Coming Home to Love

Chapter 2-1

Chapter 2

Billy pushed his foot down on the gas pedal as he sped away from the center of Echo Ridge. He would rather have walked through a hornet’s nest than discover that he would be working next to Laney Richins. High school was eight years in his past, but when he’d walked into Paisley’s Petals and nearly tripped over his high school sweetheart, his heart had jumped back in time. For a second, when he’d looked into her chocolate-brown eyes, he’d almost forgotten how Laney had broken his heart, and every promise she’d made. He growled and gripped the steering wheel. They were teenagers back then, he knew that. Promises between two kids didn’t mean anything, but time hadn’t softened the blow that Laney had dealt him when she’d scorned her hometown, him, and his dreams.

It was ridiculous to feel this way, but Billy was already trying to find a way to keep from running into Laney again. Why hadn’t anyone told him that she’d come back to town? Of course, if it had been only two weeks, she might have been keeping a low-profile. Billy found himself turning down Aspen drive towards his parents’ home. Last week at Sunday dinner, his sister, Kelli had started to mention something about a new family in town and his mother had shut her down. Billy had a strange feeling that maybe his family had known about Laney’s arrival. The thought was enough to propel him forward. He parked his truck in the driveway and dashed up to the front door, knocking once and entering.

“Mom, are you home?”

“In the kitchen,” she answered.

Billy rounded the corner and saw his mother, Norma Redford, working a large mound of dough. “Hi, Mom.” He kissed her cheek, catching a whiff of the floral perfume she always wore.

“Hi yourself.” She pinched off a glob of dough, shaped it into a ball and placed it on a greased baking sheet. She had a smear of flour on her cheek that matched the gray sprinkled throughout her dark blond hair. “I’m making rolls for Winston Hyatt’s funeral tomorrow.”

“I’ll sit next to you and Dad. Mr. Hyatt was my favorite seventh-grade teacher.” Billy snagged a piece of dough and popped it into his mouth. “I’ll be sure to stop by later and taste-test them if you need.”

Norma pointed to the mound of dough. “If you’re here for a minute, you might as well help. That’d be better than snitching all my dough and getting a bellyache.” Norma’s blue eyes sparkled, and Billy was reminded how often Laney had commented that he’d inherited his mother’s eyes. He shook his head. He needed to stop thinking about Laney.

“How is Mrs. Hyatt doing?”

“Evangeline is taking his passing well, but she’s putting their property up for sale. Too much work for a woman her age.”

“Wow, that’s moving rather fast for Mrs. Hyatt, isn’t it?” Billy washed his hands in the sink and joined his mother in shaping rolls.

“Well, Winston’s health was failing for the past three years and they had already decided to move to the senior community. I hope she’ll be able to sell it. That place needs a lot of work, especially the old barn.”

Billy remembered how much he’d loved the Hyatts’ property as a kid. It was a couple miles outside of Echo Ridge and with the pasture, barn, and woodworking shop, it felt like it was in a country all by itself. “Laney and I used to sneak out there and throw rocks up in the rafters of the barn to spook the bats. They’d swoop out and Laney would scream with that high-pitched shriek. I was always sure she was going to wake the neighbors.” He swallowed, trying to phrase the next question casually. “Did you know she was back in town?”

“I heard.” Norma kept her head down, pinching dough and smoothing it into balls.

Billy squeezed the dough so tight, it squished between his fingers. “You knew? Why didn’t you say something?” Billy leaned down to look at his mother. “I ran into her at Paisley’s today and I don’t even know what came out of my mouth. I still can’t believe that she’s really here.”

“I hope you weren’t unkind to her.”

Billy groaned. “Mom, you should have told me she was here. I’m a big boy now. Besides, Laney is married. She probably has a family. I’m not interested in her.”

Norma clucked her tongue. “Laney is divorced, and it was a tough situation. She has a little boy. I think he’s four or five. She came home because she needs help.”

“She’s divorced?” For some reason, his heart lurched in his chest. Laney had married and divorced and he had yet to find the right woman, even though he’d been pretty close a couple years ago. “How do you know all this?”

“I saw Josi at the library a couple days after Laney moved back. She told me that Laney was worried about how people would react to her return. I think she really needs a friend.”

Laney’s mother, Josi Richins, was like a second mother to him. Billy hadn’t reconnected with her like he should have since moving back to Echo Ridge. At the time he’d been nursing his own wounded heart when his girlfriend of two years had decided to move to California with no strings attached. He shook his head, trying to dislodge the guilt and the memories. “Laney’s not here to stay. She’ll take what she needs and then leave.”

Norma brushed her hands on her apron. “Billy, that’s no way to speak about a woman you loved.”

“She was a girl. I was a boy. We’ve both grown up.”

“Maybe you haven’t grown up as much as you think.” Norma pinched his side. “You could still use more meat on these bones.”

“I’d better get back to work.” Billy jumped on the change of subject and washed his hands again. “Thanks for letting me stop by.”

“Thanks for helping me with the rolls. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Billy pulled out of the driveway and headed toward the Hyatts’ farm. He drove until he caught sight of the realtor’s sign hanging next to the white-fenced property. Billy pulled up beside it and gazed at the familiar structures. Some parts of the barn were over one hundred years old. The wood shop was the original homestead, and nearly two-hundred years old. The Hyatt’s brick home was newer, but still a hundred years if it was a day. His mother was right. Everything needed a lot of work. Billy jotted down the number. He told himself that he was just curious, but deep down, he knew it was more than that. He’d always dreamed of raising a family on a farm like the Hyatts’. Working in the shop, fixing up the barn, raising chickens, and riding horses—it was a dream that he’d shared with Laney when they were young. She had loved the idea and told him that she would be a city mouse and a country mouse at the same time if she could live like the Hyatts.

It seemed like every good memory he had growing up was touched by Laney Richins. They weren’t just high school sweethearts, they were best friends. When she left, she took a piece of his heart with her. Up until the moment he saw her today, he hadn’t realized it, but all these years later, Billy worried that maybe Laney still had that piece of his heart.