Page 41 of All Autumn
Before I got too angry thinking about all the crap Autumn was probably listening to about now, I went to the kitchen and grabbed a beer. Although neither one of us cooked much, Adam and I had state-of-the-art kitchens. We’d built our homes on ten acres of land that we’d divided right down the middle, where a fast-moving river tumbled over rocks and beaver damns, creating the best sounds in the world. Sometimes when I needed to think, I’d go down to the bank on my side and listen to the soothing, fast-moving water.
Every once in a while I’d look up and see Adam on the other side, as if he knew I had things on my mind and needed him. That worked both ways, because there were times when I felt drawn to go to that spot between us and would see him on the opposite bank. We were so busy these days that we didn’t do that so much anymore.
I missed those quiet moments with my brother. Even though we’d built a bridge over the river, connecting our properties, we’d each stay on our side, talking across the water. Our land was in a pretty valley surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains, our slice of heaven.
“I don’t think you and Autumn are a good idea, but what do I know? I thought Savannah and I were, and look where that got me,” Adam said when I returned.
“This conversation’s getting depressing.” I’d go forward with Autumn if she was willing, Adam’s thoughts on the matter be damned. I wanted her too much. And I wasn’t getting into a discussion about Savannah, which would only put Adam in a bad mood. He swore he was over her, but I had my doubts.
“You hear there’s a parade on Saturday for Beau?”
“You mean Sam?” He smirked. “Stopped by Mary’s for coffee and a muffin this morning, and that’s all she could talk about. Sam the Hero this. Sam the Hero that. Said she knows someone who knows someone who knows a Hollywood movie producer.”
Mary was a scary lady. Once she got something in her head, you’d better get out of her way. “Don’t let Autumn hear you call him Sam. She’ll knock you silly.”
“True. All I’ll say is I sure hope you know what you’re doing, bro.” He set his empty bottle on a side table and then propped his feet up on the coffee table. “Time for the game.”
I’d come over to watch the hockey game with him. The Nashville Predators had made it into the playoffs, and since Nashville wasn’t all that far from Blue Ridge Valley, we considered that we had a team to root for. Plus, we’d graduated from the University of Tennessee, so that added another layer to our loyalty to Tennessee sports teams.
“Sure hope we get some rain soon,” he said. “Not liking how dry it’s getting.”
“Yeah, we’re going to start seeing wildfires if we don’t.” The brief rain the night Autumn and I had gone to see Taren Blanton hadn’t helped much. It had been the driest winter and spring on record, and one cigarette tossed carelessly out a car window or someone letting a trash burn get out of control, and we’d have trouble on our hands.
Adam and I were not only on the volunteer rescue team, but we were volunteer firemen. Partly because we believed in giving back to the town where we’d found so much success, and partly because our parents had died in a house fire. It had happened during our first year of college, and one question would always haunt us: if we’d been home, would we have been able to save them? We’d never know, but fighting fires, maybe saving others, helped to deal with the grief.
“You give any thought to what we talked about?”
I had my head resting on the back of the sofa and rotated it to face Adam. “The old grocery store property?”
“Yeah.”
“It has potential for what we want.” At present our showcase homes were mine and Adam’s, which meant we took prospective buyers looking for a custom-built log home on tours of ours. We both hated people tramping through where we lived. Our idea, now that we were in a position to afford it, was to buy a property large enough to build three model homes.
Right now one section of my three-car garage had been converted into a sales office. And although selling our homes was my main business, I was a licensed real estate agent and had listings all over the county. Operating out of my garage wasn’t the best setup, and along with the model homes we’d build on the property, we’d have a sales office. I couldn’t wait to get my house and garage back to myself.
“Potential is an understatement, Connor. It’s perfect. Plenty of land for three model homes, along with more than adequate parking. And it’s right on Main Street, so we couldn’t get more visible than that.”
“True. Any problem with getting building permits that you can see?” We’d have to tear down the existing building, which shouldn’t be a problem for the town council since the old grocery store was an abandoned eyesore.
“No. Old Man Humphrey’s asking too much, but I think you can sweet-talk him down on the price. He’s had it for sale for six years now.”
“I’ll approach him next week, tell him there might be an offer. I won’t tell him it’s us until we can agree on a price.”
“Good thinking. He thinks we have more money than God. He knows we’re the ones interested, he’ll double the price.”
I snorted. “No doubt.”
We settled in to watch the game. Toward the end I glanced at my watch. It was getting late. Autumn had promised to call me when she got back home. Either she had forgotten or she was still at her mother’s. I didn’t like either option.
23
~ Autumn ~
My mother greetedme at the door with red eyes and a splotchy face. I was expecting that, though, since she’d been sobbing on the phone when she’d called. No matter how much I tried, she’d refused to tell me what was wrong, but I knew it would be the same old, same old.
“What did he do this time?” I asked, walking past her. To say I was peeved was putting it mildly. I was supposed to see Connor tonight. After my lunch with Jenn I’d given it a lot of thought and had come to the conclusion that I wanted more Connor kisses and whatever else he had to offer, and there would be no weirdness about it at all.
I shouldn’t have answered the phone when I saw Mom’s name on the screen. Truthfully I almost didn’t, but then she would have continued to call me every five minutes until I answered. Anytime I tried to put her off when she demanded I come over, she’d hint that her life wasn’t worth living, and there would be a thinly veiled threat that she would do something drastic.
