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He had no idea when that had happened, but he found himself saying, “If it makes you feel better, after Sonora, I’ve taken a vow to stay away from attached women.”
The flash of a smile was so full of joy, it was almost too bright to look at her face. “It does.”
“Good.
”
Chapter 10
Dustin parked his car on the back side of Castle Vineyards and climbed out. Before his dad had died, he’d had no desire to ever return to this place.
He didn’t mind it anymore though, especially since his mother had removed anything and everything that reminded her of his father.
He couldn’t really blame her. There wasn’t a single thing about the man he could remember ever finding redeemable. He was able to fool everyone in the town of Sweetheart about what a great guy he was, but his children and wife knew he was a monster.
Dustin took the steps up to the main house and walked inside. “Mom?”
“In the dining room!”
“The formal or the family?” he called.
“The family, of course.”
He chuckled. “Of course.”
People who thought the house he owned now was huge had never been inside his childhood home. Eight bedrooms, two dining areas, and three living rooms plus a game room, not to mention the six bathrooms made it almost double the size of his three thousand square foot home.
He made his way down the hallway toward the family dining room, ignoring the pictures of him and his brothers in their youth. As he stepped into the room, he found his mother sitting at the head of the table, drinking coffee and reading the Sweetheart Gazette. Her blond hair was swept back into a classic up-do, and she wore a pink dress with a white sweater.
“Hello, Mom. How are the ins and outs of Sweetheart?”
“Well, let’s see. Peter Lynch was pulled over for another DUI last night. Oh, and Sissy and Daniel Stewart are expecting their first child.” She snapped the paper closed and leveled him with a heavy stare. “And apparently, you have a live-in girlfriend.”
“It’s not like that. Rylie needed a place to stay, so I am renting her my pool house. It’s strictly business.”
“Is it?” His mother said those two words so coyly that he stiffened. “Because from what I understand, the two of you were seen late last night at the gas station on what looked suspiciously like a date.”
“First of all, as my mother, you should really know by now that I don’t date. Secondly, I was just her designated driver. We stopped off to get coffee and I drove her back to the pool house where I left her untouched.” Dustin poured himself a cup of coffee. “Now, are you satisfied that you got the whole story?”
His mother shot him a disgruntled glare. “I swear, I don’t know what is wrong with you and your brothers. I am not going to live forever and I would love to have at least one daughter-in-law and a few adorable grandbabies to spoil. Is that too much to ask?”
“Well, Mom, if we’re being honest, I think that most of us realize we’ll be really shitty husbands considering the example we had.”
She dropped her cup onto the saucer, and some of the black coffee spilled over the side.
“That’s not funny, Dustin.”
He paused while scooping a slice of quiche onto his plate. “I was being serious.”
She appeared genuinely surprised. “Why would you think you were anything like your father? Not one of you would ever…” She cleared her throat and when she spoke again, it came out hoarse. “You are all good men and I expect any woman would be lucky to have you.”
Dustin shifted in his chair, uncomfortable with her praise. He didn’t really think that marriage would turn him into an abusive prick.
It was the settling down in general that scared the wits out of him.
“I don’t think any of us have met a woman that makes us want to settle down.”
“From what I know of her, your Rylie Templeton is a nice girl.”
