One Hundred Decisions: An Aspen Cove Romance

by Collins, Kelly

  Her cheeks bloomed red. “I gave him money. He said he bought it.”

  He shook his head. “Nope. He never spent a dime. I think it happened when he delivered my dinner. I went into the back room to get my meds, and when I came out, he was gone. I wasn’t paying much attention to the display, but it’s missing and unaccounted for in the sales report. We use the old register for ambiance, but scan the books so we can keep track of price and inventory. It wasn’t sold yesterday.”

  Natalie shrank into the booth. “I’m sorry. I’ll pay for the book.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a wad of ones.

  He shook his head. “I’m a strong believer in owning our mistakes. Don’t you think Will should pay for it?”

  An exasperated sigh had her shrinking another inch into the red pleather bench. “I just know he’s a good kid. I feel it in my bones. His life hasn’t been easy as far as I know, but I only just met him. Obviously, I need to have another talk about stealing.”

  There were two things that jumped out of her statement. The first was she didn’t know Will well, which meant he wasn’t her son. The second was this theft wasn’t his first if she’d already had the talk about shoplifting.

  “I’m sorry. I just assumed he was your kid. He resembles you a bit. Especially in the eyes.”

  “He’s my brother. I just found out when social services called and said he needed a home because our father OD’d.”

  As a life coach, he’d dealt with everything from substance abuse to narcissism. “You share a father but didn’t know about him?”

  Her lips stretched into a thin line. “It’s a long story.” She looked toward the window where his oatmeal sat, probably cold by now. “Besides, your breakfast is ready.” She moved to get up, and he reached out to take her hand. The light touch sent tendrils of heat up his arm. “Let’s meet tomorrow and figure out how to deal with this. The debt is not yours; it’s Will’s. You should never rescue a kid from his failures. There are valuable lessons learned from them.” He let her hand go and gone with it was the comfort of its warmth. “I’ll figure out a way he can work it off.”

  She put on a fake smile and rushed to get his oatmeal. While he ate, he considered Natalie and Will. He didn’t think they were residents of Aspen Cove. When people who lived here talked of others, they came with a street attached, like Mercy Meyer from Rose Lane or Peter Larkin over there on Pansy. When Natalie’s name came up, it was just Natalie. Was this a stopping point on a bigger path for her or was landing here a safety net that caught her when she fell? He needed more information. It looked like he’d need to do a bit of private eye work himself. Who was Natalie, and why did it matter so much to him?

  Chapter Five

  Natalie finished her shift and marched across the street to get Will from the fire station. Luke had been kind enough to let him hang out for a while, so the kid didn’t die of boredom. When she entered the building, she saw him sitting in the driver’s side of the rig.

  “Time to go,” she called out, waving him down.

  Luke came around from the backside of the truck. “He’s a good kid. I think we might have a fireman in the making.”

  She smiled. “That’s a possibility if he lives long enough. Thanks for letting him hang out with you guys. Sitting in the diner’s corner isn’t much fun for a kid.”

  Will opened the door and hopped down, coming over to stand beside her.

  “Thank Mr. Mosier for his hospitality.” If there was one thing she would instill in her brother, it was manners. The world was full of rude people, and she refused to let Will be a part of that herd. She didn’t have much, but she had good manners, and that went a long way in the world.

  “You rock, Luke.”

  She slipped her hand around his arm and led him out of the firehouse. “You’re in big trouble, young man.”

  He tugged away. “Why? Because I wouldn’t call him Mr. Mosier? He’d already told me to call him Luke.”

  She took several deep breaths while they walked to her Subaru. “Just give me a few minutes to calm down. I’m so angry at you, I could scream.”

  He climbed inside the passenger seat and pressed his fingers to his temples. “Well, don’t. I’ve got a headache.”

  “Yeah.” She turned to glare at him. “I’ve got one too. It’s a twelve-year-old problem.”

  She spent the twenty-minute drive home brooding. Life was tough, and now she had a preteen on her hands who was determined to make it worse. When she pulled onto the gravel driveway and parked in front of her home, she told him to meet her inside.

  She stayed outside and tried to come up with a plan. He’d only been with her a few days and, in that time, he’d stolen two things. If she hadn’t seen the candy bar, he would have gotten away with it. She was torn because Will’s previous life hadn’t been the best. With a loser of a father, he’d probably been programmed to steal to survive. Bad habits were hard to break, but this one had to go immediately.

  She walked into the house and found him slumped on the couch, arms crossed, and lips pinched.

  “This place sucks.”

  She glanced around. He was right. For a single person, it was fine, but put two in a tiny box, and there were bound to be problems. She sat down and pivoted her body, so she faced him.

  “Yes, this sucks, but it’s better than living on the street with a shopping cart for your belongings, and a cardboard box for your house.” She shook as she took a breath. “And I’m certain it’s superior to living in a cell with a roommate named Bubba, who has a thing for young boys.”

  “Is this how my summer will be? I want to go back to Los Angeles. At least there, I had shit to do.”

  “Language. Let your words show your intelligence, not your ignorance.”

  “Whatever.” He tightened his arms across his chest.

  She recognized the body language. It was as good as armor. She didn’t know how to ease into the subject they had to discuss, so she blurted it out. “Jake knows you stole the book.”

  He reared up as if to bolt. “I told you I paid for it.”

  “Now you’re lying, which is just as bad. I know you stole it because even half-priced, that book would have never been ten dollars.”

  He narrowed his eyes and fell back into the cushion. “This is your fault. You didn’t give me enough money. What am I supposed to do all day? At least back home, there was a television when we had power.”

  “Are you listening to yourself?” She didn’t mean to raise her voice, but it climbed at least a full octave. “There is no home in Los Angeles. Since this is our only house, you’ll have to make do with what we have. And what we have is what I can afford. If you keep stealing, we’ll have less because people don’t like thieves and don’t trust the families of thieves.”

  “I’m not a thief. I’m a borrower, and I would have returned it.”

  She closed her eyes and sighed. The breath came out in a whoosh that puffed out her lips. “The Book Nook isn’t a library. I told you I’d take you to Copper Creek. You stole that book. It doesn’t matter if you had planned to return it or not. You took it without permission. Tomorrow, we’re visiting Jake, and you’ll apologize. He said he’d figure out a way to let you work off the debt.”

  “I’m not apologizing.”

  “Yes, you are. That’s what civilized people do. They admit their mistakes and correct them.”

  He leaned in, so he was inches from her face. His cheeks turned red, verging on purple. “My biggest mistake was coming here to live with you.”

  His words sliced through her. The rusty edge of his sharp tongue cut into her soul. Maybe bringing him here had been a bad idea. She mentally reinforced the steel around her heart by reminding herself that no one wanted to be with her. It’s why her father left early on. Why her mother checked out of life when she was six, and why her brother wanted to go back to the hellhole he came from.

  “Stop being ungrateful.”

  They were more alike than she imagined. The
only difference was she had learned to keep things inside; whereas, he was too immature to know how to compartmentalize and turn his emotions into little bombs that only detonated on occasion. Nope, Will was an open field of explosives. Too bad she didn’t have the time or patience to tiptoe across his minefield.

  “You don’t know what it’s like to be me,” he yelled.

  “Yes, I do. We have the same father, and it looks like he didn’t change much.”

  Will jumped up and stomped outside. She didn’t go after him because sometimes a person needed space. But when darkness blanketed the house, and he’d missed dinner, she started to worry. She kept telling herself she didn’t care, but that was a lie.

  When it inched toward ten o’clock, she considered calling the police. Maybe she should have done that first. She’d considered it, but fear kept her from dialing the number. All they needed was a police report connected to them, and he’d end up in the foster system—the one place she wanted him to avoid.

  Given the situation, maybe she had been naïve to think he’d want to stay here with her. Not every foster family was bad. She’d had a few good ones in her time. They were generally the transition homes. The places she stayed before a more permanent solution was available. Those parents always seemed nice. Then again, they didn’t have to invest much in the kids that blew through. Here today and gone tomorrow.

  At fifteen minutes to eleven, she heard his shoes kick up the gravel. When the door opened, she didn’t say a word.

  He came in and sat next to her. Goose bumps prickled his skin, and tears stained his cheeks.

  She took the blanket draped over the sofa and placed it around his shoulders. When he leaned into her, she stiffened but then relaxed. She wasn’t getting soft. She was providing needed warmth. At least that’s what she told herself.

  “I thought you would want to be a family.” The words stuck in her throat. “But if you think it would be better to live somewhere else, I’ll call social services tomorrow. I only want what’s best for you, Will.”

  He burrowed into her side as his body trembled. At first, she assumed he shook from the cold, but little hiccups broke through, and she realized he was crying.

  “It’s okay, Will.”

  “No, it’s not,” he cried. “I’m sorry, Natalie. I’m so sorry. I don’t want you to give me away.”

  She held his shoulders and eased him back so he could see her face. She wanted him to look into her eyes and know the truth. “Maybe we’re looking at this from the wrong angle. I’m not the enemy, and you’re not the problem.” She tugged him back to her chest. “Maybe you’re a gift in disguise.”

  He sucked in a choppy breath. “Non-returnable.”

  She shook her head. “Nope. No returns.” She held him until his sobs turned into whimpers and moved to an occasional out of sync breath. When she was certain he was calm, she said, “Let’s set the ground rules again. This isn’t me being a dictator. This is me trying to set a good example.”

  “I know. No lying. No stealing. No being disrespectful.”

  She smiled. “And no running away. There are bears in that forest. Wolves too.” She looked down at the kid who, for the first time, resembled a twelve-year-old.

  “You hungry?”

  “Starving.”

  “Let’s feed you, and then to bed. We need to get up early and head into Copper Creek for that library card and some clothes. You can’t wear the same pants every day.”

  She rose from the couch and walked the few feet to the kitchen. “How about a sandwich? We’ve got peanut butter and jelly or bologna and cheese.”

  He rubbed his stomach. “Can I have both?”

  She laughed. “You’re going to eat me out of house and home, aren’t you?”

  He looked around the tiny place. “It wouldn’t take much.”

  They stood side by side, making sandwiches. Something about the simple task made her heart hitch. For the first time in a long time, she didn’t feel alone, and she wasn’t sure if that was a good thing.

  Chapter Six

  Jake picked up his keys and walked out of the tiny cabin where he’d been staying.

  Off to the right, Tilden was bent over planting flowers in the boxes surrounding the big house. He stood up. “I hear the opening went well.”

  Jake wanted to laugh. Great by Aspen Cove standards would be a failure by any other. He wasn’t used to failing.

  “Yes, the townsfolk seemed pleased with the idea.”

  “I’m glad you were the one who brought a bookstore to Aspen Cove. They had asked me a while back because I dabble in writing. For me, running a bookstore is on par with getting eaten by a bear. Not on my bucket list.”

  “It’s not too bad, actually—running the bookstore, that is. It’s kind of like working in a candy store.” Jake looked up into the canopy of trees. “Will there be enough light to grow petunias?” He loved the colorful flowers but knew they needed sunshine to flourish. Every living thing needed something to flourish, whether it be respect, love, or space.

  “Nope, I told Goldie, and she didn’t listen. She doesn’t hear me when it’s something she wants, and she wants petunias.”

  Goldie was the reason he was staying in Tilden’s cabin in the first place. She’d been a social media maven and had her finger on the pulse of anything that was newsworthy. Apparently, she was a fan of his teachings.

  “You know what they say … happy wife equals a happy life.”

  “Anything that makes Goldie happy makes me happy,” Tilden said.

  “I heard that,” she said, exiting the house with two cups of coffee in her hand. “And that makes me happy.” She sidled up to Tilden and handed him a cup. “I guess you’ll be leaving us soon, now that you’ve done your part.”

  He lifted a shoulder. “As soon as I find someone to manage the shop. What kind of benefactor would I be if I stayed open one day and then closed the place down the next?”

  “You should think about staying long-term,” Goldie said. “It’s a great place to live, and that’s coming from a girl who once lived in a penthouse and ate caviar for breakfast. Given the two lifestyles, I’d choose this one every single time.”

  “That’s because of Tilden. Love blooms when you fertilize the heart with happiness, hope, and happily ever after.”

  Tilden drank his coffee. “Did you make that shit up on the fly?”

  He laughed. “I did. It’s my superpower.”

  Goldie huffed. “It’s only super if it’s relevant and powerful if you practice what you preach.”

  “I’ve got to go. I thought maybe I’d stop in at Maisey’s for a stack of pancakes and a tea.” He made his way to the rented SUV and turned to find Tilden and Goldie waving goodbye.

  Just before he closed the door, he heard Goldie giggle and say, “Come on, Tilden, it’s time to fertilize me with happiness.”

  He backed out and drove down the mountain road. The whole way into town, he thought about love and life, and what his happy ever after looked like. Fifteen years ago, it included marriage, and babies, and a home with a picket fence. Then, polycystic kidney disease happened.

  He parked behind the bookstore and walked around to Maisey’s. He expected to see Natalie when he entered, and he took a seat in a nearby booth, but she wasn’t there. In her place was Maisey.

  “Hey, handsome. Cakes, oatmeal, or eggs?”

  “Pancakes today.” He took another look around. “Is Natalie here?” For all he knew, she could have been in the back doing some kind of prep work.

  “She’s got the late shift because she needed to take Will into Copper Creek for clothes.” She leaned a hip against the table. “Poor kid had the clothes on his back and a spare set in his bag. Can you imagine having so little?”

  He couldn’t. Not really. His life had been good. His parents had been solid. Though his family wasn’t rich, they never wanted or needed for anything. Now that he was successful, they’d never need to ask for anything. He made sure his family was
taken care of.

  “What’s the story with Natalie?”

  “Let me get your tea and put your order in, then I’ll join you.”

  She came back with two mugs, one filled with coffee for her, and the other with hot water for him. She pulled his favorite decaf tea packet from the pocket of her apron.

  “You wanted to talk about Natalie?”

  He shook his head. “No, I don’t want to talk about her. I want to know about her. What’s her story?”

  She leaned against the back of the booth and watched him like an experiment. “Don’t you think you should ask her?”

  “Probably, but she seems to have her hands full.”

  “That she does.” Maisey leaned forward like she had a secret. “Poor kid gets a call that says she needs to pick up her brother, or he’s going into foster care. She had no idea she had a brother. Imagine the fearlessness it takes to drive to California to pick up a kid she’s never met. She’s just a kid herself.”

  Natalie was young, but he wouldn’t call her a kid. He imagined she was in her late twenties or early thirties. “That’s a lot to take on. Does she have help? A boyfriend? A husband?” It sounded like he was digging for information.

  “Nope, as far as I know, she’s got no one. That was until Will. She’s a hard worker. Not much of a sharer. What I’ve gathered I’ve pieced together from bits and pieces. From what she says, and the stuff she doesn’t. I think she came here looking for something.” She mindlessly folded a napkin and placed it under his mug. “I think she wants to belong, but she’s afraid to take the leap. For as long as she’s been here, Natalie has had one foot in Aspen Cove and the other out.”

  “Order up,” Ben called from the kitchen.

  “That’s yours.” She hopped up and got his breakfast. He sat in silence, thinking about Natalie and Will. Would he have been courageous enough to do the same? How many people would have driven across the country to pick up a kid they didn’t know? That said something about her strength and tenacity. Two traits that had always been attractive to him.