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My baby sister growled at me, and damn if I couldn’t stop the laughter that rumbled through my chest.
“Good to hear you laugh, Law. It’ll be even better to see you laugh. Love you, big brother.”
My chest tightened and I managed to grunt in response before ending the call and throwing my phone on the desk.
“You okay, Reed?” Pieters asked from across the room.
I tipped my chin. “Yep.”
I was going to be fine. I had no other choice.
And fuck if that wasn’t the story of my life.
I’d been back in town a week and had somehow managed to avoid seeing everyone, including Georgia. When I learned I was being reassigned, I’d begun the search for a house. There was no point in throwing money away renting, and I could always rent the house out when I left again.
And I would be leaving again.
I would stay in this town as long as necessary. But it wasn’t going to be forever. I wasn’t the same reserved kid I was when I left here, and this town just wasn’t for me anymore.
The agent I’d hired had found several homes that seemed like good choices, but almost all of them were in cookie cutter new neighborhoods. And I didn’t like that shit.
I needed space. Land. Peace and quiet.
She’d finally come through on a house that was secluded, surrounded by woods, but still within the city limits and a short commute to our Atlanta headquarters.
The price tag had been more than I’d wanted to spend, but I had the cash on hand, and I’d gone ahead and purchased it sight unseen.
From the moment the wheels of the plane touched down, I set to work getting the security system set up on the property and getting my shit all moved in. The house was considerably bigger than the apartment I owned in Vegas, so my furniture, while nice, barely filled the space. That was okay, though, I didn’t like clutter anyway.
I was having a beer on the back deck, overlooking the well-manicured yard, Seven in my lap purring contently when my phone rang. I snagged it from the table and groaned when I read the ID.
I should have sent the call to voicemail, but I knew she wouldn’t stop trying, so I put the phone to my ear.
“Hey, Ma.”
“Lawson Maxwell Reed,” she started and even at thirty damn years old, I knew the use of my full name meant I was in trouble. “You’ve been in town for a week and haven’t so much as called your mother?”
I took another swallow of my beer, the growl in my throat with it. “How’d you know I was in town?”
She clucked her tongue. “I’ll never give up my sources. That’s beside the point. When the hell are you going to get your ass home?”
I’d stopped rubbing Seven’s ears and she meowed in protest. I frowned at the three-pound cat in my lap, but resumed stroking her head and she closed her eyes, satisfied that she’d made her point. The same couldn’t be said for my mother, though, as she continued her rant.
“You know, you come home one time in eight years, which, in case you’ve forgotten was six years ago, and now that you’re back, apparently for good, you can’t be bothered to even call me?” Her voice was shrill, but then she paused, before dropping it to a whisper, her voice breaking as she asked, “What did I ever do to drive you away?” I could hear the sniffle she tried to conceal and I bit back a sigh.
“Ma, you didn’t do anything,” I told her, and to placate her, I promised, “Georgia’s gonna do a dinner. I’ll tell her to schedule it for tomorrow. I’ll come by early so we can spend time together first, yeah?”
She cleared her throat, the sound of tissue crinkling across the line. “So, your sister knows you’re home, but your mother doesn’t?”
Jesus.
“Dinner tomorrow.” My phone beeped, and when I checked saw it was my boss calling me. Thank fuck. “Look, got a call coming in. See you tomorrow.” I didn’t wait for her to respond. If she’d had the chance, she wouldn’t have simply said goodbye, but thrown in one last guilt trip I wasn’t in the mood
for.
“Reed,” I answered.
“Lawson. Need you to get down to headquarters. One of the guys got something you need to see.” The use of my first name caused me to pause.
