Since You've Been Gone (Welcome to Paradise) (3 page)

He wasn’t sure he wanted to say goodbye to her yet. Not only was she smart, funny and utterly entertaining, but her presence was a much-needed distraction. For the first time in forever, he wasn’t thinking about his family troubles. He felt centered and relaxed, and the quirky woman beside him was definitely responsible for that blessed state of being.

Which was why he found himself slowing down when a bright-blue sign came into view.

Welcome to Haven!

Haven, Iowa. That was one of the towns on his list, wasn’t it?

“Can you do me a favor?” he said to Mari, who’d fallen silent and was diligently scribbling in her sketchbook.

She lifted her head. “What’s up?”

“Grab that messenger bag from the backseat? There’s some papers in the front pocket, a long list of locations. Can you check if Haven, Iowa is on the list?”

Nodding, Mari closed the sketchpad and twisted around in her seat. A minute later, she confirmed what his photographic memory had told him. Haven was on the list.

“Do you mind if we stop?” he asked. “I’m not obligated to do every town on the list—it’s more of a guideline—but I remember liking the look of this one when I researched them all online.”

Okay, that was a lie. He didn’t remember Haven one bit, but he’d photographed enough Main Streets these last few days that he was fairly confident he could conjure up an accurate description if Mari pressed for details.

Luckily, she didn’t. Instead, she smiled broadly. “Sure, it sounds like fun.”

He tried to hide his surprise, but clearly some of it showed on his face, because she furrowed her delicate reddish eyebrows. “What, you don’t believe me?”

“No, I believe you,” he answered. “I’m just not used to women looking so enthusiastic about taking a spontaneous detour so I can snap some pictures. The ones I dated in the past griped and complained about how impulsive I am.”

“Like I said, I’m in no hurry,” Mari replied with a shrug. “Besides, I’m all about spontaneity.”

Less than ten minutes later, they drove along the picturesque Main Street of Haven, Iowa, quickly finding parking in front of a small café with an outdoor patio. Not surprisingly, Haven’s Main Street was similar to the half-dozen streets he’d already visited, boasting the same cobblestone sidewalks, old-fashioned lampposts, and wrought-iron everything. But this one had a lot more charm than he’d expected. The storefronts lining the street were colorful, and the random residents ambling down the sidewalk didn’t hesitate to smile and say hello to the newcomers. Austin knew small-towners tended to be friendlier than city folk, but he hadn’t been greeted by this many people in the previous towns he’d gone to.

It took a few minutes to realize that most of the smiling, hello-chirping people were greeting
Mari
, who beamed and waved at everyone who walked by.

“Oh my God, this is the cutest town,” she gushed. “I wish I’d grown up in a place like this.”

As she stopped to admire the gleaming window of an antique shop at the corner of the row, Austin scanned the street, his photographer’s eye taking in his surroundings. His camera bag was slung over his shoulder, but he wasn’t ready to start shooting yet.

“Aren’t you going to take pictures?” Mari asked, noticing that his bag was still closed.

“Not yet. I’m absorbing first.”

Rather than question him, she simply nodded, as if she understood exactly where he was coming from.

“I’m serious, this place is incredible,” she said, smiling at two little girls who rushed by holding ice-cream cones. “It’s so…gosh, the only word I can think of is
innocent
. Do you know what I mean?”

Austin nodded in agreement, then turned to study the beautiful limestone fountain in the middle of the square. The little girls with the ice cream had flopped down on one of the old-fashioned benches near the fountain, bringing to life that vision of innocence Mari had mused about.

“That would make a great shot,” Mari said, reading his thoughts as she gestured to the girls in the square.

“Yeah, but I’d have to get their parents to sign a release if I wanted to use the shots, and that’s too much of a hassle for a quick detour. I can still shoot the fountain, though.”

They crossed the little walkway that led to the town square and stopped at an unoccupied bench, Austin unsnapping the padded bag that held his digital SLR. After he’d adjusted the settings and investigated the lighting situation, he got to work, snapping frame after frame, while Mari wandered around the perfectly manicured lawn.

It didn’t take long for him to get the shots he needed, and soon he was swinging his camera in Mari’s direction, the shutter clicking as he admired his new subject. Her strawberry-blond hair gleamed in the sunlight like coppery gold that had been polished until it shone, and her petite body looked amazing in those little shorts and tight top. And man, her face was so expressive it amazed him. Those light-blue eyes advertised her every emotion, whether it was delight, joy or the annoyance she now flashed the camera.

“Hey, the spread isn’t called Mari of the Midwest,” she called out. “Get back to work, buddy.”

“I’m all done,” he replied as he headed toward the big elm tree she was leaning against. “Besides, you make a better subject than some boring old street.”

She glared at him. “This place is not boring. It’s beautiful and I never want to leave.”

Austin laughed. “Yeah, I don’t want to leave, either.”

“Good, so let’s stay a little while longer. Buy me an ice-cream cone?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

They left the square and walked back to the row of shops, taking their time as they made their way to the ice-cream parlor.

“I’m serious, I want to move here,” Mari announced. “This town is perfect.”

“It actually reminds me a lot of Paradise,” he admitted. “It’s got the same vibe.”

“Really? And yet you’re delaying going home? What’s wrong with you?”

As discomfort climbed up his spine, he swiftly turned the tables on her. “What about you? Des Moines can’t be as bad as you make it out to be. I’ve been there before, and it’s not a total hellhole.”

“No, but I still hated every minute of living there.”

Mari moved aside to let a trio of teenage boys on mountain bikes cycle by, and Austin noticed that all three males twisted their heads to check out the curvy redhead. The ogling even caused one of the cyclists to swerve and nearly hit a trashcan, which made Austin snicker.

“You’re drawing a lot of attention,” he informed her.

“It’s the short-shorts. I think I’m the only female in this town who’s willing to show her thighs.”

She was right—as Austin glanced around, he noticed that every woman in their vicinity was covered at least to the knees, if not all the way to the ankles. Mari’s little denim shorts were by far the most revealing item of clothing he could see.

Mari let out a sigh. “I guess I’m not wholesome enough for this place.”

They reached the ice-cream parlor and ducked inside, emerging a few minutes later with their prizes. Mari had ordered a large waffle cone with two scoops of rocky road, and as she tackled her treat, Austin all but forgot about his own chocolate cone.

She looked so sexy, her tongue darting in and out to lap at the ice cream until his cock was rock-hard beneath his jeans. Shit. He hoped nobody noticed the hard-on, but he couldn’t seem to control the rising arousal.

Trying not to focus on the pressure down below, he led her away from the ice-cream shop. “Let’s walk for a bit.”

As they set off down the sidewalk again, he impulsively took her hand, which caused her eyebrows to soar.

“Are you holding my hand?” she demanded.

Heat flooded his cheeks. Oh for fuck’s sake, he was blushing. He
never
blushed. Not only that, but he was usually damn smooth when it came to women, and yet when he opened his mouth, he stammered a bit in response. “Uh, yeah, I guess I am. It just, uh, felt right. Probably because this place looks like the set of a romantic comedy.”

Rather than yank her hand away, Mari just laced their fingers together and brought the ice-cream cone back to her lips. “You’re right, I feel like I’m in a romcom. Of course, if I was, I’d totally be working
there
—” She gestured across the street.

Austin followed her gaze to the bright pink sign of a flower shop called Lucille’s Petals.

“I’d be Lucille,” Mari went on, “and you’d probably be the big-city lawyer whose BMW crashes in Haven and he has to stay in town until his car is fixed.” Then she paused, her blue eyes still fixed on the sign. “Okay, I’m just going to say it. Doesn’t ‘Lucille’s Petals’ sound like the dirtiest thing ever?”

Austin choked out a laugh. “Yup. I was just thinking the same thing.”

They took off walking again, their strides slow and relaxed, the conversation moving easily and without a single beat of awkwardness. Mari told him a few teaching stories about her favorite students in Chicago, he spoke about some of his past photography jobs, and by the time they returned to the SUV, he was even more reluctant to part ways with his pretty companion.

But what was he going to do? Hold her hostage and force her to hang out with him indefinitely? Right, and then that driver’s license of his that she’d photographed would definitely come in handy when she was filing the restraining order.

“That was a lot of fun,” Mari said as she slid into the passenger seat. “It’s been so long since I’ve spent an afternoon just wandering around and doing nothing.”

Austin started the engine, then checked the side mirror to make sure it was safe to pull out of the spot. “I know what you mean.”

She snorted. “Yeah, right. You don’t have a nine-to-five job. You can wander around all the time.”

“True.” He couldn’t deny that he was pretty lucky. Not a lot of folks got to set their own hours, let alone live out their dreams.

As he drove back in the direction of the interstate, he expected the conversation to remain fun and easy, but his passenger threw him for a loop.

“So seriously, Austin, why are you dilly-dallying about going home? Does your family hate you or something?”

“Nope.” His jaw tensed. “In fact, they’re dying for me to come home.”

“Ah, so the reluctance is on your part. Why is that?”

He just shrugged.

“Oh, ’fess up,” she said in a teasing tone. “What do you have to lose? We’ll never see each other again after today, so you might as well unload on me.”

Austin gave her a sideways glance, slightly startled by the earnest concern shining in her eyes. She seemed to genuinely want to hear about his problems, but reluctance lodged in his throat again.

The last time he’d spoken to anyone about it had been with Bree Lockhart, his brother Jake’s girlfriend, and he couldn’t remember ever feeling so uncomfortable. For some reason, Austin’s mother had decided to spill her guts to Bree, who had immediately tried to initiate a heart-to-heart with him. He knew Bree had meant well, but the awkward exchange had ended up triggering that need to skip town again.

He’d been so damn tired of the pressure. His mother begging him to move past it, Bree urging him to forgive, his brothers reprimanding him for acting so distant. Leaving Paradise had felt like the answer at the time, but even when he was miles and miles away, the pressure had remained.

It was time to resolve this whole bullshit mess, he knew that, but talking about it still evoked that agonizing rush of discomfort and hesitation.

“Come on, I’m a good listener…”

Mari’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

He opened his mouth, prepared to thank her for the offer but not take her up on it, but for the life of him, he couldn’t control the words that came rushing out.

“Last year I found out that my uncle is actually my father.”

Chapter Three

Almost immediately, Austin felt like a huge weight was lifted off his chest. His shoulders were no longer heavy, his throat no longer tight with the bitterness that had been jammed inside it for an entire fricking year.

“Wait, what?”

Even as he reveled in that feeling of being…
unburdened
, he still had to laugh at the startled look in Mari’s eyes.

“My uncle is my father,” he repeated. Then he shook his head. “Fuck, it feels so weird to say it. It’s all I’ve been thinking about this whole year, but this is the first time I’ve actually said it out loud.”

Mari tucked a few errant strands of hair behind her ear, then shifted in the seat so she could see him better. “Okay, you’re going to need to start from the beginning. How exactly did you find this out?”

The moment the memories resurfaced, his entire body tightened again. Great. So much for being unburdened.

He set his jaw, suddenly regretting ever opening his mouth.

“Oh no, you don’t,” Mari chided. “You can’t just drop a bomb like that and not see it through. And now you’ve piqued my curiosity, which means I’ll never quit bugging you until you tell me.”

Austin blew out a breath. “Last year was my mother’s forty-ninth birthday…”

“And?”

“And I wanted to do something special for her. She was always saying how she wished our old family photos were better preserved—a lot of them are fading and crumpled and look like shit—so I figured I’d scan a bunch of them and print out new copies, maybe frame some of the good ones.”