No Place Like Home

by Trina Crooks

  No Place Like

  HOME

  By Trina Crooks

  No Place Like Home Copyright © 2019 by Trina Crooks

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof

  may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever

  without the express written permission of the publisher

  except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Other works by this author…

  Let Me Tell You Something/As Time Moves On Box Set

  Only Hope

  Where There Is A Will

  Love Will Find A Way (Try Again)

  A Disastrous Love: Tornado Season (Heat of the Moment)

  An Unexpected Love Box Set

  Jasper Springs

  Home Sweet Home

  It Feels Like Home

  Holiday books

  The Christmas Mix-Up

  Walker Family

  A Walker Thanksgiving

  Love Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (Corey Walker Story)

  Worth (Morgan Walker Story)

  My Island Love (Island Paradise Series)

  Let Me Love You Right

  Make Time for Love (The Love Timer Series)

  Almost Paradise

  Synopsis

  Sonya Cummings was counting down the days until she was going to leave Jasper Springs. Although she loved her hometown, she had come to grips with the fact that she was not going to get what she truly wanted here, which was a love of her own. Her bags were all but packed and ready for her move to New York City when a handsome stranger comes whizzing into town and all of the single women have their eyes on him—including Sonya.

  Antonio Randall found himself following his grandmother to Jasper Springs for the Christmas holiday because he needed a breather from the hustle and bustle of New York. After the magazine article came out about him entitled “Single and Loving It”, Antonio was getting more attention than he cared for. Especially since he wanted to be anything but single and was longing for his Miss Right to come into his life. He then meets Sonya and finds that she might be the piece of his life that he was missing.

  Antonio chases her and Sonya resists until she finally can’t fight her attraction to him any longer. Now that they were at the beginning of what could be a beautiful relationship, will this small-town girl be able to make the big city her new home or will she give up this wonderful new man she just found because there is no place like home.

  Chapter One

  “I don’t want to go,” I whined to the empty room as I pulled my lavender duvet cover over my head in frustration. Thanksgiving was just a few days ago and although I had a great time with my parents and enjoyed the food my mom prepared immensely; I just couldn’t muster up a totally thankful spirit. I felt alone and sad, which was starting to be how I felt on most days even though I always tried to put on a brave face.

  I pushed my cover back and sauntered into the bathroom to run through my daily morning routine and then dressed myself in a long sleeve shirt for the unpredictable December weather. As my stomach began growling loudly, I rummaged through my freezer in search of anything that looked appetizing, before deciding that instead of cooking this morning, I would treat myself to a hearty breakfast out. Maxwell’s Diner was the best and pretty much only choice. My taste buds were screaming for pancakes and since the preparation of them was not something I’d conquered as of yet, I always had to get them elsewhere.

  Once I arrived at the full diner, I was escorted to a stool at the counter and immediately given a worn menu that I really didn’t need. “I know what I want Theresa.”

  “And what is that?”

  “The pancake platter with scrambled eggs, sausage patties and bacon—”

  “Cooked hard,” Theresa recited along with me before we burst out laughing. “I know girl. I will get it right in for you.”

  She stepped away from me and I looked around the restaurant that I’d frequented more times than I could count. While in high school this place was practically my second home; showing up with my favorite friends to share a plate of fries. It felt comfortable here and they always treated you as if you were family. Actually, anywhere you went in Jasper Springs felt that way because the town was small enough to know almost everyone.

  All of the booths were filling fast with patrons; their voices and laughter filling the air and here I was sitting all by my lonesome. I spent most of my days alone which I was so tired of. Theresa brought me over a glass of cold milk and while I drank some of it, I tried to drown out the sound of happiness around me, but I couldn’t.

  “How was your holiday?” Mrs. Blake asked from my left side. Her husband passed away recently so I know the holidays were going to be hard for her this year. She didn’t want to listen to my petty wallowing so I smiled brightly at her.

  “Good. How about yours?”

  “I went to visit my daughter in Arizona so I stayed busy. An idle mind is not a good thing for me around the holidays.”

  I nodded that I understood. This Thanksgiving was different for me also. Usually I spent some time with my friends—before Kira, my best friend came home and rekindled with her first love, before Kenyon found a new love of his own, before my ex-boyfriend got married—sigh—I was able to feel comfortable in the group. But now everyone was coupled up and I was a seventh wheel. So, I didn’t bother spending time with my high school crew this year because it would be too hard.

  After my delicious breakfast I ran off to work at Jasper Springs Vacation Rentals and started my day by checking the voice mail messages left for me over the long Thanksgiving weekend. I jotted down notes as I listened to customer after customer requesting what specific housing they wanted for the Christmas holiday and then I busied myself trying to see if I could fill these last-minute requests. We welcomed lots of people who didn’t want to spend their winters in cold weather and they found our small, close knit town just the fit they were looking for.

  “Thank you for calling Jasper Springs Vacation Rentals. My name is Sonya. How may I help you?”

  “Hi Sonya, this is Mr. Morris.”

  I put on my best smile. I loved all of my regular customers but he was by far the one that worked my nerves the most. He was always so difficult. “Hello Mr. Morris. When are you set to arrive here this season?”

  “I am arriving next week. Is my normal rental available for me?”

  “Yes.”

  “You said that last time and it was occupied,” he replied with his normal attitude.

  I took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “I am sorry about that. It was still being cleaned.” Mr. Morris was acting like it took him forever to get into his rental when in reality it was delayed just a couple of hours. “But I made sure that everything was done early and it is ready for your arrival.”

  “That’s great.” I could hear the smile on his face now. “See you next week.”

  I hung up and sighed. Jasper Springs, TX was a small adorable town that was purely a place right out of a picture book. It was a town where everyone knew their neighbors, people actually still stopped by to borrow a cup of sugar, and almost nobody was a stranger. Well that was quickly changing. Our well-kept little secret was getting out to the masses. As the days went by, more and more people were hearing about Jasper and were coming to see what our jewel of a town was all about for themselves. The town was growing and there was nothing I could do about it.

  The phone kept on ringing with my usual winter transports informing me of their arrival dates and even more new people were checking to see if any homes were available. I was trying to place individuals in any vacancies I had but it was getting tough to meet their specific wants. I couldn’t wait until they got done building the fifty condos near the
downtown area. Half of those were being slated as vacation rentals which would make my job so much easier.

  The phone rang again and I was ready to throw it across the room. But instead of doing that I picked up and addressed the caller with my usual cheerful voice. “Jasper Springs Vacation Rentals.”

  “Hey lady,” Kira Jones, my best friend said.

  “Hi. What’s going on?” I sat back to relax while I talked to my friend. Even in the middle of a work day Kira could talk my ear off. One time she called and chatted with me for over an hour about what color drapes she wanted to put in the house.

  “Nothing much. What are you doing?”

  “Just fielding all of these phone calls. This next week and the first week in April are always my busiest.”

  “Well come over and have lunch with me.”

  I smiled. Kira never liked to come to have lunch at my office because the building I worked out of was so small. It was barely enough for me some days let alone adding another person in here, so I certainly understood. “Sounds good. An hour?”

  “Yes.”

  I busied myself for a few more moments before I set the phone calls to go to voice mail, locked up the building and jumped into my car. With the weather being a balmy 70 degrees, I elected to roll down my window to let the breeze come in. Dealing with my car was a strenuous job and I never knew if it was going to be cooperative or not. It had been a long year with my 2005 Ford giving me all sorts of troubles but I had managed to hang on thus far without trying to run it into a river.

  “Come on. Don’t give me any problems please,” I begged as I turned the key. It sputtered a bit before it finally started up. I rubbed my steering wheel lovingly. “Thank you, Dorothy,” I cooed as if my car could hear me and then drove over to the community center that Kira was the Director of. I knocked on her open door and stepped on in.

  “Hey friend,” Kira greeted when she looked up from her paperwork to find me standing there.

  “Girl I needed this break from the office. The phone has been ringing off the hook.” I plopped down in the wooden chair across from Kira in a tired huff. I had to climb the stairs to get to Kira’s office and it always left me out of breath.

  “Has it been that bad?” Kira asked.

  I rolled my eyes and blew out a heavy breath. “Yes! I don’t know how everyone is finding out about our little secret town but they are.”

  Kira laughed. “Do we have enough rentals in town to house all of these people?”

  Empty houses were a plenty in Jasper Springs because many residents moved away and chose to rent their homes during peak seasons to get revenue. “Yes, we do. So far.” I looked at the empty desk in front of me and then brought my eyes back to my friend’s face. Kira smiled.

  “I know. It’s coming. I ordered the food late.”

  “Okay because I am hungry. I could eat your arm off right now.” Instead of sitting in the chair while I waited, I decided I was going to be nosy and look around Kira’s office. There were always pamphlets strewn everywhere informing about the newest things that were going on at the center so I took this time to see what was being added. I came across a flyer for a Chili cook-off and cookie bake sale that looked interesting. “What is this about?”

  “They have been all over the place. You haven’t seen it?” I shook my head no. “I thought it would be something different for the town to do. You know how we have so many people feeling like they are the best cooks. This way they can show off their skills.”

  “That sounds good actually.”

  Kira sat down her pen and smiled. “I thought so. And you know I need you to submit your fabulous Christmas cookies. Please,” she begged.

  “Yes. I can do that.” I loved the Christmas holiday and I was determined to lift my spirits so that I was not depressed during it. I was not going to let anything or anyone take away my holiday spirit. Not this Christmas. Making cookies would definitely aid in that since baking was my biggest passion.

  “Here’s our delivery man now,” Kira announced as Michael came waltzing in the door. He was her fiancé and the owner of the Barnyard Bar that the town liked to spend their evenings at.

  “Burgers and fries for my lady.” He gave Kira a quick kiss and then turned toward the door. “Hi Sonya. Bye Sonya.”

  “Bye Michael,” I responded to his retreating back before I sat down and picked up my lunch. “So, what is going on with you?”

  Kira gave me a weird look that made me stop my sandwich halfway to my mouth. “I am pregnant.”

  “Congratulations!” I exclaimed with happiness. “That is so great. Was this planned?”

  “No. Just sort of happened. You know how these things can be.”

  I didn’t know how these things could be but I just smiled and nodded my head. “I am so happy for you. You deserve all of these great things that are happening for you.”

  “Thank you. This just puts the wedding plans on hold now,” Kira commented as she started to explain all of the details of her life and the changes her body was going through now that she was pregnant. I sat and listened to her go on for about an hour before I left her and went back to my little shack of an office. Sadness started to wash over me like an ocean wave but I shook it off.

  “It’s just not my time,” I said to myself as I blinked back tears. “When my Prince Charming comes along, he will be great and wonderful. I just have to be patient.”

  I listened to all of the messages that were left within my hour lunch before I started fielding phone calls once again. It was busy for another hour until finally the calls eased to a stop. I decided not to second guess the quiet and just enjoy it until I was off work. My mind went immediately to the changes I was going to make in my life soon. Moving away was the number one difference I was determined to put in place.

  “I think I want a big city next,” I whispered to myself. Moving to another little town could possibly leave me in the same predicament. I wanted to add as many prospects to my dating life as I could in order for me to find The One. “But where?” I started writing down several large cities I would like to entertain—Los Angeles, Dallas, New York, Atlanta, and Charlotte. I threw them into a container and pulled out one folded piece of paper. Whichever one I chose would be my new home. I opened it up and read the contents.

  “New York City. Well if I am going to go big, I might as well go all the way big.” I then grabbed my purse and locked up the office for the evening. “My Mr. Forever is going to be in New York. I can feel it.”

  *~~~*

  “Have a good evening John.”

  “Good night Mr. Randall,” John responded courteously using a formal title that Antonio absolutely hated. John was twenty years his senior but he insisted on calling him by what he deemed appropriate. Antonio pushed the elevator button and waited quietly for it to arrive until he was joined by Jeannette, his father’s executive secretary. She smiled widely at him and he hoped like hell that she would not strike up a conversation.

  “Long day, wasn’t it.”

  “Yes, it was. I hope the old man didn’t work you too hard,” Antonio responded, trying hard to fight off the irritation rising in his body. Because he knew from previous interactions with her that she was not going to end with just a simple pleasantry. Jeanette had been flirting with him constantly for the last four years and no matter how many times Antonio told her he was not interested, she ignored him and kept right on.

  “No, not too hard. What are your plans for tonight? How about we go get a drink?” she suggested as she laid a manicured hand on his winter coat. “We could have a real good time, you know that.”

  “I like to keep my love life separate from the office and even if I didn’t, I am not interested in you like that. I’m sorry Jeanette.”

  “But you haven’t even given it a chance,” she continued as if he hadn’t said a single word. Antonio was used to flirtation in the office because he was the only single son of the boss, not to mention he was reasonably handsome if he said so
himself, but he was not in the mood for it this evening. Usually he could always muster up a sexy smile that masked the mean words coming from his mouth, but not today. He was tired and definitely over this conversation with Jeannette so when the elevator finally arrived, he entered it and rode down to the garage level to retrieve his car without another word to her. At this point he was so ready to go home. Today was one of his busier and more stressful days at Grandall Enterprises.

  Antonio worked for his family company who owned Grandalls—a large department store that was popping up all over the country. These discount department stores had good quality merchandise for low prices. They had been in business for over twenty years now and were gaining ground on that other large department store that shall remain nameless day by day.

  As he drove the streets of Manhattan on his way home, he couldn’t help but have a feeling of dread. It was only three days after Thanksgiving and already he was feeling the Christmas blues. He could see Christmas trees being put together inside the picture windows of houses and store fronts, stations were slowly adding Christmas music to the roster, and everyone seemed happy. Just a joyous happy that he could not seem to get himself to feel. Not at this time of the year because around the holiday he couldn’t help but feel one thing—lonely.

  Antonio finally made it to his Brooklyn townhouse and immediately ran inside to escape the cold. It seemed like it got colder quicker this year or was that just his heart. Antonio chuckled to himself before he looked around his house. It was so quiet. But it was his own fault because he insisted on purchasing this three story, four bedroom, three bath townhouse for just himself. There was no one to fill it up so of course it was quiet.