Feels Like Home

by Kelly Elliott

  Okay, I guess we were still talking about Drake.

  “When I see him now, it makes me want to do all kinds of things with him. His body drives me into…sexual overload.”

  My lip snarled up, and I gagged as I covered my mouth. “You went too far. Eww, you totally crossed a line. I think I’m going to throw up.”

  She glared at me. “You brought it up!”

  “I was only talking about dating him. You’re fantasizing about him. Gross!”

  “Shut up!”

  “You shut up!” I said.

  “You do know you’re arguing with a pregnant woman, right?”

  I shot her a smirk. “A horny pregnant woman who likes my brother and wants to do dirty things with him. Or while thinking about him. I’m not really sure.”

  “What are y’all talking about?”

  Mindy’s eyes went wide. I was positive I mirrored her expression.

  Drake walked up onto the back porch and looked between us. “What are you two shouting about?”

  “Nothing!” we both shouted at the same time.

  He frowned, then shook his head, almost as if he knew better to even question anything. He turned and looked at me.

  “I heard Anson showed up at the restaurant where you were on a date.”

  I tossed my hands up in the air. “Are you kidding me? How did you hear that?”

  “Mike told me. He ran in to grab take-out, and the hostess told him.”

  I rolled my eyes then looked at Mindy. “Someone set it up for him to show up.”

  “Did he ruin your date?” Drake asked as he sat down. He picked up Mindy’s feet and started to massage them. My eyes jerked up to see her holding her breath. She blinked at me with a flustered expression, and I almost laughed. Drake was completely focused on massaging her feet. It was the sweetest gesture, and my heart nearly soared out of my chest. By the look on Mindy’s face...I would guess she was thinking Jim who?

  “Anson didn’t ruin my date. The guy I was out with ruined our date by asking me to go back to his place and have sex.”

  That caused my big brother to stop what he was doing and stare at me. Then he laughed.

  “You’re shitting me, right?”

  I shook my head. “I wish. He was not my type, and we quickly figured that out. Then he proposed we simply go screw.”

  Drake was speechless. “I…I really don’t even know what to say to that. I get men can be pigs, but…”

  “He took it to a whole new level,” Mindy said. “He’s probably friends with Jim.”

  I thought about it for a moment and said, “You know, I think they are friends!”

  The three of us laughed so hard at that.

  “So how are you doing? With the whole ex back in town thing?” Drake asked.

  “I’m fine.”

  “You’re fine?” he asked, sounding very unsure of my reply.

  My eyes wandered down to the creek. “I’m not going to lie and say it didn’t hurt to see him. It did. But I’ll be okay. I doubt he’ll be in Comfort long.”

  “At least a month, maybe two.”

  Jerking my gaze back to Mindy, I asked, “How do you know that?”

  “He told me. He said his manager told him not to come back to Nashville for a couple of months. His assistant—that’s who’s here with him—she’s staying in Fredericksburg with her husband for a few weeks.”

  I leaned forward. “You sure do know a lot.”

  She smiled at me sweetly. “I ask the important questions. I know how to gather intel.”

  There wasn’t any arguing with that. Mindy had a way of finding out information, that was for sure.

  “How do you think Carl is going to react when he sees Anson?” Drake asked.

  I shrugged. “I’m not sure. He was pretty angry that he left. Pearl told me that she’s caught him listening to Anson’s songs sometimes.”

  Drake cleared his throat and gently dropped Mindy’s foot. “Hopefully while he’s here he can make amends with folks.”

  I didn’t say anything as I took another sip of tea and let my eyes move back to the water flowing lazily downstream.

  “Well, I figured you were here. I thought I would stop by to check up on my two favorite girls before I head back to the station.”

  The way Mindy was looking up at my brother said she was confused. Very confused.

  Things were about to get interesting in Comfort. And not just between me and Anson.

  Anson

  THE TRUCK CAME to a stop as I stared at the letter M on the black iron gate.

  “What in the hell was I thinking?” I mumbled, looking at the drive that led to my folks’ cattle ranch.

  It had been six years since I even set foot on the ranch. What would my father do when he saw me?

  A part of me wanted to put my grandfather’s truck in reverse and get the hell out of Dodge. But the other part of me longed to be here. The urge to climb on top of a horse and just ride on these pastures and hills was so strong it nearly left me breathless.

  I reached up and hit the gate opener. I watched as the large iron gate slowly swung open. The alarm at the house would alert them that someone was coming in. I knew my father knew I was here. Grams had insisted she wanted me to go to the ranch and not call ahead, and my mother had agreed when she called me last night.

  Word had also gotten around that Bristol had greeted me with a warm welcome, and I had followed that up by ruining her dinner date. Which I was pretty sure I hadn’t, but the town would believe the worst about me at this point. Bristol had truly looked like she wanted to reach across the table and slap the shit out of the suit sitting across from her.

  As I drove down the winding driveway, I couldn’t help but smile. The memories of this place started to settle. Slowly, I felt a sense of peace come over me. When I saw the giant, two-story Victorian house come into view, I pressed a little harder on the gas.

  My mother stood on the porch and waved. Her smile was as bright as the morning sun. I put the truck in park, turned it off, and quickly got out. She nearly knocked me over when she ran at me. I held out my arms and laughed when she plowed into me.

  “Anson! Oh, sweetheart! You’re home. You’re home!”

  I held her tight. “I am, Mama. I’m home.”

  She pulled away and gave me a thorough once-over, then looked up at my nose.

  “She got you good.”

  With a laugh, I nodded. “She did. Wasn’t anything I didn’t deserve, though.”

  Mama pulled in a long breath and then exhaled. “Anson, she was angry.”

  I kissed her on the forehead. “I’m not mad at her, Mama.”

  Her arm snaked around my waist, and we made our way toward the steps.

  “Your daddy laughed when he heard about Bristol punching you.”

  “I imagine he did. He’s probably ready to take his own swing.”

  She huffed. “He’ll do no such thing. If he does, he knows I won’t talk to him ever again.”

  I hugged her tighter at that confession. Damn, it was good to be walking up the steps of my childhood home. As we walked into the house, I drew in a deep breath.

  Lavender. Mama always had fresh lavender, no matter what time of year it was.

  “Your room is ready, if you’d like to stay here.”

  I smiled. “I think it’s probably best I stay in the guest house at Gram and Granddad’s.”

  “I understand, just know you’re welcome here,” my mother said with a small pout. “He’s in the barn. You might as well get it over with.”

  My heart pounded, and I felt an instant rush of heat move across my body. I was taken back to the days when I was a little boy about to get into trouble. Only this time, I hadn’t forgotten to feed the dogs or left the hose running in the trough. I’d simply walked away from the future he had envisioned for me. For us. I had disappointed him with my own dreams and passions.

  As I walked around my mother and headed toward the back door, she took my hand.
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br />   “Anson, as much as he denies it, he is proud of you. I need you to know that.”

  I felt myself frown. “Has he ever told you that?”

  She looked away briefly before smiling at me. “No. But he doesn’t have to. You don’t stay married to a man that stubborn after all these years and not know every word that he desperately wants to say.”

  With a nod, I made my way out the back door. My father’s ranch had two barns. This one—which was close to the house—was the one where all the animals stayed. Another one sat on the other side of the ranch. It wasn’t used for livestock, only to store hay. At least, that was how it had been six years ago. I heard a whinny and looked to my left to see someone riding up on a horse. He was my age, maybe a few years younger.

  “Can I help you?” he asked.

  I wanted to laugh. He had no idea who I was.

  “No, thanks,” I said as I made my way toward the barn, ignoring that the asshole was on my horse, George.

  “Sir, may I ask who you are and what you’re doing here? If you’re looking for Mr. Myers, you’ll need to make an appointment.”

  Stopping, I turned to him. “Who are you?”

  He looked taken aback. “Who am I?” he asked with a humorless laugh.

  I only nodded. He gave me a once-over.

  “Nick.”

  “Well, Nick. I appreciate the heads up, but I don’t even think an appointment would make my father want to see me.”

  His eyes went wide for a quick moment. “Anson?”

  I tipped my cowboy hat to him and started back to the barn.

  There was something about this Nick guy I immediately didn’t like. And it probably had everything to do with the fact that the prick was on my fucking horse and was strutting around here like he owned the damn place.

  I turned around and said, “That’s my horse. So if you don’t mind.”

  A slow smirk moved across his face. “Are you going to call dibs on Bristol like that as well? Heard you broke up her dinner date.”

  That made me stop in my tracks. “What did you say?”

  He laughed and then kicked George on his side. He galloped by and headed to the barn.

  “Fucking dick,” I said as I picked up my pace.

  When I walked into the barn, I saw my father mucking out one of the stalls.

  I moved closer and was about to say something when he spoke first.

  “Why don’t you start on that stall there.”

  I smiled. If he thought mucking out a stall was going to piss me off, he was entirely wrong.

  I grabbed a rake and got to work. We worked in silence for a while until Prick Face walked into the barn.

  “Mr. Meyer, the north fence needs mending. I can get to it tomorrow afternoon.”

  “I’ll fix it,” I said before my father could say anything. I could feel his eyes on me, though.

  “You heard my son, Nick. He’ll fix it.”

  Nick nodded then gave me a smile. “Do you need me to show you where everything is?”

  I wiped the sweat off my brow and stared at him. Then looked at my father. “Everything still in the same place?”

  He nodded.

  “Guess that’s your answer.”

  It was Nick’s turn to tip his hat to me. He spun and walked out of the barn.

  “He’s a good kid. Works hard for me and is in charge when I’m not around.”

  That made me snap my head over to my father. He grinned. “I trust him. I hired him when he was only sixteen. He just turned twenty-one and has proven himself time and time again.”

  That was my father’s way of saying he hadn’t been able to trust me. I went back to spreading out the new hay, lost in my own thoughts. When I finished, I looked up to see my father was gone.

  “Fuck,” I whispered as I closed up the stall and put everything away. I started back to the house and saw my father sitting on the fence watching a foal running in a pen as her mother grazed on hay.

  I made my way over and leaned against the fence.

  “Why did you hit that reporter after your concert, Anson?” my father asked.

  “I had a restraining order to keep him off any property owned by the family here in Comfort. He showed up at the concert hall and asked me about Bristol. He had just come from Comfort and had confronted Grams and Bristol on Grams’ porch.”

  “So instead of telling him he broke the law, you punched him?”

  “Yes, Sir, I did.”

  He nodded.

  “Always were a hothead.”

  It was my turn to nod. “I guess so, Sir.”

  “So you slinked back here to hide?”

  I looked up at him. “I’m not hiding from anyone.”

  “Is that so?”

  Anger pulsed through my veins. I turned and watched the young foal.

  “Nick will fix the fence tomorrow.”

  “I can…”

  He turned and looked down at me. “I don’t need or want your help, Anson. You walked away from this ranch. Six years ago. You didn’t want anything to do with it. Nick will fix the fence. I didn’t want to cause a scene in there.”

  I pushed off the fence. “What else does this Nick do on the ranch, Dad?”

  When he glared down at me, I had the urge to flee, but I stood my ground.

  “What you were supposed to be doing before you ran off to be a superstar.”

  “You never even gave me a chance. I wasn’t walking away from the ranch forever, Dad. I had my own dreams. Shouldn’t I have been allowed to follow them? I could have come back and worked the ranch. But all those years you made it clear I wasn’t welcome home.”

  He turned and then jumped down. When he stepped toward me, I fought the urge to step back.

  “You don’t get to show up back here and act like everything is okay. You haven’t been around the last six years, Anson. This wasn’t your ranch to worry about then, and it sure as shit ain’t your worry now.”

  “What are you saying, Dad?”

  “I’m saying you don’t get to come back and claim something that’s not yours.”

  I wanted to laugh. “You think I’m only interested in the ranch?”

  “It’s worth a pretty penny now.”

  “I don’t give a fuck if it’s worth ten million—I could write you a check for that on the spot right now and not fucking blink twice, Dad. I’m not interested in money.”

  He scoffed and started to walk toward the house.

  “Tell your grandmother and grandfather we won’t be over for dinner tonight…neither will Nick,” he said.

  I nearly stumbled back. The pain in my chest damn near left me breathless.

  I laughed in utter shock when reality hit me.

  My father slowed and turned around, a hard stare on his face. “Something funny?”

  “This Nick, he’s my replacement?”

  For a moment he looked stunned, then confused. Then he looked downright pissed off.

  “If you don’t want me here, say the word and I’ll leave and never set foot on this ranch again. But you need to be man enough to tell me that to my face, Dad.”

  “Anson!”

  My mother’s voice sounded panicked. I wasn’t sure when she’d walked up.

  When my father didn’t say anything, I felt the back of my eyes sting.

  “Right. I guess it was pretty fucking foolish of me to think you’d let me explain my side of things.”

  I quickly walked away as I heard my mother call out after me.

  “Anson! Anson, don’t go. Wait.”

  By the time I got to granddad’s truck, my mother caught up with me.

  “Where are you going?”

  “I’m leaving, Mom. It’s clear he doesn’t want me here.”

  “That’s not true. What happened?”

  I caught a glimpse of Nick walking to the barn. He glanced at me and then at Dad. He looked confused.

  “Is this Nick guy in Dad’s books?”

  “What do you mean?”
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  “I mean, is he handling any of the finances?”

  “Well, he handles some, yes. He’s the foreman of the ranch. Your father thinks highly of…”

  Her voice trailed off. Then tears filled her eyes. “No, Anson Michael, you get that thought out of your head right now. Your father and I both trust Nick.”

  I shook my head and pushed away the feeling of regret. “I’d have come back, Mama. I would have helped him with the ranch. I wanted to help him with the ranch. I only wanted a few years for myself. That’s all I asked for.”

  “Sweetheart, he doesn’t understand that. You just left without even saying goodbye to us. To Bristol, to your grandparents. You left.”

  “And he won’t let me explain it all to him now!” I shouted.

  My mother glanced back at the house. “Give him some time.”

  “Time? If six years hasn’t cooled him off, I don’t think a few weeks will make a difference.”

  Nick walked back out carrying a bucket of feed.

  I jerked my head in his direction. “It’s nice to know I was so easily replaced by everyone. First Bristol and Josh, and now this.”

  “Anson Meyer, jealousy does not become you, and in this case, it’s not warranted.”

  I opened the truck door then reached down and kissed my mother on the cheek.

  “I love you, Mama. I’ve got to run.”

  Before she could say anything else, I got in the truck, shut the door, waved to her, and drove off.

  Bristol

  THE WIND BLEW softly as I sat on the ground and stared out over the rolling hills enjoying the beautiful April day. I had no idea why I had come to this spot.

  That was a lie. I did know why I’d ended up here. It was like my brain knew where to bring me.

  It had been here, in this very spot, that Anson told me he loved me. We were on a quilt under a blanket of stars. He had sung a song that night about us. About our future.

  I wiped away the tear that had slipped free and rested my chin on my knees.

  “You come here a lot?”

  My eyes closed at the sound of his voice. I couldn’t stop the way my heart stilled in my chest. Slowly, I shook my head as he sat down next to me.