Chapter One
Austin
I gazed out of the window of my plane at the small town I used to call home. I’d left North Reed right after graduating from high school. I’d worked my ass off to get a scholarship to NYU to study accounting, and I couldn’t get out of this town fast enough.
It had been eleven years since I’d been back here, and I could have gone eleven more without missing the place. My mother had different plans. She begged me to come home for Christmas this year. Normally, I just flew my parents up to my place in New York. I owned a gorgeous brownstone in Manhattan that I loved, but Mom missed the traditional holiday vibe of her house. After multiple conversations, I caved and came home.
I even agreed to stay for a month, as long as I could bring Preston, my personal assistant. He kept my life organized, and I could never walk away from my many investments for a month without working. It caused me to get into a fight with Mom, but I won in the end. I needed to keep my life at least a little normal, even being here in Texas.
I hated this place when I left, and apart from my family, I didn’t have any ties here. I was here for my parents, particularly since my father had a heart attack six months ago. Mom handled everything, and we spoke on the phone a lot, but I could tell she wanted a traditional Christmas at home as a family. Dad’s health scare made her want to focus on the important things in life. Who was I to argue with that?
My plane landed on a runway away from commercial traffic since it was my own private plane. I had investments all over the world which required me to travel a lot. It just made sense to buy my own plane. I’d be sending it back to pick up Preston. He was taking care of some loose ends with a client, so he had to take a later flight. I could survive a day or so without him since we were in near constant contact.
I thanked my pilot and walked off the plane. Cold wind swirled around me. I walked over to the rental car agency. I’d booked a car for the month. Mom offered to come pick me up, but it was a three-hour drive, and I would need a car, anyway. Plus, I knew she preferred being close to Dad.
We settled the bill, and I paid with my AMEX before taking the keys out to the parking lot. The white Maserati waited for me. I put my suitcase and smaller bag in the trunk before adjusting the seat to suit my height. It was a nice car, although I preferred my new Bentley at home. Even though this was just to get around town, I liked my vehicles on the upper end. I worked hard for my money, and I liked to spend it, even though Mom never took me up on my offers to buy them cars or a new house. She was happy with their simpler life here and far too attached to their older ranch-style home to ever leave. I grew up there and had many fond memories, so I tried to understand her point of view.
I slipped on a pair of sunglasses before I pulled out on the main road, confident that nobody knew I was here in Texas. Being one of the richest men in the world has its drawbacks, and the paparazzi was one of them. Every move I made was splashed all over every media source, and some that I didn’t make. People believed rumors far too easily in this world, and I made a point of keeping my travel plans under the radar. I didn’t want to subject my family to public scrutiny, choosing to keep everything about them as private as possible.
The road was empty. I listened to the radio in between calls to Preston. One of my investments was dropping, and he was on it every second to decide if I should sell it or stick it out. Market fluctuations were common, and stocks often went right back up after a drop. Any turbulence with a company in the media could cause stocks to drop and come back up once there was a new story in the news. He seemed confident that I should keep it at the moment, and there was something about his easy English accent that comforted me. The man knew his numbers and the trends, and I contributed much of my wealth to his talents.
I approached the town and looked it over with a soft shake of my head. Nothing ever fucking changed here. I glanced at the diner that I spent a lot of time at as a student, the corner store that we’d hit when we needed a quick drink or snack, and I laughed when I saw Grayson’s Barber Shop and Salon. It had been years since I’d had a cut here. I ran my hand through my long dark hair, and I considered getting it cut. I was always so busy in the city and let life pass me by with little time for anything but work. The media made me sound like I was a social butterfly, but the truth was they just caught me when I attended a function with my colleagues. It was convenient for them.
I parked without thinking and turned the engine off. The street was lined with old trucks and modest cars, making this rental stand out. I had no idea how to do small-town anymore, and I shook my head. Mom would like it if I cut some of this shit off my head, and there wasn’t the array of salons here in North Reed like there was in New York.
I locked the car and ignored the looks from shoppers on the sidewalk as I headed to the salon. It looked like any other salon in any other little city. The front was all glass, and one of the old-fashioned barber poles spun in the front. This place had been open long enough to cut Dad’s hair when he was a kid, and it appeared nothing had changed.
My phone rang before I walked inside, and I grabbed it, seeing Mom’s name on the screen. I answered it and assured her I was just getting a quick haircut at Grayson’s. She told me how much she missed taking me there as a little boy, making me roll my eyes quietly as she strolled down memory lane. Her voice had a slow drawl to it that soothed me in the same way that Preston’s did, and I smiled as I leaned against the glass.
Was I really here for a fucking month? I didn’t know what I was going to do with myself. I called Preston once I finished with Mom’s call, craving a connection to New York. I needed to think about my new life for a moment instead of the old one. I felt stuck here as a kid and getting away was such a relief. I even tried to get my folks to move to a nice place outside of New York City, but they were having none of that idea. I was lucky to have them join me for the holidays since I still had an aunt and uncle out here that my parents were close to.
Preston told me that things were moving in the right direction now. I felt better when I ended the call and turned to walk into the salon. It was still the same long room lined with stations and a basic desk where you pay. A red-haired woman glanced up from a book that she wrote in and smiled at me. “Hello, there. What can I do for you today?” She was a Texas girl, complete with the accent and the easy way she spoke.
“I don’t have an appointment, but I was hoping to get a trim,” I said as I walked over to the counter.
She nodded. I guessed she was a bit younger than I was since I didn’t recognize her. Most people who lived here stayed as opposed to leaving, and I saw her look down at something.
“Of course. Have a seat and someone will grab you soon.” She smiled brightly.
I walked over to the chairs to sit down. I looked befor
e I took my seat, seeing the same worn red cushions they’d always had, even though these didn’t have too many holes yet. Barry must replace them every so often. I leaned my head back and pulled my phone out of my pocket to check my emails while I waited. Nothing moved fast in this town, and I knew I had a wait ahead of me, particularly since there a few customers sat in the seats already.