Page 1 of The Charm of You

prologue

AUSTIN

Ten years ago…

I accidentally wore the opposing team’s color—great.

“Let’s go, Lions!” A couple of cheerleaders race past me, pom-poms flying in the air as a few people in the entrance line match their enthusiasm.

My hand stings as I open and close my fist at my side, and the wrapping around my palm loosens. I make my way down the sidewalk behind other students and families, most of whom are decked in black and gold.

I, on the other hand, don a navy blue T-shirt. It was the first thing I grabbed on my way out the door to attend the game. Had I known our school is playing the Dolphins, whose colors are varying shades of blue, I would’ve invested more energy into picking out my clothes.

The crowd grows louder as I approach the packed stands, and the stadium lights blast the field like laser beams.

I’m still a few yards away from the bleachers when our senior class president skips over to me. A wide smile brightens her face like she’s thrilled to see me, but it’s how she is with everyone. I learned very quickly that Addie makes everyone feel special, and it’s not a show she puts on, either.

She’s just nice.

“Austin! I’m so glad you’re here. You hardly ever come to Friday night football games.” She beams, and her high ponytail swishes from side to side as she waves to a few other classmates. Two of them toss curious glances my way as they pass, like they don’t recognize me, or like I don’t belong here. Neither assumption is that far off.

I wouldn’t be here tonight, but since I sliced my palm at my woodworking class earlier, Judd couldn’t use me at the auto shop. He bandaged me up and sent me on my way.

I could’ve stayed home, but it was too quiet. My mom wouldn’t come out of her room, which isn’t unusual, but it means she doesn’t want company. I left her a note to eat the food I picked up for her from Lucy’s Diner. There’s a fifty percent chance she actually eats it.

With nothing else to keep me busy tonight, here I am at the rowdy football game, wearing the wrong color. It’s better than sitting at home with nothing but doom and gloom hovering over me like a dark cloud.

“Been busy.” I give Addie a tight-lipped smile and accept a piece of paper she thrusts toward me.

“I hope you’re not too busy to help us build the homecoming float in a couple of weeks. It’s going to rock. Our idea is seriously the best, and I have the perfect schedule planned out for us to finish it. I left plenty of cushion in the timeline too, just in case anything goes wrong.”

I furrow my brow as I skim over the paper, which shows a detailed sketch of a lion flying through a flaming hoop. “What do you imagine could go wrong?” I ask her.

“Anything Owen Conrad is in charge of could go wrong,” she grumbles. “I love our class, but we dropped the ball when we voted him to be vice president.”

I guess there’s one person she’s not nice to.

I shift from one foot to the other as I contemplate a response, but I come up empty. Besides, I don’t remember ever voting for class officers, and I know nothing about Owen other than he’s a jock. I think he plays football, but it might be baseball.

Either way, we don’t run in the same circle.

“Anyway!” She smiles again. “I drew up time slots for float shifts, if you want to jot your name down.” She shakes a clipboard like it’s as exciting as a greasy pizza.

“I’ll have to check my work schedule,” I say, and a ball of guilt settles in my stomach.

I have zero intention of signing up, because my work schedule is filled to the brim. There’s no wiggle room, but it feels better to give her a little hope, instead of shutting her down entirely.

Addie’s face falls a fraction, but she quickly recovers. “Just let me know. We’d love to have you. You’re great with your hands, and you even know how to use tools, unlike most. We could really use your expertise.”

With a nod, we go our separate ways, and more guilt gnaws at me. She obviously knows I’m not really going to try to make it, and I hate to disappoint the one person who actually notices me around here.

Addie is as solid as they come. I just can’t afford to miss hours at the shop. My mom and I are running on a tight budget, and every minute counts, not that I can tell anyone. I don’t want their pity, and I definitely don’t want their pies and casseroles, like Mom and I can’t take care of ourselves. We got plenty of all those things right after my father died.

When we moved here to Sapphire Creek, I made a promise to myself that I’d do all I could to avoid more humiliation of the sort.

Judd is the only one in town who knows about my past.

Working for him at his auto shop has been unexpected, but I can’t say it’s the worst. Just the opposite, really.

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