Circle on Home (Lost in a Boom Town Book 5) (2 page)

He wanted to hide his sister away until he knew how his father’s behavior had changed. If it had. Selena’s disability had always pissed his father off, always, and he’d blamed it on their mother. Noah couldn't remember if his father had beaten his mother before Selena was born, but he’d beaten the shit out of her after. One of Noah’s biggest regrets was that he hadn't been brave enough to protect his mother. Once he’d gotten bigger, he’d step between them, and when he was home, their father hadn't hit her as much.

Just killed her when he’d run off the road while driving drunk, taking another family with her, while the old man walked away.

Noah’s chest tightened. And he’d brought this man back into his home.

“Here’s your room,” Noah said, resisting the urge to apologize for the makeshift room. They’d added insulation to the room, and quick plywood walls to cover all but two windows. They’d added a bed and a dresser and curtains to give him privacy. He didn't have a closet but he couldn't have that much stuff after being in prison. Noah wished he’d built a bathroom. The less he had to see of the old man, the better for all of them.

He was surprised his father didn't walk into the room and close the door behind him. Instead, he put down his small knapsack and turned to face his sons. Ben hadn't said a word.
 

“Where’s your sister?” his father asked in a voice rough with disuse.
 

“In her room.”

“I would like to see her.”

“Ah. We thought we’d get you settled in first.”

His father squared his shoulders, no longer as imposing as they used to be. “Is she all right? Does she know I’m coming home?”

“She doesn't remember you,” Noah said. She’d been nine when she lost her parents.
 

He watched his father’s reaction, but there was only a thinning of his lips, not an accusation that Noah had never brought her to the prison to see him. Not an accusation that Noah and Ben had never come themselves.
 

“Are you going to hide her from me?”

Noah would not let his father goad him. “You’ll see her at dinner.” He took a step back. “I’ll be back—I have some animals to check on.” He glanced at his brother, who stood with his hands clenched at his sides. “Ben, you going to see about dinner?”

Ben made a sound, but turned away and toward the kitchen.
 

Their father grunted and turned into the room. Noah hated that he felt a weight roll off of him as he walked out the door and down to the barn.
 

He had some animals he’d brought here to keep a closer eye on, and he checked on the two horses and the heifer. Usually he didn't keep animals on his property, but he knew with his father home that he wouldn't be able to go on emergency calls. He thought he might have to spend the night in the barn to keep an eye on the mare, who had a foot infection.

Right now he was grateful it gave him a reason to escape the house, though he felt guilty at the same time. The guilt had him moving a little faster than he might have ordinarily done and headed back to the house.
 

He was stunned to walk back into the kitchen to see his father sitting at the table with Selena as Ben turned pork chops in the skillet on the stove. His father’s expression was….peaceful. At least that was Noah’s interpretation. He’d never seen that expression on his father’s face. He was listening to his daughter as she chattered. Noah wondered if she even knew who she was talking to. He placed a fond hand on his sister’s shoulder and headed to the bathroom to clean up.
 

Selena carried most of the conversation during dinner, talking about her job at the Coyote Moon Bar and Grill, where she bussed tables. She was treated so well that Noah, who’d spent his life protecting her, didn't think twice about dropping her off at work. And she liked it, liked seeing the people and liked feeling useful. She kept up with the gossip better than he thought she might.
 

He wondered for a moment if his dad might find a job there, too, but dismissed the idea. The Coyote served alcohol, and that went against the terms of Rey’s parole.
 

He was going to have to find a job somewhere, and Noah didn't think the oilfields were hiring, not unskilled labor, anyway.

He wasn't going to worry about that now. He started to relax at the dinner table, until Ben got up to get a beer out of the refrigerator.
 

Damn it, he’d told Ben to get rid of the beer, not wanting it around his father to tempt him. He and his father both stiffened as Ben tossed the cap onto the table and dropped back into his chair. He lifted the bottle to his lips and met Noah’s gaze. Noah saw the defiance there even as Ben tilted his head back to take a swig.
 

Great. He was daring his father to become a crazy drunk again, maybe take his aggression out on Selena this time. What an idiot. He’d see to the beer himself once dinner was done, if he had to pour it down the sink in front of all of them.

When he didn't react, Ben set the half-empty bottle on the table with enough force to make it foam.

“I’m going into town.”

Noah’s stomach tightened. Ben was a grown man and old enough to know not to drink and drive, but he was acting irrationally with their father home. He didn't want his brother to do something stupid just because he was pissed off. But he knew Ben well enough to know he would do the opposite of whatever Noah said to him right now. So Noah kept his mouth shut.
 

Once Ben left, Noah rose to clean the kitchen as usual, and Selena stepped up to help him.

“Why don't you take Dad out on the porch with some iced tea?” he suggested. As much as his gut wanted to keep them apart, they were all living in the same house. The two of them needed to get to know each other, to spend time together.
 

He wished he could he could feel close enough to his father to take him to the barn to show him the animals, show him what he knew how to do now, but all he could hear was his father bitching when he’d brought home another cat or dog to tend, “another mouth to feed.”

Part of him wanted so badly to show his father what he’d made of himself, but the greater part couldn't allow him to do it. He’d never felt comfortable in his father’s presence. He wondered why he thought he could start now.

And what was going to happen in this house? It was his house now, but it was his father’s, too. Which one of them would go?

Chapter Two

Miranda stood on her mother’s front porch and forced her shoulders to relax. She should have told her mother she was returning to Evansville. She hadn't told her mother that she’d left Damian. Hadn't told her mother she had left her job. Hadn't told her mother that she wanted to come back to Texas, where life was simple, where there were no expectations. So maybe coming back to her mother’s house wasn't the best idea. She’d thought about taking a room at the hotel on the highway, but she knew her mother would be hurt more by that than by the news that she’d left her jet-setting life behind.
 

She lifted her hand and knocked on the door.
 

Her sister Allison answered, her bouncy ponytail swinging, dressed in jeans and a fitted t-shirt, looking like she was on her way out. Her eyes widened to see Miranda on the porch.

“Hey! What…did we forget to pick you up?” Allison looked over Miranda's shoulder, then over her own.
 

“No, I, ah, I picked up a car in San Antonio.”

“You picked up a car?” She stretched on her toes to look out on the street. “How long are you staying?”

She really didn't want to have this conversation more than once, and she didn't want to have it on the porch. “Is Mom here?”

“Sure, she’s in the back, but we’re having our Christmas festival meeting. What’s wrong?”

She wished she was close enough to her sister to confide in her, but the truth was, they’d always been more competitive than confidential. She’d never really minded until now. She could sure use someone who wasn't looking for her downfall to talk to.
 

She took a step forward and wondered for a moment if Allison would let her in. “Should I come back?” Miranda asked, only half-sarcastically.

“No, come in,” Allison replied, only half-enthusiastically. “She’ll be thrilled to see you.”

She followed her sister into the house that smelled like cinnamon although the temperature outside was still in the 80s. Her mother loved to decorate for fall—or what passed for fall in Texas. The walls were adorned with leafy garlands and wooden pumpkins, more pumpkins and sheafs of wheat stood on the banquet and the end tables. Miranda had just left a true fall in New York—her mother would have loved it, except for the temperature. She was a Texan through and through—temperatures in the 40s were not for her.

She rounded the corner into the sunroom her father had built for her mother, where the ladies of the committee gathered. A squeal echoed off the glass windows that lined the room, and her mother launched herself off the couch and flung her arms around Miranda, sending her back a few steps.
 

“What a surprise! What are you doing here? Oh, my goodness, I wish you’d let me know you were coming. I would have made a good dinner instead of leftovers from last night. Oh, I’m so happy to see you!” She turned away, presenting Miranda to the women in the committee, all of whom knew her. She gave a small wave to Sage McKenna—no, Tscheulin now, Victoria Kenilworth—she couldn't remember her married name, Evelyn Dawson and her daughter Maggie.
 

“I’m sorry to interrupt.”

“No! No, not at all. We’re just going over some last minute details, but we’re about done.”
 

The other women took her not-so-subtle hint and started gathering their belongings. Miranda got a few cheek kisses as the women filed out, and a hand-squeeze from Maggie as she asked if they could have lunch. She liked Maggie, who was a couple of years younger, Allison’s age, but Maggie and she had become close when their mothers were on so many committees together. She wasn't ready to make social plans just yet, so she only smiled at the younger woman.

“So what’s going on? To what do we owe this visit?” her mother asked, sitting on the edge of the carpet, once the committee was gone and just the three of them remained in the room that suddenly felt empty.

“Ah. Well. Damian and I ended things.”
 

Her mother reared back, her mouth a perfect O. “No. That’s not possible. You are perfect for each other. He treats you so well, takes you so many places.”

God, she didn't want to go into this. She knew her mother would take up for Damian, because she thought he walked on water. Miranda supposed to the outside world, he did, but when they were alone, well, she wasn't very happy. He was jealous and controlling and she didn't want to be in a relationship like that. She needed her independence. And she needed a man who would trust her.
 

“We decided it was best for both of us to end it.”

She’d decided. She had. And it had taken every ounce of nerve she possessed to confront him, to tell him she wasn't happy, hadn't been since she’d returned home from Evansville last summer. It hadn't gone as well as she had hoped, and he had accused her of being unappreciative of all the experiences he'd given her. She’d dealt with his condescension when they were together, his jealousy after parties and after business meetings, but she’d never seen the full-fledged anger he’d demonstrated when she ended their relationship. She’d wanted to cower from his temper, but didn't allow herself. She was a strong woman. She’d gone to college away from home, and had traveled the world, lived in the most exciting city in the world. Damian had swept a small-town girl off her feet, so cosmopolitan and suave and handsome. And at the end of it, she’d wanted nothing more than to get back home to her small-town roots.

But she couldn't say that to her family.
 

“Oh, surely the two of you can work things out.” Her mother patted her leg and rose. “But in the meantime, let me make up a nice dinner, and we’ll enjoy your visit.”

Miranda met her sister’s eyes before Allison turned away, and she saw that her sister was reading between the lines just fine.

Great. The last person she wanted to figure it out was her baby sister.

*****

After dinner, her mother wasn’t happy to sit home and let Miranda relax. Oh, no. She wanted to go out and show everyone that her baby was home. Miranda’s mind was nowhere near wanting to socialize with people. But she also didn't have the wherewithal to stand up to her mother, so she went along to the Sagebrush Saloon. The three of them stopped short when they didn't see any cars parked in front of the former movie theater, and when Allison stepped up to check, the doors were locked.