Coming Home Read Free

overhear the conversation. Frank doesn’t want it
on the menu, but it’s good and fresh.”
    Grateful she saved me from an awkward moment, I nodded my head.
“Yes, that sounds perfect. Thank you.”
    We both looked at Matt, who was studying the menu as though it
were five minutes before finals, and he finally looked up at us. “What? This is
probably my last time here, and I don’t want to get it wrong.”
    “I’ll take care of you, hon.” Joan patted him on the shoulder and
winked at me.
    “I wish I could have brought my daughter Ashley with me. She
would love this place.” Matt leaned across the booth a little. “But she would
have told my wife.” He sat back with that kind smile in place.
    It was hard to hear a father talk about his daughter. I love my
father very much, but seeing a birth father gush about his daughter was hard
for me. Even so, I wanted this job and needed to pull it together. “How old is
she?”
    “She’s fifteen going on thirty. Every father says that when
children get to this age, though. I want to keep her a little girl forever, but
you wake up one day and all of a sudden it’s discussions about boys and dating.”
    “I didn’t date until I was seventeen.”
    “Your father’s a lucky man. My wife is on Ashley’s side. I’ve got
less than a year before my girl starts dating.”
    “What does your wife do?”
    “Well, she’s not only the other half of me but she’s also the
other half of Carlisle Designs. She’s taking some time off right now, though.”
    ~*~
    I couldn’t believe I’d spent most of the day just
sitting and talking to Matt. It was difficult at first, but I loved hearing
about his family. It was obvious he still loved his wife even after twenty-seven
years of marriage. It was good to hear people were still crazy about each other
after all that time. Not too many people stay together that long anymore and
are still in love with each other. My parents are another exception.
    I was heading over to my parents, and I wasn’t going to make them
happy that night. I took the job and would be moving to Dallas in three weeks.
I knew my mom would be upset the most. We were best friends, so it was going to
hit her hard. She was very active in the community and very well-liked, so it
wasn’t as if she couldn’t have made friends if she wanted to. It was just that
small-town gossip wasn’t her thing and Anson is definitely a small town.
    Anson is only a few hours away from Dallas, and I could drive
back on the weekends, but I knew she’d act as though it were in another
country. I pulled into the driveway and sighed, not quite ready to break her
heart, but knowing I had to get it over with.
    I didn’t even make it to the door before she swung it open and came
out to great me. Already the signs of her stress were staring me in the face.
Her light brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she had her apron on.
She was baking. At least she wasn’t covered in flour. That was a good sign that
she still had a little control of her emotions.
    She was a little more excited than I thought she would be. Her
big smile seemed genuine and reached her brown eyes, making the lines around
them appear more prominent. “You got the job!” She grabbed me as I walked up
the last step to the porch and hugged me tight.
    “Yes, I got the job.” I hugged her back and prepared for the
tears that I thought were coming.
    “I knew you could do it! Now, come in and tell me all about it.”
She pushed me through the door and shut it behind us. I turned and just looked
at her, wondering what she’d done with my mother. “What? Can’t a mother be
happy for her child?”
    “Yes, but I didn’t think you would be.” Her face fell and I felt
really guilty. I didn’t mean it as it sounded. “You do know I have to move to
Dallas now.”
    I was grateful she recovered and put her arm around my shoulders
as she walked me to the kitchen. “Yes, I’m fully aware that you’re leaving me,
but