Page 18 of The Best I Never Had

When I don’t speak, Thea shifts on her feet. “Never mind, sorry. It was silly.”

I take a step toward her before she can disappear into her room. “There’s no way you found a dentist’s office slash art supply store.”

She narrows her eyes at me, a smirk playing on the corner of her lips. “Are you calling me a liar?”

“Might be,” I say, running a hand over my mouth to hide my smile. “Gotta back up a statement like that with proof.”

She tugs her bottom lip between her teeth, and it’s a battle to keep my eyes on hers instead of tracking the movement. “Fine. We’ve got a week up here. I’ll find it again and get you a damn picture.”

I chuckle, ducking my head for a moment to hide how much she affects me. “Can’t wait. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Thea nods as I back away. And that image—wild curls and soft curves, long legs and deep brown eyes—is the only thing I see in my dreams that night.

Chapter 6

OWEN

The air is different here. Fresh and clean, with a bite that only exists in the mountains. The rolling hills of my grandmother’s property reach out before me. If I turn slightly to the right, vines dominate my vision, crisscrossing over the slopes. French American hybrids my grandmother and Uncle Dennis have spent five decades cultivating instead of the traditional European species.

A quick swivel to the left, and the slopes are covered instead with young Christmas trees, still a few years out from harvesting. The brainchild of Aunt Debra.

I’m on the back porch of the main house, Uncle Doug’s passion project, which acts as an inn, restaurant, and consignment shop of locally sourced keepsakes.

On one of the slopes in the distance, a ten-minute scenic walk from the main house, are the event spaces, perfect for the dozens of weddings hosted each year by Aunt Dawn, including the ballroom from my latest dream. My mind conjures a flash of red, the broad smile on Thea’s face as she backs up against the building, and I force my gaze to the wood planks of the porch floor to get rid of the image.

I love the summer mornings here, when the chill has everyone reaching for a blanket and a warm cup of coffee. The sun has just crested the mountains, casting a glow over the vines. Within a few hours, it’ll force everyone to shed their layers and bask in the heat, but for now, it’s just me and the sunrise.

A lone deer wanders through the vines, nibbling on a grape. I wonder how it made it past the fence, knowing Uncle Dennis will have a conniption when he spots it, but it’s nice to share the quiet of the morning with another creature.

“You’re looking damned pensive for a man on vacation,” Nana says.

She places a coffee mug on the thick railing in front of me, and I lift it to my lips as I turn to face her.

“Can we call a wedding with my extended family a vacation? Because y’all are exhausting. I think I’m going to need a vacation from this vacation.”

“You’re looking for a slap upside your head, aren’t you, boy?” she asks, hands anchored to her hips as she glares. It holds up for a solid five seconds before she chuckles and wraps her arms around me. “I’ve missed you, peanut.”

She’s small, only coming up to my shoulder, but her hug still surrounds me, letting me sink into her affection like a warm bath. “Missed you, too, Nana.”

“Thinking through the logistics of your move up here?” she asks, gazing out over her kingdom, and I fight back my scoff.

My grandmother, a natural powerhouse of a woman, has never been denied anything a day in her life. She came from money. Serious money. The type of money that makes life completely accessible.

But when Nana’s father died unexpectedly, he left the entire family fortune to his only child, who used it to run off from the pressures of “high society,” as she calls it, and buy this land. She built a beautiful life here and has been trying to bring me into the fold as long as I can remember.

In my head, I let myself indulge. Just for a minute. What would it be like to stay here? My eyes flit over the peaks, soaking in the beauty before me. The only place I’ve ever felt at peace.

Childhood summers spent here, running through the vines with no responsibilities. Staying out until sunset, knowing that one of the adults would deal with dinner instead of me having to sort it out. The fresh mountain air filling my lungs instead of the stale hospital scent or construction dust that dominated the rest of the year. The only time in my life where I experienced freedom, when I wasn’t being pulled in a million directions at once.

But it’s a dream. Home is my reality. Hayes Electric is my responsibility. No, my gift. It’s an honor to maintain the legacy.

“Next year, Nana,” I say, throwing my arm over her shoulder, and she doesn’t fight off her own scoff at the response I’ve given her since she started asking me at eighteen.

We turn back to the mountains, leaning against the railing and drinking our coffees. There’s comfort in the silence. I don’t know how much time passes, but eventually our drinks are gone and the sun is high in the sky.

Our peace is interrupted when Harrison flies out onto the porch. “There you are. I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

Nana jumps in. “Is that how you greet your grandmother? Without so much as a ‘how are you’?”