by Tess Oliver
Home is Where the Heartbreak is
Summer Romance Collection
Tess Oliver
Home is Where the Heartbreak is
Copyright© 2012 by Tess Oliver
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.
All Rights are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quatoations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Chapter 1
My finger reached up and hit the eject button. “Mom, seriously, if I have to listen to this same CD one more time I swear I’m going to roll down the window and jump out.”
“Well, the radio stations died off miles ago, and I’m trying to keep awake.” Mom leaned forward, turned off the music, and smiled at me. “I guess you’ll have to sing.”
“Then you’ll want to jump out the window.” I picked up the package of potato chips from the console and shoved one in my mouth. We had been on the road for six hours, and the monotony of a long car ride had finally gotten to me.
When Aunt Sadie had called Mom two weeks earlier to ask if we could come for the summer and help her run her antique shop, we’d both thought it sounded like a great idea. Aunt Sadie had hurt her back and needed us, and a summer away from home was just what we both needed. Mom had lost both her job and her fiancé in a disastrous week that we’d since labeled the week from hell, and I needed to take a break from Josh, an entirely too possessive and controlling boyfriend.
Now, after a six hour drive on a seemingly endless strip of highway, and three heated arguments about everything from my grades to Mom’s choice of men, we were nearing our destination. But instead of excitement or relief at reaching the end of our trip, nervous tension filled the front seat of the car. We were returning to a place we had not seen in five years. I’d spent my entire childhood in Pinecliff, and it was filled with memories-- both good and bad.
I was twelve years old when Mom yanked me from my life in the small resort town of Pinecliff so she could follow her fiancé to the city. He was number two in a string of three fiancés who never actually made it to the altar. At least this time she was chasing a job opportunity and not some jerk who promised her the world and delivered nothing but heartbreak.
“Keep a look out for King’s Road, Jessa. It’s one of these unpaved ones off the main highway.” Mom had rented us a cabin for the summer. It would be a definite change from our last place in the city, where the walls had been so thin we could hear the old guy next to us laughing at his blaring television. He apparently never turned the thing off. Above us there had been a young couple who’d stomped around so loudly, we were sure they would eventually come crashing through our ceiling.
Mom plucked out the last chips and threw the empty bag on the back seat with the rest of our anxiety munchies.
I glanced at the litter-covered back seat. “Good thing we’re almost there. Much longer and they would have found us on the side of the road dead from a junk food overdose.”
As the trees transformed from oak and maple to towering pines, and the straight two-lane highway became a series of curves, I scooted down, lifted my feet onto the seat, and squeezed my knees to my chest. My stomach was in knots, but it wasn’t from the bad food or the twisty road.
Mom glanced down at me. Her knuckles were white as she gripped the steering wheel tightly. “You know, five years is a long time. A lot changes in five years. All three of you have grown up now. You’ll be like strangers to each other.”
“Besides, Nicholas is no longer in town. That should make it easier,” I said, more to assure myself than Mom.
“Right,” Mom said after a long pause.
When I’d first heard Nico was no longer living in Pinecliff, I was disappointed. But the more I’d thought about it, the more I’d realized that it would be easier coming back to town with at least one of them gone.
Nico, Chase, and I had been inseparable growing up. I had shared every laugh, cry, and secret with my two best friends. We’d protected and taken care of each other whenever our parents screwed up, which happened a lot back then. No one could penetrate our circle, and we’d vowed to be together forever. Then my mom hacked it up by dragging me three hundred miles away. We’d emailed and called each other during first year, but that never healed the heartbreak of leaving them behind. After I’d left, Chase and Nico grew apart too. My distance had forced us all to grow apart.
“Jessa, I know I’ve uprooted you too many times, but I think this will be good for us. I really need the money, and the job offers were not exactly rolling in back home.” She patted my arm. “Besides, look how beautiful it is up here. Just nature and clean air.”
I nodded like I was in agreement and scrunched down tighter in my seat. Somehow moving to a new place with complete strangers had never been as nerve-racking as moving back to a place with familiar faces, a place where I’d left a piece of my heart, a place where I knew I’d always belonged.
Chapter 2
Two squirrels dashed out the front door of our tiny cabin as we opened it, and something with long teeth had shredded the blue checked curtains covering the front window, but I liked the place. We’d sold most of our paltry belongings when we gave up our apartment back home, and we’d brought little with us. Mom had figured we could buy new stuff with the money she’d make at her new job.
Exhausted from doing most of the driving, Mom staked out the biggest bedroom for herself and promptly plopped on the bed for a nap. There was no food, and I was starved for something more wholesome than potato chips. I scribbled Mom a note, grabbed some money from her wallet, and drove to town.
Not much had changed on the main highway to the village. Inexperienced bicyclists wobbled along the side of the road on their rental bikes, and a long trail of cars lined up to enter the camping areas.
I’d left Pinecliff long before getting a driver’s license, and the thin, steep roads were a little scary. Carefree clusters of tourists moseyed along the highway with backpacks, kids, and dogs. I definitely had to keep my eyes open.
Summer had just begun but the bike racks outside Sam’s market were already filled. Visitors stopped at Sam’s to fill their backpacks with ready-made sandwiches and water bottles before they started out on the myriad of hiking trails.
“Jessa!” a voice called from behind the deli counter. It was Lexi. She’d grown taller and lost a lot of weight, but I recognized her round blue eyes and tiny nose immediately. She had been my one girl friend growing up, and though I was never as close to her as I was to Nico and Chase, I had always enjoyed hanging out with her.
Lexi untied her apron. “Mike, I’m taking that break now.”
“Fifteen minutes and no more, Lexi,” Mike answered
She waved her hand in dismissal. “Yeah, yeah.”
Lexi ran over and threw her arms around me then she leaned back and smiled at me. “Oh my god, you are even more gorgeous if that is possible.”
“Me? You look like a friggin’ runway model. Where did the rest of you go?” I asked.
Lexi held up her arms and twirled around once. “I left chubbaville a few of years ago. I joined the track team in high school and tada-- the new me.”
I smiled and hugged her again. “Jeez, it’s good to see you, Lexi.”
She grabbed my hand. “Let
’s get out of here. I’ve only got fifteen minutes, and Mike will throw a total fit if I’m late.”
“Where’s Sam?” I asked.
“Sam died of cancer two years ago. Mike bought the place from the family.”
“I liked Sam,” I said. “I guess a lot has changed since I left.”
“Let’s go to the coffee shop,” Lexi said. “I’ll see how much I can catch you up on in fifteen--” she glanced at her watch, “--fourteen minutes.”
The coffee shop was crowded with tourists. We bought two iced coffees and found a wobbly table in the back.
I glanced around at the strange faces. “There are a lot of people in town already.”
Lexi broke off a piece of the banana muffin she’d bought. “It will get a lot worse next month. This coffee house gets really crowded, especially at night. The new owners put in a little stage.” She motioned to a small square of vinyl flooring at the front of the shop. “Music really draws in a night time crowd. Mostly locals though.”
Her eyes brightened as she sat forward. “In fact, you’ll never guess whose band is playing here tonight. Oh my gosh, you have to come here with me this evening. He will fall over when he sees you.”
“I don’t know if I can tonight. Whose band?”
“Chase’s.”
Just hearing the name sent a jolt of nerves through me. “Chase? My Chase.”
Lexi laughed. “Don’t let Susie hear you call him your Chase. That boy belongs to her and nobody else.”
“Susie Pruitt? The girl whose dad owns the hotel?”
“You mean a chain of hotels, and last I heard, a few gas stations too. He got really lucky in the stock market or something like that and now they are mucho rich.” Lexi sat back and shoved a piece of muffin in her mouth, obviously pleased that she had a plethora of juicy information to lay on me.
“Susie doesn’t seem like Chase’s type.”
She sat forward again. “Well, she spurted some massive boobs in ninth grade, and with a rich daddy, she quickly became everyone’s type. She even dated Nico for awhile.”
I leaned forward to speak, but Lexi held up her hand to stop me.
“And before you ask, yes, your Nico. In fact, as soon as they were through, Susie went after Chase. That was when your boys stopped talking to each other. They had a big old fist fight at school one day. They both got suspended for a week. Susie started some bogus rumor that they’d fought over her, but I still think that was just one fancy piece of fiction. I mean she’s not that special. But now she has latched onto Chase like a barnacle on a gray whale’s snout, and there’s no prying her off.” Lexi chuckled. “Of course, I took it upon myself to let Susie know you were coming back to town.” She laughed harder. “I thought she was going to have a stroke. It was the classic deer in headlights look that only someone as stupid as Susie could produce.”
“Why should she care if I’m back? And exactly what instrument is Chase playing?”
Lexi looked at her watch, broke off a piece of muffin, and handed it to me. “He’s the singer, and he is dreamy when he’s up there behind the microphone. He has a lot of groupies but no one dares get near him because Susie patrols the coffee house when he’s performing.”
I laughed.
“No, seriously, she’s a loon. Guess I can’t blame her.” She drained her cup.
“So what time can you pick me up?”
“I’m not sure if I can go. My mom might need the car. I think she’s meeting with my Aunt Sadie later.”
“Then I’ll pick you up, but I’ve got to warn you, I drive an embarrassing piece of junk.” She grabbed a napkin and pulled a pencil out of her pocket. “Write down your new address.”
I scribbled down King’s Road and third cabin on the right since I wasn’t totally sure of the address, or if there even was one.
Lexi shoved the paper back into her pocket. “Does Nico know you’re back in town?”
My face shot up. “Nico? How would he know I’m back when he doesn’t live here anymore?”
Her blue eyes widened. “Nico moved back three months ago. His mother died last winter, and he had no place else to go. With his record he couldn’t find a job anywhere. He’s back here working for his horrible dad at the marina.”
“I’d heard he wasn’t in town anymore.” The words creaked out of my suddenly dry throat.
“Oh, he’s back all right, and he’s left a string of broken hearts around the lake.” Lexi’s chair scraped the floor. “I’ve got to get back or I’ll lose my job.”
I followed Lexi out of the shop in a daze. My two best friends seemed to have changed a lot since I left. And they were both in town. I didn’t know which thought worried me more, that we would all be complete strangers or that it would seem as if I’d never left.
“What was that nickname Nico used to call you?” Lexi asked as we hurried back to the market.
The nickname. It had been forever since I’d heard it, yet the thought of it still made me smile. “Duchess, he called me Duchess. It was because of a Halloween costume I wore in third grade,” I said quietly. Then a memory popped into my head of Nico and me sitting alone in the classroom while the school Halloween parade marched past the window. His father had gotten angry at him and had grounded him from Halloween activities. What parent does that? His father was truly a monster. I’ll never forget Nico’s face when he came to school in his t-shirt and jeans, the only kid in class without a costume. I was wearing an awesome, lavender princess dress that Mom had spent a fortune on. I had been so excited about it I couldn’t sleep the night before. But when I saw Nico standing in the corner of the class, staring down at the ground with his hands shoved deep into his pockets, I had refused to go out to the parade. I’d stayed inside with Nico, and we watched the festivities from the quiet of the empty classroom.
I walked Lexi to the market. She made me two cheese, avocado, and sprout sandwiches and pretended to ring me up. We hugged. “I’ll pick you up at eight. I’m so glad you’re back, Jessa.”
“Me too, Lexi.” I turned and walked to the car. “I think,” I muttered to myself.
Mom was sitting at the round, pine table in the tiny kitchen with a cup in front of her. “I found some old tea in the cabinet. Want some? It’s supposed to be peppermint, but it tastes more like cardboard.”
“I’ll skip.” I tossed the sandwiches on the table. “Remember my friend Lexi? She works at Sam’s Market, although it’s Mike’s market now because Sam died.”
“Oh, that’s too bad. Lexi? Wasn’t she that round-faced, sweet girl with the blue eyes and the wild crush on Nico?”
“Lexi liked Nico? I don’t remember that.”
“That’s because when you were with Chase and Nico, you didn’t know anyone else existed. She always talked about Nico. Sometimes I thought she hung out with you just because she wanted to be near him.”
“Thanks for that little self-esteem boost.” I sat down across from her with a cup of water. “Nico is back in town.”
Mom fidgeted with the paper wrapping on her sandwich. She totally ignored what I’d said.
“Mom, did you hear me?”
She nodded and pulled some of the sprouts off her sandwich.
“Mom, you knew, didn’t you?”
Her mouth tipped up on the corner. “I found out from Sadie last week. You were already so nervous about moving back here, I decided not to tell you.”
“It’s a small town, Mom. I’m pretty sure I would have found out eventually.”
“I know. I just thought it would be less stressful if you didn’t know right away.” She took a bite of sandwich and half of the avocado slipped out the back end of the roll. She picked up the green slices and slid them back into the bread. “Lexi is not stellar at sandwich making.”
“I think you were hoping I would never run into him. You never forgave him for that
night we fell asleep in the park.”
“You were eleven years old and you did not come home from school. I was beyond hysterical. Thank heavens Chase knew where to find you. But I was never angry at Nicholas for that. I was pissed as hell at his father. If it hadn’t been for him, that poor kid would not have been hiding in the park.”
I still remembered the night as if it had happened yesterday. Nico had not come to school that day. I found him at the park on my way home. His father had given him a fat lip, and Nico had run away. Chase had stayed with us for a while, but left when it got dark. Nico and I had huddled for warmth in the tower at the top of the slide, but the temperature dropped so quickly our teeth chattered until our jaws ached. Then Mom showed up with Chase. His expression was filled with guilt as if he’d betrayed us, but my mom’s eyes were puffy and the pallor of her skin looked like snow. I was glad he’d told her. That night, we brought Nico home with us, and Mom had called Nico’s dad to yell at him.
“Did Lexi have anything else interesting to talk about?”
“She only had fifteen minutes. She’s picking me up here at eight. We’re going to the coffee house to watch Chase’s band.”
Mom glanced up at me. “Your Chase? I didn’t know he played an instrument.”
“Apparently he sings. Oh, and Susie Pruitt’s father is very rich now, and she and Chase are an item.” I bit into my sandwich only to realize that my appetite had disappeared.
I was nervous about seeing Chase tonight. What if we had nothing to say to each other? What if we were like strangers with nothing to talk about but the weather and the bothersome tourists? That would suck royally.
Chapter 3
Since we had no modern conveniences, like a television or computer, I’d lazed on the sofa for awhile counting the wood beams on the ceiling. My phone was now my sole connection to the world. Lexi came to the door just after I’d showered, pulled on my favorite jeans and pink tank top, and brushed my hair up into a ponytail.
She pushed past me into the cabin. “So I get home after working all day, and my mom is screaming at me because I left my room in a mess. Then I look in the mirror and this ginormous zit is popping out of my forehead. I put on my shortest mini skirt hoping guys will be too busy staring at my legs to notice the second alien head growing on my face.” She stopped her rant long enough to look over my outfit. “Is that what you’re wearing?”
