Chapter Seventeen
Austin
I sat on the bench outside of the house, paying attention to the voice at the other end of the phone. It was cold out, but I liked the winter.
I nodded and smiled, even though no one else could see me. “That’s right. A million dollars.” They said something, and I glanced at the door, hoping that Mom didn’t come looking for me. “I am going to have my assistant Preston handle things from this end, and my name won’t be attached to any of this.” I listened. “That’s right. It’s an anonymous donation. Thank you so much.”
I ended the call with a wide smile, feeling like I was doing something good for a change. I was giving rather than taking. It felt pretty good. I looked around the snow-covered land, and I took in the peace around me.
I stood to go inside, knowing that Mom was finishing dinner up. She had been on cloud nine since I came home, and I knew that she wanted things to progress with Rebecca and me. I didn’t say much as far as anything further happening, but I enjoyed her happiness.
I went into the kitchen to see her finishing a salad to go with the pasta that she’d fixed. I asked if I could help with anything.
“No, thank you, sweetheart,” she said. “I’m almost done. Go tell your dad to wash up for supper.”
I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I went to the living room where Dad watched a college football game on television. He’d done some work around the house today, and he looked tired when he looked up at me.
I smiled at him. “Supper’s ready. Mom told me to tell you to wash up.”
“Good, I’m starving,” he grumbled as he stood up. He looked more than tired. I frowned as I watched him walk into the small bathroom. I considered hiring someone to take care of the house and the yard for them on a steady basis before I left so he wouldn’t have to keep doing this to himself. I knew that he wasn’t about to leave so that was the least that I could do.
I used the hall bathroom to wash my hands, then helped Mom get the food to the table. Dad was already there. She gave him his milk before going to get her water. I poured some milk for myself and watched their routine with interest. Memories flooded me all over again as I thought back to the past and my childhood. I knew Mom had been pregnant with another baby when I was around five, and they’d downplayed the miscarriage for me.
Looking back now, I knew they’d wanted more kids, but it just didn’t happen for them. They were happy with me, once they accepted their fate.
Mom heaped some pasta on Dad’s plate, along with some salad. She gave him a loving smile. It reminded me of the look that Rebecca gave me before I left her this morning, and I wondered how her night was going.
We settled in to eat. Mom kept giving me curious glances. “So, is Rebecca working tonight?” she asked.
“She is,” I told her, smiling playfully at her.
She narrowed her eyes. “It was good to see her again. Invite her for Christmas, along with that sister of hers, if they don’t have plans. It didn’t sound like it last night.”
Dad looked at Mom. “You’ll have enough to feed them, right?”
Mom had an open-door policy on Christmas. Since our family was small, she always cooked extra for anyone who was alone on the holidays. We were getting a tree tomorrow morning. Mom would keep it up and decorated for as long as Dad would allow it.
Preston was coming over to help decorate it. Mom insisted that he enjoy some of Christmas. She already had a special meal planned for that.
“I always do.” Her smile was bright, and I realized how much she loved having Christmas here, although she’d been all over the idea of feeding the homeless last year in the city. It was horrifying to hear how many people lived on the streets in New York. Dad had to reign her in from giving them all money. “I am going to make a good ham tomorrow for that assistant of yours, with all the fixings.” She looked at me. “Is Rebecca working?”
“I’ll find out,” I promised her, thinking that I’d appreciate some alone time with Rebecca. I couldn’t stop thinking about how great last night had been.
Mom beamed at me. I took a bite of spaghetti, aware that nobody in the city cooked it like Mom. They could claim to be authentic all they wanted, but there was just something about home cooking that appealed to me on this trip. We talked about the farm that we’d be going to in the morning. Mom described her perfect tree to us, and Dad rolled his eyes in feigned annoyance. I remembered how much of a chore picking out a tree had been as a kid. I thought about warning Preston in advance, if I hadn’t already. But it was tradition, and I was going to enjoy it.
We finished dinner, and I helped Mom clean up while Dad went back to his game.
“Mom, I want to get you guys someone to help out around here. A contractor of sorts. There has to be someone in town who’s willing to work for a little extra cash.” My voice was quiet.
She gave me a sad look. “He won’t have that, Austin. He’s a proud man and still considers himself to be active at sixty. Besides, it gives him something to do. Take away a man’s purpose, and you take away his reason to go on living. Now that he’s retired, all he’s got is his work around the house. Maybe if he had some grandkids to distract him…”
“Mom!” I said, shocked.
She smiled innocently. “I’m just saying.”
I shook my head. “Anyway, there has to be something I can do. Something else. Dad looks exhausted from just doing a little bit of work outside. This is ridiculous.” I was angry, and I dried a dish roughly.
She placed a gentle hand on my arm. “You know what I want you to do.”
I did, but I wasn’t ready for the idea of moving back here. I had a business in New York, not to mention a home and a life. I liked the pace there, didn’t I?
“I know, Mom. I just can’t. I’ll do anything I can to help except for that.” She nodded and handed me the last dish without making eye contact with me. I set it in the cupboard. She went to join Dad, and I watched her go with regret in my eyes. I had so much waiting for me in New York, not to mention this other deal going on behind the scenes. That might require me to move even farther away than New York, and I didn’t know what would happen if that worked out.
Fuck. I felt like I was being pulled in a thousand different directions, which didn’t feel good here in North Reed. I was supposed to feel relaxed. I glanced around the kitchen, making sure it was clean, before I headed to my room. I wanted to call Rebecca and talk this out with her, but I’d be leaving Rebecca behind as well. How the hell could I dump this stress on her and then just walk away?
My phone rang in my pocket, and I reached for it, hoping to see Rebecca’s name. I walked into my room, closing the door as I looked down and frowned. Mia? What the fuck did she want?
“Yeah?” I answered, sitting down on my bed and closing my eyes. My head started to hurt, and I pressed my fingers over the bridge of my nose.
“Austin, it’s so good to hear your voice,” Mia purred in that sugary sweet voice that used to work on me. What had I been thinking, getting with her? “I miss you, baby.”
“Why?” I asked abruptly.
She sighed at the other end. “It’s going to be Christmas soon, and you’re not here. The city feels so lonely without you. I don’t have my guy to go to the parties with me.” Her voice was whiny. I rolled my eyes. How I ever found this woman desirable was beyond me. Rebecca was so low key and genuine compared to any of them, especially Mia.
And I was going to leave her here.
“Mia. We broke up months ago. It wasn’t a big deal to either of us then, even though you’ve been stirring shit up with the press.” I could practically see her exaggerated pout. “I know you don’t really miss me.”
“I do. You’re the best man in New York. We had such a good time together,” she continued to whine.
I thought back to the months that we spent together. It was all about sex and spending my money so she could be seen at the best places. Paparazzi always swarmed around to take pictures of us, and I was certain that Mia planned that. Or her agent did. It boosted her career. I remembered her getting a few small parts in some television shows around that time.
“Can you come back early and see me?” she asked.
“Mia, we’re over. It wasn’t that great between us to begin with.” I dropped back against my pillows, suddenly feeling tired. “I don’t know what you remember about us dating, but it seems to be a lot different than what I do.” I chuckled. “You started dating that hockey player pretty quickly if I remember correctly. Did he dump you or something?”
There was silence at the other end. I did the math of when she started talking about reconciling with me. I’d have to check the papers, but I thought that was when her new boyfriend started seeing someone else.
“Seriously,” I said. “What do you want with me, Mia?”
“I miss you. The holidays have me all sappy, and I just want to see you again.” I could hear that she was trying to be sincere, though I knew Mia well enough to see through her lies. She just wanted my money and the notoriety that came from dating me.
“I don’t miss you, Mia.” I heard her gasp at the other end. “I think that you need to call someone else or find someone else. I don’t think that you’ll have a problem.”
“Have you found someone else, Austin? Are you fucking another girl?” I smirked at her crude words. “You know she’s not as hot as I am.”
“Fucking hell, Mia. Listen to yourself.” I wanted to laugh at her narcissism.
“I am all over the runways and magazines, Austin. I’m an actress. Everybody thinks I’m beautiful. I know that you want me.”
“Everybody but me,” I said coldly.
She sighed heavily. “I think I might need to take a little vacation in the sun and get away from this weather. Can you suggest anywhere good?” Mia obviously hinted at going to the Bahamas.
I held in the urge to laugh, not wanting her to pick up on the fact that I was not there at all. “I am certain that you’ll find a place, Mia. I also know that you won’t have trouble finding company. I won’t be back for a while.”
She ended the call, and I let out a low laugh, exhausted from the day. Between my father’s health issues, my mother’s desire to have me move back here, and the constant thoughts of Rebecca in my head, I just needed a break.
I turned on the television and kicked my shoes off, listening as they hit the floor. I wanted to hear Rebecca’s voice and feel her body against mine, but I was so tired. I needed rest and some time to think about all of this.
“Fucking Mia,” I grumbled.
I slipped my pants off and settled in for the night. She was crazy to think that I still wanted her after being in Rebecca’s bed with her. Mia was a fake bitch who manipulated people for her own good, and I was not that man anymore.
I wasn’t sure what the outcome would be, but I was going back to New York a different man.