Circle on Home (Lost in a Boom Town Book 5)

by MJ Fredrick

  “He said it before tonight,” Noah said, wondering why his brother was defending the man he hated.

  “Well, what do you want him to do? You want to kick him out?”

  Who the hell was this man before him and why was he being so reasonable? What did he want? He wanted to take back those words so Selena never heard them, but that wasn't possible.

  “I don’t want him spending time with her, not without one of us.”

  “She’s my daughter,” Rey said through his teeth.

  “That’s not what you said a minute ago,” Noah returned in the same fashion. “Stay away from her.”

  Even as he said the words, he knew he couldn't enforce it, and damn it, Rey had been taking her to work and picking her up on some days when Ben or Noah couldn't get away. This would put a hardship on the brothers, but they’d done it before, when Rey was in prison. They could do it again.

  Chapter Seven

  “I thought cats slept twenty hours a day,” Jolie said from her seat at the table, where she rested her head on the table.

  “I’m sorry.” Miranda borrowed a coffee cup from Riley’s extensive collection and helped herself to a cup of coffee from the carafe. “I probably shouldn't have bought catnip. I thought it would wear her out.”

  “Wouldn’t have been so bad without the wooden floors. And the fact that I had to get up for a twelve hour shift today.” Jolie straightened and stretched as she spoke. “She’ll probably sleep all day today while I’m at work and be up all night again.”

  “I’ll do my best to keep her awake and busy.”

  “Or maybe she can sleep in the mudroom tonight.”

  Miranda felt a pang. “I don't want her to be alone, after she’s been separated from her litter. She would be too scared.”

  Jolie rolled her eyes. “Maybe you could ask the vet for advice.”

  Miranda paused with the cup halfway to her mouth as she considered asking Noah for help, completed the motion and hoped Jolie hadn't noticed her hesitation.

  She hoped in vain. Jolie’s smile spread slowly across her face. “He is very handsome, and I heard the two of you had a past when you lived here before.”

  “High school thing, that’s all.”

  “High school thing, or high school sweethearts?”

  “Sweethearts might be a little—romantic. I never really thought of us as romantic. I guess I always knew I wouldn’t stay around, and so it was just—a fun way to pass the time.”

  “How fun?”

  Miranda took another sip. “Plenty fun.”

  “Bet he’s better with age.”

  No doubt. He had certainly filled out in the shoulders, and his face, which had always been narrow, was angular and taut over those cheekbones. And the constant hint of stubble on his jaw, yeah. Better with age.

  And with a lot more baggage, but she didn't say so to Jolie. Jolie hadn't lived in Evansville back then, may not know the story, and she didn't want to feed the gossip machine.

  “So when are you going to start working?” Jolie asked, rising to take her cup to the sink.

  “After the new year. The office I’m looking at isn't available until next week and even then, it’s going to need some work. So I figure a month is plenty of time. It’s not like it’s a huge space.”

  “Don’t you have to get all your lawyerly books and stuff?”

  Miranda drew a breath in through her nose. “Another reason I’m putting it off.” She was going to have to contact Damian. Maybe she should do that today, get it over with, regret what she’d done instead of dreading what she’d have to do. She glanced at her phone on the charger, saw that the Damian would be in his office right now. She preferred to call him at his office—less chance of drama.

  Well, to be honest, with Damian there was no chance of drama. Ever. But she expected he’d be less than civil after the way she’d left.

  “Well, I’ve got to head out. I’l be back tonight and will probably go straight to bed. See you later.”

  Jolie left her alone with the phone and the kitten, and a mind fumbling for reasons to put off making that call.

  She made some toast and sat at the table staring at the phone until she finally tossed down the bread and crossed the room to pick up the phone.

  “Dr. Braun,” Noah said gruffly on the other end.

  “Hey. Noah.” She didn't intend to sound so hesitant. “It’s Miranda.”

  “I recognized your voice.” His voice hadn't softened, in fact sounded more clipped.

  “Did I catch you at a bad time? I had a question about my kitten.”

  “Is she okay?” His tone changed, concern lacing his words.

  “Sure, she’s okay, she’s fine. I just, I don't know. I thought cats slept more. She didn't sleep at all last night, running around like crazy, and I’m hoping that maybe you could tell me if that’s normal.”

  “It’s normal. She’ll sleep when she’s tired.”

  Disappointed that he wasn't more friendly, she decided to end the call. Lord, she was pathetic, using a kitten as an excuse to talk to him. “Okay, thank you. I’ll…let you get back to work.”

  “Is there anything else?”

  “What are your office hours?” she blurted.

  “We’re open eight to five. I don't deal as much with the small animals, but I can get your kitten her shots and get her fixed for you when it’s time. I’d say give her time to adjust to you before you bring her in for shots. That way she’s not so scared. In the meantime, don't let her out of the house.”

  He didn't seem like he had time, or the inclination, to talk, so she let him go, and stared at the phone a long time again before dialing Damian.

  “Miranda. Where the hell have you been?”

  She was taken aback by his greeting. She could imagine him, sitting in his office overlooking the East River, behind his massive modern desk, in his Burberry suit, his dark hair gleaming in its expensive cut, his handsome face closely shaven. “I’m in Texas. I told you that.”

  “I know you told me, but I thought you’d be back by now.”

  “I’m not coming back.” Even if she did go back to New York eventually, she wasn't going back to him. “I’m actually calling to have you send some of my things down.”

  “Some of your things? What things? Your Ferragamos and your Anne Kleins? Those won’t exactly blend in down there, will they?”

  “I need my books,” she said on a sigh. “The ones in the apartment. I wouldn't bother you, except that I need them.”

  “You need them? For what? Are you going to be practicing corporate law in Hicksville?”

  He knew what she’d planned. She shouldn't be surprised he was on the defensive, though. “I’ll be practicing general law, and it’s been a while, so I need my books, please. If you’ll just allow Celine to come in and pack them up, they’ll be out of your hair in a few days.”

  “I think you’ve lost your mind. You’re walking away from everything we’ve built up here to live at home with people you can barely stand?”

  She closed her eyes, remembering the way she’d spoken of her family, of her town, the disdain she’d shown for them. She had been so certain she was on the right path, and they weren’t.

  “I’m staying,” she said simply.

  “Why?” He sounded as perplexed as he’d been the day she’d left.

  “Because this is is where I belong, for now, anyway.”

  “I won’t wait for you.”

  “I don’t want you to.” She didn't want to say goodbye to him again. “You’ll see that I get my books?”

  “I will let Celine in to pack them, but I’m not going to help.”

  “That’s all I ask. Goodbye, Damian.”

  She disconnected before she could add anything else, or before he could, and let out a long sigh of relief. She didn't have to speak to him again. That thought was followed by the sad one that there had been days when she couldn't wait to speak to him, when sharing her day, her thoughts with him had been the
highlights.

  She shouldn't miss those days, but she regretted that they’d passed, that something that had once felt so hopeful was over.

  She wondered if she should have worked harder to be happy.

  She would put more effort into being happy here.

  *****

  The knock on the door startled Miranda, even though she was waiting for the internet installation, and she gently lifted the kitten from her nap on her lap and cuddled her against her shoulder as she moved across the floor quietly to the door. She looked out the window and saw a familiar truck parked in front of the house, but not the installation company's. Frowning, she crossed to the door and opened it to Noah.

  "Hey." He gave her a half-smile and his gaze shifted to the kitten trying to crawl over her shoulder. "I came to see how the kitten was adjusting." He plucked the kitten from her shoulders by the scruff of its neck, but not before needle-sharp claws sunk into her shoulder.

  She winced and ducked away from the pain. ”I didn't realize you made house calls."

  "That's most of what I do," he said, his gaze sliding back to hers as he nestled the kitten against his chest in one big hand.

  Her heart turned over at the sight of the tiny animal cradled so gently. And to make it even better, the kitten started purring loud enough that she could hear her from steps away.

  "I meant for a kitten, and after I talked to you on the phone..." She let her voice trail off, remembering how disinterested he'd sounded when she'd spoken to him.

  "Yeah, I was having some issues with a cow I was treating." His jaw tightened. "I'm not sure she's going to make it, and I don't know how to stop it. Right now it's just a matter of time, and whether or not she has the strength to pull through."

  "I'm sorry." She reached a hand to his arm to soothe, let it fall away when she felt the heat of him. Something flickered on his face before he turned his attention back to the kitten.

  "Let me set her down somewhere and have a look at her."

  He'd just had a look at her last night when they'd brought her home, she thought about reminding him, but maybe he needed something easy to deal with after treating the sick cow he wasn't sure he could save.

  She backed away toward the kitchen. "You want some coffee?"

  "That'd be great." He was stroking a finger down the kitten's delicate spine, and Miranda had never thought she'd be jealous of a kitten.

  She hurried ahead to make a fresh pot as his steps echoed behind her.

  "Place is pretty empty," he said.

  "Yeah, Jolie and Riley both had small places, so they didn't own a lot of furniture. Most of what they brought, they took to their rooms. This is Jolie's table. Have a seat."

  "You have a towel or something I can use to put the kitten on so I can examine her?"

  "I'll run up and get one as soon as I get...this...going." She crouched in front of the coffee maker that she thought she had figured out earlier, but her mind was too scattered with him behind her to remember the correct sequence of events. She felt the growing tension behind her as he struggled keeping the kitten in place.

  Finally she got the coffee brewing and turned to face him, just as he snatched his hand back from the kitten's sharp claws.

  "She looks plenty healthy to me."

  "I just thought, you know, she'd be calmer. You know, sleepier. Don't baby animals sleep a lot? But I did let her play with a catnip toy last night. Do you think she was just high?"

  He laughed. "That might have gotten her revved up, sure, but she's just young and in an unfamiliar place, away from everything she knows, and alone for the first time in her existence. It's going to take her a bit to get settled in. You could always adopt one of her siblings, too, to help her adapt quicker."

  "I'm not sure how my roomies will feel about that. I know Jolie wasn't too happy about her bouncing around last night. I can’t imagine what it would be like with two.”

  “They’d be entertaining as hell, and they’d wear each other out.”

  “That they probably would.” She entertained the idea as she listened to the coffee maker finish, as she borrowed yet another cup from Riley. She seriously couldn't wait for her own belongings to arrive from UPS. Even then, they wouldn't seem like hers, because they were new, until she made them hers.

  Until she made this place hers.

  She put the cup in front of him and scooped up the kitten when she stretched to explore it. “She will eventually sleep, right?”

  “She will. It may not be when it’s particularly convenient for you.” He pulled the coffee cup closer, watched the steam curl off the surface.

  “Do you want something in it? Sugar or milk?”

  “Sugar, if you have it.”

  She had bought some at the store when she got the cat food, because it seemed like something she should have in the house. She rose to get the small bag out of the cabinet, spilled it everywhere when she opened it. Why was he making her so nervous? She’d known him for years, knew everything about him. But her hands were shaking.

  She turned to see him lounging in the chair, watching her with a crooked smile.

  “You never used to be clumsy.”

  That was because she always felt like she had the upper hand where he was concerned. Now that she was back, well, she may have had her adventure, but she was unsure of herself where Noah Braun was concerned.

  “I don't have my legs under me yet,” she admitted.

  “It was your choice to come home.”

  “I know, but I guess I thought the landing would be easier, that I’d slide right back in. So much has changed since I left.”

  “You don’t have to stay.” When she didn't answer right away, he lifted a dark eyebrow. “Do you?”

  “No. I won’t go back to New York, but I don't have to stay. I just…want to see if there’s a place for me here.” She bent her head and let her hair hide her face when she said those words, and kicked herself for her own cowardice. She cuddled the kitten in her lap and curved a hand over it. The kitten curled contentedly and purred beneath her touch.

  Noah sipped his coffee, and she almost jumped out of her skin at the knock on the door. The kitten dug her claws in before leaping off her lap and running between the counter and the refrigerator.

  “That’s the internet guy,” she said, rubbing at her injured thigh through her jeans and standing. “Finally, I’ll be able to do some work from home.” She went to let the technician in, and when she returned to the kitchen after pointing out where they’d decided they wanted the drops, Noah was rinsing his cup out in the sink.

  “I’d better get on,” he said. “I’ve got a few other stops to make before I pick up Selena from the Coyote.”

  “I thought you said your dad was taking that over.”

  His expression darkened. “Turned out I couldn't count on him. Go figure.”

  “What happened?”

  He glanced toward the doorway where the cable guy was working and shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. Lesson learned. Relearned, anyway. You don't want to hear about all that drama all over again. I’ll get out of your way and you can get some work done, once you’re connected to the world again.”

  His attempt at a smile broke her heart. She remembered being his sounding board before, alternately glad he’d had her to get all that off his chest, and being resentful that he had so much in his life that took his attention away from her.

  “Thanks for coming by,” she said.

  “Hey, Jason,” he said to the tech when he walked through the living room to the front door.

  Jason. The bartender from the Coyote. Miranda had recognized him, but honestly, thought she recognized most people from some place or another in Evansville. She didn't know if it was someone she’d gone to school with.

  “You’re Allison’s friend? I thought you worked at the Coyote?”

  “Part-time. Not a lot of work for a cable guy, so I make up for the rest at the Coyote.” He angled his head. “Allison going to be staying
here, too?”

  The laugh popped out of her before she could stop it. “No. She’s not working.”

  “She has her real estate license. I have to say her timing is bad. Not a lot of people buying now that the boom is done.”

  Wow, sad that she didn't know that about her own sister, and once again she wished they could be closer. “That’s just her luck.”

  He chuckled. “No argument there.”

  “So what made you decide to move back to town? Have to be a lot more opportunities in New York.”

  “Maybe too many,” she murmured. She’d been overwhelmed by the choices she’d had to make, every day. She was happy to be home where her choices were limited.

  Home. Had she really thought that since she’d been back?

  *****

  Miranda stood in the middle of the upstairs office between the salon and the antique store, and put her hands on her hips, considering the space. The previous tenants had left a few dusty boxes in the corner, and the meager shelves that wouldn't hold a fraction of her books were dusty, too. She wondered just what she’d had to wait for, if the room wasn’t at least clean and painted. The place appeared as if it had been vacant longer than a few weeks, and she didn't see the repairs she’d been promised. The wall paper was still in place—and hideous it was, and a couple of leak stains marred in the drop ceiling. The linoleum was cratered under her feet, and the one bookshelf wasn't going to hold all of her law books.

  If they ever got here.

  She had some work to do here. She wondered who she could hire to get it done for her. She wondered who she could ask who she could hire. Maybe Riley’s contractor knew of someone.

  She closed the door to the office with a sigh and walked across the street to the Sagebrush Saloon. She was pretty sure the place was closed, but the crossover vehicle with the car seats inside told her that Sage McKenna, the owner and her landlord, was present.

  She tried the door and found it open. Sage sat behind the bar, a playpen in the corner, a baby seat next to the computer Sage now studied.

  “Hi, Sage, how’s it going?”

  Sage looked up from the laptop on the counter, which she’d been staring at, one hand propping up her chin, the other rocking the baby seat.