Page 61 of The Deadbeat Next Door

He slapped my shoulder as he passed. “We’ve all made mistakes, brother. Don’t let your past be your excuse for not going after what you want.”

I snorted. “Perfect Noah has never made any mistakes.”

His gaze clouded and he frowned, a heavy sadness taking over his features. “Believe me, I’ve made mistakes.”

He walked out, leaving me wondering what he could have possibly done that put that sad look on his face.

I found Carrie downstairs, her head bowed over something with Jenna. I got closer and saw that there was a Kindle resting between them. “What are you two up to?”

“Jenna has the complete juvenilia of the Bronte sisters and she’s showing me her favorite bits.”

I stared for a long moment and then shook my head. “I’m going to get my breakfast and pretend I understood what you just said.”

“It’s the stories, poems, and plays they wrote when they were kids,” Jenna said. “They lived in such a rich imaginary world.”

“Hmm, sounds fascinating.”

They ignored me and got back to whatever it was they were reading.

I walked over to the buffet table where my mother had laid out croissants and bagels. At the end of the table was a big bowl of fruit. “Good morning dear.” My mother walked over and kissed my cheek, just as I’d finished filling my plate. “I’ll cook a big breakfast with all your favorites tomorrow.”

“I’ve missed your big breakfasts.”

“That’s your own fault.”

I sat at the large table in the center of the room and my mother took the seat next to me. “Your fake fiancée is lovely.”

I groaned. “Not you, too.”

“What?” Her expression was all innocence. “What have I done now?”

It occurred to me that she might not be on the verge of telling me I ought to make Carrie my real fiancée and I didn’t want to give her any ideas. “You’re trying to have a conversation with me while my brain is still at the bottom of a bottle.”

“Again, that’s your own fault. Carrie didn’t drink at all, I hope she’ll be a good influence on you.”

I put my fork down, my appetite fading. “She doesn’t need to be a good influence on me. I’m perfectly capable of being a good influence on myself.”

My mother gave me a sad smile. “I know you are, dear. I just worry that your goals are a bit skewed.”

Carrie sat down next to me, relieving me from the pain of whatever wisdom my mother was about to share. My mother smiled at her warmly. “Did you get enough to eat, Carrie?”

“Yes,” she said, matching my mother’s warmth. “It was all so delicious.”

“I’m glad. I don’t know what your plans are for the rest of the day, but there’s a lovely little park just across the street and they rent canoes to take out on the lake.”

“I’m going to take Carrie sightseeing,” I said. “She’s never been to Atlanta before.”

My mother’s smile broadened. “That will be lovely.”

***

“We moved to the city when I was fourteen,” I told Carrie, once we were back in my truck and headed toward downtown. “Our place in the woods was about an hour from the city. it was a hard adjustment for me to make, from the country to the city.”

She watched the streets flash by as we drove into the outskirts of the city. “Whereabouts did you live?”

“In my father’s first hotel, in the center of downtown. Noah was out on his own and Jill had just started college, but Jenna, at sixteen, loved being in the middle of everything. She’s always been outgoing and social and it didn’t take her long to have a group of friends who ran around the city like they owned it.”

“And you?” she asked.

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