leaned forward, pushing her plate out of the way to make room for her elbows. “Maisie’s the one you always swore you’d marry, right?”
The questions streamed my way and I fielded them like a pro. “Anyway,” I said when the excitement died down, “she was supposed to leave today, but I talked her into hanging around a little longer. She needs a place to stay and I thought you guys might like a chance to see her again, so I offered her a room here.”
I had been right about the energy of my family changing. Instead of tight sighs and furrowed brows, perhaps a glance toward the office where Dad would be lurking to drop in on the conversation with complaints about reservations and ridiculous chance meetings with childhood friends, my family smiled in unison.
Heads started nodding. Eyes gleamed. In a matter of seconds, Maisie had a bungalow reserved for as long as she planned on staying.
The front door opened and closed and footsteps sounded in the entry. Wyatt pushed to his feet, wiped his mouth, and then bounded out to greet whoever had walked in, only to return a few seconds later with a grinning Maisie tucked under his arm.
Ten
Maisie
The drive up from Key West was…unusual. My boss seemed to think he could force me back to Los Angeles with a sheer abundance of foul language and veiled threats. He was wrong.
I wasn’t coming back to LA. Not yet.
I had earned time off. I was taking it. The end.
After ending the call, realization settled uncomfortably onto my shoulders. Yes, I was on my way to see Caleb and his family, but I was also heading back to my childhood stomping grounds—a place I swore I would never set foot in again. Rare buds of anxiety bloomed in my stomach, more and more of them blossoming into existence the closer I got to the turn off that would take me to the shack I once called home. With effort, I turned my attention to Caleb and The Hut. To the soul-melting kiss we shared at the wedding and his insistence that I stay in the Keys.
There were so many unanswered questions…
How long would I be here?
How far would this go?
What did I think was going to happen?
What about when it all came to an end?
Those questions were born of logic and fear and I wasn’t ready to give them any weight yet. Caleb felt important. He felt real. And if I had to bury my head in the sand for a little bit to enjoy this monumental gift, then so be it.
We would deal with the logistical stuff when we got there. Now was the time to focus on what we had, not what was at stake. Who knew how this would play out?
Maybe this was nothing more than a great day or two of pure physical attraction.
Maybe last night’s kiss would lead to some of the best sex of our lives.
Or…
Maybe we could reignite our old friendship.
Maybe Caleb would move to Los Angeles and make good on his old childhood promise.
The future was uncertain, nothing more than infinite possibilities stretching out in front of us. I’d be a fool to hold back just because some of those possibilities were a little scary. Because the rest? They were magnificent.
I grinned as I pulled into the lot at The Hut, right next to the work of art Caleb called a vehicle. This place was the home of so many happy memories. Rebecca Hutton’s warm smile. The siblings welcoming me as if I was one of them. Longs days with Caleb near the water, him fishing and me just dangling my legs off the dock and thinking big thoughts. Back then, the Huttons always laughed so easily, so deeply, it made me uncomfortable. Back then, I wasn’t used to being secure enough to laugh.
I ran my hand up the rail as I stepped up to the porch, lost in the memories of younger me racing Caleb outside, my hair streaming behind me, our arms and legs pumping as fast as they could. Potted ferns swung lazily in the breeze and I remembered perching on the edge of an Adirondack chair, clutching a glass of lemonade and slurping it down while sweat beaded at my temples and Caleb chattered away about our next greatest adventure.
A sign near the door said “come on in” so I did just that, quietly closing the door behind me. The entryway looked exactly as I remembered it, though the office had changed significantly. When I was little, Mr. Hutton’s office was a place of sullen shadows and looming furniture, but now, the windows were open and sunlight warmed the room. A vibrant painting adorned the wall over a simple desk, while plants and flowers brightened the space. No more looming shadows. No more hints of whispered secrets. Just happy, welcoming energy. Somehow, that particular change put my heart at ease.
Movement caught my attention and I glanced up to find a man emerging from the kitchen. He was tall, but not as tall as Caleb, blond-haired and blue-eyed enough to let me know I was looking at a Hutton. He grinned when he saw me, a vibrant smile that lit up the whole room, and I knew immediately which brother was in front of me.
Wyatt crossed the room and wrapped me in a tight hug. “Caleb was just telling us about you.”
In a swoop of energy, he ushered me into the kitchen. The family greeted me like there wasn’t a decade separating us, and introduced me to Cat and Kara, Lucas and Wyatt’s wives.
Caleb beamed when he saw me, standing to offer me his chair, as his good-natured eyes drank me in. If I had been afraid that his invitation to stay had anything to do with the alcohol or the atmosphere last night—and let me admit, those thoughts had popped into my head a time or two—the fear dissipated the moment he touched me. “Hey there,” he said, his gaze dropping to my mouth.
“Hey yourself.” I licked my lips and fought the urge to kiss him in front of most of his family. I didn’t know how much Caleb had told them about what was going on and certainly didn’t want to spill the beans on…on…whatever this was between us.
Before I could take the chair he offered me, Rebecca was out of hers and making her way to me. She gripped my shoulders and held me at arm’s length, studying all the changes growing up had brought to my face. “Maisie Brown,” she said, her voice lilting like a proud momma. “Just look at you! I always knew you’d be beautiful, but…” She shook her head, then pulled me in for a hug. “I’m just happy to see you looking so…so…”
“Clean?” I offered, returning the hug.
“I was going to say polished,” Rebecca replied. “Looks like you’ve done very well for yourself.”
In a matter of seconds, I found myself seated next to Caleb with a plate of breakfast food in front of me that would have Brighton running in fear from all the fat and carbs. Normally, I took my breakfast in the form of caffeine and optimism, but everything smelled so delicious, I explained my new life around mouthfuls of biscuits, gravy, and bacon. “Oh my goodness,” I said to Rebecca. “This is so good.”
The family listened incredulously as I outlined my story. They asked about my parents and I gave them the short and simple answer: nothing much had changed. They were still locked in a cruel cycle of getting jobs, losing jobs, and Dad drinking away their savings. “I send them money each month, but honestly, I’m conflicted about it. I know they need it, but I’m afraid they don’t use it for anything good.”
Those two sentences were the first time I had spoken to anyone about my parents since I moved out of their house. And here I was, within minutes of arriving at The Hut, talking openly about the parts of my life I intended to keep buried forever. I wasn’t even sure I recognized how conflicted I was about the money I sent their way until I spoke. The realization dumbfounded me, and I shoved another bite of biscuit into my mouth before I could say anything else.
The conversation moved on as the family filled me in on their lives. I learned about Lucas’ tragedy in Afghanistan and the jaw-dropping set of coincidences that led him to meet his wife. Wyatt introduced me to Kara, and their story had me on the edge of my seat. Harlow explained that she had been living in Seattle, painting, playing guitar, and working on a novel when Mr. Hutton had passed away.
“I think I’m here to stay though,” she said, tossing her long, blonde hair over a shoulder. “Maybe I can finally finish my book and see about finding a publisher.”
“And what about Eli?” I asked. “Things good with him?”
Harlow grinned. “Eli’s Eli. Doing his own thing and making his own way.”
Time passed easily as we reminisced. Stories flowed and the truth of my past was out in the open for the first time in a decade. In LA, no one could know that poor-as-dirt little girl was me and I was her. But here, with the Huttons, it just was a truth that everyone knew and everyone accepted. There was a comfort in that, as well as a heavy dose of unease. I didn’t want to be her anymore. For some reason, acknowledging that we were one and the same felt like I was doing the new me a disservice. It almost felt like moving backwards.
“Remember that?” Wyatt leaned in, laughing so hard I could barely understand him. “Dad had questions about Caleb’s sexual orientation for a year.”
“Wait. What?” I tried to mentally replay the conversation to catch up to everyone else.
“When we walked in and found you two playing with makeup…” Wyatt lost himself to giggles as Kara stared at Caleb with astounded eyes.
“Come on now.” Caleb sat back in his chair, running his hands through his hair. “We were, what? Seven? Eight?” He looked to me for support. “And I looked damn good in that mascara.”
Cat shook her head and leaned forward, her voice filled with merriment. “I’m just trying to imagine our Moose wearing makeup.”
“I did it for her, okay?” Caleb wrapped an arm around my shoulder and drew me close. “That’s just the kind of friend I am.”
We turned to each other, pleased with the memory, and when our eyes met, a jolt of electricity bounced through me, trailing along my skin, lighting up my insides. I was sure everyone could see it. Hell, I was sure everyone could feel it. The attraction between us leaping out from where our eyes locked, to the long line of contact where his arm connected with my shoulders, and dancing along the table, like lightening arcing from cloud to cloud.
Someone coughed and someone else cleared a throat and Caleb dropped his arm from my shoulder like we had been caught doing something equally ridiculous as me putting makeup on him. Now that he wasn’t touching me, it was easier to breathe and I hoped no one caught the chemistry oozing between us.
One glance around the table told me everything I needed to know.
Oozing chemistry had very much been caught.
“Well,” Wyatt said, his eyes twinkling devilishly. “I guess there’s no questioning his sexual orientation now.”
Eleven
Caleb
As if on cue, my family gathered their plates from the table and excused themselves to begin their work day, leaving Maisie and me with nothing but the charged atmosphere to keep us company. She shook her head at Wyatt’s statement, a slight blush bringing color to her cheeks and I could have sworn she looked pleased about what he said.
I liked that she wanted me to want her. I liked that she wasn’t bothered that the attraction was obvious. I liked that we were still amazing together, even after she had grown up in such an unforeseen way.
I wante
d to draw her into my arms and hold her close, to press my lips to hers, to unwrap her like the gift she was and claim her as mine, but if last night was any indicator, there would be no stopping once we started. The family kitchen seemed like the worst place to start something like that, so I settled back in my chair and regarded Maisie from a distance. “Having second thoughts about staying yet?”
She sighed dramatically, bobbing her head as her supple lips pulled into a grimace. “Totally. I didn’t know how to let you down easy, so I thought I’d wait until after your whole family had a chance to see whatever that was that just happened between us.” She lifted a playful brow, but I wasn’t buying it.
“Uh-huh…”
“No, silly.” Maisie folded her arms on the table and leaned in. “No second thoughts. They’re not really my style. Once a ball is in play, it’s best to let it roll and see what happens.”
I couldn’t help myself. She set the line up so perfectly, I would be letting the entire world down if I didn’t take the shot. “So…you’re saying you want to play with my balls.”
I didn’t know what I expected of her. Maybe a blush. Maybe a shy little giggle. I hoped I wouldn’t get shocked silence and a slow back-peddle out the door.
I did know the last thing I expected from sweet little Maisie was a wry smile and the words, “If you’re lucky,” followed by a burst of laughter when my jaw dropped.
“Don’t look so shocked, Hutton. This is me and you we’re talking about. No barriers. Remember?”
“Right. No barriers. Except half our life and the entire country.”
Maisie stood and pushed in her chair. “Right. Except that.” Questions filled her eyes as they bounced across my face, and for a moment, the bold, brash, LA Maisie was gone. In her place stood someone who looked vulnerable and sad and unsure. But then she blinked and smiled and I wondered if maybe my imagination was getting the better of me.
