Page 4 of Outlaw Heartstrings
I guess that just means that none of those friendships were reallyreal.
Alba Anderson crosses my mind. I wince.
Falling out of touch with her is the one that hurt the most. And that whole mess was all my fault.
Alba was one of my hockey coach’s daughters, and we used to volunteer together at the church’s youth group every Wednesday night.
At first, she had insisted that we keep in touch, and I was totally onboard with that. But then I did a series of dumb things in my last few weeks here in Fairy Bush, and I singlehandedly screwed up our friendship. By the time I left town, she was barely even talking to me. I tried to fix things between us after I moved away, but then, one day, without warning, her social media account was justgone.
I was gutted. I know that I left things between us in a bad place, but I’d been hoping to repair our friendship. Until suddenly, I couldn’t get a hold of her. I even tried to call her phone number, but for some reason, my calls no longer went through. I had no way of reaching out, or at least no way that a dumb eighteen-year-old could think of.
But none of that matters now.
That was years ago, and she’s probably long forgotten about me. She’s probably a big-time realtor around town, and married to that pretentious asshole I couldn’t stand. So, I push the thought of her away as we turn into my new driveway.
Lincoln taps in the security code, and the gate slowly glides open, revealing my new hideaway. I gaze up at the house, impressed with my brother’s choice. It’s nice. Not a bad place to lay low while I focus on healing this injury.
The design is modern but simple, finished with polished woods, stone walls and towering tinted windows, creating an earthy color scheme. The garden is already in bloom with pathway lanterns peeking out from between the blossoming foliage.
When I catch sight of a second structure in the distance, I remember Lincoln mentioning something about there being a guesthouse on the property. That way, I’ll still have my privacy even with the rest of the family in and out of town. He also said the master bedroom is on the ground floor of the main house so I don’t have to keep going up and down the stairs. My big brother really thought of everything.
I own a few properties around the country—an apartment in Sin Valley, a penthouse in Miami Beach, a bachelor pad in Starlight Falls, a condo in downtown Chicago. But in this particular era of my life, I need privacy, quietandlots of space. Lincoln promised that this property here will provide me with all three.
My oldest brother pulls the car to a stop right next to Mom’s shiny red compact hybrid. The second he cuts the engine, Rocco leaps out of the car. He bolts across the well-groomed lawn, straight for the front door, yelling over his shoulder for directions to the nearest bathroom.
The rest of us take our time, climbing out of the car. We make our way up to the house. I’m lagging behind Lincoln and Oliver, trying to navigate up the driveway on my crutches. Years of training and skating with the best figure skaters in the country, and yet I can barely find my balance on this cobblestone.
One of the annoying parts of dealing with crutches is that I have no free hands to carry shit. I feel so helpless.Thankfully, Mom rushes down the front steps and swoops my bag out of my hand.
“About time you guys got in! I was about to send a search party,” she says and I know she’s only half-joking.
“Blame Lincoln. He drives like a grandma,” Oliver grumbles, all surly as usual.
“Are you forgetting we had to stop fifteen times for Rocco to piss?” Lincoln shoots back.
Rocco comes back outside just in time to catch the guys talking shit about him. That’s how another argument gets started.
What’s new?
Mom shakes her head, giving me a sidelong glance. “The four of you have been at each other’s throats for the past one hundred years. Doesn’t it ever get old?”
I wince apologetically. “Sorry, Mom. I don’t know how you managed to maintain your sanity over the years.”
“Mother Nature knew what she was doing when she made you all so damn cute. Because you boys test my freaking nerves.” Laughing softly, she pats my scruffy cheek. “How are you doing, East?”
“Still wobbling my butt around and hating every minute of it.” I sigh.
Her kind blue eyes and her sympathetic smile offer me relief. “Well you have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow, and hopefully, you won’t be needing these crutches much longer.”
“I’m looking forward to it. You have no idea.”
We step into the house, taking in the dark hardwood floors and the antique light fixtures hanging from the exposed beams of the high ceilings. We barely get into the kitchen before my brothers are all grumbling about being hungry.
Mom says that she’s been busy running around all day but she offers to get started on dinner. But the guys jump in and stop her. They suggest going back into town to grab something to eat.
They all turn for the door, but I’m shaking my head. “You go on without me. I need to lie down.”
“You sure, honey?” Mom asks, her forehead creased with concern as she glances back at me.
