The Better Brother

“What’s that?” Michael asked, frowning slightly.

“You must be new in town,” I mimicked.

“Was I wrong?” he teased.

“Not at all,” I said, and I could tell he was every bit the playboy he seemed to be. “Well, I’m here every day,” Michael said. “Just ask Sarah. She’ll vouch for me.”

“I don’t doubt it.” I laughed softly.

Michael was easy to talk to. Much easier than I would have anticipated. When he sat down, I immediately felt my nerves kick into overdrive, but once we started talking, the banter flowed easily.

“What are you up to?” Michael asked, nodding toward the computer.

I sighed. “Looking for a job.”

“No luck?” Michael asked.

I shrugged. “Not yet. I’ll find something. It’s just a matter of finding the right something.”

Michael looked at the computer closer and squinted. When he looked back up at me, I felt my stomach tighten.

“Journalism?” he asked simply.

I nodded. “I’m hoping to find an online position,” I said. “Maybe a weekly column or something.”

“You know,” he said. “Dallas isn’t that far. You could always commute up there. Find a job at a reputable paper.”

“I did that,” I said with a smile. “I actually just left Dallas.”

“Oh yeah?” Michael asked. His interest was flattering, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to get into the details of my life with a complete stranger. After all, we’d only known each other for ten minutes.

“I needed a change.” I shrugged. “This place seemed perfect. The only problem with Ennis is its lack of publications.”

“Yeah,” Michael said. “You won’t find a need for reporters around here. It’s a pretty quiet town.”

I nodded. “So, I’ve realized.”

Michael and I spent the rest of the morning talking. I asked what he did for a living, something about oil rigs or tools, and he asked more questions about my job search, what kind of column I wanted to write, where I went to school, my journalistic background.

With each minute that passed, it became easier and easier to talk to him. Michael didn’t feel like a stranger. There was something oddly familiar about him, something that put me at ease and made me feel like Ennis was really meant to be my new home. When he finally stood up to leave, a sense of disappointment settled in my chest, but I pushed it away and fixed him with my best smile.

“It was really nice to meet you,” I said.

“This doesn’t have to be goodbye,” Michael said. “I’m fairly confident I’ll see you around again, but just in case…”

He pulled a pen out of his pocket and grabbed a napkin off the table. Handing both to me, he raised his eyebrows suggestively.

I laughed and took the pen from him. Scribbling my number on the napkin, I felt his eyes on the back of my neck. Just his attention was enough to make my cheeks blush.

“Thank you,” he said as I handed him the napkin with my number written on it.

“I’ll see you around,” I said.

“You definitely will.”

Michael grinned at me one last time before waving goodbye to Sarah and stepping outside. I watched him until he disappeared around the corner, my cheeks still slightly warm.

CHAPTER 4