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Wow, he wasn’t wasting any time…
“What about the furniture and everything in here?”
“You can have it,” he said nonchalantly. “We already have…”
Oh my God, he had already set up house with Candace. My heart raced so fast, I had to hold onto the chair for support. “You’re already living with her?”
How could that be, and again, how had I not seen it?
“Her father bought her a condo for graduation.”
Of course he had. No doubt Ross had helped furnish it. Having a father-in-law with deep pockets was the answer to his prayers. Who knows what else Daddy had bought for them?
Inside I was screaming at the top of my lungs, and I even fantasized about taking all his personal belongings and setting them on fire. Gaining what little control I could muster, I took the step that separated us and looked him in the eye. “One day you’ll regret losing me. Now get the hell out of my apartment.”
CHAPTER 2
Maple Creek, Washington
Three months after my breakup with Ross, I stood in the living room of my new home, a cozy “fixer-upper”, two-bedroom granny house, complete with country porch and large picture windows. The house had been a great find. An uncle of my father’s good friend had passed away last month, and the family had been ready to put the quaint house on the market right about the time I had decided to leave Arizona and return to Washington.
I could still hardly believe that I was back in Washington, in my small hometown, a place I swore I’d never return to.
In the last week that I’d been back, I felt like I could breathe again. I felt a sense of peace that had been lacking while I’d been mending my broken heart in Scottsdale. Nothing in Scottsdale had been able to pacify me—not my job or my friends.
Actually, Ross’s wedding had been the final straw. The wedding had taken place just four weeks ago, in a five-star hotel in downtown Scottsdale. Only close friends had been invited. I’d stared at the wedding photo in the Sunday paper with a mixture of fury and amusement that the bride towered inches above her groom. Ross had always been touchy about his height. Although he’d been a couple inches taller than me, I had rarely worn heels because I knew it bothered him.
Apparently Candace didn’t care.
I burned the wedding picture, tossed the ashes in the toilet, and made the call to my parents that would change my life.
My hometown, the place that had once seemed like a prison, had now become my sanctuary. As expected, my family had rallied around me and made me feel welcome.
Although both my parents had been sad to hear the news of my breakup with Ross, there had been no mistaking the excitement in my mother’s voice as she talked about available properties in the area. Real estate had always been her passion, but it wasn’t until my little brother started high school that she decided to work outside the home. And she’d proven she was good at her job, because she had delivered in spades on this house. Since the owner was a family friend, we had gotten it for a steal.
I now had a home of my own, and I felt pride at knowing the place was mine and that it had been my savings and my 401K that had made it all possible.
I still had enough in my savings to survive on for six months before I had to focus on working again.
The time off would allow me to get back on my feet and heal, as my mom said. Plus, with this fixer upper, I would need the time off of work to get it into shape.
Although I had some reservations about returning to Maple Creek, and I had even once told friends I would never return to the small town because I was tired of everyone knowing my business, I was glad to be home. Back with my parents, who treated me like the teenager I had been when I left. Toby, my twenty-two-year-old brother, told me to get used to it. He was going to a game design school in Portland and still lived at home. Our mom spoiled him rotten, and yet he didn’t seem to mind. I guess I wasn’t so different from my brother. Truth be told, I kind of enjoyed being doted on.
Toby hadn’t changed a whole lot. His strawberry blond hair was still curly, and he wore a mustache and a closely cropped beard that made him look older. I remember as a kid he’d been obsessed with facial hair…and his lack of it. Time had made up for it though. He’d shown up this morning with a bandanna around his head to keep his long bangs out of his eyes. Like the rest of my family, Toby had a great work ethic, and I was excited to get to know him. Our almost five year age difference had been a little much, and since he was a boy and had completely different interests than me, we hadn’t been particularly close growing up.
