by Claire Adams
“Maybe, but some change can be great for a person. I know I like living in a world of change.” I took another bite of the casserole and swallowed. “I am always considering new investments, and I love that part of my life.”
My mother frowned. “Austin, you have more money than you know what to do with. Why do you look for more? Relax, honey. Enjoy life.”
“That’s the part of life that I enjoy. It’s not to get more money, Mom. It’s just the challenge for me. I don’t know why you won’t let me give you any of it to go on a vacation or something. It would do you good to get away.”
Dad’s mouth straightened stubbornly. I made the same expression sometimes. My friends told me so. I took after him a lot, but I had Mom’s smile.
“I don’t need anything,” he said. “I worked hard my entire life, and I can provide for your mother just fine.” His voice was on edge.
I sighed, knowing we were headed toward the same old argument. “How are you feeling these days, Dad?” I pressed gently, getting an eye roll for an answer.
Both my great grandpa and his father died from heart attacks at just a slightly older age, and he needed to watch it. Hell, I went in for regular checks, and I was only twenty-nine. I wasn’t going to fuck around with warnings that were clearly there.
“It was one goddamn heart attack. A small one at that. I went to the hospital, and I still see Doctor Green. I’m fine. I don’t know why everyone is fussing over me so damn much.” Dad scowled. “Your mother changed my diet, and she’s on me to go out and walk every morning and evening.”
Mom shot him a concerned smile.
“It’s a warning, Dad,” I said. “You know your family history.”
He wiped his mouth with a napkin. Dad looked great for sixty, but he needed to take care of what was inside. It probably added a lot of stress to his life to worry about money when he didn’t have to.
“Did you just come home to lecture me, Austin? Is this what I get to look forward to for the next month?” Dad grumbled.
Mom let out a breath and looked over at me. “I am so glad that you’re home this year, Austin.” I could tell she was trying to change the subject.
My phone chimed from the coffee table. I knew it was Preston from the personalized tone.
“Excuse me. It’s my assistant.” I stood to get the device so I could read the text. My parents still had their house phone and a dinosaur of a computer. That was beyond my comprehension as I scanned the screen of my brand-new Galaxy. “He’ll be here tomorrow.”
“I think he is the most adorable man with that accent,” Mom said. “But shouldn’t he be with his family? They’re so far away, Austin,” Mom fussed as I set the phone down on the worn kitchen table.
“He lives for the chase just like I do, Mom. You know that.” She’d met him several times when they came to visit me in New York and knew how good he was with organizing my business. “He’s looking forward to coming here to see what life is like.” I also paid him very well for all the things he did for me.
“He’ll see a true Texas Christmas here,” Mom said. “We’ll take him to get the tree day after tomorrow instead of having one delivered like you have the past few years.” Mom’s nose wrinkled in distaste. “I’ll make a special supper the night we decorate it and invite Bob and Kathy over. We’ll make a night of it.”
That was a big night? Oh, that’s right. I was in North Reed, not New York.
“What else do you have planned?” I asked dryly.
Mom grinned with excitement in her dark green eyes. “There are so many gatherings, Austin. People want to see you and ask you all about your life. There’s also the parade in town the day before Christmas, as well as the festival. It’s been so long since we’ve done that as a family.” She clapped her hands together, and Dad chuckled. “New York is beautiful at Christmas the first time, honey, but there’s so little tradition. It’s not like it is here. When you have your own baby, you’ll have to make sure and come here to show them what family is all about.”
I nearly choked on the water I was drinking. What baby? I was a workaholic who kicked women out of my bed after a few months at best. I wore condoms for a reason.
“I know there will be dinners that just happen over the course of a day, as well,” Mom said. “I love that about this town.” She smiled with contentment on her face. I fought the shiver that threatened to take over my body. “I don’t know why you can’t just let work go while you’re here. It’s Christmas.”
I wouldn’t know how to stop working if I tried. “Christmas is the twenty-fifth, Mom. Anything before that is merely December.” At home, I didn’t even take all the holidays off, and doubted that I would here, either. It wasn’t who I was.
She waved her hand in the air dismissively as if to shut me up. “Tell me about the new girl in your life. Is there one or are you seeing the beautiful girl from Estonia still? She’s so sweet.”
I swallowed the distaste in my mouth. Mia Laht had been my girlfriend for about six months. Part of that time was last Christmas when my parents met her. She was beautiful, with honey blonde hair and rare deep-set gray eyes that made every company want her for their ads. She was also fake as fuck, as I’d learned, manipulating people to fill her needs. I’d seen what she did to models who stood in her way, and short of harming them physically, she destroyed lives on a weekly basis.
Mia was an evil bitch, and I broke up with her three months ago. I told my mom as much, and she clucked at me.
“She was so pretty and sweet. You would have made beautiful babies.”
I pushed the thought out of my head. Mia would probably eat her young like animals did in the wild, just to get ahead. There was no future with her, but sex with a psychotic woman was fun sometimes. She was wild in bed.
Chapter Four
Rebecca
I was surprised it took a week for Kim to hear that Austin was back in town. I didn’t mention it, seeing no reason to do so. He was old news.
She dropped by the salon at closing time. I smiled when I saw her. She walked through the door with bags from our favorite deli.
“Hey, sis,” I said. “What brings you here?”
“I kept the library open late tonight so some kids could work on a project. I thought that you might be hungry.” Kim plopped the bag at my station and glanced around. We both looked a lot like Mom in the face, though she had Dad’s bright blue eyes. It was coming up on nine, and I had the keys in my hand to lock up.
“Can I help with anything?” Kim asked, seeming to notice I was here alone.
Stacy was supposed to close with me, but one of her kids was sick, so I told her to head out early. It was North Reed. What could happen?
“Sure,” I said. “Could you sweep the floor while I get the money in the safe for Barry?”
“On it,” Kim replied, showing more than just a willingness to help in her pretty face. She went to grab a large broom. I locked the door and turned out the lights in the waiting area of the salon. I went to the register and grabbed the blue bag that we put the earnings in. George Strait sang about all of his ex’s in Texas, on the radio, and Austin crossed my mind for a moment. Okay, maybe it was for the hundredth time since seeing him.
“So, dear sister of mine,” Kim said. “Why didn’t you tell me that Austin Harris was back in town? I already heard he was in here for you to cut his hair.”
“There was no real reason to,” I replied casually. I counted out the bills in the drawer. Barry liked to come in the morning and do the balancing, so I was just putting everything over fifty dollars into the bag. It was easy work, but the mere mention of Austin made my head start to ache. “He’s here to see his folks.”
“No reason? He was your high school sweetheart!”
I rolled my eyes. “That was over a decade ago, Kim. We were kids at best. We’ve gone in completely different directions since then, and it wasn’t even pleasant to talk to him.” I sifted the coins from the counter to get them where they needed to
be, annoyed. “You know how he was in school, right? He was always so focused on leaving North Reed and cocky about it. Now he’s made it and is even worse. I couldn’t wait to get him out of here.” I sealed the coins in a small paper envelope and dropped it into the blue bag with the report from the day.
“That being so eloquently said, did he stir up any old feelings? He was your first real boyfriend, Becs. You were together for two years!” Kim loved a good romance novel, and there were times I thought she bought into them way too much. That was fiction, not reality.
I scoffed at her naïve excitement. “No, Kim. Why would he? He’s an arrogant ass now. Besides, even if he did, you’ve seen the women he’s dated all over the magazines. Austin has moved far away from anything that he had here.”
“Come on, sis. He used to make your eyes sparkle. I haven’t seen that with any guy since.”
I secured the cash in the bag with a sigh. There hadn’t been a lot of men since then, being that I knew everyone here.
“He was the first man that you slept with, and practically the last,” Kim said. “That has to mean something.”
“It means we were in high school. Everyone slept with their first somewhere around then.” I zipped up the little bag. “He’s not the last.”
“I never thought that you were ever swept away by Liam,” Kim accused me as I rolled my head slowly. My neck always ached after a long day at the salon. It seemed to hurt a little more this past week, but I’d never tell my sister that.
“I wasn’t,” I admitted and looked at her as I locked the remaining money in the drawer with the key. I looked at the floor and realized that she did a great job cleaning up. “Looks good. Let me get this into the safe and we’ll eat.” I dropped the register key into the deposit bag and took it to the office, setting it inside the safe before I locked it.
I pulled the door closed and locked the office. I walked around to make sure that everything was set up for the following morning. I had the day off and looked forward to relaxing a bit and cleaning my house. Kim had already pulled out her sub and was eating in the seat at my station, careful to eat over her wrapper. She knew from experience that I didn’t want to clean up a second time.
I took a seat beside her and unwrapped my turkey sandwich, hearing my stomach growl. I sat down at Katie’s station and took a big bite.
“You do realize that Austin is hot as hell, right? Not to mention, he has a lot of money. He could give you a good life, sis.” Kim smiled at me. I chewed and swallowed.
“I'm happy with my life here. We both stayed when Mom and Dad left.” I sipped the soda that sat between us. “Look, I have good memories of Austin. We had a lot of fun in high school, Kim. I liked him a lot, probably more than I wanted to admit at the time, but the past is the past. We’ve both moved on, and it would be foolish to harbor feelings for him. Sure, he’s grown up into a gorgeous man, but he’s a man whore now, like all those guys in your books. I don’t want to be the girl he sleeps with over the holiday break. I don’t want to be another notch on his bedpost.”
“Those guys are fantastic in bed, Becs.” Kim grinned at me.
“Yeah, and some author writes that as they see fit. Do you think that they have explosive sex lives?” I challenged her, watching her giggle. Yep, she did.
Austin tried hard to make my first time good. It was after his junior prom at a local motel. He was sweet and gentle with me, soothing me through the pain of a first encounter with soft words and kisses. I knew that I loved him in that high school way a girl felt, and every time we slept together, it only got better. Sure, we had to find creative ways to have sex, but when we did, it was good. Austin was motivated to excel in every part of his life, and he always made me feel good. I saw that all his focus was on leaving when he ended things with me, and that I was a clear part of his past.
That was that. There was no point in thinking about the what ifs because there were none.
“Want to come over for some wine?” I asked Kim. She grinned and nodded.
We lived a few houses away from each other, and we did this often. We got the rest of our dinner into the bag, and I shut off all the lights. Then I started the diffuser for the night. I didn’t want anyone to walk in here in the morning smelling day-old deli sandwiches.
I locked the door, and we went to our separate cars to go to my house. It was decorated like Mom left it, with a few touches of my own. Kim walked in after she unlocked the door and headed to the small bistro table that I set up in the kitchen overlooking the backyard. It wasn’t as pretty as when Mom lived here since I wasn’t as much of a green thumb as she was, but I still felt a sense of peace when I sat here in the morning or evening.
I went to get the bottle of wine from the fridge and two glasses from the cupboard. Kim grinned as I filled them and set my sandwich in front of me. I returned to eating it, waiting for her remaining questions. Along with being sisters, we were best friends and confided everything to one another. Kim took a few bites before she scrunched her nose at me. “Are you sure that Austin being back for a while doesn’t mean anything to you?”
“I was shocked to see him,” I admitted. “It was his first day back, and he was a walk in, so I was surprised. That’s to be expected after over ten years, Kim. I didn’t want to fall to my knees and ask him to take me back though. I’ve made a life for myself here, and he clearly wants to get the hell out of here as soon as possible. He isn’t happy about being back. Why would he want anything to do with me?”
“You’re an amazing person, and you were back then as well. I know the women who he’s been with are superficially pretty, but I’ll bet that they have no soul.” Kim raised her glass, and I clinked mine to it with a giggle. “They all want him for his cash. You liked him for who he was and is.”
“I don’t know him anymore. I liked him then, though.” I sipped the wine and set it on the table before taking another bite. High school relationships broke up all the time when one or the other went to college. I knew that sometimes there was a second chance at romance, but I believed that mostly happened in books. Not so much in real life.
I was happy with my simple life working for the salon in North Reed. I was happy with the friends I had and the time we spent together when I wasn’t working. It didn’t end up being much more than dinner or maybe a movie, but we talked a lot. Places like New York seemed like they were so busy and nobody really knew one another. Did Austin even have any real friends, or were they just people looking for a handout?
“He is only here for a few weeks, Rebecca. I don’t know if he’ll be back for another visit, based on what you’ve said and how long it’s been since he left.” Kim gave me a long look. “Make sure that you have everything tied up inside when he leaves, because that might be it. I know how you felt about him before, Becs. Don’t let this chance slip away.”
“He’s not looking for a second chance at anything, Kim. Not here. Austin is here physically, but he can’t wait to go home. That was obvious to me. Case closed.”
“I hope that you tell me the same thing when it’s January and he’s back home.” She sipped her wine again and slipped a piece of salami that fell out of her sandwich into her mouth. “Life is too short, Becs.”
“Life here is just fine, sis. I’m happy.” I smiled as I spoke, but who was I trying to convince? Me or her?
I’d go on to work in the salon, talking to my regular customers and working towards becoming a manager. I had my friends and my sister. I had a great life, and when it was time for love to be a part of it, it would be.
Chapter Five
Austin
I pulled into the parking lot of the hotel that Preston was staying at. He’d rented a car of his own, though it was just a regular sedan. The hotel was simplistic compared to any place I stayed at, but the Travelodge was the best that North Reed offered. I shook my head and got out of the car to go to room 220, taking the stairs briskly. I had to ask him about our current project since there had been some time sin
ce we had any contact. I rapped on the door, and he answered.
I laughed. “What the hell is that, Preston?”
My wiry assistant wore a large cowboy hat with his gray suit and black tie, grinning broadly. “Do I fit in? I saw this at a store when I went to get some sunglasses.”
“I don’t think a legitimate Texan would even wear that,” I told him wryly as I walked inside of the small room. “It this okay for you?” I preferred suites with multiple rooms, and this was just a bed, bathroom, and the other basics. “I couldn’t get anything else close that was better.”
“This is fine, Austin. All I need it for is sleeping, and there’s a bed.” He closed the door behind me. He’d already unpacked some, and his MacBook was open on the table.
“I suppose,” I conceded. I sat down at the table.
“I don’t think your parents live in a fancy house. I know that you’ve never given them any money for anything for a large purchase. This is fine, Austin.” Preston sat across from me and adjusted his hat.
“You got that right. It’s the same house I was raised in. I want them to get something newer, bigger. I don’t know why they won’t let me do that for them.” I shook my head and glanced at the screen, taking in the numbers. “I know I trash their life here, but they’re great people. I mean, you’ve met them. They were the best parents they could be, and even my friends always wanted to be over at the house. Dad worked his ass off at the same company for years, and Mom always welcomed us with open arms. She made cookies every day for my friends and drove us anywhere we needed to go. They gave me everything, and I just want to give back to them, Preston. I’d never have been this successful if it weren’t for them, and I don’t know how to convey that.”
Preston took the hat off and tossed it onto the bed. “Just tell them. Your parents are not the people in New York, Austin. They know the real you, however deep he is buried. Just talk to them.”
“Yeah. I got into it with them at dinner the first night I was here. It felt so strained when I am just trying to relax with them. I am supposed to be here on vacation for the holiday, but I am almost tenser than I am at home.” I shook my head. “How’s the Singapore deal going?”
