‘The usual,’ Jason said, smiling at the woman behind the counter.
With long auburn hair and a simple pairing of a T-shirt with the coffeehouse’s logo on it and jeans, she was pretty in a natural kind of way. The genuine grin she responded with only enhanced her beauty.
‘You got it, Jason,’ the woman stated. ‘And your friend?’ It was like the woman never stopped moving, and never stopped smiling. There was no question about it, she loved her job.
Before he could respond, Jason beat him to it. ‘Just make it two, Allison. Better keep it simple. Branch, here, is a newbie.’
Allison’s hands never stopped moving, but something changed in her eyes as she regarded Branch with a renewed interest. ‘Branch, huh? You’re Addie’s grandson.’
‘Yes, ma’am.’ Branch nodded. The woman looked to be only a few years older than he was, but he had a funny feeling she knew him better than he knew her. Polite was the way to go.
‘My condolences about your grandmother,’ she replied. ‘This town lost one of the best when we lost her. Christmas won’t be the same around here.’
‘Thank you.’ If Branch was going to start being social around town like this instead of hiding away in the house as he had originally planned, he was going to need to harden himself to the constant mentions and reminders of his grandparents. He gladly took the coffee cup when it was offered, nodding his gratitude.
‘My treat.’ Jason handed over a five-dollar bill, waving Allison away when she tried to give him change. ‘You know better than to try. Tell Chris I said hey, will you?’
‘You bet.’ She pushed the bill into the cash register. ‘Be sure to take your friend to Paige’s, too. Give him the full Port Landon culinary-and-caffeine experience.’ She tilted her head toward the wall behind her, but her gaze never seemed to stray far from Branch.
‘It’s like you’re reading my mind.’ Jason laughed, giving her a wave on his way out.
On the sidewalk, Branch turned to his friend. ‘Okay, I don’t know Allison, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say she knows me?’
Jason pressed his lips together. ‘I don’t think you guys have ever formally met, if that’s what you’re asking, but it’s safe to say she might feel like she knows you. She’s one of Kait’s good friends.’
A low groan escaped from deep in Branch’s throat. ‘So, she was looking at me like that because she thinks I’m a complete jerk.’
‘I am the last man on Earth who will ever try to figure out what a woman thinks,’ Jason chuckled, pushing Branch toward the doorway beside the coffeehouse. ‘But, heads up, we’re about to enter The Cakery, owned by Paige Henley, and she’s another one of Kait’s friends. All I can promise is that the sugar high will be worth any dirty looks you get.’
Thankfully, no dirty looks came from The Cakery, just a box of homemade sugared doughnuts and an introduction to the brunette that owned the place. Branch couldn’t believe how different the bakery looked now, remembering fondly what it was like when he was a kid, back when old Wilhelmina used to own it.
‘Paige seems nice,’ he said to Jason as he climbed back in the truck, awkwardly and dangerously balancing his paper coffee cup on the bakery box as he did so.
‘Easy, man, she’s engaged to Dr Cohen from the vet’s office.’
‘It was a simple observation, nothing more.’
Jason started the truck and got the heater blowing strong again before he pulled out of his parking spot and headed back toward Branch’s grandparents’ house. ‘Ah, right. Sorry, I just assumed you had a type when it came to women.’
Branch furrowed his brows. ‘And what type is that?’
‘The type where you only want the ones you can’t have.’
‘Let me guess,’ Branch groaned. ‘You’re not talking about Paige at all.’
Jason didn’t take his focus from the road in front of him. ‘I’m just saying, there are a lot of other women out there, Branch. Ones that don’t come with so much baggage and backstory.’
His words cut through Branch like a serrated knife. He was second-guessing his decision to confide in Jason about Kait’s agreement to help him with his grandparents’ house. ‘You think I need to stay away from Kait.’ Branch turned to glare at his friend, the paper cup in his hands burning into the pads of his fingers.
‘It’s none of my business, I know that. But are you sure it’s worth it to dredge up all this stuff from the past when you—’
‘When I’m the reason there’s stuff to dredge up in the first place?’ Branch snapped.
His outburst earned him a sidelong glance, but Jason remained calm. ‘Actually, what I was going to say was are you sure it’s worth it when you plan on leaving again at the end of the month?’ He paused, letting that train of thought sink in. ‘I’m not too keen on the idea of either of you getting hurt again. I think you two have been through more than enough.’
‘I’m not trying to hurt Kait.’ The words came out in a defensive rush before he could stop them. But was Jason right? Was that all his plans to spend time with her were going to do, hurt her all over again? Hurt himself?
‘It’s never going to be like it was back then, man.’ Jason sounded apologetic, and for that, Branch was thankful. Maybe he did understand, at least a little, how badly Branch wanted a second chance to make the past less painful and turn the future into what he and Kait had always hoped it would be.
But his friend couldn’t understand, he realized. If he did, he never would have said that, because as much as he believed things were never going to be like they were at eighteen, Jason was wrong.
Because they already were. Kait Davenport once again consumed his mind, and the events of that horrible night were once again front and center in his thoughts from the moment he woke up to the late hour he laid his head down at night. The past and the present had collided. For him, anyway.
Jason steered the truck into the driveway, parking it behind the rental Escape. The engine was still running when he turned to him. ‘Be honest,’ he said. ‘Is there any chance at all that you’d consider staying in Port Landon?’
Whatever response Branch was about to flounder through was interrupted by the crunch of hard-packed snow behind them. Both men turned to watch a BMW pull in behind the truck.
‘Who the—’
‘You don’t want to know,’ Jason interjected, staring at the sporty car with its tinted windows like it was the last thing on Earth he ever expected to see.
A second later, they watched the driver open the door and climb out slowly, and Branch’s jaw dropped slightly. It was the last thing he expected to see.
With wraparound Oakley sunglasses that matched the same glossy black as his BMW, Zach Canton looked better suited for the beach than the sub-zero temperatures of Michigan in December.
‘What’s he doing here?’ Branch’s pulse pounded furiously, his heart banging against his ribcage. He hadn’t seen the man since the night of the accident. With every thump of his heartbeat, he became more and more confident that eleven years wasn’t enough to divide the past from the present. It had taken seconds for Zach to climb out of that car, and that was all it took for then and now to crash into each other, too.
‘I don’t know,’ Jason replied, turning the key to kill the engine, ‘But there’s two things you’ve got to do right now, Sterling. The first is to get out of this truck and find out why he’s here. My windows aren’t tinted, so he can see us. The second thing is to stop your damn whispering. You sound like a moron.’
Branch hadn’t realized he’d whispered his question, but his friend’s candor snapped him back to reality and had him clearing his throat to compose himself. The truck door seemed heavier somehow as he climbed out into the cold. Then again, maybe it wasn’t the weight of the door that seemed heavier, but the weight of his guilt.
‘Branch Sterling. Well, if it isn’t the man of the hour himself,’ Zach shouted, rounding the front of his car to meet Branch at the passenger side. ‘The whole t
own’s buzzing about you being back in town.’
Zach’s features were harder than Branch remembered, his eyes clouded and shrewd. ‘Just got a few things to take care of, Zach, then I think I’ll be on my way.’ He gave the man a once-over. ‘You look like you’re doing all right.’ He had watched him walk toward him, waiting for an unsightly limp, or maybe an unsteadiness. But Branch saw no tell-tale signs of residual effects from the accident. None that he could see, anyway.
Zach made a show of waving a dismissive hand. ‘I’m doing just fine. It’ll take more than the backend of a truck to slow me down.’
Bile rose in Branch’s throat. Was it just him that found it tactless to mention the accident so nonchalantly, especially after everything it had cost everyone involved?
Jason cleared his throat. ‘What can we do for you, Canton?’ he asked in a clipped tone.
Nah, it definitely wasn’t just him.
Hands in the air, Zach smiled. ‘I come in peace, boys, I swear it.’ The smug tone and obnoxious chuckle that followed gave Branch the feeling that peace was the last thing on his mind, but Jason’s constant glances in Branch’s direction were getting through loud and clear. Just keep your mouth shut and hear the guy out.
‘I actually heard you were the executor of Addie and Duke’s estate,’ Zach continued, nodding his head toward the looming house that stood before him. ‘And the owner of this big, beautiful home now. Thought you might be in need of my services sometime soon, so I figured I’d drop this off.’ Zach produced a glossy business card seemingly from nowhere, holding it out between his fingers.
For a second time, Branch’s jaw went slack. Dumbfounded, he took the card, staring at it as though it was written in hieroglyphics. He knew from the Port Landon Ledger that Zach was a realtor, and a pretty successful one at that, but he never would have expected the man to seek him out about his grandparents’ house. ‘You came here to tell me you want to list my house?’ The word my tasted like acid on his tongue, but Branch refused to let Zach Canton stand here and forget that it was more than some real estate listing to him.
‘I can do you one better than that,’ Zach said proudly, obviously untouched by Branch’s indignant tone. ‘I’ll buy it from you. Top dollar, of course.’ He flashed a smile that made Branch’s insides contort. ‘That’s money in your pocket, Sterling, and then you – as you put it – can be on your way.’
He stared into the man’s sunglasses, wishing he could see his eyes. Did he really mean it as maliciously as Branch was hearing it? Was he really standing here, offering cash in exchange for the only family home he had, just to get him out of town as fast as possible?
‘Zach, I—’
‘Branch needs time to think about it,’ Jason cut in. ‘Zach, he’s only been here a few days. Give the guy some space while he sorts through his grandparents’ belongings, will you?’ He admonished the realtor with every word, while managing to ease Branch’s mind and calm him down. He was giving him an out. From the conversation, and from the ultimate decision.
Zach shifted his gaze from one man to the other, his sneer never wavering. ‘No problem at all. I just wanted to put the offer out there.’ He reached out and tapped the business card, still clutched between Branch’s icy fingers. ‘If you want to talk, you know where to find me.’
Branch and Jason watched as Zach shoved his hands into his jacket pockets and retreated to the driver’s side of his car. The door opened with a muted click, and the sounds of a classic rock radio station floated on the frigid air.
‘Oh, and Branch?’
‘Yeah,’ Branch replied absently. He hadn’t moved, hadn’t looked away.
Zach winked. ‘It’s good to see you.’ He folded himself into the little car and backed out of the driveway. Neither Branch nor Jason spoke a word until the red glow of the tail-lights disappeared around the corner.
Jason looked downright stricken on his friend’s behalf. ‘What just happened?’
Branch stared at the spot the impractical sports car had been only moments before. ‘I don’t exactly know,’ he replied absently. Then, he turned to face Jason. ‘But in response to your earlier question, I might not have a clue what the odds are of me staying in Port Landon just yet, but I think it’s safe to say there’s a certain somebody who’ll do what he can to make sure the odds are even better that I’ll leave.’
Chapter 7
Kait
If anyone would have told Kait a week ago that she would be pulling into Addie’s driveway at eight-thirty in the evening to spend a few hours with Branch Sterling, she would have told them to give their head a shake. Yet, here she was, striding up to the front door of the house she had spent so much time at as a teenager, with butterflies fluttering wildly in her stomach and anxiety rippling through her veins.
She knocked, tucking the box under her arm snugly to rub her hands together. Snowflakes had begun to fall, but thankfully it was far from a blizzard. With any luck, only a thin layer would have coated her windshield by the time she came back out and she wouldn’t have to scrape away too much ice and snow.
Tugging the door open, Branch greeted her in a pair of worn jeans and a long-sleeved thermal shirt. His dark hair peeked out from under his signature Lakers hat in untameable sprigs, his eyes smiling just as much as his mouth.
‘Come in,’ he ushered, stepping back to give her room. ‘The temperature’s dropping fast out there.’
‘Good old winter,’ she chuckled as the warmth of the house wrapped around her. ‘You know what it’s like, good luck finding nice weather before the middle of April.’
‘Still such a lover of the cold, I see.’
Kait let out an indignant snort. ‘I keep telling myself there are places where it’s sunny and seventy-five.’ She shuffled out of her jacket and hung it on the coat rack. She was careful not to comment on the fact that the rack was full of jackets and knitted sweaters, ones that obviously didn’t belong to Branch or anyone in their age bracket.
Branch nodded his head toward her feet, where she had set the square box wrapped in Santa Clause wrapping paper on the floor while she situated her boots on the mat. ‘What have you got there?’
Kait held it out as she stood to her full height, about seven inches shorter than the man in front of her, grinning. ‘I saw it during my errands downtown today and thought of you. A, uh, housewarming gift of sorts.’
Wearing an uneasy expression, he turned the wrapped cube in his hands like he didn’t quite know what to do with it. ‘You bought me a gift.’
‘Stop analyzing it and just open the box, Branch.’ Kait followed her outburst with an unsteady laugh. She didn’t need him thinking about what the gesture meant; she was doing that enough for the both of them.
Like a child, Branch unwrapped the package frantically, making Kait wonder when the last time he received a present was. As the paper fell to the floor and its contents registered in his brain, Branch’s face lit up. Yeah, he was definitely still a kid at heart.
‘You bought me a basketball?’ He stared at the ball in wonder, like it was the golden key to happiness.
Kait laughed. ‘Like I said before, you can’t very well use the hoop without the basketball.’
‘Kait, I don’t know what to say,’ he replied. ‘This is awesome. Thank you.’
‘Don’t mention it.’ She was fighting the urge to laugh harder, too enthralled by his excitement over a random item she found on clearance at the gift shop downtown – or the ‘everything’ shop, as it had been affectionately coined by Port Landon’s residents. It was just a basketball, but she could see it in his eyes. It wasn’t.
‘I have half a mind to give up on organization and go set up a court in the driveway instead.’
She pointed a finger. ‘Not a chance. You wanted help, and I just fended off Janna’s scrutiny in order to come here and do just that. Where do we start?’
Showing up at eight-thirty hadn’t been her idea, but she’d had to wait till Janna got home from her shift at th
e diner before she could leave. Having managed to get both toddlers to sleep before their mother’s arrival, the idea of beginning a daunting project like sorting through a house of old memories wasn’t exactly high on Kait’s list after an already exhausting day.
But seeing Branch was. And after being subjected to Janna’s abundance of questions and overzealous opinions as to how bad of an idea this truly was, Kait had managed to make it out the door virtually unscathed. There was a part of her that wanted to be here, helping Branch, and not even Janna’s pessimism and concerns could douse that want. Even if there was a part of her that was fully aware she should run screaming in the opposite direction.
‘I was just going through some stuff in one of the linen closets.’ He waved her toward the opened doors on the other side of the living room. ‘You want something to drink? There’s soda and orange juice in the fridge.’
‘Orange juice?’ Kait contorted her face as she bypassed him and headed straight for the fridge. ‘Never thought I’d see the day when you had something in your fridge that was actually somewhat good for you. On purpose.’ She grabbed a can of soda and cracked it open. It was going to take sugar and a whole lot of jokes to get through this, but she was determined to do it without mentioning the past. Surely they could be friends. They were adults. With new lives and orange juice in the fridge. They could be friends.
Branch headed back toward the linen closet, pushing a pile of threadbare green and yellow sheets further from the doorway. ‘Got used to having it every morning while at work,’ he explained. ‘It isn’t half bad and it makes me feel like I’m, I don’t know, responsible or something.’
Kait burst out laughing, setting her soda on the dining room table before joining him at the closet door. ‘If all it takes is orange juice to feel like a responsible adult, then I know what I’ve been doing wrong all these years.’ She pointed at the pile of green and yellow sheets. ‘Is that the discard pile, or the pile of stuff you’re keeping in case it comes in style again?’
‘If that comes in style again, I don’t want to be in style.’
The Winter Berry House Page 6