Begin Again (The Blake Boys Book 18)

by Rhonda Laurel

  “I think Christmas is out to get me,” Corbett said.

  “Are you going to be serious?”

  “Dead serious. First my relationship with Anna Beth implodes. Then my entire family makes plans to be out of town for the holidays. I’m waiting for Santa’s sleigh to run me down at any moment.”

  Bo laughed. “I think you’re being a little dramatic.”

  “Don’t mind me.” He laughed too. “I’m working through some things. This is the first time the family be will spread across the map. And I guess I’m feeling out of sorts because I don’t have any special plans.”

  “You don’t have any special plans because you let a disagreement with Anna Beth snowball into a breakup,” Bo replied.

  “It was more than that, and you know it.”

  “You never looked this sad when you broke up with Courtney.”

  “That was different. Eventually I admitted to myself that Courtney wasn’t the one. It’s the reason I called things off.”

  Bo gave him a strange look. “But Anna Beth is the one, right?”

  Corbett didn’t answer. He never thought of self-preservation as a bad thing. Saying the words to Bo about how much he missed her would just do another number on his heart.

  Bo shook his head. “We’ll get together when I get back in town. Sounds like you could use a good old-fashioned bonfire.”

  “Isn’t that when all the guys get together and talk about their feelings?” Corbett raised an eyebrow.

  “We also drink moonshine and get stinking drunk.” Bo laughed. “Stick around. There’s always plenty of celebrating going on at the ranch.”

  “I don’t think I’d be good company. There’s a cloud following me around. I’d be liable to ruin everyone else’s good time.”

  “I think you’re being paranoid,” Bo replied. “Now come on. I have to find a special spatula for my mother-in-law. We’ll go find a restaurant afterward.”

  They continued down the massive corridor toward a store that sold kitchen utensils. Maybe Bo was right. He was being too cynical because of his missing Anna Beth.

  “Watch out!” someone yelled.

  Corbett turned to see one of the giant gift boxes that were suspended from the ceiling had lost a support cable and was flying through the air right at him. As the people in his immediate vicinity scattered, he stood there for a few seconds as if in disbelief of what he was seeing. An instant later he was being pushed to the floor by Bo. The flying giant gift box barely missed him.

  “Are you OK?” Bo asked.

  “I’d feel much better if you weren’t on top of me in the middle of the mall.” Corbett tilted his head up and grumbled. “I don’t want to be the next viral holiday video clip.”

  Bo sprang to his feet and extended his hand to help him up.

  Corbett dusted himself off and glared at the fallen decoration that had tried to attack him. “You still think I’m being paranoid?” he demanded as he gathered up their bags. “Christmas is out to get me.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Anna Beth took a deep breath and with a swift pull, she got the Christmas tree through the door and into her apartment. She’d run a ton of errands that morning, including taking holiday packages for Joy and Isaiah to the post office. The young mother and son had been doing great since they’d returned to Joy’s hometown in Utah, and she missed them. She’d already sent them some things when Cassidy shipped a boatload of presents two weeks ago, but she’d seen a remote control car she knew Isaiah would love. She loved toy shopping, and shopping for the Blake brood was always an interesting undertaking.

  She steadied the tree against the wall and removed her coat. There had been slim pickings at the tree lot. The Christmas tree she’d picked out had seen better days, but she didn’t care. The evergreen was missing some thistles and was in dire need of water. It needed a little TLC, just like her. She could have been having fun on a tropical island but no, she had to go and shred her passport.

  Her cell phone pinged. She glanced at it to see an attached photo of her friends on a Costa Rican beach looking like they were having a great time.

  She’d known most of them since college, and they were nice enough. They’d pledged the same sorority and belonged to a lot of the same organizations. But Gwen was her closest friend. They’d shared a room all four years in college and even had the same major. The two of them were different as night and day, and she liked that. Gwen was outgoing and fearless, while Anna Beth liked living a quiet, almost invisible, existence. It was Gwen who’d convinced her to go to the mixers on campus and pledge the sorority. It was Gwen who’d talked her into pursuing finance when Anna Beth’s family was trying to convince her she’d make a great elementary school teacher. Gwen had also convinced her to apply for the job at Blake Enterprises.

  They’d both remained single, even though Gwen had a few close calls with matrimony. Her friend couldn’t seem to find Mr. Right, but the new guy in her life had potential. Roger was cute, financially stable, and had a good sense humor. Things she knew her friend looked for in a mate. Roger was definitely chomping at the bit for a commitment, while Gwen was still subtly looking around. Gwen wanted excitement and passion. She also suspected that Gwen wanted Anna Beth’s brother Kyle.

  Big brother Kyle was the reason Anna Beth was so popular in high school. Many girls cozied up to her to get a glimpse of her handsome, athletic, charming brother. She just saw him as the knucklehead who’d refused to pick up his towels after he’d showered. Gwen was another victim of her brother’s charm, not that he led her on or anything. Kyle was very cordial the summer Gwen had spent with them, but he never encouraged her. When he realized her friend’s attention had focused on him, he’d become scarce.

  Gwen also hadn’t gone on the trip. Instead of going to Costa Rica, she’d decided to spend some quality time with the boyfriend to see if they had a chance at a future together. Anna Beth had hoped she’d be doing the same thing with Corbett. It would have been a perfect time to see if they were on the same page. Until their fight, she would have sworn they were in sync with each other’s feelings.

  Her cell phone pinged with another notification. It was a picture of her friend Maggie getting fitted into a zip line harness. She had a smile plastered on her face and both thumbs up like she was psyched. It looked like fun, it really did. Too bad Maggie was deathly afraid of heights. She’d confided in her one day when they’d visited an amusement park, and the rest of the gang was clueless. Any time she went higher than four stories Maggie got a wicked case of vertigo. Whenever they would want to do something that involved high places Anna Beth would pretend to beg off and make Maggie stay with her. Whoever was standing beneath Maggie when she zip lined had better watch out.

  She felt like the mama bear when she traveled with them. She was the one who’d tell them when they’d had enough to drink and never to take a drink not given to you by the bartender. Or that she could have sworn the sketchy dude her friend had been dirty dancing with all night had been featured on America’s Most Wanted. Something in her was programmed to always do the right thing, and she’d suspected their invite was offered because they wanted her to watch over them as she always did. Never mind that her good time was compromised as a result of being their keeper. Maybe her absence was a good thing. It was time they took responsibility for their behavior. They were familiar with the buddy system, and they were getting too old for the foolish behavior of five years ago. Still, she’d say a prayer for those wild women. One thing was certain, she wouldn’t need a vacation from the vacation with her friends.

  Anna Beth headed for the kitchen and washed the tree sap off her hands. Then she brewed herself some Christmas-blend tea while definitely not thinking about Corbett. And definitely not wondering what he was doing right now.

  Tea in hand, she wandered back into the living room, feeling like a ghost roaming her apartment. She looked at the presents on the couch, then smiled as she picked up the box that was meant for her brother Kyle. It w
as a pair of onyx cufflinks with his initials embroidered on them. She’d bought him more practical things too, but she thought this would jazz-up his wardrobe. Kyle was a jeans-and-plaid-shirt kind of guy when he was off duty, but he cleaned up pretty good when he was forced to don a tuxedo. He’d sent a text saying that he was enjoying going home to Kentucky but wished she’d been there too. She told him about her botched vacation plans and he’d offered to bail on the family venue and keep her company. She refused; she knew how much he looked forward to visiting the extended family. He relented, and she was happy about that. And she made him promise not to mention it to the family. The holidays were always a pensive time for the Grangers after Molly died.

  Her family’s world had been turned upside down when her three-year-old sister Molly died in a car accident years ago. They’d all dealt with the grief in their own way, but her mom was inconsolable for months. When her dad got a job opportunity in Texas, he packed up the family and they’d been there ever since. The change of environment was what they’d needed to help them move on from the tragic event. She had few memories of her sister, she was only five when the accident happened, but the doll her sister used to tote around wherever she went was etched in her mind.

  The pain had lessened a bit over the years but there was still the lingering twinge of sadness for who her sister could have been had she lived. She missed out on having a sister to gossip with and trade clothes. She’d missed out on having someone to call when she was down or to eat ice cream with in the middle of the night and watch horror movies under the covers. She’d managed to find Gwen in college and she helped heal her broken heart of having her sister stolen from her too soon. Then she met Cassie and felt that same kindred connection. She felt blessed that she’d been able to find two women that she loved like sisters.

  Feeling herself going down the same annual, dour rabbit hole, she pushed off the couch and decided to get on with the business of the tree. She went into the closet in her guest room and pulled out a box marked decorations and surfed inside for the stand.

  “Eureka!” she cheered when she found it.

  She opened a few more boxes also marked decorations. She reached for the cookie tin that held the string of lights and that’s when she saw it. It was the present she always placed under the tree for Molly. She’d seen the rag doll years ago in an antique toy shop window. It looked exactly like the doll her sister had dragged around with her. She didn’t tell the family about the tradition. It began as a symbolic gift for a departed relative and it had ended up comforting her for years. She hadn’t told anyone that she’d done it, but she did confide in Corbett.

  He’d told her that was the sweetest, most thoughtful thing he’d ever heard in his life. He also told her it meant the world to him that she’d shared it with him. They’d planned to do something special together to honor Molly…back when she’d thought for sure they’d be spending the holidays together.

  The guest bedroom was getting way too heavy, so she went back into the living room with the stand and Molly’s present and put it on the coffee table. What she needed was a quick musical fix. She whipped out her MP3 player and scanned to her Christmas playlist. She scrolled down the titles, most of them songs from Tate and Isabelle’s holiday CD. She loved his velvety voice no matter what the medley, but they were too romantic and upbeat. She was looking for something that matched her mood, which was heartbroken mixed with a twinge of disappointment, and settled on “Last Christmas” by Wham! She placed it onto the stereo deck, pumped up the volume and went into the kitchen to find a sweet treat. She knew the cookies were there, but she wanted something comforting and loaded with even more calories. After dieting to fit into that dress for the party, she deserved some junk food. She’d complain to herself about the binging later.

  She opened the fridge and took out the box of cinnamon rolls she’d forgotten she had. She rubbed her hands together, ready to pig out, when she got a brilliant idea. They would taste even better if they were warm and paired with a holiday cocktail. Now all she had to do was find that recipe book she’d gotten from her secret Santa at work last year. Sure, it wasn’t noon yet, but she didn’t care. There was no one around to shame her out of an early celebration while she attempted to decorate her tree.

  She danced to the sound of George Michael’s melodic voice, taking the sting out of a breakup as she turned on the oven and retrieved a baking sheet from her cupboard. Then she found her recipe book.

  She turned to a page with a frothy drink. “Ooh. That looks good.” She scanned the list of ingredients. “I don’t think I have any vermouth though.” She bit her lip.

  Suddenly she heard banging on her door.

  “Anna Banana! I know you’re in there!”

  Anna Beth opened the door to find her friend Gwen standing there with bags in her hands.

  “Gwen. What are you doing here?” She hugged her and ushered into the apartment. “Shouldn’t you be packing for your trip with Roger?”

  Gwen ignored the question. “What are you listening to?”

  “It’s ‘Last Christmas,’ a classic eighties song about betrayal and heartbreak with a surprisingly upbeat melody.”

  “Looks like I got here just in time.” Gwen put the presents next to the barren tree. “What’s going on here?”

  “It’s intentional. I saw one at a holiday art exhibit. It’s making a statement.” She stuck her tongue out at Gwen.

  Gwen glanced around the room. “All that’s missing are empty wine bottles and dirty Kleenexes strewn about the floor.”

  “I take it you’re not here to cheer me up?” she huffed.

  “I know we said we’d exchange gifts when you got back from Costa Rica, but I thought I’d bring over my gifts a little early so you’d have something to open on the big day. I can’t believe my super brainy friend shredded her own passport. That sounds like something Lisa would do.”

  Lisa was their friend who liked to dirty dance with presumed wanted criminals.

  “On a good note, I won’t have to babysit my entire vacation.”

  “Yeah, Jen was pissed you couldn’t make it because she knew Lisa was now her responsibility.” Gwen snorted.

  “She’ll get over it.” Anna Beth shrugged. “Can I get you something to eat? I have cinnamon buns warming in the oven.”

  “Are you sure you have the time?” Gwen removed her coat and hat. “I’d hate to break up you and Mr. Whisker’s party.”

  “What a smart ass. Come on into the kitchen.”

  Gwen picked up the recipe book, but she snatched it out of her hands. Great. There goes mid-morning cocktail hour. “I was going to do that this evening.”

  “Uh huh.”

  Anna Beth put on the coffee maker and retrieved the mugs. A minute later the cinnamon buns were done. She slipped on a pair of oven mitts and retrieved the delicious pastries from the oven.

  “So.” Gwen took a seat at the kitchen table. “Did you tell your family that your trip got canceled?”

  “Uh. No. They’d pressure me to join them in Kentucky, and I’d rather eat a glass sandwich. I did tell Kyle though.”

  “Shame on you for leaving poor Kyle to fend for himself.”

  She waved a hand. “My cousins love hearing about his firefighter heroics, and my grandmother fawns all over him when she’s not chasing the female neighbors away from him. Going home is always good for his ego.”

  “Is he still dating that massage therapist?”

  “No. They split after they attended a Halloween party at a friend’s house. The slutty cat got drunk and kissed one of his friends.” She laughed. “He still hasn’t correlated dating loose women with short relationships.”

  Gwen’s jaw clenched. “Kyle’s not looking for a relationship. He likes being with a different woman every week.”

  “I don’t know. I think the sexy fireman bit is wearing thin.”

  “Your brother is an enigma.”

  “Only to those who find him intriguing.” She squint
ed at her friend.

  Gwen coughed. “So, was destroying the passport some sort of subconscious thing?”

  “Yes, I deliberately sabotaged myself from a tropical getaway and cost myself thousands of dollars in nonrefundable tickets and fees.” She plated the cinnamon buns with a Christmas tree-shaped spatula.

  “I know it wasn’t your first choice for holiday plans. You were hardly excited about it.”

  “Hey. I was excited.”

  “Yeah like a kid going to the dentist with a toothache,” Gwen replied.

  “So I didn’t use a hundred emojis when I replied to that group text message, but I was working on the enthusiasm.”

  “Maybe your heart wasn’t in it because of the trouble with the men in your life?”

  “Men?” She furrowed her brows as she poured her friend a cup of French roast coffee.

  “Corbett and J.J., of course.”

  She took a seat in the kitchen chair. “I’d hardly label my boss as a man in my life.”

  “I can’t for the life of me understand why you didn’t pounce on that man after his divorce from that pageant troll Eden.”

  “Because.” She drizzled the icing over the buns. “Despite how handsome, rich, and sexy he is, J.J. is more like a brother.”

  “Only you would land in hot rich guy central and end up with more brothers.” Gwen shook her head. “I would feel sorry for you, but fate sends that sexy-as-hell Corbett your way. I’d totally make a play for him if I weren’t seeing Roger.”

  “So you’re sticking it out with Roger?”

  “I’m still undecided. And don’t change the subject. Why are you avoiding J.J.?”

  “I think he wants to give me a promotion.” She bit her lip.

  “Are you kidding? Call him now and tell him you accept.”

  “It would probably be something challenging and exciting, but may require me to move from the top floor.”