Trusting Her Heart

by Tara Randel

  The door opened and Heidi hurried inside, waving as she crossed the room to the counter.

  “If you ladies will excuse me, I need to talk to Heidi for a moment. Go ahead and get started.”

  She met her employee at the counter and pulled out a day planner from the shelf. “If you wouldn’t mind entering my schedule into the database and printing it out, I’d appreciate it.”

  “Sure. Anything else?”

  “Call Mrs. Keene and let her know the baby announcements are in. Otherwise it’s slow tonight.”

  “Mind if I take off after doing this? I have a huge spreadsheet I’m working on.”

  Heidi took bookkeeping jobs as well as working for Serena.

  “Sure. I’ll lock up and see you tomorrow.”

  “Thanks.”

  Serena started to walk away when Heidi stopped her. “You were the topic of conversation tonight.”

  Turning on her heel, Serena composed her features. “Really? Someone was interested in me?”

  “Yep. Logan.” Heidi grinned. “And you said there’s nothing going on.”

  “I barely know the man.”

  “Well, you must have made an impression. Looks like one of us might be joining the dating club.”

  Better to let Heidi think Logan might be romantically interested in her than in the probable truth—that despite her father’s assurances, Logan was only interested in her family’s shady past.

  * * *

  AS LOGAN EXPECTED, dinner was superb. Not his normal choice, since he stuck to a healthy diet, but he wouldn’t say no to honey-baked ham, coleslaw and corn bread, although he skipped the vegetables drowned in butter.

  The formal dining room of Masterson House was a bit staid for his taste. Fresh flowers placed in a crystal vase on the sideboard overpowered the savory aroma of dinner. His loft in Atlanta was more his style—big windows washing the space in plenty of natural light, exposed brick walls and dark wood floors, industrial kitchen and contemporary furnishings. As far away from traditional as you could get.

  “Logan, how are things in Atlanta?” his brother asked as he cut into a slice of ham.

  “Busy. Took on two new cases this week.”

  “Interesting?”

  “A divorce and a large chain store wanting to beef up security.” He’d been thrilled to expand into security work and hoped this was just the beginning. “That job will be time-consuming but worth it in the long run.”

  “Divorce?” Their mother wrinkled her nose. “Rather unseemly, don’t you think?”

  Yes. It was. But it was also life and, unfortunately, a staple in his business.

  “Talking about marriage,” his grandmother said, “I’m still waiting for my grandsons to tie the knot.”

  Logan shook his head. “Smooth, Grandmother, considering we were talking about the opposite of marriage.”

  She shrugged. “I take my cues where I get them.”

  Logan swallowed a chuckle.

  “I bought my tickets today for the Golden Ladies’ Guild fall fund-raiser.”

  Logan shot Reid a look and received the same panicked reaction in return.

  “It’s for a good cause. I would love my grandsons to accompany me.”

  “I’d have to check my calendar,” Logan said around a forkful of slaw.

  “Me, too,” Reid echoed. “I have some out-of-town meetings scheduled.”

  His grandmother smoothed the cloth napkin on her lap. “Do you two think you can really outmaneuver me?”

  “No,” Logan admitted. “But we can try.”

  She laughed. “I’ll text you the date and you will pencil me into your schedules.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” the brothers said in unison.

  “I’ve also been thinking about wedding dates.” The older woman’s light blue eyes took on a faraway glaze. “Spring is beautiful, with the promise of new beginnings. Late summer is lovely as well. Or the fiery autumn colors make a beautiful backdrop to the ceremony.”

  “Grandmother, don’t you think you’re getting ahead of yourself?” A flicker of skepticism laced Reid’s comment. “Logan and I don’t even have girlfriends.”

  “Which is easy to remedy if you’d listen to me.”

  “Gayle Ann, I want to see my sons married as much as you,” their mother said, “but don’t you think this in-your-face method is a bit...high-handed?”

  “How else can I get them on board? They don’t take my hints.” She scowled at Logan. “And there are some perfectly wonderful women right here in Golden.”

  “What if I told you I’d found the love of my life in Atlanta?” Logan teased.

  “I’d say bring her for a visit so I can determine if she’s right for you.”

  Logan laughed. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you didn’t trust me.”

  “With your love life, no.” She leveled a stare at Reid. “And you’re not out of the clear, either, young man.”

  Alveda, the family cook, whose graying hair was pulled into a severe bun, swept into the dining room to check on the ham platter. “Is everything okay?”

  “Perfection, as usual,” his father complimented, rare praise coming from the normally indifferent man.

  As she passed by Logan, her bony hand rested on his shoulder as she leaned down and said, “I’ve got pecan pie for dessert.”

  Logan groaned. “You’re killing me.” He glanced at the thin woman who’d been cooking for the family since he was a child. “But make sure to bring me a big piece.”

  “With vanilla ice cream?”

  He closed his eyes and groaned again. “Yes, please.”

  The older woman chuckled as she returned to the kitchen.

  “Grandmother, about this fund-raiser.” Reid visibly cringed as he said the words. “What does it entail?”

  “Tea. Finger sandwiches. Speeches. Lots of women.”

  “Aren’t you forgetting Oktoberfest?” Logan reminded her.

  “That’s for tourists. Only locals attend the ladies’ guild activities.”

  Logan reached for his glass of sweet tea. “If it’s at Smitty’s, count me in.”

  Their mother gasped. “You can’t be serious.”

  “He’s not,” Grandmother confirmed, “but I rather like the idea. Since I’m on the committee, I’ll make the recommendation for next time. This year’s party already has a venue.”

  “Tell us when and where,” Logan said.

  “Excellent. I’ll have my picks for your future brides there with bells on.”

  A smart remark about not needing any women, nor any bells, was on the tip of Logan’s tongue, but his grandmother’s happy expression kept him silent. Later, he and Reid would have to strategize on how to hold on to their single status.

  A fleeting image of Serena flashed through his head. Her long black hair. The unusual blue eyes that snagged his attention. When he’d leaned close to her at Smitty’s, he’d picked up the scent of lavender. She’d tried to move away, leaving him to wonder how he affected her. Was she as interested as he was? He’d love to find out. If his grandmother invited her, the fund-raiser might not be so bad after all.

  Of course, the question was, would Serena attend? She was pretty jumpy around him. Guess he didn’t blame her. Grandmother had probably mentioned she was trying to marry him off. That would easily explain why she was uncomfortable. Who wanted to be pressured into a relationship?

  But despite her obvious misgivings, he liked her. Was impressed by her business, which he knew firsthand was not easy to start. She had an online presence as well as the store, and after checking out her website, he had to admit she was pretty savvy. Now, if he could unravel her past...

  “The boys will find appropriate women to marry, Mother,” his father said as he pushed away his empty plate.

  “Boys?” Logan
arched an eyebrow as he recognized the grimace on his brother’s face. “In case you haven’t noticed, Reid and I are grown men.”

  His father waved a hand to brush aside Logan’s point. “Men take care of their responsibilities, which you have not.”

  “Not this again,” Logan muttered under his breath.

  “Yes, this again. Until you take your rightful place in Masterson Enterprises, we will continue to have this conversation.”

  Logan glanced at his brother. “Why don’t you say anything?”

  Reid rolled his neck. “I’m doing what I can,” he growled.

  Their father frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  Reid turned to their father. “I work hard for the company, Dad. I wish you’d give me a little more credit.”

  “I only meant it would be nice for your older brother to work with us.”

  Reid rose and tossed his napkin on the table. “Which he clearly has no interest in. And if you weren’t so obsessed with Logan coming back, you’d see that I’ve made many important advances for the company. Brought in a lot of business since I’ve worked there full-time.”

  The door from the kitchen swung open as a heavy tension blanketed the room. Alveda returned with pie slices loaded down with ice cream for Logan and Reid.

  “I’m not hungry,” Reid said as he stalked out of the room.

  “Oh, dear,” Grandmother said under her breath.

  “Why do you do this?” Logan asked his father, who sat at the head of the table like he was a king. “Reid is everything you need for the company, yet you treat him like his contributions don’t matter.”

  His father’s eyebrows rose. “I do no such thing. Reid is integral to the success of the company.”

  “Do you ever bother to tell him?”

  His father crossed his arms over his chest. “Why should I praise Reid for work he knows he does well?”

  “Because it’s nice to be acknowledged every once in a while. But then you wouldn’t know how to do that, would you?”

  Okay, maybe that was harsh, but his father couldn’t seem to get off the “come back to the company” bandwagon. For Pete’s sake, he’d never been part of the company to begin with. While Reid had gone to Clemson for business, Logan had disappointed by joining the army. Still, hope sprang eternal in his father’s mind. Which was aggravating because Reid was a good fit for the company.

  “I won’t have you talking to me like this,” his father said in his pompous tone.

  Logan rose. Slowly folded his napkin and placed it on the table beside his untouched pie. “Works for me,” he said and strode from the room.

  Fifteen minutes later he found his brother on the wooden platform overlooking a small lake on the property. The last orange streaks of light colored the dusky sky as the sun sank into the horizon. Logan dropped down into a chair beside Reid, enjoying the serenity of the view, and inhaled the sweet scent of freshly mowed grass. “Another stellar dinner.”

  Reid stared over the placid water. “You know he only gets riled up when you’re in town.”

  Anger, and a flare of guilt he ignored, washed over Logan. “He doesn’t like that he can’t control me.”

  “And you think I’m a coward for not standing up to him?”

  “No, I never said... Okay, I can see how it might come across that way.”

  “Logan, you walked away.”

  He had. After his senior year of high school, he’d walked away from family, a scholarship to the University of Georgia and the treachery of his father’s actions.

  When he opened his mouth to argue, Reid held up a hand.

  “And I get why. But it was a long time ago and you’ve made a good life for yourself in spite of what Dad did. Can’t you forgive?”

  It wasn’t like he hadn’t considered sitting down with his folks before. But every time he contemplated bringing up the past, his stomach rebelled and he couldn’t do it.

  “Look, Reid, I’m sorry to pull you into the middle of this.”

  His brother shrugged as if he was used to it. Which brought all the old emotions crashing over Logan again.

  He didn’t want to talk about his father any longer. This conversation never got them anywhere, so he asked the question that had been bugging Logan since he first talked to his grandmother this afternoon. “Does Grandmother seem okay to you? She’s really pushing this ‘marriageable women’ thing and I want to know why.”

  Logan couldn’t help but worry about his grandmother. Her illness had been scary and he hated the idea of her getting sick again.

  “I haven’t heard anything, but then I moved out.”

  Surprise lifted Logan’s eyebrows. “Really. What brought that on?”

  “In a few years I’ll be thirty. I’ve let Dad guilt me into staying in the big house for far too long.”

  Big was an apt description of the Masterson home.

  Built in the early 1900s after his great-grandfather settled in Golden, the house and grounds held the genteel air of another time. Pierce Masterson had arrived in Golden to pan for gold. Once the vein was depleted and people moved on to places like California, Pierce stayed in Golden. With the money he had managed to save from the gold he’d mined, he bought property. Then more and more until he was buying and selling land from here to Atlanta. When he married his true love, Lila, they’d built the house the current Mastersons resided in today. It was tradition—generations living under one roof. And Logan had broken that tradition when he’d moved out as a teenager and never come back.

  The Greek Revival–style two-story house was white brick, with two sitting rooms as well as a formal living room, large kitchen and five bedrooms. Southern elegance abounded in every room. A large front porch featured rocking chairs and a swing. He and Reid had had a blast growing up here, discovering treasure in the attic, running around on the ten-acre grounds and fishing in the lake, until he’d accidentally found the incriminating evidence that created a schism between him and his family. There were lots of good memories here, if he’d let that one—huge—bad moment go and try to make things like they were a long time ago.

  “Where’d you move to?” Logan asked.

  “I bought a place a few blocks off Main. It’s small, but I’ve been working on it. Just finished remodeling the kitchen and I’m starting on the living room next. Maybe I’ll flip it once I’m finished.”

  “Good for you.”

  Reid slanted him a sideways glance. “Don’t patronize me. Just because you chose a different path doesn’t mean I have to feel bad for sticking with the family.”

  “Ouch. Guess I deserved that.”

  “Maybe you want to quit starting arguments when you come to visit. It upsets Grandmother and my mother is always out of sorts afterward.”

  Logan gripped the arm of the chair, his knuckles turning white.

  Reid pushed forward in his chair, his face contrite. “Logan... I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”

  Logan rose to leave. Couldn’t get out of there fast enough. “It’s okay. You don’t have to apologize. Trust me, I know full well she’s not my mother.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  SERENA RAN ALONG the winding back roads of Golden. Long tree limbs stretched overhead to catch the sunlight filtering through the leaves. A recording of Keith Urban’s sultry voice streamed from her earbuds. Wisps of hair had escaped her ponytail, sticking to her neck, the long length sweeping over her back in a rhythmic motion. A light sheen covered her skin as she moved quickly in the early morning dawn.

  She loved this time of the day. Folks were still fast asleep while she viewed the woodland landscape as she ran her usual five miles in solitude. This was her personal time, when she could think through problems, come up with creative ideas or focus on the business before her busy day started.

  She’d mentally gone over her list for the
day—get proofs to printer, advertise an upcoming class, review finances again. The last item had her cringing, but it was necessary, especially if she wanted to be one step ahead of a possible investor. Mrs. M. might be her friend, but the wily woman would do her due diligence before parting with her money. Serena didn’t blame her.

  Breathing in the crisp air that signaled a welcome change in the weather, she couldn’t ignore the nagging concern over the past few days. Her last conversation with her father weighed heavily on her. She needed to figure out how to keep her carefully constructed life intact. Hadn’t she done everything she could to rectify her part in her father’s...jobs? Wasn’t she working to make things right even though shame still defined her after all this time? Granted, she’d been a kid when the scams took place, but deep down she’d known that what her father was doing was wrong. She’d been too scared he’d leave her, loved her only parent way too much to not go along with his schemes. Now she hoped with every fiber of her being that her steps to make amends would count for something in the end.

  She’d convinced herself she needed investors to accomplish that.

  She rounded a bend in the damp, leaf-strewn road and crested the top of a steep hill. She stopped and jogged in place, taking in the scene below her, heaving steady breaths as she regulated her heart rate.

  Golden. The leaves showed a slight change in color, signaling the upcoming showcase of autumn foliage that would bring tourists to the area in droves. How she loved this sleepy town. From the lively characters who lived here to the friendships she’d made in a short time. Sure, Carrie, her best friend from college, still surfaced in her life, but beyond that, she’d never had anyone to confide in.

  Well, maybe confide was too intimate a word. Carrie knew enough, but she didn’t know everything. At least Serena had Heidi and Grace to pal around with now. They’d gotten her excited about Oktoberfest when in the past she’d have shied away from working too closely with others. But this was Golden. People here were quick to pull you into their universe once they accepted you. Even though she’d been standoffish at first, a natural position she’d honed over time, they’d broken down barriers and she could truly say she was one of them.