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  His father nodded, before finally saying, “Good. Glad to see you back, Andrew. I noticed you’d already dropped off your stuff.”

  “Thank you, Dad. It’s good to be home.”

  “You look so great, honey.” His mother beamed as her eyes silently inspected every square inch of his body. It was almost as if she were trying to figure out everything he’d done over the last few years.

  Andrew wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but it certainly wasn’t this. “You guys are being a little nicer than I deserve. What’s up?”

  “Your mother is just glad to have you home.” His father remained stoic, his lips pinched together. The Montgomery men were known for being stubborn, and Andrew expected nothing less from his father. “She told me not to screw things up with you and said I had to be cordial. So, here I am, being cordial, even though I think you owe your mother a very big damn apology.”

  Andrew gulped down the lump that had developed in the back of his throat. He was almost glad to hear the anger in his father’s voice. He turned to look at his mother. “I’m so sorry, Mom. I know I should have come back earlier. I hope you’ll forgive me.”

  “Done. I forgive you, honey. Now, come on inside.” His mother beamed as she reached for his hand. “I can tell you’ve already been up to your room. What do you think?”

  “Yeah, you guys could have changed up my room. You didn’t have to keep it exactly the same as I left it fifteen years ago. Don’t most parents turn their kid’s rooms into workout spaces after they leave?”

  “Trust me. I told Mom several times she should throw away all your stuff away and put in a treadmill and stationary bike,” Miles said, from somewhere behind Andrew. “She refused, and decided to leave your room the exact same.”

  Andrew turned to look at Miles. “Did they change your room?”

  “Nah. They love it when I come over.” Miles punched Andrew in the arm. “My room reminds me of our high school glory days.”

  Andrew looked back over at his mom. She stood silently in the middle of the hallway, a huge smile stretched across her face. It was the same smile he remembered seeing when she watched them play soccer back in high school.

  “It’s so good to hear you two bickering again.” Her eyes glistened. “I’m so happy you’re both here right now. My boys are back together.”

  “Thanks, Mom. I’d love to keep this going, but I need to get back to work. My boss can be a little tough when I take too long on my lunch breaks.” Miles winked at his father. “Andrew, are you planning on coming to my bachelor party tonight?”

  “No.”

  “Whatever. I’ll pick your ass up at seven. I refuse to let you be a complete bum on this trip. Everyone wants to see you. Besides, it’s my wedding, so I’m calling the shots.”

  “Fine. I guess I can make an appearance.”

  “If you don’t want to do it for me, do it for Mom. I haven’t seen her this giddy in more than a decade.” Miles leaned over to give their mom a peck on the cheek. “See you later, big brother.”

  ***

  Andrew heard the roar of his brother’s truck as it came to a halt outside. His afternoon had gone by quickly. Oddly, it felt good to be back. He hadn’t expected to feel this way, but it was nice knowing he was home.

  His brother started yelling as soon as Andrew walked out the door. “Well, brother, don’t you look pretty tonight!” He whistled.

  Andrew looked down at his tan cargo shorts, Hawaiian-style button-down shirt, and flip-flops. He hadn’t been sure what to wear, but he’d figured this would do for a night out in Sable Falls. Things were never really fancy in this place.

  “Thanks.” He shrugged. The shirt almost felt a little tight across his chest. Under his clothes, his arms and legs were rock solid. Fifteen years in the Marines did that to you. Miles looked as if he spent some time in a gym, but even more at the bar.

  “Dude, you’re definitely ripped.” Miles didn’t even try to hide his gawking as he gestured like he was flexing his own muscles, but it was obvious he wasn’t anywhere near Andrew’s size.

  “I spend a lot of time at the gym.” Andrew walked around to the other side of the truck and climbed into the passenger seat. The two sat in silence for several seconds. The smell of Miles’s musky cologne filled the cab. It was almost too much and Andrew thought about rolling down a window, but didn’t.

  Finally, Miles turned towards him. “Did you ever kill anyone?” he asked, his eyes growing big. “Seriously, you’ve got to tell me the truth.”

  Andrew looked his brother in the eye. He didn’t want to answer that question. Some things were better left alone.

  “Crap. Sorry, that question may have been a little insensitive. I meant, did you ever shoot anyone over there?” Miles tried to clarify, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

  Andrew took a deep breath. “Yes.”

  “Really? Like, you really shot someone?”

  “Yes.”

  “Wow. I’m so proud of you for going over there and fighting for our country. Dude, you are awesome!” Miles beamed. “My twin brother, the bad-ass Marine!”

  “Thanks. Now, let’s talk about something else. What exactly are we doing this evening?” Andrew pulled at his seatbelt, hoping for a change in the conversation.

  Miles’s expression grew serious again. “Well, my fiancée has put strict limitations on me. I was told that we couldn’t have any strippers or cigars. So, it looks like we will have to settle for beer and darts. Work for you?”

  “Hell yeah,” Andrew looked out the window. It felt as if it was just the other day that he’d loaded up his old Honda Accord and driven out of town. At that time, he hadn’t even looked back in his rearview mirror. That day, he’d only looked forward, not really sure where life would take him, but happy to finally be getting out.

  After he’d enlisted, things had gone pretty quickly. He’d enjoyed the adrenaline rush of being on the front lines, knowing it only took one misstep and he could have been killed. Maybe that’s why he had managed to come back stateside with only a couple of bruises: he hadn’t been afraid of death. He’d welcomed it, but for some reason, it hadn’t welcomed him.

  The drive to George’s only took a few minutes. Andrew finally rolled down the window and inhaled deeply as he took in the sights of his hometown. Even the air outside smelled the same. It was thick with humidity—the kind that made every pore open. It brought back a lot of memories from his childhood.

  “Doesn’t it feel good to be home?” Miles turned the truck into the parking lot. “Look at the amazing place you’ve been missing out on all this time.”

  Andrew pinched his lips together and raised his eyebrows. “We’re coming back here? We just left a few hours ago.”

  Miles’s jaw fell open. “This is the best place in town. You would know that if you hadn’t decided to bolt on us.”

  “I didn’t bolt.”

  “You sure did leave in a hurry.”

  “I had to leave.”

  “You could have called.”

  “I could have, but I didn’t feel like it,” Andrew said, angered by the sudden shift in conversation. Tonight was supposed to be a fun night, not one spent reminiscing about the things Andrew had done wrong.

  “You’re still an asshole.” Miles huffed.

  “I know, but I’m here now.” Andrew pushed ahead of Miles and walked into the bar.

  Miles pointed toward the back. “Let’s go back there. That’s where the rest of the group is going to meet us.”

  Just as Andrew was about to head in that direction, he heard a familiar voice.

  “Well, well, well. The illustrious Andrew Montgomery has decided to return to the land of the living.”

  Andrew turned to come face to face with Warren, who was standing less than three feet away with his hands on his hips. His face was more swollen than Andrew recalled. His high school friend had easily gained twenty pounds, if not more. His hair had thinned out.

  A grin spread across Warren’
s face, displaying a row of perfectly straight, pearly-white teeth as he leaned in to hug Andrew. “Hey, buddy. It’s about freakin’ time you showed your mug back in town.”

  Warren pulled back and laid one of his well-manicured hands on Andrew’s shoulder. “It’s good to see you back home.”

  “Good to see you too.” Andrew stared back at Warren, trying to understand the wave of different emotions that had overcome him. His friend looked the same, only a bit older and heavier. Warren was wearing a baby-blue fishing shirt with short sleeves, a thick gold watch, khaki pants, and a pair of leather sandals.

  “I guess we should have married off Miles a couple of years ago.” Warren snorted as he patted Miles on the back. “Then maybe your ass wouldn’t have stayed away so long.”

  “Maybe.” Andrew was still unsure how he felt about seeing his old friend. They’d been so close in high school, but that was a long time ago.

  “Hell no,” Miles shouted, breaking through Andrew’s thoughts. “I wasn’t ready to settle down back then, but now…now I’m ready. And I’ve found an amazing woman who will put up with me.”

  “Sure. Sure. Sure. That’s what we all say. Run while you can, brother. I’m not sure an ‘amazing’ woman exists.” Warren grabbed a beer from the bar and took a long swig. “Once they get their claws into you, there’s no leaving. They just nag you.”

  “I heard you married Cassie. Congratulations.” Andrew glanced at Warren, and then raised his hand to call the bartender.

  “Do you want her back? ’Cause you can have her.” Warren bellowed. “I think it’s only fair I give her back to you. Just drive by my house in the morning and pick her up. I’ll even let her take some of her clothes and other crap. You might need to bring a U-Haul truck. She has a lot of shoes.”

  “Nope. I think you’re the right man for her.” Andrew lifted his beer bottle toward Warren. The conversation between them felt a little stiff. Maybe it was the way Warren was looking at Andrew right now. There was something about the encounter that wasn’t sitting well with Andrew. It was almost as if Warren was trying too hard.

  “Shit. At least me and Cassie only have to put up with each other for another twelve years, or until we can get our kids out of the house.” Warren began to peel the label off his beer bottle. “Then she can go and find her true Prince Charming.”

  “That’s right. Miles told me you have kids now.” Andrew took a swig of cold beer, and then reached for the tiny bowl of peanuts. They were warm and still in the shell.

  “Yep. We got out of high school and I managed to get her knocked up within a year. We have a daughter who’s almost fourteen, another one that’s ten, and then, finally, I got my boy, but he’s only six. They’re good kids. Sometimes a little too much like their momma, but overall they’re pretty good.”

  Despite the edge in his voice, Warren sounded like he had in high school. Nothing had really changed about him. He was still loud and obnoxious. Andrew thought about how everyone else seemed to have stayed the same, but he had changed both inside and out.

  “Hey, I heard you’re now a Marine.”

  “Yes,” Andrew said, hoping that would be the end of the questions about his military service.

  “That’s pretty bad ass, dude. You look like one big fighting machine.”

  Andrew never knew how to respond to those sorts of remarks. He wasn’t just a fighting machine. He was a soldier, but also a human being.

  “I guess.” He shrugged. “Look, I’m really not in the mood to talk about me tonight.”

  “Fine. Now that you’re back, give me a call sometime. I’ve got some nice properties I want to show you.”

  Miles laughed as he came up behind Warren and slapped him on the shoulder. “You just can’t stop, can you?”

  “Selling is in my blood. Besides, if I don’t sell properties, then my wife starts to get angry, and my children go hungry,” Warren responded.

  Miles looked over at Andrew. “Our buddy Warren has become quite the realtor for this part of the state. He’s also been very helpful in connecting Montgomery Industries to some nice investments.”

  “Great. Let’s drink.” Andrew ignored his brother’s last statement and guzzled the rest of his beer. He really didn’t want to hear the sound of Warren’s voice anymore. They may have been good friends in their childhood, but now they didn’t seem to have anything in common. Andrew couldn’t pinpoint it, but there was something about Warren that gave him a bad vibe tonight.

  “C’mon.” Miles pointed toward the back of the restaurant. “Let’s go get a table. The night is just starting.”

  When they reached Miles’s preferred spot, Andrew grabbed a seat at one of the high-tops. It’s where he ended up sitting for the next three hours, nursing several bottles of beer while listening to old country songs. The conversation had grown lively as more and more of their high school friends stopped by to congratulate Miles.

  Andrew had forgotten how much fun he used to be.

  Finally, one of the bartenders came over and let the group know they were being cut off.

  “Aww, come on, Lester. Just a few more,” Miles slurred, slamming his beer bottle down.

  “Nope.” The bartender shook his head and crossed his beefy arms. “I get that your last name is Montgomery, but I still have to cut you off. Goodnight.”

  “Fine, but you do realize you’re killing the fun at my bachelor party?” Miles sprawled across the table. “That makes you a fun killer. A really big fun killer. The biggest fun killer there ever was.”

  “Sorry. Talk to your dad. He’s aware that you boys are being cut-off, and he agrees with it.” The tough look in Lester’s eyes said it all—he had no intention of caving to Miles Montgomery. “Besides, it’s not the first time I’ve been called a fun killer.”

  “Alrighty, gentlemen. Let’s go back to my place. I’ve got a stocked fridge and a nice porch just waiting for all of us,” Miles drunkenly declared as he stood with a proud look on his face and pointed toward the door.

  They slowly filed out of the bar and jumped into a series of trucks parked right outside.

  Andrew looked out the window as they drove through the town and out into the country. “Where do you live?”

  “Just a couple miles away,” Miles slurred back. “It’s a little place I bought not too long ago.”

  They sped down the road, and suddenly, Andrew knew exactly where they were. An old cross sat at a point near the curve. His brother had obviously gone by it so many times he didn’t even slow down. He just kept driving.

  Several sets of bright headlights followed close behind them as they turned down a narrow pathway lined with large oak trees.

  Finally, they pulled up to an old two-story wooden house with a large wraparound front porch.

  “This is it.” Miles turned off the ignition. “Home sweet home.”

  “Wow, it looks really nice.” Andrew said, peering out the window.

  “Oh, just wait…You haven’t seen the inside yet.”

  Miles jumped out of the truck and headed toward the house. Even in the moonlight, Andrew could tell that, though the house was old, it had good bones. Miles swung open a screen door that creaked from the sudden movement. As they entered, Andrew let out a deep breath.

  “I see now.”

  The inside looked as if it hadn’t had any major work done in several decades. Old yellow and maroon laminate covered the kitchen floor. All of the appliances looked like they were original and probably didn’t work.

  “Don’t worry. In a couple of months this place will look different.”

  “What does your fiancée think?”

  “Oh, she wants me to sell it and get a place in town, but this house is perfect for us, and besides, I’ve got more than four hundred acres.”

  “Whoa.” Andrew whistled. “How’d you manage to buy this?” Andrew genuinely wondered how his brother had been able to make such a purchase.

  “Business with Dad has been good. Brother, you really shoul
d look at joining us again.” Miles punched Andrew on the arm just as the others began to file in behind them. “It’s been really good. I can’t complain.”

  Andrew could hear his father’s voice when Miles spoke. Everything was always “good.”

  “Plus, my plan is to open up a vineyard here, on the back half of the property. I’ve been trying to convince Dad that it’s time for Montgomery Industries to get into the wine business.” Miles nodded. “The soil is perfect out here.”

  “And how’s that idea sitting with Dad?”

  “Good, big brother. Very good. Trust me, it’s going to happen. We’ve got three bars, so this would be the perfect extension to that side of the business.”

  “Wow. I didn’t realize how much things had changed.” Even though he hadn’t been around for fifteen years, Andrew knew his father. Wayne Montgomery was a builder. He worked long hours outside and was one of the most punctual people Andrew had ever known. He did not seem like someone who would be in the restaurant, bar, and wine business.

  “Yeah. See what happens when you disappear off the face of the earth for a decade plus? You don’t get to see how certain people change.”

  “Has Dad really changed that much?”

  “Hell no.” Miles laughed. “But he’s thinking about ways he can make Mom happy, and a vineyard would definitely make her smile.”

  More headlights descended down Miles’s driveway.

  “How many people are coming over?”

  “Everyone. I’ve got a stocked fridge.” Miles grinned, then made what sounded like a coyote call. “It’s my last night as a single man, and the fun has only just begun.”

  Chapter Nine

  Andrew pressed on the accelerator as Miles’s truck roared down the main road, back toward town. The rest of the guys were still crashed out at his brother’s house from the night before.

  He wasn’t sure when everyone had fallen asleep, but at some point, they’d each drunkenly retreated to various parts of the house, several of them had passed out on the back porch.