Page 97 of The Cinnamon Bun Book Store

Maybe if he’d finished school...

Maybe if he’d gone to college...

Maybe if he’d tried to actually learn something from his parents...

Maybe if he wasn’t such a screw-up...

A failure...

He stood up suddenly, enough that the woman across from him looked up with a surprised scowl.

‘Sorry,’ he whispered again, stacking his papers and grabbing his phone. He had to get out of here. He needed a break. He’d almost learned to block out that voice that criticized him so harshly, the one that had kept him away from home and his family for so long. But sometimes it crept back in.

He used to think it was his dad’s voice, but lately it was sounding a lot like his own.

He made his way through what could only be described as a herd of toddlers heading toward story time and out into the fresh air of the afternoon. It was cool today, fall weather starting to push out summer’s heat. A few early trees had even started to turn yellow around the edges. His tours had started to slow down and in another week he’d be back home, crashing on Rachel’s couch. He always felt melancholy as the weather changed, but this year the feeling was magnified. The end of summer, the end of long, hot days, the end of his time with the sexy bookseller.

He didn’t want to think that last one was true.

The walk home was over a mile but he was glad he’d left his car at the marina. He needed the walk, the fresh air, the chance to clear his mind. He tried to organize his thoughts as he went, sorting through what still needed to be done. The list was long and didn’t do much to ease his anxiety. Not to mention he didn’t know how he would feel being home after so long.

But when he got closer to the water, the salt air filling his lungs, he felt better. Even more so when he saw the little shacks on the beach, especially the one he’d fixed up. It looked damn good. If he could just get this bureaucratic stuff taken care of, maybe he could actually pull this off.

His phone rang as soon as he was in the house.

He answered, expecting to see his nieces’ faces filling the screen. He did not expect to be ambushed by his parents and his sisters. Panic shot through him.The baby.

‘Uh ... hi? Is everyone okay?’

‘Rachel mentioned you might come home to help out for a while,’ his mom said, diving right in. Her voice was filled with more hope than he deserved.

‘Uh ... yeah. I was thinking about it.’

‘I told you. Pay up.’ Rachel held her hand out and Kristen slapped a bill into it.

‘You bet on it?!’ Noah said.

‘Of course. No one believed me.’

‘How much?’

‘Twenty.’

‘Kristen, you bet I wouldn’t actually do it?’

His sister shrugged. ‘This was just over whether or not you even said it. Higher stakes for if you actually come home or not.’

‘Girls, that’s terrible,’ their mother admonished.

His sisters rolled their eyes in sync with each other.

‘Don’t bet on your brother not coming home. He would never let his nieces who adore him down. Or his big sister who needs him. Or his mother for that matter. Right, Noah?’

‘Wow, Mom. Really laying it on thick,’ Kristen said.

‘By whatever means necessary,’ their mother said, and Rachel laughed.

‘Jesus, Mom,’ Noah muttered.