Something Old (Brides of Cedar Bend Book 1)

by Lena Hart

  Whatever the mayor had said to Guy the other night had set him on edge. Though she knew there was more than he was telling her, she didn’t want to push. She would wait for him to confide in her when he was ready.

  “Mya, did you hear me?”

  She blinked and found Gloria staring at her. “Sorry. What did you say?”

  “I’m heading to the CPA’s office now. I might be a while. Will you okay by yourself?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “All right. I’ll try to be back soon, but if I’m not before Sophie Powers comes to pick up her package, could you take care of it? I placed it under the counter.”

  Mya’s eyes widened in surprise. Not that Gloria’s boutique wasn’t fashionable enough, but from what she remembered of the Powers women, they were what the British would call too posh for A Touch of Glam, despite the boutique name.

  “Sophie Powers shops here?”

  “Believe me, I was just as surprised as you. But this is her fifth order so far. She keeps this up, I just might have to forgive her father for being the snake he is.” Gloria chuckled as she sailed out of the store.

  Mya kept herself busy by untangling the necklaces she had found in the back. The store was quiet, as it had been for the past few days now. She could understand why Gloria couldn’t afford to hire another clerk to help her around. With the amount of time she spent meeting with the bank or her accountant, she couldn’t be trapped in the store all day.

  Though Mya was happy she could relieve some of the burden, she was starting to think A Touch of Glam was going to need to make bigger changes aside from selling her homemade soaps if it was going to survive.

  Putting Gloria’s old computer beside the register to better use, Mya began surfing the web, looking for ideas from other stores that they could use around the boutique. She hadn’t gotten far in her search when the bell above the front door chimed. She glanced up as Sophie Powers made her way toward the counter.

  The petite brunette offered her a weak smile. “Where’s Gloria?”

  “She’s at a meeting. She’ll be back later.”

  “Oh. Okay.” Her strained smile suddenly fell away. “Well, she said my order was ready.”

  “Yup, we have it right here.” Mya reached beneath the counter and grabbed the small box. She tried to make small talk while she closed out the ticket, but the young woman appeared uninterested—or distracted. Mya tried not to let the woman’s sour mood affect her.

  “Would you like to try on the dress before you go? We have a changing room in the back.”

  Sophie chewed the bottom of her lip.

  “If you try it on and find anything wrong, we can take care of it now so you won’t have to come back in.”

  With a small sigh, she grabbed her package. “Sure. Fine. Where am I going?”

  Mya led her to the back and got her set up. If Gloria didn’t need the clientele, Mya wouldn’t have bothered engaging the obviously uninterested woman.

  About five minutes passed and yet there was no sign of Sophie. Mya had at least expected her to come out and ask for her opinion. When another five minutes passed, Mya made her way back toward the dressing area. If she wasn’t mistaken, she would have sworn she heard sobbing coming from behind the curtain.

  “Sophie, is everything okay?”

  The crying stopped and was followed by a few sniffs. “Yes…I’m fine.”

  Mya frowned. She didn’t sound fine. “Can I come in?” When no confirmation came, Mya pushed aside the curtain and found a red-eyed Sophie sitting on the bench with the straps of her open dress falling off her shoulder.

  “Sophie, do you need help?”

  She released a dry laugh. “Like you wouldn’t believe.”

  “If you need help with the dress—”

  “I don’t care about this dress.”

  Mya stepped into the room, letting the curtain fall behind her. “Then what’s wrong? I heard you crying.”

  Sophie stared up at Mya and her eyes once again filled with tears. “My life’s fucked.”

  To Mya’s shock, Sophie suddenly burst into tears. Her sobs shook her slight frame and for a moment, Mya was frozen where she stood. Then, moving instinctively, she sat beside the young girl and began rubbing her back. Sophie leaned into her and cried louder.

  Mya didn’t know what trauma had brought on this kind of misery, but she offered the girl her silent support. Maybe it would provide her some comfort.

  “I’m sure it can’t be that bad,” Mya offered. “Life always seems hard when—”

  “I’m too young to be a single mom,” Sophie said through her tears.

  Mya’s hand stilled. “You’re pregnant?”

  Sophie nodded, her tears still coming hard. The admission still shocked Mya, but she couldn’t understand how the idea of having a baby could bring on this kind of despair. She’d love to have children someday. Guy’s baby. Just the thought filled her with an immense joy.

  Then she remembered that Sophie was young. Maybe three or four years younger than herself. At Sophie’s age, she hadn’t been ready for marriage, much less raising a baby. She couldn’t be sure she was ready now.

  That realization struck Mya like nothing else could. Yes, she wanted a family with Guy but not now. They had so much they wanted to accomplish, and they had so much growing they needed to do as a couple before they had children.

  But the way they’d been going at it, it might already be too late. Her breath caught in her throat at the thought. She counted the days but couldn’t be sure. Her cycle was pretty punctual, but she would have to wait another week or so to be absolutely certain.

  “You know, this is not as tragic as you think,” Mya said when the girl’s emotional storm seemed to pass. “You have your family to support you and—”

  Sophie pulled away from her. “No, I don’t. My father is ready to marry me off and have me someone else’s problem. That’s what he called me. A problem!”

  Mya frowned. The idea that the mayor would try to arrange a marriage for his young daughter was almost too absurd to be believed. “What about the father? Can’t you…”

  Sophie scoffed, shaking her head before Mya could finish her sentence. “Forget it. He’s not an option. Serves me right for getting knocked up by a grade-A asshole.”

  “Well, you shouldn’t be forced to get married if you’re not ready.”

  “In case you haven’t noticed, my dad’s running for mayor and he’s not really doing to swell. Ready or not, I have no choice. He says if my pregnancy gets out he’s going to for sure lose this election. But it doesn’t matter now. In a few more weeks, I won’t be able to hide it.”

  “You can always refuse. He can’t drag you to the altar.”

  “If I don’t go through with this, he says he’s going to disown me.” Sophie leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes. “I told you, my life’s fucked. I just need to marry the guy he chose and deal.”

  Mya tensed, remembering what Guy had told her about the mayor pushing his daughter on him. “Who did he tell you to marry?”

  Sophie glanced away from her. “Look, I think the sheriff’s cute and all, but he is not my type. And he’s obviously in love with you if he’s willing to turn down a promotion and nice raise just to be with you.”

  Mya stared at her blankly. She didn’t know what to say. Though the mayor couldn’t have known he’d asked a married man to marry his daughter. But the fact that Guy to keep their marriage intact over his career said how much he really did love her.

  “I was so relieved when you came back to town. I thought my dad would drop it, but he thinks the sheriff is the kind of guy that can handle me. Whatever. At least now I won’t have to try to win his mother over. I was getting a little tired of shopping here. No offense,” she added.

  Suddenly, Sophie jumped out of her seat. “I should go.” She quickly pulled off the new dress. Mya’s gaze fell to her abdomen and she noticed the small curve of the woman’s lower belly.


  She stared at it fixedly.

  “Tell Gloria she can keep the dress. Resell it or burn it, I don’t care.” Sophie threw on her clothes and fled the dressing room.

  Mya sat there for a while, still processing everything Sophie had told her. She’d always believed Guy still loved her, but the proof of that made her heart flutter.

  She rested her hand over her belly and a terrifying thrill passed through her. The excitement of having Guy’s baby made her long to be pregnant. But the thought of being pregnant now—when there was still work to be done in their marriage—petrified her.

  They weren’t ready to be parents—were they?

  * * *

  Guy was greeted by a commotion coming from the kitchen.

  The distinct sound of a pot crashing to the ground, followed by a colorful curse, made him smile. He made his way to the kitchen. He couldn’t be sure if Mya was preparing a meal or preparing for battle.

  “I don’t think that pot appreciates you talking about his mother like that,” he teased.

  She whirled around and he noticed the phone at her ear. She smiled at him as she said into the phone, “Mum, I have to go. Let’s talk about this later.”

  He went into the fridge and grabbed a beer. She continued on with a series of “okays” and “yeses” before she hung up.

  “Your mom?”

  “Yeah,” she muttered, sliding her phone on the counter. “She sends her love.”

  Guy cocked a brow. “She does?”

  Mya chuckled and turned back to the meal she was prepping. “I’m sure she would if she ever got to meet you.”

  Guy leaned against the counter beside her. He had never gotten the chance to meet Mya’s mother, but he could be sure she didn’t hold him in high esteem, if her outlook on small-towns and their inhabitants was any indication.

  “I heard something about traveling…” he said coolly, tilting the bottle to his lips.

  “She just wanted to know when I’ll be back to visit.”

  “And are you going back?” Tension crept into his voice, but he couldn’t help it. They were just now trying to make things work between them. Having her leave again—even for a little while—kind of bothered him.

  “No, not anytime soon. I’m actually trying to convince her to come here for a visit. I think it’ll be the perfect time to tell her and Gloria about us.”

  “You want to wait that long? It could be a while before she makes it out here for a visit.”

  He’d thought about telling his mother this week so they could finally make their marriage public, but it looked like that would have to be put on pause.

  “I prefer not waiting, but I also don’t want to tell my mom over the phone. She already thinks I favor Gloria over her. It’ll be easier just to tell them both at the same time.”

  Guy nodded and took another drink of his beer. He wasn’t looking forward to the conversation, and the longer they waited, the harder that conversation was going to get. But he could understand Mya’s position in wanting to tell their mothers together. He would wait.

  “Don’t I get a kiss hello?”

  Guy pulled himself out of his thoughts and grinned. Placing his bottle on the counter, he leaned down and kissed her. As usual, what started off as a slow kiss soon turned fiery. He backed her up against the counter and deepened the kiss.

  Dinner would have to wait. He needed her now.

  He began tugging up her skirt, but she grabbed his wrists and pulled away from him.

  “Guy, wait. We have to take a break.”

  “Why?” he murmured gutturally, trailing his lips down his neck.

  She shivered and moved her hands to his shoulders. “I have an appointment at the clinic tomorrow.”

  He tensed and pulled away from her. “For what?”

  Her gaze dropped to his chest. “For birth control. I just think we should, you know, wait…to have kids.”

  Guy fell silent, unsure how to respond. Waiting made sense. She had just gotten back into his life and their marriage was still a secret to many. Everything about their relationship was new and needed time to grow again.

  But he’d always known what he wanted.

  He wanted her—and a house full of kids. He was ready to start a family and have what he’d always wanted. And he’d waited long enough.

  Mya brought her gaze back up to his. “Waiting is good. Right?”

  “Yeah. Right.”

  “Are you mad?”

  He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. “No. You’re right. We should wait.” He leaned down and nuzzled her neck. “I’m just bummed this means I can’t touch you for a few days.”

  “Well, we can always do other thangs,” she said in a mock deep Southerner accent.

  “Hmm, what sort of thangs?”

  Grabbing a large cucumber, she turned back to him and smiled coyly. “Help me with dinner.”

  Twelve

  Guy put in the last of their dirty dishes into the machine and started it. He wiped down the counters then threw the dish towel over the sink.

  It had become routine for them to have breakfast together before they headed off to work. His mouth kicked up when he thought about that morning he’d had her for breakfast, then he quickly pushed the thoughts aside. He had firsthand knowledge of how uncomfortable an erection was in this uniform, and he didn’t need the discomfort for a second time.

  Besides, he was already late for work.

  Guy went into the bedroom and grabbed his cell phone and gun belt. The bathroom door was closed but the shower wasn’t running. He went to it, a gentle reminder that she was also running late ready on his lips. Yet when he heard her speaking, the words fell away.

  “Of course I’m excited I got accepted, but this is a big decision. I just can’t uproot my life for another four years.”

  “Why not?”

  Guy recognized her mother’s distinct British accent over the phone speaker, and he paused. Uproot her life? He didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but what the hell was she talking about?

  “Zamya, honey, there’s nothing for you there. I know you feel you need to be close to your father, but it’s time you moved on.”

  There was a brief pause before Mya spoke again. “Mum, you don’t understand. There’s a lot more things for me to settle here before I could leave again. There’s Daddy’s house… There’s Guy…”

  Her mother made a dismissive sound. “Those are all easy solutions. Find a bank and put the property up for sale. You said it was in horrid condition anyway. As for Guy…I’m sure he’ll understand. Going to university would be good for you, honey. And not everyone gets the opportunity to go to Cambridge.”

  “But I love him, Mum. I don’t want to leave him again.”

  “Well, if he loves you, he wouldn’t stop you from trying to improve your life. The sooner you tell him your plans, the better you will feel.”

  He needed to get out of here.

  Guy pushed away from the door, an unexpected tightness settling in his chest, and the pain was suffocating. He slammed out of the house and climbed into his truck, trying to make sense of what he’d just heard.

  She was going to leave him? Again?

  If her plans had included going back to England, why bother coming back in the first place? Why open the door of possibilities for them when she had no intentions of walking through with him?

  The tightness in his chest soon curdled into a mass of anger and resentment that left him sick to his stomach. She’d hurt him before, but it hadn’t hurt like this.

  Guy cranked the truck and peeled out of the driveway. Everything he’d wanted, everything he’d hoped for, suddenly fizzled away into nothing.

  He was a fool.

  All that talk about being honest with each other, and yet she’d kept something this big from him. He couldn’t understand how she claimed to love him, claim she wanted to make their marriage work, yet have these separate plans in her life going on. Plans that would affect both of them.r />
  Had she even planned on telling him any of this, or did he have another empty bed to look forward to?

  The mayor had been wrong. Loving Mya didn’t make him weak. It made him stupid. Everything he’d believed about them and their relationship had been painfully true. They weren’t compatible with each other. For whatever reason, she couldn’t be honest with him—or herself—about what she wanted in her life. But to him, it was painfully clear that she didn’t really want a life or future with him.

  Not the way he wanted.

  We should wait…

  Her words last night made it especially clear that settling down and starting a family was not a priority for her, while for him, it was. And he was getting tired of waiting for her to make up her damn mind.

  Guy drove past the police station and headed toward the highway. This time he wouldn’t wait for her to make the first move. He would finally give her the freedom she obviously wanted and put an end to this mockery of a marriage.

  * * *

  Something was wrong.

  Mya didn’t know what had caused this complete shutdown in him, but the past week, it was as if Guy had completely pulled away from her. It had been sudden. Actually, it had started the day after they’d talked about her getting on birth control. He had seemed fine with the idea, but now she wondered if it had all been a front.

  She didn’t think so. He had slept in the same bed with her that night, holding her while they slept. Now, however, he was back to sleeping in the guest room. At first she thought he needed the space, while they waited for her birth control to take effect, but a week later and he was still sleeping in the separate room.

  She wanted to confront him about it, but he was making it difficult to do. Most mornings, he was gone before she was awake, and every night he wasn’t home until well after she’d gone to bed. There was no mistaking it. He was avoiding her.

  But not tonight.

  If he wouldn’t come to her, she would just go to him and demand that he talk to her. Mya slipped into the empty guest room and crawled into bed. A hint of his male scent surrounded her and she closed her eyes briefly, taking pleasure in feeling close to him again.