Bad Boy Rebound(3)

I could still hardly believe that I was back in Washington, in my small hometown, a place I swore I’d never return to.

In the last week that I’d been back, I felt like I could breathe again. I felt a sense of peace that had been lacking while I’d been mending my broken heart in Scottsdale. Nothing in Scottsdale had been able to pacify me—not my job or my friends.

Actually, Ross’s wedding had been the final straw. The wedding had taken place just four weeks ago, in a five-star hotel in downtown Scottsdale. Only close friends had been invited. I’d stared at the wedding photo in the Sunday paper with a mixture of fury and amusement that the bride towered inches above her groom. Ross had always been touchy about his height. Although he’d been a couple inches taller than me, I had rarely worn heels because I knew it bothered him.

Apparently Candace didn’t care.

I burned the wedding picture, tossed the ashes in the toilet, and made the call to my parents that would change my life.

My hometown, the place that had once seemed like a prison, had now become my sanctuary. As expected, my family had rallied around me and made me feel welcome.

Although both my parents had been sad to hear the news of my breakup with Ross, there had been no mistaking the excitement in my mother’s voice as she talked about available properties in the area. Real estate had always been her passion, but it wasn’t until my little brother started high school that she decided to work outside the home. And she’d proven she was good at her job, because she had delivered in spades on this house. Since the owner was a family friend, we had gotten it for a steal.

I now had a home of my own, and I felt pride at knowing the place was mine and that it had been my savings and my 401K that had made it all possible.

I still had enough in my savings to survive on for six months before I had to focus on working again.

The time off would allow me to get back on my feet and heal, as my mom said. Plus, with this fixer upper, I would need the time off of work to get it into shape.

Although I had some reservations about returning to Maple Creek, and I had even once told friends I would never return to the small town because I was tired of everyone knowing my business, I was glad to be home. Back with my parents, who treated me like the teenager I had been when I left. Toby, my twenty-two-year-old brother, told me to get used to it. He was going to a game design school in Portland and still lived at home. Our mom spoiled him rotten, and yet he didn’t seem to mind. I guess I wasn’t so different from my brother. Truth be told, I kind of enjoyed being doted on.

Toby hadn’t changed a whole lot. His strawberry blond hair was still curly, and he wore a mustache and a closely cropped beard that made him look older. I remember as a kid he’d been obsessed with facial hair…and his lack of it. Time had made up for it though. He’d shown up this morning with a bandanna around his head to keep his long bangs out of his eyes. Like the rest of my family, Toby had a great work ethic, and I was excited to get to know him. Our almost five year age difference had been a little much, and since he was a boy and had completely different interests than me, we hadn’t been particularly close growing up.

I’d left home the summer before he’d entered high school, and aside from coming home for a couple of days during Christmas break, I hadn’t made much of an effort to get to know him. I hoped that would change now that I was home and we were both adults.

Now I had all the time in the world, and I was motivated to make up for lost time and make my family a priority.

Having my heart ripped out and the life I’d envisioned for myself evaporate before my eyes, I’d had some time to realize that I needed to be grateful for the family I had. They were my cheerleaders and always would be, and I thanked God for that.



Down the hallway, I heard my brother cuss, and I smiled. Toby had been tinkering with the toilet for the past thirty minutes. “Now I see why you got this place for fifty cents on the dollar. I don’t think it’s been touched since it was built.”

“Right?” Toby was a complete smartass, and it took me awhile sometimes to know that he was kidding. Now he wasn’t kidding. The little house was like a time capsule. The 1950s house only had small upgrades in the flooring, and by the condition of the carpet, I was guessing the last renovation had been in the 80s. Being I had gotten such a great deal, I had a fairly good budget to make repairs and update nearly ever facet of the house so I could put my own stamp on it.

I just hoped Toby’s friend gave me the “family discount.”

“Hey, Brax just pulled up,” Toby called out.

The name Brax instantly conjured up images of a cute dark-haired boy with beautiful green eyes and a bright smile. A boy I thought was cute even though he was so many years younger than me, and who also happened to be my brother’s best friend since they were in elementary school. On occasion, when my parents left for a night of bingo, I’d be stuck looking after the two. I always complained to my parents that it hadn’t been fair. Not like it had been tough. The boys had played video games and ridden bikes in the big dirt pile behind Old Man Johnson’s place.