When Love Returns

by Lorana Hoopes

  The door of the apartment building opened as they approached, and a man in a maroon suit greeted them. “Welcome to the Stratton apartments. Please come in.” After a little perfunctory bow, he spanned his arm out and stepped back, holding the door open and allowing their entrance.

  The lobby of the apartment was like an expensive hotel, decorated in reds and golds. Brandon’s eyes were nearly as wide as Joy’s as he took in the opulence. Large, golden chandeliers hung from gold-plated ceilings, creating a stunning visual display. Four red couches created a large square around a glass-topped coffee table, and an enormous white marble desk occupied the right corner, a colorless distraction from the stimulating room.

  A petite brunette with her hair pulled tightly on her head manned the counter. Brandon sidled her direction, making sure Joy was still firmly grasping his pocket.

  “Hi, I’m Brandon Scott. Stewart said to check in with you. We’ll be staying in the company suite.”

  Her head nodded, just once, proficiently. “Absolutely, Mr. Scott.” She punched the keys on her computer. “There you are. I just need you to sign this. It’s a listing of the rules and the responsibility clause.”

  A printer whirred to life behind her, and she turned, grabbed the sheet, and placed it before him. It read like a small contract. No loud noise after eight pm, all visitors after six pm had to be approved by the front desk, no pets – good thing he didn’t have any. Nothing seemed out of order, so after juggling the luggage so he could grasp a pen, he initialed and signed at the bottom before handing it back to her.

  Her eyes scanned the paper. “Very good, sir. One moment.”

  As she reached for the phone beside her, Brandon glanced down at Joy. Her eyes were still wide, and her hands clutched her bunny in a death grip.

  “Don’t worry, Bug, it gets easier once you get used to it.”

  A moment later, another man in a maroon suit appeared at their side. His nose was long and hawkish above a neatly trimmed brown mustache that matched his eyebrows and the sideburns peeking out from under his hat.

  “I’ll take those, Sir, and show you to your apartment.”

  Grateful, Brandon handed over two of the bags, keeping his laptop bag over his shoulder. With his now free hand, he grasped Joy’s, and they followed the man whose name tag read Mark. He led them down a marble floored hallway where the red and gold décor followed. Elegant abstract paintings hung at interspersed intervals along the wall.

  Mark stopped in front of an elevator with ornate gold doors. The button chimed and lit up as his finger pressed it. Instead of the normal digital display of floors, there was an old timey arc of numbers and an arrow that pointed to each one as it passed that floor.

  When the arrow touched down on the number one, the elevator dinged and the door slid open. The inside had a gold and white interior and a dark red carpet. A golden panel with rows of buttons from one to thirty lined one side, and as they stepped in, Mark punched button thirty.

  The doors closed, and the elevator ascended, but the movement was so smooth it was barely noticeable. At the top of the doors was the little black panel that illuminated the number of each floor as they passed. When the elevator hit thirty, another chime sounded, and the doors opened.

  The deep red carpet carried into the hallway. Mark turned to the right and led them to the single white door at the end. As he slid the key into the door, Brandon looked behind them. There was only one other door on this floor at the other end of the hallway.

  “Who lives in the other apartment?” he asked, hoping it was perhaps a large family with children for Joy to play with.

  “The head of the company.” Mark’s reply was short and succinct. Brandon would be getting no more information from him.

  He swung open the door to the apartment, and Brandon’s jaw dropped. The place was huge. A wall of windows greeted them, staring into the heart of New York. Two plush leather couches faced a giant television mounted on the wall. To the left was a kitchen and dining room done all in black and white.

  “The bedrooms are to the right. There are four, so you have your choice. Does it meet your approval?”

  Brandon could only nod, awestruck by the immensity of the apartment. He knew the company had money, but he wasn’t expecting anything this extreme.

  Mark set down the suitcases and stood patiently waiting. Brandon cocked his head at him before it dawned that he was waiting for a tip. After extricating his wallet, Brandon handed over two bills, and Mark nodded and exited the room.

  “Shall we go pick our rooms?” Brandon asked Joy.

  “It’s so big.” Her voice tremored with fear. This place must seem even larger to her. Their apartment back in Dallas had been a modest two-bedroom. Nothing fancy, but enough for the two of them.

  “It will be okay. It’s only for a little bit. When we get our new place, it will be much smaller.” Even on his new larger salary, he would never be able to afford a place like this.

  The floors in the apartment were hardwood, and their feet plopped softly on the wood as they headed down the hallway. The first room on the right opened to a large guest bathroom decorated in beige and crème. Across from it was the first bedroom, which held a full bed, dresser, and small desk. The room was blue and white.

  The next door revealed a similar room only done in pink and white, and the third door opened to a crème and beige one. At the end of the hall was the last door. Brandon assumed it was the master bedroom.

  It opened to reveal an enormous room with a king canopied bed. A rose-colored lounging couch sat near the window. A massive maple dresser filled the wall across from the bed and above it was another large television. A roll-top desk was in another corner next to a door he was sure led to the bathroom and closets.

  “Can I just sleep in here with you?” Joy asked. “You can lay a mattress on the floor.”

  “For tonight,” Brandon replied and patted her head. “We’ll see if we can get a smaller bed for the pink room tomorrow if you think that one’s too big.”

  The next morning, he rolled over to find Joy curled up in the bed beside him, bunny snuggled under her chin. Her little pink lips were slightly parted, and a soft snore escaped with each breath.

  Quietly, he crawled out of the bed and padded to the kitchen to start some coffee. The hardwood floors were cold in the morning, sending a shiver through his body, even though he was relatively warm in his flannel pants and t-shirt.

  He began opening random cabinets in search of coffee mugs and grounds. The first cabinet revealed plates and bowls, all solid black. The second held glasses of all kinds. The third cabinet revealed mugs, and he grabbed a black one with the words “I need a coffee break” emblazoned in white lettering across it.

  Mug in hand, he scanned the room for a pantry. That was where he would keep coffee. Two white recessed doors caught his eye, and upon opening them, he found a completely stocked pantry with cereal boxes, canned goods, and coffee.

  After grabbing the grounds and a filter, he set the coffee pot up and pressed the button to start the brewing. The small machine whirred to life with a few clicks, and the smell of coffee began to fill the air, followed by the soft dripping of liquid magic into the mug.

  When the final hiss ended, he grabbed the mug and looked up to see Joy standing at the end of the bar. Her eyes were still heavy with sleep.

  “Hey, Bug. Do you want some cereal? I saw some in the pantry. The good kind.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her in hopes of earning a smile.

  “Okay,” she said. Not quite the reaction he was hoping for, but he grabbed her a bowl and filled it up with one of the sugary cereals and placed it on the table in front of her.

  The doorbell rang as he was replacing the milk in the also well-stocked refrigerator. His brows knit together as he wondered who could be on the other side. Almost no one knew they were here besides Stewart, and he had agreed to give Brandon a few days to find a nanny for Joy before calling him into work.

  “Stay here, Bug,
” Brandon said to Joy as he headed to the door. His eyes darted around for anything he could use as a weapon, but while this apartment was fully stocked, there was no baseball bat or crow bar lying around anywhere.

  At the door, he peered through the peephole and his heart stopped. It couldn’t be. He couldn’t keep the trembling from his fingers as he turned the lock on the door.

  Chapter 20

  Though the sun shone brightly through the pale curtains covering the window, it did not bring cheer. It had been nearly a week since the last time Presley saw Brandon and Joy, and her mood had been sour every day.

  She kicked back the covers and stumbled to the shower. Even the warm water and lavender scented soap, which usually awakened her senses, made no dent on her mood today. She grabbed a pair of pants and a shirt from the closet without even looking to see if they matched and then sauntered into the kitchen for some coffee.

  Twenty minutes later, she was opening the bakery, oblivious to the white wonderland that still covered the town. As the door closed and she flipped the sign to open, she forced a smile to her face. She refused to lose customers simply because she was heartbroken over a boy yet again.

  Presley rescued the left-over pastries from the freezer and began heating them up. Her stomach grumbled at the smell, and she realized she had forgotten to eat or maybe she had skipped it on purpose. Food held no flavor lately.

  The bell jingled, and she greeted her first customer of the day. Though not a heavy onslaught, the customers continued steadily for the next few hours.

  After the breakfast rush and another grumble from her stomach, Presley took a break and nibbled a scone. When the bell jingled, she nearly dropped her scone until she realized it was just Trudy.

  “Sit down and take a break like a normal person,” Trudy said in her no-nonsense voice. Her finger wagged with each word. “Stop hiding in the corner, sneaking food. It makes you seem like you’re doing something wrong.”

  Trudy had this brusque way about her that Presley loved, but it also made her feel sheepish sometimes. Pastry in hand, she walked out from behind the counter and joined Trudy at a table. Today, she was in her overalls but free from paint.

  “Are you not painting today?” Presley asked before taking a bite of the scone. The hungry monster in her stomach demanded more, and she forced her hand to the table to stop it from shoving the entire pastry in her mouth.

  “Not yet. I had to check in on my grandmother.” Trudy’s grandmother lived in the Star Lake nursing home on the outskirts of town. Presley had never met her, but Trudy had shared stories. She sounded like an amazing and interesting woman until dementia set in. Now, it seemed she hardly even remembered Trudy.

  “How is she doing?”

  Trudy shrugged, and her eyes dropped to the tabletop. “She’s okay, I guess. She knew me for a bit today, and she kept asking about Jacob. He was her husband, but he died ages ago. It got me thinking though.” Her brown eyes pulled back to Presley’s. “Maybe there is something to this love thing.”

  Presley’s head dropped forward in surprise, and she nearly choked on the morsel in her mouth. “Trudy, are you going soft on me?”

  Her face scrunched in alarm. “No, not for me. I’m too set in my ways. I mean for you. You and Brandon. The two of you could have a love like my Bethel and Jacob did. I saw it in the way you looked at each other.”

  “I don’t know,” Presley said shaking her head. “He took the job and moved to New York. He asked me to go with him, but I just couldn’t do it. My home is here, and it didn’t go well the last time I saw him.”

  Her hand reached across the table and grabbed Presley’s arm. It was two shades darker due to Trudy’s ability to tan every time she was in the sun. Presley envied that about her. She was the type of person who burned and then peeled, no matter how much sun she got.

  “I don’t want you to go,” she said, “but what if this is a once in a lifetime love? Would you give that up just to stay here in Podunk Star Lake?”

  “I like it here.” Trudy shot a pointed stare. “Okay, I’ve been praying about what to do, but my last venture into the big city didn’t go so well. Remember?”

  She flicked her hand and leaned back, dismissing the concern. “Yeah, but that wasn’t with Brandon. You know him. Would he do that?”

  Presley wanted to say no, but he had changed some since she knew him well in high school, and she was no longer confident in her answer. The Brandon she knew hadn’t been obsessed with money, and she’d like to think he would have stayed where his daughter was most comfortable. She certainly couldn’t imagine the Brandon from high school dragging his daughter off to a big city where she knew no one right before Christmas.

  The image of Joy clinging to Presley’s neck as they said goodbye still pulled on her heartstrings, and she was no longer sure whether she loved the girl or the man more.

  “Why don’t you at least go visit? Check out the place and see if you could live there?” Trudy glanced at her watch. “Plus, if you hurry, you could get there by Christmas.”

  Presley gestured at the empty store. “Who would run the store? I can’t just close it for a week.”

  Trudy tipped her head to the side and her eyes scanned the room. “You could. In this town, it would be fine, but what if I run it for you?”

  “You? You hate even helping me clean.” Who was this woman in front of her?

  “I do, but I love you, and want the best for you.”

  Presley stared at her, trying to decide if she was serious and if she could take Trudy up on it. It would only be for a few days, and it would be nice to spend Christmas with Joy. She knew Joy was upset having to leave, and with a new job, Brandon was probably distracted, but did she want to butt in her life again if she was not going to stay? She didn’t want to make it harder on the poor girl.

  “I’ll think about it,” she told Trudy, but in her mind, she was already packing her bags.

  Chapter 21

  Brandon had thought he was imagining things, but as the door opened, it was clear the woman in front of him was indeed Morgan. Her face hadn’t aged a day. It was still chiseled to perfection with high cheekbones, a classic upturned nose, and flawless skin. Her dark hair cascaded around her shoulders, which were hidden under a tight white blazer that narrowed at her thin waist before flaring out at her hips. A black shirt with a cowl neck lay under the blazer.

  “Morgan?”

  Her eyes widened in surprise. “Brandon? What on earth are you doing here? I thought you were still in Star Lake.”

  She really had been out of touch. “I moved to Dallas after you left. I’ve been working for an ad firm there, but I just got hired by Bling Inc., and they moved us up here.”

  If his barb about her leaving affected her, she didn’t show it. “That’s wonderful, Brandon. I always knew you could do great things if you put your mind to it.”

  Her words bothered him, though he was not exactly sure why. More pressing on his mind was why she was here. “Thanks, Morgan, but what are you doing here?”

  “Oh, right,” she flicked her hand, “I live across the way, and I wondered if I could borrow some creamer for my coffee. I forgot to pick some up on my way home yesterday. You know how I like my coffee with a little bit of sweet.”

  Brandon narrowed his eyes at her. Why was she being so friendly? “I know how you used to like your coffee, but that was four years ago before you up and left Joy and me. I don’t know anything about you now.”

  Her perfectly manicured hand touched his arm. The red on her nails matched the color on her lips. “Don’t be like that, Brandon. We’re going to be neighbors, at least for a while; we might as well be neighborly.” She tried to poke her head around him. “Speaking of Joy, where is she?”

  He pulled the door closer, blocking the view of Joy behind him. “She’s here, but I’m not sure I want you seeing her. You put her through hell when you left the first time. I don’t want to put her through that again.”

  A cold gl
eam flickered in her eye for a moment, and then it was gone. Her hand left his arm to flick a dark strand behind her ear. “She’s my daughter, Brandon. You can’t keep her from me forever.”

  Icy fear trickled through his body, stirring a cold anger. She better not be trying to take Joy. “You didn’t want to be a mother when you left.”

  Her weight shifted from one foot to the other. “I know, but I was wrong. I’ve had a lot of time to think about it.”

  He pulled the door completely closed behind him and crossed his arms. “You never even bothered to contact us. Not for birthdays or holidays.”

  Her full lips pushed out into a pout. “I’m not trying to take her, Brandon. I just thought since we’re living right across from each that maybe I could get to know my daughter.”

  “We’ll see,” he said. “For now, wait here, and I’ll get your creamer.”

  Without letting her in, he opened the door and slipped inside, closing it after him.

  “Who is it, Daddy?” Joy asked. Thankfully, she was still working on her cereal, or she would have probably run to the door to check the visitor out. He hadn’t spoken of Morgan since she left, and he had no idea if Joy would remember her or not, but he was unwilling to chance it right now.

  “Just a neighbor looking to borrow some creamer.” He opened the large black fridge and scanned the door. There was a bottle of Peppermint creamer situated snugly between some strawberry jelly and a bottle of ketchup. Plucking it from the shelf, he closed the fridge and crossed back to the front door.

  Morgan still waited on the other side. He shoved the creamer into her hands, anxious to be rid of her for now, until he could sort out his feelings. “I have to get back to her, but we’ll talk later.” Without waiting to hear an excuse from her, he stepped back in the apartment and closed the door.