Page 15 of When We Were More (Aron Falls #1)
He counts us down, and we yell “Fuck you, Joe,” in unison. After, we stand there in the cool evening air, silent for a few seconds. Then Henry turns and walks over to the railing, staring out in the direction the sun is setting.
“It sure is a gorgeous view you have here, Matilda. I’d watch the sun set and rise out here every day if this was my home.” He doesn’t take his eyes off the landscape when he’s talking, seemingly caught up in the scenery.
I move and stand next to him.
“I try to catch as many of them as I can. I’ve loved looking out over this property since I was a little girl.
It’s funny, my dad always said he hated growing up here, ‘in the boonies,’ but I would have given anything to live here full time with my grandmother.
At least I got to spend some weeks here in the summer, though. ”
Henry turns and looks at me for a few seconds, like he’s searching my face. Before he can say anything else, I step back.
“The pizza’s getting cold. Shall we eat?”
He smiles at me and nods, but there’s a hint of worry in his eyes. I suppose I would be the same way if I walked up upon the situation he did. He grabs the pizza from the table, then holds the door open for me when we walk inside.
“We’ll eat on the couch, if that’s okay.” I set my martini on a coaster on the coffee table.
“Sure, I don’t mind.”
I grab paper plates, napkins, and two bottles of water before joining him on the couch.
He looks relaxed sitting there as if he belongs here, which is a strange thought for me to have.
It’s probably my brain acting weird because he looks damn good in jeans, a T-shirt with an open flannel button-up over top, and clean work boots.
Who looks good in that? Apparently, Henry does.
I sit, and Henry picks up a plate, then opens the pizza box.
“Two pieces for you?”
“One, please.” He puts a piece on the plate and hands it to me, along with a napkin, then he dishes out two pieces for himself. When he takes the first bite, he groans.
“Oh my God, this is incredible.” He pulls out his phone and takes a picture of the name and phone number for the pizza shop.
“You live in Aron Falls, and you’ve never had this pizza before?”
“Nope. But I promise you I will again. It’s delicious.” He looks up at me and grins. It makes him seem much younger than I suspect he is. “We’ve only lived in Aron Falls for about a year. Moved here from Meadow Creek once we relocated the company here.”
“I’ve only lived here full-time for five years. But I used to spend a lot of time here growing up. Have you met many people in the last year?” I take a bite of my pizza, and he’s right, it is delicious.
His eyes droop, and the corners of his mouth turn down.
“No, I’m embarrassed to say, I haven’t met many people at all, except for people who work for us.
I think being right on the edge of Meadow Creek has kept us from branching out more.
But we should… I should. I plan for this to be my home long term. ”
“Why’d you pick that far from downtown for the company’s location?”
He swallows his bite of pizza. “We had the property already. Fifty acres abutting the national park in Meadow Creek. My dad bought it from an uncle years ago. Now my four brothers and I own it. Well, we divided it evenly between each of us, and then the company sits on a few shared acres.
“There are five of you? I’ve only met two. You obviously do the construction end, and Holden does what, sales calls?”
“Yes, there are five of us. I’m a carpenter and the lead builder and CEO. Holden is n’t a salesman; he just happened to be helping out that day. He’s our structural engineer. His twin, Hayden, is our architect.”
“That’s three. What do the other two do?” Now I’m invested.
“Well, Harrison is an attorney. He handles all of our legal work, contracts, and that type of stuff, and Heath, he’s the baby, he plays professional football. He’s a wide receiver.”
“What? You have a brother who plays professional football?”
“Yep, plays for South Carolina. Heath Aron.”
My eyes widen—I imagine they’re bulging out. “Heath Aron is your brother? Are you kidding me?”
He laughs, and the sound of it makes me want to smile.
“Nope. Telling the truth. But please tell me you’re not one of those women who are in love with my brother because he’s rich and attractive.”
“Ew, no. I mean, he is hot, but have you seen his stats? He’s outstanding. I’m a big football fan. Your parents must be proud of you guys. You’re all so impressive.”
His face falls for a second before he masks whatever emotion he’s trying to hide.
“Um, my mom is, I think. Our dad died when I was twenty-two.” My hand holding my last bite of pizza freezes midway to my mouth. Then I set it back on the plate.
“I’m very sorry, Henry. That’s too young to lose someone you love…”
“Thanks. But I think it’s hard to lose someone you’re close to, no matter what age you are.”
I frown, thinking of Gram. “Yeah, you’re right. When my grandmother died earlier this year, it really broke me for a while. It still makes me very sad, and I miss her every day, but I’m able to celebrate her memory now rather than have it incapacitate me.”
“Do you have other family around?” His voice is soft, careful sounding.
I reach for my martini and take a sip. Then peer at him.
“I do. But we aren’t close. Our family is kind of…
unorthodox, I guess is how I would say it.
We’re not quite estranged, but we also don’t have an active part in each other’s lives.
My mom lives near Cleveland, and my sister travels a lot but stays with my mom when she’s in town.
I haven’t seen them in a long time, probably seven months ago at my cousin’s wedding.
My dad isn’t far, though. He’s over in Elladine, a little past the border. I see him occasionally but…”
“But?”
I shrug. “He’s not a very nice person. That’s all.”
I want to change the subject. Desperately. My drink is getting low, so I shake the ice around in my cup.
“Do you want something to drink besides water?”
“Nah, I’m good.” He wipes his mouth and hands with his napkin, then clears his throat. “I truly am sorry for my behavior the other day. It was inappropriate.”
I’m suddenly nervous. I lift my eyes to meet his gaze. “Are you sorry for all of it, or only what you said at the end?”
He watches me, his stare is intense.
“Truthfully?” I nod. “Just for the words I said to you at the end. My brain says I should regret the rest, but I don’t. I hope that doesn’t make you think I’m a creep.”
I laugh. “No, it doesn’t. I was as guilty as you were. I egged you on.”
His expression changes again, his features pinched. “I was mad at you for saying I was lying, but also for the way you talked about yourself. You’re a goddamn smoke show, Matilda. You must know that.”
I snort. Like a pig. Oh my God. I want to crawl under the table and hide. But Henry, he simply laughs. My cheeks heat, and I’m sure they’re bright red at this moment.
Then something strikes me.
“Wait a minute. Your brother is Heath Aron. Your last name is Aron.” I’m finally putting two and two together.
“Uh, yes…” He looks confused.
“As in Aron Falls?”
“Oh, yeah, my great-great-grandparents, I think it was, were founders of this town. Weird, huh?”
“No, I think it’s kind of cool. That you moved back here is even cooler. Getting back to your roots.” I smile at him.
“Yeah, I moved into a small cabin on the piece of property I inherited. It was a cabin my dad used to take us to when we were kids.” He pauses, looks away for a second, before turning back to me.
He clears his throat. “We’d stay there when we went on fishing trips or camping.
Dad’s dream was that he was gonna fix it up one day for him and my mom, but… ”
He’s quiet now. I want to say something to make it better, but there aren’t any words that will do that. I learned this from personal experience, of course, therefore I sit in silence with him.
He clears his throat, then looks back at me. “Since we’re friends now,” he pauses and smiles at me, “Do you want to tell me who Joe is?”
I’m quiet, but hold eye contact with him. I can tell when he gets nervous and realizes he might have asked something I didn’t want him to because he tenses.
“You don’t?—”
“He’s the someone who did a number on me.”