hair in front of the bathroom mirror, it got me thinking about one important fact, and I couldn’t let go of it.
If he had a home ranch here, that meant he grew up here. No one just moved to this city, and especially not guys like him. Yes, the ranch was isolated and it was probably hard to get to, but still.
He couldn’t be that much older than me, which meant at some point we were together in school. So we knew each other before. Who the hell was this guy? I didn’t know any Nate/Nathaniel in our school. Did he change his name or something? God knows this town would do that to a person.
It was ten o’clock in the morning, and I quickly ran downstairs to grab some food. Sure enough, Marie was there making me a plate with eggs, toast, and fruit.
Seriously, I would probably gain some weight by staying here. Maybe he had some kind of gym down here? That would be appreciated.
“ Good, you’re here. Sit down.”
“ Thanks.” The woman was really great; she was always kind and warm. At least I didn’t see judgment—or pity, for that matter—in her eyes.
Refreshing if you asked me.
“ You’re welcome, kiddo.” I grabbed my cup with that God-awful tea and tried not to wince at the taste. Seriously, what the hell?
Apparently Dr. Parker, who was my nutritionist, thought coffee was inappropriate, and no amount of begging could change that—I tried.
“ So, I had no idea we were in Moonlight Rose.” I didn’t remember her, but she must have been from here, right?
“ Yeah, I was shocked when my boy wanted to buy a house here as well. Never heard about this town before.” She was still baking something and her back was to me, so she couldn’t have seen my shocked expression.
My boy?
“ Why? Does it make a difference for you?”
“ Kind of.” I didn’t know if I wanted to share anything with her, but then, why the hell not? I wanted to talk with someone, and so far, she was the nicest of them all, well, her and Drake, but he didn’t talk much, so it was hard to tell for sure. “I grew up here.” There was a look of surprise in her eyes and she took her cup from the counter and sat down next to me.
“ I had no idea about that. My boy never told me.”
“ I left this town when I was fifteen and never looked back.” I grabbed my fork and started eating, because I didn’t really know what to do with my hands.
“ Why not? Your parents must still live here.” That made me tense, because my parents were never a good thing to talk about.
“ They both died in a fire a few years back.” And just because I didn’t know how to shut up I continued, “Apparently, there was a fight over a bottle of whiskey with their friends, and one thing led to another and the fire started. There was no way to save anyone, and there was nothing left of the bodies.” My voice was cold, hostile even. Nick went to the funeral, but I refused to do that. Our parents meant nothing to me. After all the shit they made us go through, it was a rather ironic ending. It was behind me, and I never wanted to come back to them. Some people were beyond redemption, and that was the kind of people they were.
“ I see.” Her hand squeezed mine a little bit, and I had the feeling she knew what I’d gone through.
No one knew though, except my girls. It wasn’t exactly my favorite topic of conversation with anyone.
“ I wish my kids visited me more often, but they are busy in college.”
“ Oh, I had no idea you had family.” Which was ridiculous if you thought about it; she had this motherly aura around her and so much love to give.
“ My husband used to be in the army and we have two beautiful kids, a boy and a girl. Twins.” She smiled. “They both study at New York University, in Film production.” She sounded very proud of them.
“ And your husband? He comes to visit you here?” The light from her eyes died down a bit and there was sadness in them.
“ No, he died a few years ago while serving in the Middle
If he had a home ranch here, that meant he grew up here. No one just moved to this city, and especially not guys like him. Yes, the ranch was isolated and it was probably hard to get to, but still.
He couldn’t be that much older than me, which meant at some point we were together in school. So we knew each other before. Who the hell was this guy? I didn’t know any Nate/Nathaniel in our school. Did he change his name or something? God knows this town would do that to a person.
It was ten o’clock in the morning, and I quickly ran downstairs to grab some food. Sure enough, Marie was there making me a plate with eggs, toast, and fruit.
Seriously, I would probably gain some weight by staying here. Maybe he had some kind of gym down here? That would be appreciated.
“ Good, you’re here. Sit down.”
“ Thanks.” The woman was really great; she was always kind and warm. At least I didn’t see judgment—or pity, for that matter—in her eyes.
Refreshing if you asked me.
“ You’re welcome, kiddo.” I grabbed my cup with that God-awful tea and tried not to wince at the taste. Seriously, what the hell?
Apparently Dr. Parker, who was my nutritionist, thought coffee was inappropriate, and no amount of begging could change that—I tried.
“ So, I had no idea we were in Moonlight Rose.” I didn’t remember her, but she must have been from here, right?
“ Yeah, I was shocked when my boy wanted to buy a house here as well. Never heard about this town before.” She was still baking something and her back was to me, so she couldn’t have seen my shocked expression.
My boy?
“ Why? Does it make a difference for you?”
“ Kind of.” I didn’t know if I wanted to share anything with her, but then, why the hell not? I wanted to talk with someone, and so far, she was the nicest of them all, well, her and Drake, but he didn’t talk much, so it was hard to tell for sure. “I grew up here.” There was a look of surprise in her eyes and she took her cup from the counter and sat down next to me.
“ I had no idea about that. My boy never told me.”
“ I left this town when I was fifteen and never looked back.” I grabbed my fork and started eating, because I didn’t really know what to do with my hands.
“ Why not? Your parents must still live here.” That made me tense, because my parents were never a good thing to talk about.
“ They both died in a fire a few years back.” And just because I didn’t know how to shut up I continued, “Apparently, there was a fight over a bottle of whiskey with their friends, and one thing led to another and the fire started. There was no way to save anyone, and there was nothing left of the bodies.” My voice was cold, hostile even. Nick went to the funeral, but I refused to do that. Our parents meant nothing to me. After all the shit they made us go through, it was a rather ironic ending. It was behind me, and I never wanted to come back to them. Some people were beyond redemption, and that was the kind of people they were.
“ I see.” Her hand squeezed mine a little bit, and I had the feeling she knew what I’d gone through.
No one knew though, except my girls. It wasn’t exactly my favorite topic of conversation with anyone.
“ I wish my kids visited me more often, but they are busy in college.”
“ Oh, I had no idea you had family.” Which was ridiculous if you thought about it; she had this motherly aura around her and so much love to give.
“ My husband used to be in the army and we have two beautiful kids, a boy and a girl. Twins.” She smiled. “They both study at New York University, in Film production.” She sounded very proud of them.
“ And your husband? He comes to visit you here?” The light from her eyes died down a bit and there was sadness in them.
“ No, he died a few years ago while serving in the Middle
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