Chapter 2
Chapter 2
Brooke
“M ommy. I think I’m sick.”
At those words that every mother dreaded hearing, I looked into the rearview mirror, trying to simultaneously keep one eye on the road, as Luke leaned out of the car seat that he was nearly too big for—he was nearly ready for the booster seat—but my little boy who wasn’t so little anymore was currently clutching his stomach like he was ready to throw up.
“Do you need me to pull over, buddy?” I asked, hoping I didn’t have to do so right now. I needed to beat the movers to the house. Thanks to a quirk of fate, a bad connection, a storm, a flood, and a water main break, I was two days late getting to our new home.
I had wanted to get everything set up for the movers. Instead, I was going to barely beat them to the house. Thankfully, my realtor was a godsend and had gotten everything ready for me, but I felt like I was behind.
I always felt like I was behind these days.
“I’m just nervous, Mommy.”
I held back my look of relief at those words and swallowed hard. I knew he’d gotten the saying from me, but it sounded adorable coming out of his mouth.
“I’m nervous too, Luke. But this is exciting. A brand-new yard. A big boy’s bed.”
As long as the bed showed up from the furniture store the next day. Tonight we would be roughing it with sleeping bags that were currently stuffed in the back of my SUV.
“But what if I don’t like school? What if school is hard?”
“Then I’m here to help you. You know I love school.”
“Because you’re a pro-fes-sor.” He mumbled the word, sounding it out, and I was proud that he at least got that far with it. Usually, he couldn’t say the word that well. But my baby boy was getting older and he was losing that little boy voice of his.
“I am going to be a professor. Are you excited to meet the neighbors? And your new schoolmates?”
“I just want them to like me. Because I like you, Mommy.”
My heart warmed, and I wanted to reach back and grip his hand and tell him everything would be okay. Only I wasn’t sure that it was because we were picking up our lives and changing everything.
I had to tell myself I could do this. I had been a single mom for my baby boy’s entire existence. We were a team, a duo. We could work with anything. Face anything. Except for maybe a cross-country move with just the two of us in my SUV to a place that I hadn’t lived in years.
But California and Europe were behind me. And now it was time for a whole new adventure with the love of my life.
“Does your stomach feel okay?” I asked, hoping it was just nerves and he wasn’t going to throw up in the back of my car during the last few miles of the drive. We had driven all the way from California to Colorado. It hadn’t been easy, and my head ached, but there was no way I could have flown with Luke and the stuff we needed. It was easier to do the drive as a team, rather than hoping my car would get to where I wanted.
“I feel better. Thank you, Mommy.”
I held back a sigh of relief as I pulled into the neighborhood, looking around at the large trees, green grass, and blue skies. I loved it here in Colorado, though it had been a while since I lived here. But I did love Arvada. I had grown up in Westminster, which was only about five minutes north. The suburbs of Colorado were all tangled together, and while I lived in one burb, I was going to work in a burb about two suburbs down. It made sense to anyone who lived here, and I knew that this was the right decision. Though my family wasn’t here anymore, and losing them had hurt me beyond measure, my sense of home was here. I knew this area and its roads like the back of my hand. Even with the new neighborhoods, the new businesses, and constant changes, everything still felt the same.
That’s why I was coming home. That, and a job offer I couldn’t refuse. So now my California baby was going to become a Colorado Rockie. And I could not wait to see how much he loved it.
His gaze had been on the mountains for most of the trip, his eyes wide as he went on and on about wanting to see bears and mountain lions and anything with park rangers. I just had to hope that none of those, including the ranger, ended up on our doorstep. Maybe when we visited the mountains, and the forest, I wouldn’t mind seeing a bear.
From far, far away.
The neighborhood was a few years old, one of the newer developments built after I had moved to France and then California. It had been more than six years since I had lived here, after all, things were going to change rapidly. And yet things still felt the same. The roads had the same names, the people were still friendly, and the skies were still blue. That is, until the skies were no longer blue and bright, and four different seasons all happened in one day. But that was something I was used to. And that was home.
These houses were decently sized, with large yards, but not so big that you didn’t get to know your neighbor or spend every weekend doing yard work until you fainted.
It was going to be a good place for me to meet other single moms and families. That way Luke wasn’t lonely, and we weren’t living in a far too expensive apartment while trying to do everything at once.
Our home was at the end of a cul-de-sac, surrounded by the old trees they built around and the younger saplings they planted after they finished.
I loved the look of it, the two-story home having called to me from the online listing. I had come out to see the place in person, as well as at least twenty others during my quick weekend out here. This was the place I had loved, and thankfully the previous owners had taken my offer.
The owners had loved the place, had worked with the builders personally to make it theirs, but were moving thanks to their jobs. I didn’t know much about the Montgomery Builders, or Montgomery Inc., as they were called, but my realtor said that they were the best in the business. That meant the house was sturdy and nice. That was fine with me. As long as there was a place for Luke, I was happy.
We pulled in and I sighed dreamily as I looked at the place, and in relief about the fact that we had actually beaten the movers.
“We’re home, Luke. What do you think?”
Luke strained in his seat and looked around. “It’s beauty-ful, Mom. Is it ours?”
I sighed softly and looked back at him. “It’s ours. Pretty nifty, isn’t it?”
“I like nifty.”
I grinned and got out of the car quickly, having pulled off to the farthest edge of the driveway so the movers could back in easily, and went to get Luke out of his seat. He had already unbuckled himself—the kid’s far too smart for his own good—and I helped him out of the car before I took his hand and we looked up at our new home.
“Well, what do you think?” I asked. Luke hadn’t been with me when I picked the house, though he had seen pictures and had done the online tour with me countless times.
“I love my room.” He grinned up at me, and I just smiled. I knew that this was a huge change for us, but it was the only decision I could have made. Therefore, it had to be the best one.
“Okay, let’s get ready for the movers.”
I clapped my hands, pulled out the key that the realtor had given me that morning when I stopped by the office quickly to sign the rest of the papers, and headed into the house.
I smiled softly as I looked at the giant basket on the counter, courtesy of my realtor, a woman that I had quickly become friends with. She was a grandmother, worked her butt off, and loved what she did.
Inside the basket was food, goodies, and a present for Luke. My eyes filled with tears, and I looked around and noticed a few other welcome home gifts, including a plant that I would probably kill, but I would do my best to keep alive.
“Mommy, we have presents?”
“We do, Luke. They’re welcoming us home.”
His eyes went wide, confused as he looked around the open and empty space. “Home?”
My heart did that little clutch thing, wondering once again if I was ruining my son’s life. I swore moms everywhere throughout history all had lists in their minds of ways that they were ruining their children’s lives.
“We’ll make it home. What do you say? Want to be my partner?”
“Okay!” he said, clapping his hands.
“Knock, knock,” a stranger’s unfamiliar voice said from the doorway. I whirled, pulling Luke behind me, my pulse racing.
A woman stood there, her dark hair flowing around her face. She had on a white blouse, comfortable gray pants, and smiled wide.
“Hello?” I said, my voice cool.
I didn’t know this woman, but if she was a neighbor or something, I should probably not be a jerk and threaten her for scaring the crap out of me.
The woman’s eyes widened and she held up both hands. “I’m so sorry. I did not mean to scare you. I’m your neighbor, Lake. Lake Montgomery. I saw you pull in and the door was open. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay and welcome you.” She bent down and picked up a casserole dish and a bag. “Your realtor, Nancy, said that you would be here and that I should welcome you if I was home. And since I’m working from my home office today, I figured I would. I swear I didn’t mean to startle you.”
I let out a breath, vaguely remembering that my realtor had mentioned Lake. She lived alone next door, and her family was somehow connected to the company that built the house.
“Hi. Sorry. You did startle me, but it’s been a long trip.”
Luke stuck his head out from behind my legs and pulled on my jeans. “Hi. I’m Luke. Mom says not to talk to strangers, are you a stranger?”
I closed my eyes and laughed. “Hello, I am Brooke. This is my son, Luke.”
Lake grinned, her hands full. “Hello, Luke and Brooke. I’m your neighbor, and I finished all my work today, so if you need help lifting anything heavy, I’m here.”
I smiled, wondering if this was a sign that moving here was the right choice. “Speaking of lifting, let me help you with whatever you’re holding now. And thank you. Seriously. Though you do not have to help with the movers.”
“Oh right. Sorry.” Lake laughed, her whole face brightening. “I baked a casserole. It’s mostly the dreaded vegetables,” she said, eyeing Luke, who just grinned.
“I like vegetables.”
Lake’s eyes widened. “I’m going to have to tell my mother that people actually do like vegetables. I’m shocked.”
I shook my head, laughing even through the mental gymnastics of the day. “He loves his veggies, and I count it as a blessing.”
Luke proudly puffed his chest. “Broccoli’s the best. And brussels sprouts.”
Lake nearly dropped her packages and I laughed, taking the dish from her hands.
“I know. I know. I think Luke likes the way I cook them. I roast them,” I added.
Lake smiled. “I do, too, but I feel like I need to do better. Anyway, I’m off for the day, and I just need to change clothes, but I can help you. Nancy said that your movers were coming through a bunch of delays, so you have me if you need me.”
I blinked at the generosity once again. “You don’t have to do that. We can handle it.”
“We’re a team,” Luke said, and I grinned down at him, ruffling his hair.
“We are a team.”
“The best team ever,” Lake said, grinning. “I seriously don’t mind helping. The people that used to live here helped as well, although my siblings, parents, and cousins were all here to help, too. There’s a lot of us.”
“You said you’re a Montgomery?” I asked, slowly piecing together what she’d said before. I needed some caffeine soon if I was going to be able to function the rest of the day.
“I am. You’ll probably meet more of us, because a few of us do live in the neighborhood.”
“I met a Montgomery from Colorado once, when I was in Paris.” I hadn’t meant to say that. I had no idea why I had. It wasn’t like I’d thought about him.
Much.
Or at all.
Or ever.
Why had I brought it up in the first place?
Lake’s eyes widened. “Really? Well, it’s probably not us since it is a common name, but if you meet one in Colorado, they’re more than likely to be related to me. In fact, my cousin is on his way to bum food off of me since it’s my turn to feed him, so I can probably borrow his muscles to help you out, too.”
“You feed him often?” I asked.
Lake nodded her head. “Yeah, we’re more like siblings, and we take turns feeding each other so we’re not constantly cooking for one.”
“Oh, I guess that makes sense.”
“We try. Anyway, do you need help?”
As soon as she asked the words again, a large truck pulled in in front of my house. My eyes widened, I looked out at my still full SUV, my kid bouncing on his toes, and sighed, giving in. “Okay. I could really use your help.”
“Welcome to Colorado.”
“Thank you. Now I just have to not panic when I think about everything I have to do.”
“It’s okay, Mom. We’re a team. Lake too.”
Lake just beamed. “Exactly. Let me go change. Oh, there’s my cousin now. I’ll tell him we’re roping him in.”
“You don’t have to do that. He does not have to help.” I already felt bad about this near stranger helping me out like this.
“Yes, he does. He’s a Montgomery. It’s what we do.”
A man in a large gray truck got out, and I did my best not to look too hard at his jeans. At the way that he filled them out, the way that he moved, at the fact that he was very ripped.
I shook myself out of it. I might have dated a few times in the past five years, but it had been long enough for me to apparently lose my mind.
Then he moved forward and turned, and I nearly fell right off of my front step.
Lake was talking to him, but I knew that face, those eyes, those cheekbones. That jaw.
I knew those lips, those hands. I knew everything.
From when I was eighteen, in a country not my own, in a memory that didn’t even feel like mine anymore.
“Ms. Adler?” a man with a gruff voice asked, and I looked towards the man in charge of the moving truck and smiled.
“That’s me. We’re here.” The whirring in my brain got louder, and I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly dry.
“You just tell us where to unload, and we’ve got you. I’ll get the few forms for you, but we know the drill.”
“And she’s got helpers,” Lake added as she moved forward, the man who wasn’t a stranger but apparently her cousin at her side.
I turned to them, eyes wide, as Leif Montgomery tripped and nearly fell, staring at me.
“ You . Brooke?” he asked.
Lake looked between us, her eyes wide, and I gripped Luke’s hand, looked at the mover, then back at Leif.
A blast from the past.
And apparently, the Montgomery I had met in Paris.