cut the engine and lie on the hood of Luke’s truck, gazing up at the stars. Or the fall days when they’d walk hand in hand through the leaves in the park and kiss in the shelter of the big oak tree that held their carved initials inside a heart. She’d forced those special moments from her mind years ago, replacing them with new friends, exciting work, brunches and dinners in trendy restaurants.
“So, Victoria, your mom says you still play soccer in the city,” her aunt said with a polite smile.
She nodded. “Sort of. I play on the corporate team, just once or twice a year. Usually some sort of charity game against one of our clients.”
“Well, with you on the team I’m sure they win every time,” her uncle said.
She hesitated, not wanting to disappoint him. Of everyone in her family, her mother’s brother, a retired lawyer, was by far the most understanding about her life choices. He’d told her time and again how proud and impressed he was by the success she’d had in the city. “Um…well, we’re actually not allowed to win,” she confessed with a wry grin.
“Huh?”
“Apparently, it isn’t good for business.”
Uncle Frank cocked his head. “Well, that must be tough for you with your competitive spirit.”
She laughed and admitted, “Yes, it is.”
“What about your volunteer work—do you still keep that up?” her aunt asked. She didn’t pause for an answer. “You know they still have that Adopt-A-Grandparent program you started years ago at the seniors’ complex.”
Victoria glanced at her mother. “Yes, Mom mentioned that.” The Adopt-A-Grandparent program seemed to be the last thing she’d done that her mom was truly proud of. Victoria had had the idea for a seniors’ visitation program when she’d been to see her own grandparents as a teenager. She’d always stay much longer than planned, playing cards or watching movies with some of the other residents without family nearby. The idea of asking other kids from the school to visit along with her had started small, with just a few of her close friends baking cookies to deliver or helping plant flowers in the complex garden, but then it quickly grew into a larger program organized by the school principal.
“You were always up to something…could never sit still for long.” Linda chuckled.
“From what I remember, you were quite the handful sometimes, too,” Frank teased her.
It was to be expected that her uncle would bring up her long-ago antics. Despite her visits to Brookhollow over the years, she hadn’t spent much time with her extended family. Whenever she came to town for weddings or funerals, she stayed a day or two at most—the only time her busy work schedule would allow. A pang of regret hit her then. She should have tried harder to find the time.
She blushed as her eyes met Luke’s. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I do,” her father piped up. “Should I remind you of the time you snuck into the science lab at the school and rescued all those rabbits you thought they were planning to use for experiments?”
Linda, a tenth-grade math teacher at the school, chuckled. “I remember that. The school had agreed to house them overnight while the local pet shop painted the bunny room. It was the only place in town big enough to keep all of them.”
Victoria winced as the others laughed. How was she supposed to have known? If the science lab had in fact been planning to use them for experiments, everyone would have praised her good deed. Instead she’d gotten a suspension for breaking the lab window. “I still think Mr. Douglas was up to no good,” she said. The twelfth-grade biology teacher had always seemed strange to her.
“Mr. Douglas is a vegetarian. He’d never hurt a fly.” Her aunt shook her head and wiped a tear out of the corner of her eye.
“I think my favorite was when you and Rachel tied yourselves to that big maple tree in the park, to save it from being cut down,” remembered Uncle Frank.
“That would have worked…if it had been the right tree,” she mumbled.
Another fit of laughter erupted around her.
Her mom stood and collected the empty dinner plates.
“Mom, sit. Let me clean up,” she offered, her chest tight. Please, let this be the only family dinner on this trip. All this talk about her childhood antics was taking its toll. No one seemed to recognize that she wasn’t that kid anymore. She’d actually made something of herself in the city. She no longer had time for volunteer work and sports…but it was because she was accomplishing great things. It was hard to feel proud of her success in the city when her family and friends in Brookhollow only seemed interested in her adolescent ventures. Collecting the plates from her mother, she pushed through the swinging kitchen door with her hip. She set the plates on the counter near the sink and leaned against it. Her cell phone vibrated in her pocket. Oh, thank God. Her service must be back. She reached for it. A new text from a Brookhollow area code.
Do you need help escaping through the kitchen window?
Tension seeped from her shoulders and a genuine smile formed on her lips for the first time that day. She glanced from the kitchen window to Luke.
Now do you understand why I stay away?
Luke smiled as he responded. You’re even prettier than I remember.
She blushed, caught off guard by the compliment. Her thumbs flew over the keypad.
Nice try, but flattery won’t work. Hitting Send she folded her arms across her chest. His smoldering, deep blue eyes were merely a speed bump on her way to another successful acquisition.
She fought to hide a smile as she read, Meaner, too.
Taking a sip of wine, he sat back in his chair.
Not mean, just determined to do my job.
Waiting for his reply, she turned and filled the sink with dirty dishes. Her parents still refused to install a dishwasher in the old home.
The phone vibrated on the counter and she reached for it.
No matter what it takes?
She hesitated. There wasn’t much she wouldn’t do for her career. After working from a junior associate to her current position, busting her butt with long hours, extended trips, living from a suitcase, never having time for anything else—including a real relationship—failing wasn’t an option.
No matter what. Don’t stand in my way, Luke.
She peered through the window watching as he read and replied.
Don’t think I’ll step aside quite so easily this time, Victoria.
Her heart pounded as she turned away. Were they still talking about the store?
Setting the phone aside, she scraped the dirty plates into the garbage can and stacked them in the sink. A moment later, out of the corner of her eye she noticed Luke pacing the back porch. He’d excused himself to take a call, and she tried to tamp down her curiosity.
