Page 6 of Tumbleweed Temptation
“Ah. Looks bare in here. Maybe I can do a painting for you to brighten it up.” She angled her head and walked back into the waiting room with its dark paneling, her head angled. “Maybe one for in here, too.”
“Good you’re still doing that. Making a living?”
“Ha!” She propped her butt on the oversized desk. “I’m teaching. Painting just keeps me sane.”
“Oh, well, good.” He looked at Sofia, who lifted a hand from the chair in a dismissive motion.
“Still running the hotel. It looks good, and if you ever need a room, one’s available.”
“So business is booming, then.”
“Oh, yeah.” Sofia’s sarcastic comment was set off with a grin, then she gripped the edges of the chair to haul herself to her feet. “We just came to say hi and to let you know about the party, not to redecorate your office.” She tucked her hand through the crook of Poppy’s arm. “Let’s leave the man alone to get settled.” She leaned in to give him another brief hug. “Welcome home, Austin. We’re happy you’re back.”
*****
AFEW HOURS LATER,Austin closed up the apartment and headed downstairs. He had driven into town slowly, so he could check out what had changed and what hadn’t—more of the latter than the former. If he was going to stay, he should at least know the lay of the land, though he completely planned to keep to himself.
He walked past the hardware store, with its grimy windows and sagging walkway cover. Walked past the grocery store with faded sales flyers posted on the walls and windows. Stopped a moment and looked across the street to the park. The little playground they’d put in was nice, though the ground around the park looked pretty parched. Typical for summer in West Texas.
He walked farther down the street and stopped in front of the overgrown lot with the falling pieces of curved tin.
His dad’s old garage. He wondered who owned the land, and why they’d let the garage collapse, let shrubbery grow up around it, almost reclaiming the land. He wondered why no one in town had done anything with it. Just let it go to ruin.
He’d been fourteen when his dad had died, and he remembered hanging out and watching his dad work, watched him figure out the car’s problems by deductive reasoning. He could still smell the oil and grease from those days, hanging out with his dad. The image of his dad’s quick smile flashed into his head, followed by a pain he didn't expect. His dad had never thought he’d be taken from them so young, the illness leaving him weak and helpless for a few months before he died.
Austin had learned a lot in this building, and he was kind of pissed that it had been left to fall to ruin like this.
Of course, he was kind of pissed anyway.
And now he had to find a receptionist, one he could work with, apparently. He imagined anyone who wanted a job had a job. Broken Wheel didn’t have a lot of business, but maybe they worked in Kimmel or San Angelo.
He supposed he could put out an ad...somewhere. Did Broken Wheel have a newspaper? Maybe it had a Facebook page or something and he could advertise on there.
He wondered how long he could put it off.
He focused his gaze back to the garage, wishing he could talk to his dad. His dad would be upset, too, about how the town had blamed his mom for the tragedy that took her own life. His dad would have moved away, too, and he wouldn't have had to come back.
But he would want Austin to live up to his responsibility, and that’s what Austin was going to do.
He stayed home to eat the first few days he was home, because he was stubborn and didn't want to see people, and the longer he stayed home, the longer he wanted to stay home. Med school had been crazy, and it was nice not to have the pressure currently.
But he was going to have to make his presence known eventually. Actually he was pretty sure everyone already knew he was there, but so far, Poppy and Sofia were the only ones who’d come to see him.
Thanks to them, he hadn’t had to leave the house for anything.
But tonight he was going to eat at the diner, where his mom had worked a second job as the cook, so he wouldn’t have to get a job, and could concentrate on school.
Hell.
He walked down the street to the diner and was surprised, when he walked in, to see so many waitstaff standing around. Right, he’d forgotten. Ms. Tippler hired anyone who wanted a job, and they pretty much worked for tips. He scanned the faces, wondering if one of them wanted to be his receptionist. He didn't have a preference, male or female, but all of these looked too young. Probably high school students.
“Austin Driscoll! I was wondering when you’d get your butt over here.”
Ms. Tippler herself strode over to him. Her hairstyle and makeup hadn’t changed since he’d known her, her blond hair still sprayed in a stiff cloud around her head, her lipstick still as red as a desert rose, but she’d lost a great deal of weight, and when she hugged him, he could feel her bones beneath her skin. He turned to look at her more closely. Grief, maybe. Her only child had died along with his mother in the bus, but the change in the woman still alarmed him. Was she sick? Was she going to be one of his patients?
He was sure a lot of the people he’d looked up to in Broken Wheel would be his patients.
“Hey, Ms. Tippler.” He kept his voice quiet. “Yeah, I’ve been eating at home. The town stocked it very generously for me, and you know Mom made sure I knew how to cook.”
