Finding Refuge

by Lucy Francis

  “I hoped you would be. Night, Andri.”

  Chapter Six

  Making life decisions set Andri in motion. Saturday morning, she begged off the waterskiing trip with Rachel and several of her friends so she’d have time to get her life in order. She made arrangements for a moving company to ship her belongings from her storage unit in Phoenix to Rachel’s garage, since she adamantly vetoed the idea of Andri getting a local storage unit. Who knew where she’d find an apartment she liked, but at least her belongings would be here and ready to move when she did get a place.

  Rachel wasn’t agreeable on the idea of apartment hunting, either. She didn’t see why Andri couldn’t just go from guest to roommate and stay with her. Andri craved her own space and tended to get a little stir-crazy when she didn’t have it. She thought it stemmed from growing up in a contentious family in an itty-bitty house. There was never room to escape. Rachel, on the other hand, had grown up in this roomy farmhouse. It was obvious how much she loved the place, given that she’d bought it from her parents. She envied her friend’s ridiculously high level of happy, settled, comfortable living.

  She sent emails to contacts, starting her job hunt. Finally, when she couldn’t find an excuse to put it off any longer, she sat down to call her mother. The dread weighed her down. She’d strung her mother along since she’d come to Utah, saying only that she’d be home soon. Time to tell her what she’d decided to do. She gritted her teeth and tapped Ma’s name in her contact list.

  As soon as she heard Andri’s voice, her mother started chattering about all the minute details of her life since she’d last talked to her a couple of days ago. Andri listened, inserting all the right comments along the way so Ma would know she’d been paying attention.

  “What are you doing today, Andromeda?”

  Confrontations with Ma were inevitable but no matter how old she got, she never managed to shake the feeling of being ten years old, curled in a ball in the corner of her room, trying to shrink down to nothing while her mother screamed at her. Apprehension clamped around her stomach. Ma wasn’t going to be happy. “I’ve made some decisions.”

  “Oh? Am I going to like them?” Her tone sounded even, but that was part of the way she tricked everyone. There was no warning, just the explosion.

  “Probably not. I’m staying in Utah. In fact, I need you to meet the movers at my storage unit with the key on Monday afternoon so they can collect everything.”

  She started muttering in Greek. Oh, that was never good.

  “Ma, this is a good thing for me. After things ended with Peter—”

  “Yes, Peter, that reminds me. I heard this morning from his sister that he’s moving to Boston. You broke his heart and now we lose a strong member of the community here. It’s terrible!”

  Andri held her tongue with monumental effort. Ma would never understand because she couldn’t explain, not if she wanted to protect Peter. She’d given up trying to please her mother a long time ago, so it really didn’t matter if she blamed her for failing to get married. “He’s starting over, and so am I.”

  More muttering. “I should come to you, keep an eye on you.”

  “Ugh, Ma, really. I’ll be thirty this year. I’m a big girl.”

  “Yes, you are. I know you’re all grown up, believe me. I had two children old enough to be in school by the time I was thirty, and—”

  Andri cut her off before she could fully launch into a tirade. “Yes, Ma. Even if I wasn’t an adult, and required supervision, I wouldn’t want to drag you out of Phoenix. I know how much you love it.”

  “Yes. This is my home, my favorite place since leaving Greece. I don’t wish to leave it, but, God knows, children always come first for a mother.”

  The irony dripped off her mother’s words, though she was oblivious to it. Ma always remembered things differently than she and Dmitri did. “Ma, no. You don’t need to leave. Please, Manoula, I’ll be fine, I promise. Don’t worry. This will be good for me.”

  A long silence made her glance at the phone, to be sure the call hadn’t disconnected. Finally, her mother sighed. “It’s a good community in Salt Lake. Very strong. If I had to leave Phoenix, I would choose to come there to be with our people. Get involved with the community, Andri. You’re too much like your father. And, by God, promise me you’ll go to church. Maybe the saints will take pity on you and show you the path to another decent man. Maybe this time you won’t walk away.”

  Her words yanked a vision of Travis into her head. Definitely not what her mother had in mind for her, unless his family tree had at least one Greek root in there somewhere. But, no. She’d already made that decision. Friends only, maybe some benefits on the side, but definitely friends. “I promise I’ll make it to church, Ma.”

  “And look for a husband.”

  “Love you, Ma. Gotta run, busy day, lots to do.” Andri slumped in her chair, dropping the phone on the side table. That had gone well, much better than she’d expected. Ma had always tended to be temperamental, but now that she was sober, it was easier to catch her on a good day, when the muttering and sighing wouldn’t necessarily escalate into screaming and throwing things. Today, she’d gotten lucky. Maybe that was a sign that she was doing the right thing.

  Her phone chimed as a text came in. She picked it up, a shiver of delight coursing down her spine as she checked the name on the text.

  Travis: Hey there. Busy?

  She typed a response. Not really. Any ideas on a nice apartment complex for me?

  A moment later, the phone chimed.

  Travis: Can recommend a few. Wanna check em out & get dinner?

  She grinned. Yes. Pick me up or should I meet you?

  Travis: I’m at home. Be there in a bit.

  She sat on the front porch steps, reading email on her phone until Travis pulled into the driveway. He surprised her by climbing out of the truck and walking with her to the passenger door, opening it and handing her up into the truck. His manners were impeccable, even when they were being totally casual and just friends.

  “Is it safe to assume you want to be down in the valley? Or, up here where the living is great but the commute’s a pain in the ass?” he asked as they drove toward the canyon interstate.

  “If I manage to find work in Park City or Heber, I can always move, but I think chances are higher I’ll end up somewhere along the Wasatch Front.”

  He glanced at her. “So, centrally located for now.”

  “That’s what I was thinking.”

  He grinned. “I think I know just the place. Well, a couple of them in the same general area. Nice, safe, lots of shopping and restaurants nearby, good freeway access.”

  She shifted in her seat to face him. “Perfect. You read my mind.”

  “I try. Need to stop by the office first for a minute, if that’s okay.”

  “Sure.” That could be interesting. She learned a lot about people from observing their workspace. Their personalities, what they loved, a lot of their idiosyncrasies showed up on cubicle walls, desks, and computer desktops.

  Travis’s gaze flicked to meet hers, then back to the road. “How’s your day been?”

  “Busy. Let’s see.” She ticked items on her fingers. “I have movers arriving Tuesday afternoon with my storage unit worth of belongings. Got the job search underway. And for that added bit of extra excitement, I talked to my mother.”

  His brows lifted and he shot her a curious look. “Sounds like things are tense there.”

  Tense? Oh, yeah. “It’s complicated. I love my mother, I do, and she can be really wonderful sometimes. But she’s opinionated and a bit on the volatile side. She’s clinging harder to heritage and tradition the older she gets, so I’m never sure how she’s going to react to things. Today she was in a good mood, so I survived telling her I’m staying in Utah.”

  He chuckled. “Parents. What are you going to do with them?”

  “Exactly. I had to promise I’d get involved with the Greek community here. We hav
e such a small family in this country that the community has always been the replacement for cousins. I think she’s afraid all the ethnicity will drain out of me if I’m not surrounded by people who can pour more in.”

  “Sounds like my dad and his emphasis on family ties. We’ve had huge gatherings with aunts and uncles and cousins several times a year since I was a kid, and attendance is mandatory. Good thing I like most of my cousins.”

  “How big are these gatherings?”

  “The Miceli side of the family, my mother’s, is fairly small, but on the Holt side, I have three aunts, four uncles, their spouses, thirty-six cousins, most of whom are married now. And then there’s the herd of children, my second-cousins. We’re flirting with twenty of those already, and it’s just going to get worse as we get older.”

  Andri’s mouth dropped. “Are you sure you’re not Greek? Sounds like our trips to see Ma’s family in Corfu.”

  “It’s a madhouse. You’d think the craziness would get to my dad and he wouldn’t want to host family parties anymore, but I can’t even get him to slow down at work, let alone unwind on the family thing.” He paused, and a shadow flickered across his face. “I’m worried about him. He hasn’t felt very well the last few weeks, but getting him to the doctor is next to impossible.”

  That sounded familiar, but she certainly wasn’t going to say so. No sense inviting trouble. Her father was never fond of going to the doctor, either, and it had ended badly. She wouldn’t wish that on anyone else.

  When they reached the construction company headquarters, Andri went in with him. The doors opened into a large, airy space, with dark gray stone floors and pale blue walls accented with gray wood and frosted glass tiles. A few doors led off the main room, other offices. A couple of white leather sofas and dark gray chairs offered comfortable seating near a desk. Large flat-screen monitors hung on two walls, and Andri wondered what they might display during business hours. Slideshows of properties the company had built, probably. That’s how she would use them.

  The rooms were quiet except for the bluesy music coming from one of the offices. Travis set the folders in his hands on the desk in the main room and she followed him to investigate.

  A young man at a computer spun around in his seat when they entered his office. Jet black hair brushed his shoulders and swept down to the tip of his nose. He absently brushed it back, exposing a fierce black eye and angry red scrapes across his forehead and cheek.

  Travis cursed and crossed the floor, bracing his hands on either side of the young man’s head, tilting his face up to the light. “Daniel, what happened?”

  Oh, yes. His brother.

  He winced when Travis touched his cheekbone. “Got into a fight, what does it look like?” He shrugged off Travis’s hands and nodded at her. “Hi. I’m Danny.” His hair was darker, but his eyes were the same deep blue, and they shared the same high cheekbones and strong jaw. The stark lines of a black tribal tattoo wound around Danny’s bicep, just visible under the edge of his gray t-shirt sleeve.

  She waved her fingers at him. “Andri.”

  Travis crossed his arms over his chest and fixed Danny with a hard stare. “What were you fighting over?”

  Danny’s expression turned mulish. “What does it matter? It happened. It’s over. You should be happy I’m in here on a Saturday working on that plan redraw.”

  Travis grabbed one of his brother’s hands, looking at the smooth knuckles. “You weren’t in a fight. You were beaten. What the hell, Dan?”

  Andri took a few steps back. This was a conversation between brothers, something she really shouldn’t be privy to. Feeling distinctly uncomfortable, she stepped out of the office to give them some measure of privacy. It didn’t help, she still heard them talking.

  “Who did you owe money to?” Travis asked, a thread of resignation wound through the anger in his voice.

  “Just some asshole dealer I used to buy from. I paid him, but he wanted to make sure I wouldn’t leave him hanging again.”

  “How long have you owed him money?”

  “It’s old debt, from before rehab this last time. I’m clean, I swear to God.”

  “Danny, you have to be. You can’t do this anymore. You’re playing with your life.” Desperation tinged his words, and made Andri’s heart ache, wringing memories from the dark corridors of her mind.

  “Zoe, please. You can’t keep doing this. You’re destroying yourself, you’re hurting the kids.” Her father’s face contorted with anguish, his hands shaking as he reached for Ma. “God, woman, you’re breaking my heart.”

  Ma stormed over to the fireplace, hurling her wineglass into the grate, screaming, “There! Are you happy now?” She threw the empty wine bottle into the fire. “I hate you, Michael! I hate you! I’m tired of you saying I’m a bad mother because I like a glass of wine!”

  And that was always the trouble. One glass of wine was all she ever held in her hand. But she refused to count how many times she’d filled that glass.

  Andri crossed to the business’s main entrance, not wanting to hear the rest of the conversation between the brothers. She recalled Travis’s reaction to her questions about his family that night at the Mexican restaurant. The pain in his gaze. He was locked in the same battle her father had waged most of her life. No wonder the hurt in him called to her need to nurture and soothe. She’d spent her formative years watching the same distress fester in her father, unable to help.

  She started when she felt a touch on her shoulder.

  Travis stood beside her. “Sorry about that. Are you ready to go?”

  She nodded and walked with him out to the truck. She brushed her fingers along his as they walked. She couldn’t help it. He took her hand, wove his fingers between hers, breaking the connection only to help her into the truck.

  She didn’t want to touch his stress with the proverbial ten-foot pole, but she had to ask. “Everything okay?”

  He smiled, the closed doors behind his eyes shielding the place where he stored the hurt. “Yeah. Let’s go have a look at those apartments.”

  At the second complex he showed her, she fell in love with a quiet second-floor end unit. It wouldn’t be ready for her to move in for a couple of weeks, but she didn’t mind waiting. The location was ideal, she could have a pet, and the list of amenities thrilled her.

  They went out for burgers and then drove back to Rachel’s house. Rachel had left a note after waterskiing, reminding her that she’d gone to see a musical at the Capitol Theatre. With Ian out of town, Andri had the house to herself. She held out a hand to Travis when he walked her to the front door. “Want to come in for a bit?”

  “Sure.” He took her hand and followed her inside. He accepted her offer of soda and met her on the couch when she arrived with a can for each of them.

  She settled beside him. “I guess I’d better call the movers Monday morning and reschedule. Maybe I can time it so that they can deliver on the day I get the keys.”

  “That puts you into July, though. Another month’s rent on your storage unit.”

  “That’s true. But it would save you from helping me move from here to the apartment.”

  He shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. I said I’d help and I don’t mind. I’ll have to call in some friends to help get your furniture up to the second floor, though.”

  “That would be appreciated. I’m sure I’ll owe you something for that.”

  “A token of thanks would be appropriate.”

  Andri considered the options for a moment. “Hmm. I’ll buy pizza for everyone who shows up to help.”

  Travis stretched his legs out and settled back into the couch cushions, lacing his fingers behind his head. “That would definitely take care of the guys.”

  “But not you?”

  “No, I’m more expensive.” Oh, the way that slow grin of his made her insides go all gooey distracted her to no end.

  “Okay. I’ll cook you dinner as soon as my place is put together.”


  He mulled her offer. “Not often a woman cooks for me. I could live with that.”

  “Great. You’ll be my first dinner guest in my new place.” She relaxed against the back of the couch and smiled at him. Warmth filled his eyes and he took her hand, tracing his thumb over her knuckles. The motion tingled up her arm, heating her blood.

  “Are you serious about adopting a cat?”

  She grinned. “Absolutely. I haven’t had a pet since I was a kid.” A memory surfaced. Spirit, her little mutt, who had shored her up during his fourteen years of life. She really missed him, even now. “I can’t guarantee I’ll be home enough to take good care of a dog, but cats are pretty self-sufficient. I think it could work out nicely.”

  He stretched his other arm along the back of the couch, catching a tendril of her hair between his fingers. “My mother wouldn’t allow cats in the house because of the shedding. I’ve always liked them, though.”

  Andri was a firm believer in the wonderful things pets did for a person, especially children. Her dog was her confidant and comforter, resting patiently in her arms for hours when she hid from Ma’s tirades, from the screaming, from the hurtful words that proved the mean girls at school were complete amateurs. “Did you have any pets?”

  “I had a hamster. Tiny little thing, a Russian dwarf. I called her Zippy. Danny wanted a dog, but Mother absolutely refused. So he’d beg Uncle Mac to bring his family’s golden retriever to the parties.”

  “I’m guessing that went over well.”

  “Mother allowed it, but only if Danny cleaned up whatever messes old Sunshine made. He never complained. For him, playing with that dog was worth every moment of picking up after her.”

  His smile warred with the hint of wistfulness in his voice and the deeper emotions banked behind his gaze. “Hey…I’m sorry you had to be there through my discussion with Dan this afternoon.”

  She squeezed his fingers. “It’s fine. I tried to make myself scarce so it didn’t embarrass him too much.”

  He sat quietly for a moment, staring at her hand in his. “You know, my brother has had problems for a long time now. Dealing with it consumes whole days sometimes.”