Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
Brooke
I loved Denver. It had been years since I had lived anywhere near the city, the mountains, the atmosphere. Yet it felt as if I had come home.
Though I had been to more than my fair share of cities, Denver always felt different to me. I could easily find my way around the city as if it had always been ingrained in my mind.
Part of me might have found that weird, but since I used to love travel, figuring out the lay of the land was usually the first thing that I did.
My home in Arvada was just now feeling comfortable, and I was as unpacked as I was going to be for a while.
Today I was planning to explore the downtown area a little bit more.
I would be working at the university in another suburb, so I wouldn’t be in the downtown area often.
But I used to like coming here for lunch, coffee, or to enjoy myself.
I loved that I could get the “city feel” and look at the Rocky Mountains all at the same time.
Luke was at kindergarten, that odd feeling of my baby growing up twisting the knife in my heart a little bit deeper.
He had been in daycare and PreK since he was a baby, since I was a single mom and I needed to work, and my boy loved being with others.
He loved socializing and learning and was just a joy to be around most days.
At least that’s what his teachers told me.
But today was his first day of half-day kindergarten, and I was nervous.
Parents weren’t allowed to stay and watch since that wasn’t our job. And I needed to get used to this because even though we were in a new city and a new environment, this should be easy for him.
He had held my hand as we walked into the building and then had run off to his teacher, waving behind him after he said goodbye to me.
That knife dug a little deeper, and I told myself that this was good.
I told myself that though Luke and I were a team, it was good that he was so independent. That he was ready to face his new day and fears and was ready to leave me behind.
Alone. Because he didn’t need his mommy.
I nearly kicked myself at that thought, knowing I was being overdramatic. Just because Luke could handle things on his own for a few minutes didn’t mean he didn’t need me.
And I was going to be working full-time, long hours, and starting a new phase of my career soon. I should be grateful that he could be so independent.
That afternoon, his new nanny and I would go and pick him up.
I had interviewed May before I moved here. We’d done online chats, and I had met with her when I came to buy the house. I liked May and figured that she and Luke would be a good team when I wasn’t around.
I wasn’t one of those mothers who felt that Luke gaining a relationship with his nanny or caretaker would take anything away from our relationship.
I didn’t believe that that could happen.
Because Luke and I were a team, and he needed other members on that team to be a self-reliant and healthy human being.
So, this afternoon, Luke would spend the day with May, and I would head to work for a couple of meetings. This morning was all about breathing in that mountain and city air that somehow meshed well into an amalgamation that was in Denver.
There was just one street that I absolutely loved. It seemed to have nearly everything that I needed, and none of it was cookie-cutter or franchise. And every single one of my favorite places was still there.
There was a little boutique called Eden where I had bought my first pair of fancy shoes.
I would probably go shopping there again as long as the merchandise felt about the same.
As I walked around the tables and decorations, I smiled, knowing that I would still come back here though I was on a budget.
The woman who owned the place was gorgeous, with long, nearly auburn hair, and though it had been nearly a decade, she still looked the same to me.
“Hello there, is there anything I can do for you?”
I shook my head as I smiled at the owner. “I’m just walking around browsing today. It’s been a while since I’ve been here. I was pleased to see that you guys are still here.”
The owner grinned. “I’m glad that I’m here, too. We had a few facelifts and updates along the way since we first opened all those years ago, but I’m proud to say that Eden isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.”
“That’s good to know. And, I’m looking at that scarf over there, I think I have to have it.”
“My name is Sierra, by the way. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Brooke. Thank you for being so welcoming.”
“I’m just glad that you’re back. No matter the time between, repeat customers always make me happy.”
We spoke for a little bit longer as we went over the scarf, the silk smooth on my hands.
“I love it. And I think this will be my welcome home present to me.”
“So, you’re moving to the area? I think that’s what I got from what you were saying.”
We went over to the cash register as Sierra packaged up my scarf, wrapping it in tissue paper and placing it in a gorgeous bag.
“I am. It’s been a while since I lived in the Denver area, but I’m glad to be back. And though I don’t need a silk scarf, I still want one.”
“A girl always needs pretty things.” Sierra winked as she told me the total.
I blinked. “I think you have the wrong price. I’m sorry, I thought it was a bit more.”
Sierra beamed. “Aren’t you an honest one? I truly appreciate that. However, you’re getting the welcome home discount. Welcome back to Denver, Brooke.”
She handed me the bag after I gave her my credit card, and I tried not to cry.
Tears stung my eyes and I swallowed hard.
I didn’t have any other family. Luke was it for me.
No one had said welcome home yet, although Lake and Leif had tried.
They had been welcoming, sweet, and yet this just felt different.
“Thank you. Seriously. And I’ll be back. I promise.”
“That’s exactly what I want to hear. Enjoy your day.”
I said goodbye to Sierra and made my way down the street, looking at the familiar yet different places that had been here for years, scattered amongst the newer shops and cafés.
There was a bookstore that I vaguely remembered had burned down at one point.
But they had built it back up, and I figured that I would bring Luke here one day so that he could find a book of his own.
Yes, there were probably places closer, but the street called to me.
I looked at a tattoo shop and grinned before nearly tripping over my feet because I knew that name and had to wonder if that was truly connected.
Montgomery Ink?
No, there was no way that this place was connected to all the other Montgomerys. Even though I had a feeling it was. Because Leif told me where his family worked. Spots of conversation and memories hit me again, but I told myself that I was just making things up.
There was no way, in a city as big as Denver, that my life would be this connected to a man I didn’t want to think about.
This had to be another tattoo shop that just happened to have his family name on it. I didn’t remember the name that he’d used for the shop, just that his last name was Montgomery.
And I was just losing my mind.
Next door was a little café called Taboo.
I blinked, wondering if it was a café that was also a burlesque club for some reason, but through the windows I saw baked goods, coffee, and people milling about, enjoying their morning.
Since I loved coffee, I figured I would go in and get a cup for myself.
I was pretty sure I’d been here before, but then again, I hadn’t remembered the name.
I had moved so many times that I seemed to have forgotten some essential things, like the fact that a Montgomery business was right next door.
No, I wasn’t going to think about him or his last name.
It was just a coincidence.
A woman with bright red lips and long blond hair stood behind the counter and beamed at me.
“Welcome to Taboo. What can I get you?”
“I would love a vanilla latte. And whatever smells so good,” I said with a laugh.
The woman grinned. “That could be a few things, but I did just pull some cinnamon rolls from the oven.”
“Did you say cinnamon rolls, Hailey?”
I turned and looked at the open door separating the café from the building next door. A woman with striking dark hair, bright blue eyes, and full sleeves leaned against the doorway.
“I swear, as soon as I allow cinnamon into the air, you just come strolling through, Maya,” Hailey said with a laugh.
“It’s my curse.” The tattooed woman looked at me and grimaced. “I’m sorry for cutting in line. I would say it’s my prerogative since we’re next door, but that still makes me a jerk. You go ahead. I’ll wait in line for my cinnamon rolls.”
I laughed, shaking my head. “Well, they do sound amazing, and since they seemed to have drawn you in like a moth to the flame, I’ll take one.”
“Two cinnamon rolls and two vanilla lattes coming up.”
“She knows my drink,” Maya said at my questioning look.
“That’s sweet,” I said, honestly. I liked the fact that this place was so welcoming.
“I’ll know your drink soon, too. I always do,” Hailey said as she went to work.
I held up my credit card and smiled. “I’ll buy hers too. I had a good morning.”
“You do not have to do that,” Maya put in, waving me off.
“Let me. I just moved to the area, and everybody’s been so nice to me. I want to be nice back.”
The other woman smiled. “Well, thank you. And if you ever want a tattoo, you should come on over. We would love to have you.”
“Aunt Maya, if she wants a tattoo, she’s coming to me. Sorry.”
I froze, that tingling sensation crawling up my spine.
I told myself I would not press my thighs together, swallow hard, or react in any way.
I knew that voice, that deep rumble that did things to me that I couldn’t think about.
Everything twisted in my brain at once as I tried to figure out exactly what happened.