Chapter Nine
Austin
I got the text from Rebecca, telling me to meet her at the local diner just a block from the salon. I used to work there back in high school, and it made me laugh in the middle of talking to Seth and his dad.
“I am going to step out for some lunch,” I said. “Come over for dinner soon, you two.”
“Sure thing,” Seth said. “Where are you going?”
I shook my head. “Bunny’s. I haven’t been there in years.”
Seth smirked at his dad. “You’re in for a surprise, buddy. Have fun.”
I tilted my head at him. “Okay. I’ll do that.”
I told them to call me, and I walked out. The snow had stopped, but a crisp layer of fresh snow covered everything I could see. I was glad that Dad told me to take his old Suburban today. I was going to call the rental place later and try to get them to let me switch to an SUV. I’d have to make the six-hour-round-trip drive, but it might be worth it. I turned to the left and walked over the sidewalk towards the cafe, a place that held a lot of memories. I passed the flower shop owned by Betty Niles and walked inside to get a small bouquet for Rebecca. I was mildly surprised to see that Betty was still here and being helped by a woman who I recognized as her daughter, Maura.
“Austin Harris, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?” the older woman exclaimed, squinting at me despite the glasses that she wore. “How are you?”
“Doing good, Mrs. Niles. How about you and your family?”
She smiled at her daughter. “We’re great. You’re like a hometown hero here, young man. I am glad that you came back to visit your mama. She missed you.”
I blushed. I’d just earned some money, not saved a life. “I don’t know about that,” I mumbled and looked around the tiny store. “I’d like a small bouquet. Something pink.” That was Rebecca’s favorite color.
“We have some tulips that just came in,” Maura told me as she reached into an old cooler. “Here we go. What do you think?”
“They’re perfect,” I replied. She quickly constructed a delicate little bouquet. I paid her and added a generous tip before I headed out, worried about running late to lunch. She was only on an hour break.
I walked into the diner and paused when I looked around. “He’s a bit proud of you,” Rebecca said from my right. She stepped over to me and looked around the walls covered with various pictures of me.
I frowned. “That or obsessed,” I remarked. I caught sight of Gus coming out of the kitchen.
“Austin! It’s great to see you here. I’ve been following your career and all your hard work. Congratulations.” Gus walked out and shook my hand. I thanked him. “Come on in. Pick a table and we’ll cook anything you want. I know you’re probably used to that fancy city food now.”
I didn’t want to tell him that I was enjoying the food here more than ever before, slightly embarrassed that he was making such a fuss over me. There were a few other customers seated around the small room, looking at me and pointing. I shot Rebecca a helpless look. She shrugged.
We found a table in the corner, and I finally presented her with the flowers.
“You didn’t have to,” she said, blushing.
“All part of the apology,” I assured her.
She lifted the flowers to her nose to inhale them. “Tulips always look so perfect when they bloom,” Rebecca murmured.
Someone approached the table.
“Hi, Austin. Rebecca. What would you like?” The sweet girl was flustered. I smiled gently, hoping she’d relax.
“I’ll have the grilled cheese and vegetable soup, Nadine,” Rebecca said. “Thank you.”
I asked for the bacon cheeseburger and fries. We both asked for hot chocolate to drink, and I smiled at Rebecca.
Gus brought the food out himself, and he stuck around to chat. It was good to talk to him, but Rebecca and I didn’t get much time to talk. As we ate, what seemed like the whole town came through the doors. News traveled fast there, even in the winter.
I had to admit it was flattering that they all wanted to talk to me. A lot of people thought I wasn’t going to make good on my goals, and I proved them wrong. They were all here to say it to my face now, and I basked in it for a moment. I knew these people and liked them all. I knew that they liked me underneath all the high school attitude.
Once the meals were finished, Gus tried to insist that he wasn’t taking a penny of my money. It was an honor to have me here, and he clapped me on the back as I looked down at the table. “Gus, you don’t have to do that.”
“It’s a sight to see the two of you sitting in here again. You used to bring Rebecca here all the time.” He smiled at her and leaned back to take this all in. I was certain this was the most excitement North Reed had seen in quite some time.
“That I did,” I murmured, locking my gaze with Rebecca’s.
I managed to convince Gus to let me do something for him. After a bit of discussion, I signed some of the covers he had on the walls. He asked if he could take a new photo for the wall, and of course, I agreed. We took several together, all over the diner, before some of the other customers asked for the same. I complied since so many of the celebrities in New York were jerks to their fans, but I kept looking at Rebecca the entire time.
She smiled as she watched. When the crowd was satisfied, I managed to sit across from her. She looked at her phone. “I have to walk back, Austin. This was nice though.”
“I’m sorry,” I apologized.
She laughed softly. “You’ve been saying that a lot today. But it’s fine. They all loved seeing you. I can’t complain about that, Austin.”
I leaned closer to her, and her cheeks flushed pink. “Let me walk you back, at least,” I offered.
She nodded. I left a large bill on the table for a tip and led her to the door, still clutching her flowers.
Once we were outside in the frigid air, I shivered and looked at her. “I never hated this town, Rebecca. I just had dreams that were too big for it. I wanted to work on Wall Street and learn as much as I could about investments.”
She nodded. “I know that. You dreamed about it for a long time.” Her voice was soft. “You got your dream.”
“I loved you as well, Rebecca.” I watched as she glanced at me. “That’s why I asked you to come with me. I wanted you to be part of my dream.”
“Maybe we should have just said it back then,” she said. “But it felt too fast, too soon. For me, at least. We were so young, and I knew how it was going to end.” Her eyes were clear as she met mine. “I suppose I didn’t see the point.”
“I hated leaving you,” I said. “I thought about you all the time. They’re all so proud of me here, and all I ever wanted was for you to be a part of it. I wanted you by my side.”
“Bad timing.” She started to walk again.
I caught up and joined her. “Yeah, I guess so.”
We walked in silence. She stopped in front of Grayson’s and looked at me.
“What?” I asked her, my tone light and teasing. “If you want a picture with me, you can just ask.”
She smiled. “I have a lot from high school. I like thinking about that time, Austin. I don’t need one of you now. Thanks for lunch. Thanks for…everything.”
“I think that you should thank Gus for lunch, not me,” I said.
She shrugged. “Thank you for these,” Rebecca said as she held up the flowers. “They’ll look great on my station.”
I told her goodbye one last time and watched her walk inside. I made the short walk to the car and got inside before starting the engine. The heat took a minute, and I sat to wait as I thought about Rebecca. I remembered the day we met.
She was at the end of her sophomore year, and we had a pep rally. Rebecca grew up here, but I’d never noticed her before. I was so self-absorbed in my goals and friends, but that day, it was like a spotlight shined on her.
She was gorgeous. When she glanced at me, I knew I was done for. We talked the following week, and I asked her out. By the time we started the next year of school, the two of us were a couple. I lost myself in those great memories as I drove home. We spent summers at the drive-in, the creek, and the diner, with friends or just the two of us. We were always laughing, and I knew that I could be myself with her.
Too bad that version of me thought more about college in New York, followed by a career. I didn’t know then how many regrets I would have about leaving her behind. I didn’t see that I hurt her every time I talked about my future, but I saw that now.
I saw a lot of things now that I’d already fucked up. I had a life in New York that I’d worked too hard to build for me to come back here. I wouldn’t have the connections here nor the success.
I drove back to my parents’ house and looked the town over as I drove. Seeing everyone so excited for my career and treating me like a celebrity felt good, but I was no longer a part of this town. I had a life elsewhere, and while I would enjoy the time here, I also knew I had to leave eventually. I wanted more than anything to bring my parents and Rebecca with me, but they’d made their choice every single time that I asked them to join me.
I knew that today, Rebecca still wouldn’t come with me. We had no future. I swallowed the lump in my throat. She was the only woman I ever loved. More than likely, Rebecca was the only woman I would ever love, based on the last decade of my life. I still had my work at home waiting for me and my success, which would never go away if I kept pushing myself. Hell, even if it did, I was a billionaire and could do anything I wanted in my life.
Mom was cooking a roast when I arrived home. She took one look at my face and walked over to me. “Are you okay?” she asked.
“Yeah, just tired. I spent a lot of time with Seth and his dad, catching up. The weather got rough a few times.” I shrugged and went to get a bottle of water from the fridge.
I focused on contacting Preston to see what was going on with the deal. It was the one thing that I felt like I had control over, and my soul craved it, needing something to work out. I felt disappointed in today, even though I’d gone to see Rebecca with no real expectations.
I sure as hell didn’t expect the line about her wanting to marry me. She never told me that before now. I thought she used to love me in some way, but marriage never crossed my mind. The idea of staying here to settle down seemed crazy back when I could only think about getting away, and I thought that Rebecca would come with me.
I thought that I was worth it to her.
We had a quiet dinner before I excused myself to go upstairs. I was in the middle of a text conversation with Preston, needing to know every detail of what was happening. At this point, I’d welcome having to leave to deal with things so I could forget all about North Reed. I had my laptop open, looking at numbers as we moved to chat online with some of the staff and tried to figure out what to do.
I fell asleep hours later to find myself dreaming of the last time that Rebecca and I made love, way out in the country under the night sky. Nothing since then had felt as good. No woman ever felt like she did.