Feels Like Home

by Kelly Elliott

  “Oh, come on now. I’m sure we could find something to talk about. Maybe compare notes over Bristol.”

  I flew up, knocking the table over. When I reached for Josh, someone grabbed me from behind.

  “Don’t you ever fucking talk about her!” I shouted as I pointed to him.

  Josh reached for my cards and looked at them. “Damn. Looks like I lost to you again. She was worth the try, though. Kept my bed warm plenty of nights.”

  “That’s enough, Josh,” Drake warned.

  “Dude, your body is shaking, just let him walk away.”

  That was Nick’s voice. He was the one holding me back.

  “Maybe you should go ahead and leave now, Josh,” Granddad said.

  Josh walked up to me, smiled, then leaned in so only I could hear him. But I knew Nick could too.

  “Amazing fuck, your ex.”

  My body raged as Josh turned and walked out the door.

  “Oh, hell no, he didn’t just say that to you,” Nick said. “I’m going to let you go when I know he’s outside and not in your grandparents’ house. Then I expect you to go kick the fuck out of his ass.”

  For a moment I was stunned by what Nick had said. Drake stared at me and nodded.

  Nick let me go, and I followed Drake out.

  “Anson, Drake. Do not do this. Not here!” Granddad called out.

  Josh walked out the back door. He lifted his hand to everyone on the porch in the Bunco group and waved as he said, “Ladies.”

  “Josh!” Drake called out. “Josh, a moment, please!”

  Josh must not have expected me to be next to Drake. When he turned, his smile vanished. He didn’t even see the punch coming. Drake grabbed him by the arms, and I punched Josh again in the stomach.

  “Anson! Stop!” I heard Bristol cry out.

  I wanted to hit the motherfucker again, but Bristol’s voice stopped me.

  She appeared suddenly as she stood between the two of us.

  “Drake! Let him go.”

  Drake pushed Josh, and he stumbled to the ground. Bristol leaned down and asked him if he was okay. He simply smiled and wiped the blood from his mouth.

  “What is wrong with you?” she yelled at me.

  I pointed to him and yelled, “You don’t know what he said.”

  She shook her head. “I can’t imagine it was anything that warranted this type of reaction, Anson!”

  “Bristol,” Drake started.

  She whirled around and pushed him. “And you! What are you doing helping him? Are you insane!”

  “Bristol, trust me when I say he had that coming and more,” Drake said as Josh stumbled up to his feet.

  “I see some things never change,” Josh mused as he wiped more blood from his mouth.

  I moved toward him again, and Bristol placed her hands on my chest.

  “Stop this! This is insane. You need to stop.”

  My eyes darted down to her. I could still hear his words replaying in my head.

  “You want me to stop?”

  “Yes! Of course I do!”

  I scoffed and looked at Josh then back to Bristol. “I guess you don’t mind him going around saying you were a good fuck.”

  Bristol flinched, and then took a step back.

  “That it’s okay for him to tell me we should grab a beer and compare notes on you?”

  She swallowed hard but didn’t say anything.

  I shook my head, disappointed that she still stared at me like I was the one in the wrong.

  “Drake,” I asked as I stared at Bristol. “You still feel like going for that beer?”

  “Don’t do this,” Bristol whispered. “Please, Anson.”

  I frowned. “Do what?” What in the hell did she think I was going to go do?

  Drake slapped me on the shoulder and then gave me a shake. “Come on, let’s head over to the guest house and cool down.”

  When I turned and looked behind me, I saw everyone standing there. My father looked disappointed. So did Granddad. I had no intention of telling them what the little prick said about Bristol. Unless they already heard my outburst.

  “I’ve got the beers,” Nick said, holding up a six-pack as he walked by. “Let’s go, Anson.”

  Drake pulled at me, which forced me to walk away from Bristol.

  Once we got into the guest house, I scrubbed my hands down my face.

  “Fuck!” I shouted as I let out a frustrated breath and stared up at the ceiling.

  “Dude, sit and just calm the hell down,” Nick said.

  I sat and then stared straight ahead. “He was my best friend. How could…how could he say that shit to me? Why would she defend him?”

  Drake and Nick exchanged a quick glance. Then Drake trained his eyes on me.

  “She was lonely and upset. Josh was the closest thing to you she had. He knew that, and he took advantage of it. Bristol realized she didn’t want to be with him. She broke up with him before he asked her to marry him, but he did buy a ring.”

  I slowly shook my head. “It was that serious?”

  “I don’t think it was,” Drake said. “At least, it wasn’t for Bristol. He was a means to try and forget you. To move on because everyone kept telling her that was what she should do. Honestly, I think he only wanted her because he knew it would eat at you. Ever since you made it big, he’s been so damn bitter about it.”

  Nick tossed me a beer. “Dude, I honestly didn’t know he hadn’t actually proposed. He’s always bragged about it, the dick.”

  “Don’t worry about it, you didn’t know.”

  He nodded.

  “What’s your story?” I asked him as I popped the beer open and took a drink. “I can’t decide if I like you or not.”

  He laughed, looked at Drake and then me.

  “Shit, do you both not like me?” he asked.

  Drake shrugged. “I’ve got weird vibes about you, Dude, not gonna lie.”

  Another laugh came out. “Well, hell. I get why Anson wouldn’t like me, but why you?”

  “I don’t know. You’re mysterious.”

  He raised his brows. “I don’t share much information about myself, so I guess that makes me come off that way.”

  Drake pointed the neck of his beer at him. “You don’t share shit. You keep to yourself, and you spend a hell of a lot of time with Carl.”

  Nick nodded and then rubbed his chin. “Let me get this straight. You don’t like me because I keep to myself, don’t share anything about my past, and I like my boss?”

  Drake stared at him then said, “Pretty much. Yeah.”

  Then Nick turned to me. “And you don’t like me because I’m close to your daddy. Well, let me tell you something about your daddy. If my father had just an ounce of the pride and love that your daddy has for you, I’d have never left home at sixteen. That’s a story for another night, gentlemen. For now…” he stood, “I’m going to find Carl and head on home.”

  Nick started for the door.

  “Hey, Nick?”

  He glanced back at me. “Yeah?”

  “Thanks for having my back. I appreciate it.”

  With a tip of his cowboy hat, he replied, “It was my pleasure. I never did like that little fucker.”

  He opened the door and then stepped outside. When the door clicked shut, Drake said, “I changed my mind. I like him.”

  I looked down at my red knuckles and frowned. “Yeah, me too.”

  Bristol

  SCANNING THE TEA room once more, I attempted to settle my rattled nerves.

  “Bristol?”

  I turned to see Mindy holding out a glass for me.

  “Here, drink this.”

  “What is it?” I asked as I looked at what appeared to be iced tea.

  “Iced tea.”

  With a smile, I accepted it and took a long drink. Then started coughing.

  “With whiskey in it,” she added.

  “Christ Almighty, Mindy! What in the hell?”

  She shrugged. “I�
��m sorry, but you need it. If you stress any more, you’re going to explode. Everything is going to be fine. She’s going to love everything. Stop worrying.”

  I headed over to the counter and set the spiked tea down. Then lied through my teeth.

  “I’m not worried at all.”

  She lifted her brow.

  “Fine, I’m a little bit worried,” I said, “but I also can’t stop thinking about Saturday night. What in the world was Anson thinking?”

  She tilted her head and looked at me. “From what Drake told me yesterday, Josh insulted you in a big way. Then egged Anson on. So, in a way, he was defending your honor.”

  My mouth dropped open. “Defending my honor? By making a scene and then…and then saying what he said? It made me feel so dirty. Like I’d done something wrong.”

  “Or is your own guilt making you feel that way?”

  “Excuse me?” I asked. “What do you mean, my own guilt?”

  Mindy exhaled and then sat down on the stool behind the check-in counter.

  “It’s time to get real here, Bri. Why did you date Josh in the first place? When he first asked you out, you were determined not to go out with him. He was Anson’s best friend in high school. Your friend. You said you didn’t feel that way about him. What changed?”

  I swallowed hard as I stared at her. “We…we grew closer, I guess. I spent a lot of time with him.”

  She nodded. “And it had nothing to do with the fact that Josh mentioned Anson was dating some up-and-coming country singer. That they had been photographed together a few times. If my memory serves me correctly, Josh seemed to feed you a lot of information about Anson.”

  With a frown, I looked away. Josh had indeed mentioned that Anson might be dating someone, and I had looked it up. Both Anson’s manager and the girl herself denied the rumors. What was her name again?

  I shook my head to erase the thought. It didn’t matter know.

  “Fine,” I admitted, “I dated Josh for all the wrong reasons.”

  “You don’t say?” Mindy countered.

  She had been so angry with me when I told her I was going to go out on a date…a real date with Josh. I had never shared my feelings about Josh like I had Anson.

  “When I was with Josh, I felt…”

  “You felt what?” she asked softly.

  I blinked rapidly to keep my tears at bay. “I felt alive again. And as pathetic as this makes me sound, he made me feel like I was with Anson again, and there were so many times when I was with him that I closed my eyes and pretended…”

  I stopped talking and let out a slow breath. “It doesn’t matter. The past is the past and even if I do regret dating Josh—which yes, a part of me does—I needed to move on, even if I did it in a not-so-healthy way.”

  She smiled slightly and reached for my hand across the counter. With a squeeze, she said, “If y’all are meant to be together, you will be. You have to leave it up to faith.”

  Throwing up my hands, I said, “Ugh. There’s that word again! None of this matters, right now, what matters is Annie liking what she sees—and tastes—today.”

  “She will, there isn’t a doubt in my mind,” Mindy said with a wide smile.

  The tea room was abuzz with women talking over women. Laughter, a bit of gossip here and there. A smiling Annie Foster took it all in. She lifted her teacup and drank the lavender tea she had requested. It was made from the lavender grown on my folks’ farm, and I had painstakingly worked on the recipe for almost two years before I finally got it exactly right.

  As she set her teacup down and laughed at something Pearl said, I released the breath I had been holding in. I gave Anna a nod, letting her know the room was hers to watch for a few moments, and headed into the kitchen to check on the quiche Terry had put in earlier.

  I took stock of how many cucumber sandwiches we had, as well as egg salad. We had plenty of both. With a smile, I held up the perfect scones I had made earlier. It had taken me months to master the art of scones. If you worked the dough too much, they came out flat. I had finally gotten it down. Of course, if you asked any of the men who walked into the tea room, they’d tell you scones were just biscuits that tasted sweet. And then they’d ask for the gravy and laugh. It was strange how many men made that same joke over and over again.

  “How’s everything going?” I asked Terry.

  “Good. Stop worrying. Your father’s here.”

  A smile broke out across my face. I was about to ask her where he was when the back door opened and the scent of lavender filled the kitchen.

  “Daddy,” I said as I made my way over to him. With a wide smile, he set the box down, took off his cowboy hat, and kissed me on the cheek.

  “Darlin’, how are things going?”

  I shrugged. “I’m not sure. She didn’t make a face when she tasted the tea, so that’s a good thing!”

  He laughed. “Even I like it, Sweetheart, so don’t worry.”

  “Yeah, everyone keeps telling me not to.”

  Daddy glanced over at Terry and then back at me. “I heard about Saturday night and what the little prick said.”

  I sighed. “Daddy, I don’t want to talk about Anson right now.”

  He frowned. “I’m not talking about him, I’m talking about the little bastard you dated after him. The one I never liked.”

  I stared at him. “Josh?”

  “Yes, Irwin told me what he said about you and how Anson damn near jumped over a table to beat his ass, then warned him to never say another word about you again.”

  My stomach did a little flutter. I internally yelled at myself to get my emotions in check.

  “From the way I hear it, both your brother and Anson were ready to pound his face in. Might do it myself next time I come across him.”

  I lifted up on my toes and kissed him on the cheek. “You will not. Thank you for the lavender and the cucumbers.”

  “You’re welcome. If I haven’t told you lately, you’re my favorite customer.”

  I smiled. “I better be!”

  Daddy lifted his hand and waved goodbye to Terry then slipped out the back door.

  “Bristol, sweetheart.”

  I spun around to find Pearl, Anson’s mom, standing in the kitchen.

  “Pearl, is everything okay?”

  She looked pale. Almost as if she was about to get sick.

  “My goodness, Pearl, sit down quickly. You look like you’re about to pass out,” Terry stated.

  Her fingers went to her temple and she paced the small kitchen. “Oh my, oh Lord. Oh, baby Jesus in heaven. I’m in a pickle.” She stopped and looked directly at me. “Actually, a pickle would be an improvement. I’m fucked is what I am.”

  My eyes went wide in surprise. In all the years I had known Pearl Meyer, I had never heard her swear. Okay, she said hell and damn sometimes. But the F-bomb? Never.

  “Um…ah…why are you…in something worse than a pickle?” I asked, still taken aback.

  “Jemma mentioned Anson being back in town. Then the sweet and lovely, yet very dense, Renee brought up his latest song. It didn’t take Annie long to put two and two together. She asked me to introduce her to Anson.”

  That nearly made me choke on my tongue, but I tried not to show my reaction.

  I walked over to the door that led out to the tea room. Barely opening it, I peeked out to see Annie deep in conversation with Ida. Even from where I stood, I could see her excitement. What was Ida talking about? Anson? Why get Annie interested in Anson when she’s been pushing me to make up with him?

  I let the door shut and then spun around and looked at Pearl. I tried to think of something logical to say. I shouldn’t care that Annie wanted to meet Anson.

  Then Annie’s bright smile popped into my head. The moment she stepped into the tea room, nearly everyone went silent. She was beyond beautiful. Her blonde hair, with perfectly done low lights, was swept up and piled on top of her head. Her blue eyes seemed so blue that Mindy thought for sure they were
fake. She quickly corrected Mindy when she asked if they were contacts. Don’t even get me started on her body. She was toned from top to bottom. Her pencil skirt showcased an ass that had to have been formed from doing countless squats. Unlike my ass that was perfectly formed from eating scones. Her breasts were perfect…and perfectly on display.

  And she…Annie…wanted to meet Anson.

  Finally, I looked back at Pearl. “Well, that’s nice. Did you make plans to introduce them?”

  It was her turn for her eyes to go wide. “You want her to meet Anson?”

  Ah, so Pearl had noticed how perfect Annie was too. Why did that make me feel like an absolute loser?

  I gave her an awkward shrug as I tried to seem casual about it. “Why would I care?”

  Pearl narrowed her eyes at me. “You always were terrible at hiding your emotions, Bristol Overmann. I don’t have a good feeling about this woman. She looks like she would sink her claws into someone and eat them alive. Are you sure you want to do business with her?”

  “The advertising I’d get from my tea being in her boxes would be a big deal for me. Especially since now I have the online shop. This could be a game changer, Pearl. If I could double up on my loan payments, I’d have this place paid off sooner rather than later.”

  She lifted her hand to her mouth and started to chew on her fingernail.

  I cleared my throat and said, “Pearl, you don’t have to worry about me. If Anson wants to meet with her and they hit it off, I honestly couldn’t blame either of them. I mean, you’ve seen her…she’s beautiful. How could he refuse that?”

  Her hand dropped to her side, and she looked confused for a moment. “You think I’m worried he’ll be attracted to her?”

  I let out a humorless chuckle. “I mean, look at her.”

  Pearl stood up taller. Then she shot me a look that made me take a step back. “He won’t look at her, because he’s in love with you, Bristol. And if you two would get your heads out of your asses and talk, you might be able to work things out.”

  “Wow. Okay, I didn’t see that coming,” Terry said as I glanced her way. Neither had I.

  Pearl rolled her eyes. “Bristol, she’s going to meet Anson. She’s going to want to go out with Anson. He’s going to turn her down. We both know it won’t take her long to figure out why he turned her down. She doesn’t seem like the type of woman who wants to be turned down. Are you getting the picture now?”