Chapter 8
Ford
After lunch, I walked Natasha to the steps of the inn, and she thanked me for the meal before disappearing inside. I had a feeling she worked seven days a week. At least my shopping excursion got her out of the inn for a short time.
But it wasn't my place to make sure she was taking care of herself. She wasn't mine anymore.
I shoved my hands in my pockets and headed toward the parking lot where my truck was parked. It was weird being home again. I liked seeing my family and friends, but the unstructured time on the weekends and evenings stretched out before me, and I wasn't quite sure what to do with myself.
I drove to the house that I'd bought, knowing it needed work. I figured I'd have plenty of time to make the necessary updates. The first project was the bathroom. I'd ripped everything out of the space, then tore down the wall between the closet and the bathroom to make it bigger.
I was able to use the guest bathroom while the work was completed, but I wanted it done so I could enjoy the space. I'd want it to be completed if I ever brought a woman home.
Why did that bring Natasha's face to mind? It was probably because I just spent the morning with her. It wasn't because I was still hung up on her.
Whenever I thought about her, I felt a sense of loss. One I hadn't fully appreciated until I was around her again. It was easy to dismiss my feelings when I was thousands of miles away. But now, she was a reminder of the choices I'd made.
I couldn't go back and change the way I handled things. I could only move forward. It wasn't a good idea to dwell on the past, but it was impossible not to revisit it when I was reminded of it everywhere I went.
When I was gone, I couldn't think about home without remembering Natasha. She was as much a part of it as my family, and now that I was home, not much had changed.
I got to work on the bathroom, framing the space according to the rendering I'd drafted. When I got a text from the family group chat reminding me that it was late, I cleaned up the room, then showered in the guest bath.
It was nice to be home and included in the family dinner. Not just calling in or reading emails, hearing about how everyone was doing. I was part of it again.
When I was in high school, I was so eager to see the world and do something with my life. Now all I wanted to do was fall back into the familiar.
I drove to my parents' house, parking next to one of my brother's trucks. We all drove our work trucks to advertise the business, and it was what we preferred.
I walked inside, not bothering to knock. In the kitchen, Mom patted my cheek. "It's so nice having you home for family dinner."
She'd had a hard time when I was away. She worried about me, and that weighed heavily on my decision to get out. I'd learned a lot in the army and made great connections. But there was nothing like home.
My brothers and Cooper all stood around the kitchen because Mom had set out a board of snacks: cheese slices, meat, crackers, grapes, and strawberries. Lincoln's dog, Otto, waited at their feet for the inevitable crumbs to drop.
Aspen and Lincoln's fiancée, Penny, sat on a stool at the island. I suspected Aspen was relieved to have another female at these gatherings. For so long, it had just been her and Mom.
Aspen turned on her stool to hug me. "You get everything you needed at the toy store?"
"Toy store?" Mom looked up from the stove. "Why were you shopping for toys?"
"Christmas Town is hosting a toy drive. I wanted to do our part to help."
Penny smiled. "That's so nice."
Cooper raised a brow. "You know you can just donate the money, and they'll buy the toys?"
"I wanted to pick them out," I said defensively.
"That was nice of you. I'm sure they appreciated the extra thought that went into it," Mom said, and I gave Cooper a triumphant look.
We liked to jockey for Mom's favor, but since we got older, it was just in fun. By now, we knew we had her approval.
Aspen smiled mischievously. "He went with Natasha to do it."
I shot her a look because I was fairly sure I promised not to give her a hard time about her love life. Not that Natasha was part of my love life anymore. "She had the list of things to get."
Aspen's brow furrowed. "I thought it was just ages and genders."
"It was, but Natasha knows what the kids like. It was fun." I hoped no one asked any follow-up questions.
My siblings exchanged a knowing look.
"Are you two a thing again?" Hudson asked carefully.
I huffed a laugh. "We're just working together."
Mom wiped her hands on a dish towel. "Did you invite Natasha over for dinner like I asked?"
I was happy to report that I'd followed Mom's wishes. "She said she can come next week. She and her sister are hosting a town hall tonight."
Snagging a cracker and a cheese slice from the serving platter on the counter, Aspen said, "I wanted to go to that. I'll have to leave early tonight to catch some of it."
"I thought you worked the front counter," I said to her.
"I help out with whatever they need. And right now, they're trying to get the shop and restaurant owners on board with plans for the parade," Aspen said.
"You think that will be a problem?" Mom asked.
Aspen chewed and swallowed before answering, "I've heard some talk about Eve and Natasha running the town like a theme park.
But they just want to bring more people to shop and enjoy the area.
It will help everyone, but you know how it is.
Some people like to hold onto the way things have always been, rather than try something new. "
Cooper nodded. "Change is scary."
Aspen paused to look at him. "What new thing have you tried?"
Cooper gestured around at my brothers. "We opened a business."
Aspen shook her head. "With your family in your hometown. Hardly a risk."
"You're just jealous because you have a boss and don't work for yourself," Cooper said to her.
We all bickered like siblings, but the animosity between Aspen and Cooper was more intense. I wasn't sure if she resented having another male hanging around, acting like yet another big brother, or if something had happened between the two of them.
Aspen made a face. "I like to work and keep busy."
I wasn't sure what was going on with Aspen, but I knew Mom and Dad were worried about her not having direction.
She worked these odd jobs but didn't have a career.
She didn't seem interested in pursuing one either.
She was the flightiest of my siblings. I'd always chalked it up to her being the youngest and the only girl.
"Leave your sister alone," Mom said.
My brothers all exchanged looks at Mom's familiar refrain, intended to protect the baby of the family.
I wondered what it would be like when Natasha was here next week and sitting at the table. It would be different from when we were teens. Back then, we'd disappear into my room to talk and make out for hours.
I could tell Natasha was just as attractive to me as she'd always been. She was more mature, with defined goals she was determined to meet. I could see myself settling down with her and living a life like my parents, hosting family dinners and enjoying each other's company.
It was the right decision to come home, but I wasn't prepared for these feelings about Natasha to surface.
We carried everything to the dining room table to eat, where Mom had lit a row of ivory pillar candles.
When we were seated and passing around dishes, Dad asked, "How's the renovation coming at the inn?"
"We're ripping out the bathrooms. The remaining guests on the top floor should all be checking out this weekend, and then we can get to work on the plumbing."
Hudson nodded in agreement. "I can't wait to get in there and see what the situation is."
I was grateful to be working side by side with my brother. It was something I thought about a lot when I was deployed. As much as I enjoyed the closeness between soldiers, my relationships with my brothers were different.
"How are you breaking it up? Natasha's still taking guests, isn't she?" Mom asked.
"We're going floor by floor, trying to keep the noise and mess to a minimum."
Mom buttered her bread. "What needs to be updated besides the bathrooms?"
"I suggested new carpet and a fresh coat of paint."
Morgan cut into his meat. "I assume you'll need to check the electrical."
"I worked that into the estimate. Natasha doesn't think the prior owners updated anything."
He whistled. "Natasha took a risk buying that place."
"It's her dream, and it sounds like they inherited enough to cover the purchase and any repairs. No point in waiting for a leak or a fire."
"You know if they got an inspection?" Cooper asked.
"They bought it as is." I popped a slice of turkey into my mouth.
"Sounds like you have it under control," Dad said.
I drank water to wash down the meat and said, "It's a big project, but it's coming together. The hardest part is keeping it quiet for the guests. I don't want to cause any trouble for Natasha."
"You still care about her," Mom said.
I tensed, worried my siblings would read into her statement. "I would treat any innkeeper the same."
Mom continued as if I hadn't spoken. "It's a shame you broke up back then. I really thought you two would get married. High-school sweethearts."
Tension formed between my shoulder blades. "I wasn't ready to get married, and it wasn't fair to ask Natasha to be tied to me while she was going to college. Besides, I was focused on my career."
Mom waved her hand. "High-school sweethearts makes for such a great beginning."
"If you don't break up," Cooper quipped with a grin.
I gave Cooper a cut-it-out look from across the table.
Mom was nostalgic, but she also wanted us to settle down.
Lincoln had raised her expectations when he fell in love with an out-of-towner.
As Penny's doctor, he'd stopped by her house to check on her, and they got snowed in together.
That was all it took for those two to fall in love.
I was fairly sure most people didn't meet their significant other and fall in love that quickly. Just like it was crazy to think that Natasha would want anything to do with me after I treated her so callously.
"I have to visit Christmas Town. I haven't been there in years, and I've heard the shopping is fabulous. I remember there being an ornament shop,” Maria said.
"Clara owns that one. I haven't been inside of it yet." I'd really only seen town hall, the coffee shop, inn, and diner. "There are a few places to eat: a restaurant inside the inn, the diner and the pizza parlor for more casual fare.”
Mom's eyes flashed with interest. "We'll have to make a day of it."
"The entire town is decorated for Christmas year-round. It's like it's preserved in time or something. If you ever need your Christmas fix, you need to go there," Aspen said.
"I could use some new decorations. I'd love to see Mistletoe Inn. I bet she's doing a fabulous job with it."
"I think she'd like to hear you say that. She's a little worried about whether they'll succeed."
"Is it just first-time business-owner jitters?" Dad asked.
I rested my elbows on the table. "Eve and Natasha took over the town. The existing shop and restaurant owners are skeptical of their vision. They want to keep things the way they were," I said.
"I'm sure the girls can handle it. She's a hard worker," Mom said firmly.
"What did Natasha do before she bought the town?" She hadn't mentioned it, and I hadn't asked.
Cooper raised his brow at me as if asking what the hell I was doing.
If I wanted Mom to get off the trail, I wasn't doing a good job.
Mom frowned as if remembering the details. "She went away to college and didn't come back until her parents passed away. It was tragic, but I'm pleased their girls came home to live."
"You don't know what she did or where she worked?" I asked, thinking Aspen or Mom would know.
Aspen gave me a look. "You could ask her."
"The subject of her past hasn't come up.
We're focused on the renovation." But I was curious.
Had she avoided coming home because of my family and me?
Or was it for another reason? Had she been involved with someone and stayed to be close to him?
The possibilities were running on an endless loop inside my head.
"Eve was gone too?" I asked.
"I think I heard that they lived close to each other or were roommates or something," Mom muttered.
If Natasha roomed with her sister, that meant she hadn't been living with some guy.
Even though we broke up, the thought of her moving on never sat right with me.
On some level, I thought of her as mine.
I kept her picture on my phone and wondered about her often.
She was the one I wanted to keep in touch with, to tell her about my day, or just share news from back home with. But I'd severed that contact.
When she asked to break up, I knew it was for the best. She'd done what I couldn't. And I wasn't proud of that.
"She's coming for dinner next week, so we'll have time to grill her then," Cooper said with a grin.
Mom shot him a look. "We don't grill people at the table."
Aspen's eyes widened. "Then what do you call it? Small talk?"
"I like to know how people are doing. There's nothing wrong with that," Mom said, and Dad patted her shoulder to calm her down. If she kept going, she'd start talking about how she just wanted us to be happy.
Lincoln clearly found his calling when he moved back to work in a small family practice, meeting Penny soon after and falling in love. Sterling Brothers was fairly new and hadn't gained the reputation where we could relax yet.
And I had the added pressure of proving that I was worthy of working in the business.
Each brother had their own side specialty.
Morgan was the electrician, Hudson the plumber, and Maverick worked in landscaping and patio.
Cooper was the contractor, who coordinated everything.
I needed to prove that I fit in somewhere too.
If I was still imagining how Natasha look naked, I'd get over it. I had to focus on the renovation and not the sexy innkeeper.