Chapter Three
Austin
Once I was at my parents’ modest home and relatively unpacked, Mom insisted on an early supper. She’d made a chicken casserole with rice and broccoli that could feed a damn army, along with rolls and salad.
This meal used to be my favorite when I was a kid. I appreciated that she tried to make me happy, but I ate a lot of different things now with the hours I kept in the city. I smiled as I spooned some onto my plate and looked at my parents. “Thanks, Mom. This looks great.”
The rice appeared to be brown. I glanced at Dad. Mom would go to the ends of the earth to keep him healthy. I figured she was trying to be healthy where she could.
That was the only change that I could see. The house, the dishes, and their lives were exactly the same.
I thought back to the salon. Damn it. I couldn’t stop thinking about Rebecca. I spooned some food into my mouth, lost in my own thoughts. She’d stirred up things inside of me earlier that I hadn’t thought about for years. Rebecca was as beautiful as before, if not more so. I’d been so eager to get the hell out of here that I thought little of ending it with her eleven years ago.
Today, she looked gorgeous with those striking hazel eyes. The specks of green glimmered in the sun shining through the windows of the salon. Her skin was still pale and her hair long and curly. She looked so small town, but gorgeous. I sipped my water, trying to sort through my thoughts.
I’d dated some of the most beautiful women in the world, according to the media. I had a slew of actresses and models that left their notch on my proverbial bedpost. They were coveted by all, and friends envied me, asking for details of the nights spent with them. I was a hero in the eyes of some, though a man whore in the eyes of others. I looked at Mom with a slightly apologetic look as she searched my face worriedly.
Why was Rebecca still inside of my head? We dated in high school, and I didn’t think about her too much once I left. Sure, we’d slept together a few times, but it wasn’t overlooking the places where I had women now. I woke up to some of the most gorgeous views in the world and to women eager to please me, the billionaire.
Fuck this.
“Everything looked the same when I got back here. Grayson’s hasn’t changed a bit.” I stabbed some lettuce with my fork.
“They update when they need to, but you’re right,” Mom agreed. She scooped up some of the casserole with her fork, smiling gently. “People here like that, Austin. It’s the small-town life.”
I scowled, hating this life right now. “I guess. Even your house hasn’t changed at all.”
Dad gave me a look that suggested I shut up. I’d offered them money for anything they needed since falling into such wealth, but they insisted they had everything they needed. Sure, they took out equity loans to do the bigger repairs on the forty-year-old house, but Mom insisted that’s what it was for.
Dad worked long hours as an electrician for a local company for many years before he retired a year ago, and they were doing just fine. The house was paid off, so what was a small loan to them? They had everything they needed in life.
“I have done what I need to do to this place,” Dad spoke gruffly before he glanced at Mom. “We raised you here, and it’s just fine, Austin.” He shot me a pointed look. “Consistency in life is a good thing, son. I know what I am waking up to every day, and I wouldn’t change any of it.” Dad reached out for Mom’s hand to squeeze it, giving her a loving smile.
“Maybe, but some change can be great for a person. I know I like living in a world of change.” I took another bite of the casserole and swallowed. “I am always considering new investments, and I love that part of my life.”
My mother frowned. “Austin, you have more money than you know what to do with. Why do you look for more? Relax, honey. Enjoy life.”
“That’s the part of life that I enjoy. It’s not to get more money, Mom. It’s just the challenge for me. I don’t know why you won’t let me give you any of it to go on a vacation or something. It would do you good to get away.”
Dad’s mouth straightened stubbornly. I made the same expression sometimes. My friends told me so. I took after him a lot, but I had Mom’s smile.
“I don’t need anything,” he said. “I worked hard my entire life, and I can provide for your mother just fine.” His voice was on edge.
I sighed, knowing we were headed toward the same old argument. “How are you feeling these days, Dad?” I pressed gently, getting an eye roll for an answer.
Both my great grandpa and his father died from heart attacks at just a slightly older age, and he needed to watch it. Hell, I went in for regular checks, and I was only twenty-nine. I wasn’t going to fuck around with warnings that were clearly there.
“It was one goddamn heart attack. A small one at that. I went to the hospital, and I still see Doctor Green. I’m fine. I don’t know why everyone is fussing over me so damn much.” Dad scowled. “Your mother changed my diet, and she’s on me to go out and walk every morning and evening.”
Mom shot him a concerned smile.
“It’s a warning, Dad,” I said. “You know your family history.”
He wiped his mouth with a napkin. Dad looked great for sixty, but he needed to take care of what was inside. It probably added a lot of stress to his life to worry about money when he didn’t have to.
“Did you just come home to lecture me, Austin? Is this what I get to look forward to for the next month?” Dad grumbled.
Mom let out a breath and looked over at me. “I am so glad that you’re home this year, Austin.” I could tell she was trying to change the subject.
My phone chimed from the coffee table. I knew it was Preston from the personalized tone.
“Excuse me. It’s my assistant.” I stood to get the device so I could read the text. My parents still had their house phone and a dinosaur of a computer. That was beyond my comprehension as I scanned the screen of my brand-new Galaxy. “He’ll be here tomorrow.”
“I think he is the most adorable man with that accent,” Mom said. “But shouldn’t he be with his family? They’re so far away, Austin,” Mom fussed as I set the phone down on the worn kitchen table.
“He lives for the chase just like I do, Mom. You know that.” She’d met him several times when they came to visit me in New York and knew how good he was with organizing my business. “He’s looking forward to coming here to see what life is like.” I also paid him very well for all the things he did for me.
“He’ll see a true Texas Christmas here,” Mom said. “We’ll take him to get the tree day after tomorrow instead of having one delivered like you have the past few years.” Mom’s nose wrinkled in distaste. “I’ll make a special supper the night we decorate it and invite Bob and Kathy over. We’ll make a night of it.”
That was a big night? Oh, that’s right. I was in North Reed, not New York.
“What else do you have planned?” I asked dryly.
Mom grinned with excitement in her dark green eyes. “There are so many gatherings, Austin. People want to see you and ask you all about your life. There’s also the parade in town the day before Christmas, as well as the festival. It’s been so long since we’ve done that as a family.” She clapped her hands together, and Dad chuckled. “New York is beautiful at Christmas the first time, honey, but there’s so little tradition. It’s not like it is here. When you have your own baby, you’ll have to make sure and come here to show them what family is all about.”
I nearly choked on the water I was drinking. What baby? I was a workaholic who kicked women out of my bed after a few months at best. I wore condoms for a reason.
“I know there will be dinners that just happen over the course of a day, as well,” Mom said. “I love that about this town.” She smiled with contentment on her face. I fought the shiver that threatened to take over my body. “I don’t know why you can’t just let work go while you’re here. It’s Christmas.”
I wouldn’t know how to stop working if I tried. “Christmas is the twenty-fifth, Mom. Anything before that is merely December.” At home, I didn’t even take all the holidays off, and doubted that I would here, either. It wasn’t who I was.
She waved her hand in the air dismissively as if to shut me up. “Tell me about the new girl in your life. Is there one or are you seeing the beautiful girl from Estonia still? She’s so sweet.”
I swallowed the distaste in my mouth. Mia Laht had been my girlfriend for about six months. Part of that time was last Christmas when my parents met her. She was beautiful, with honey blonde hair and rare deep-set gray eyes that made every company want her for their ads. She was also fake as fuck, as I’d learned, manipulating people to fill her needs. I’d seen what she did to models who stood in her way, and short of harming them physically, she destroyed lives on a weekly basis.
Mia was an evil bitch, and I broke up with her three months ago. I told my mom as much, and she clucked at me.
“She was so pretty and sweet. You would have made beautiful babies.”
I pushed the thought out of my head. Mia would probably eat her young like animals did in the wild, just to get ahead. There was no future with her, but sex with a psychotic woman was fun sometimes. She was wild in bed.