The Storm Before the Calm (24 page)

I hung up, feeling like I had no outlet for my energy. I was tempted to call again, but instead I decided to get started on dinner. I’d decided to make Southern fried chicken and everything that went along with it. I got to work prepping the chicken and peeling the potatoes. My mom would be home in a little over an hour, and I wanted everything to be ready for her when she got there.

M
Y
MOM
walked in the door as I was putting the phone back on the table. I’d tried calling Max one more time, but there was still no answer. Mom walked into the kitchen and hugged me.

“You’re making dinner?”

“Don’t sound so surprised. I can cook,” I teased.

“I know you can. This summer I got used to coming home and microwaving something for myself is all.”

Guilt gutted me. I was a terrible son. But there was no turning back. This was something I had to do. “I thought it would be nice to have a home-cooked dinner together.”

“And?”

“And what?”

She shot me a dubious look. “I’ve known you your whole life, Charlie. I know when something’s up.”

“Well… I was going to wait until after dinner, but there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”

She sat down at the table, folded her hands in front of her, and gave me her undivided attention. I checked to make sure nothing was going to burn, then took a seat across from her.

“I love you very much,” I began.

“Uh-oh. This doesn’t sound good,” she joked. “At least I know you didn’t get a girl pregnant. Wait. Did you?”

I laughed, the tension shattered. “No. No surprise grandchildren.”

“Well then, it can’t be all that bad.”

“I think I want to move back to New York,” I blurted. “No, actually, I know I want to move back to New York.”

She smiled warmly at me. “I thought that might be the case. And this might help solidify your plans,” she said, sliding an envelope across the table toward me.

“What’s this?”

“You’ll have to open it to find out. It came for you in the mail today. It’s marked from Free Rein.”

I tore open the envelope with shaky fingers and pulled the letter out. Unfolding it, my eyes darted across the page, picking out snippets and keywords. I stood, not truly believing what I was seeing. “They’re offering me a spot in the company.”

My mom sprang out of her chair and threw her arms around me. “That’s wonderful, Charlie. When do they want you?”

“Two weeks,” I replied. I was still staring at the single sheet of white paper. I couldn’t seem to tear my gaze away. I kept rereading the same phrases over and over. When I finally looked up, I saw my mom had pulled out her laptop and was typing away at the keys.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Booking your plane ticket.”

“But Mom, you can’t—”

“Oh yes I can. Don’t start with me. I’m your mother. Do you want a window seat or an aisle seat?”

“Uh… window, I guess.”

“Okay, then I’ll take the aisle.”

“You’re coming with me?” I asked in disbelief.

She nodded. “I’ve been waiting to tell you. Frankly, I wasn’t sure if you’d want me to come, but I had a feeling you’d want to go back. I’ve been looking for jobs there. I have a phone interview next week with a law office for an admin assistant. It’d be better money and less work than what I’m currently doing. And Ginny said we could both stay with her until we got our feet under us.”

“But this is your home….”

“Oh, sweetie, I only stayed here because I didn’t want to tear you out of school and uproot you from your studio, your friends. But Ginny and I have been planning this for a long time. She’s my sister. I miss her. When you called and told me how much you liked New York, I hoped maybe you’d want to stay, and then I’d have all the people I love in one place.”

I was so happy I wanted to cry. Everything had fallen into place more neatly than I had ever dared to hope for. I was going to get out of this hellhole. I could be with Max, and I could still help my mom.

We spent the rest of the evening planning. There was so much to take care of and not a lot of time to do it in. Our flight left in a little over a week.

B
Y
THE
time we landed in Chicago, I still hadn’t heard from Max. I’d called him every day, but he’d never returned the calls. Still, I hadn’t given up on getting through to him. As we walked through the terminal to our next gate, I switched my phone out of airplane mode and dialed one more time.

He picked up on the second ring.

“Charlie?”

His voice went straight through me, making my palms sweat and the blood surge through my veins.

“Hi. I tried to call….”

“I’m sorry! I dropped my phone in the toilet and it nearly exploded. It took me forever to get a new one. I’m actually leaving Verizon now. You’ve got great timing. Where are you? It’s really loud.”

“Chicago.”

“Chicago? What are you doing in Chicago?”

“I have a layover on my way to New York.”

The line went silent, and for a moment I thought he’d hung up. I’d assumed he’d still want me, but what if after I left he changed his mind?

“Which airline, airport, and what time does your flight get in?” he demanded.

“American Airlines to JFK. I think we arrive at eight forty-five.”

“I’ll see you then.”

Before I could respond, the line went dead. Despite the abrupt end to our conversation, hope bloomed in my chest. I couldn’t wait to see him.

“You look happy,” my mom said as I walked up to where she was sitting.

“Yeah, I just talked to Max.”

“Oh?”

Her words were nonchalant, but I could tell she was desperate to know.

“He’s going to meet us at the airport.”

She smiled. “Good boy.”

W
E
TOUCHED
down in New York fifteen minutes behind schedule. Once the wheels were on the ground, it felt like an eternity before we taxied down the runway and the thousand people seated ahead of us deplaned. We navigated the hallways and escalators to the baggage claim area, and as we waited for our suitcases to come down the conveyor belt, I felt someone tap me on the shoulder.

When I turned around, I barely had time to register Max’s face before I was in his arms. He picked me up, crushing me in a rib-fracturing hug before putting me back down.

“I missed you so fucking much,” he said, kissing me soundly.

“I missed you too.”

“It’s nice to see you again, Mrs. Shaw.”

“Nice to see you too, Max. It was good of you to come all the way out here to meet us.”

“It’s no problem. How was your flight?” he asked.

“Flights,” I corrected. “And horrible. I don’t think I like air travel.”

“I guess you’ll have to stay here forever, then,” Max said.

“Maybe I will.” Nothing in the world sounded better than that.

We grabbed our luggage—Max carried Mom’s, obviously trying to score some brownie points—and stood in line for a taxi into the city. All three of us climbed into the back, and I was in the middle, snuggled up next to Max. I leaned into him, anxious for the contact after spending so much time apart. It felt wonderful to be with him again. I couldn’t wait to get him alone and tell him everything that had happened.

“There will be two stops, please,” my mom said to the cab driver. “One Hundredth and Riverside, and Max, what’s your address?”

Max told the driver, and I stared at Mom.

“It’s for my own good. If you stay with Max, then I don’t have to try to sleep through your snoring at Ginny’s. It’s okay that Charlie stays with you for a few days, isn’t it, Max?” she asked, batting her eyelashes.

“Definitely. More than okay. I don’t mind his snoring at all.”

My cheeks felt like they were on fire. Logically, I knew my mom knew what Max and I got up to when we were alone together, but I didn’t want to
talk
about it.

“Great. That settles it, then. Don’t worry, Charlie. I’ll give Ginny your love, and I’m sure we’ll see you tomorrow. Maybe we could all go out for breakfast or something. I don’t think Ginny’s all that domestic these days.”

“That sounds perfect,” I said.

F
IFTEEN
MINUTES
later we were upstairs in Max’s apartment, and Max was on me immediately, his mouth fused to mine, hot and demanding. I kissed him back, slipping my tongue along his, my hands grasping at his clothing and trying desperately to get closer to him. If I could have crawled inside him, I would have. Being apart from him had taken more of a toll on me than I’d realized, but being reunited with him felt like everything had clicked back into focus.

“Danny’s not home?” I asked.

Max shook his head. “No, and soon he won’t be at all.”

“What?”

“He’s moving out. He got a placement at a school in Prague, so he’s leaving the last week of August to study abroad for a year.”

“Wow, that’s awesome for him.”

“Yeah, it is. And speaking of, I have something for you.”

“Is it porn?” I teased.

“I’d say this is better than porn,” Max said, disappearing into his bedroom. He reemerged a moment later, a small box in his hand. “This is for you.” He thrust it forward and placed it in my hand.

“What is it?”

“Open it and see,” he said.

I lifted the lid of the box and peered inside. There were two keys, a large and a small, tucked inside. I looked up at Max, waiting for an explanation.

He laughed. “You can be thick sometimes, can’t you? Those are keys. To the apartment. Because you’re going to move in with me, and I’m never letting you go again. I should have fought harder for you in the first place, because that’s what you do for people you love. You fight for them.”

I stared at him, caught up in that one little word that set my heart aflutter. He stared back at me.

“Did you hear me?” he asked.

I nodded.

“And?”

“I love you too,” I said.

Max grinned, the widest one I’d ever seen, and launched himself at me, knocking me backward onto the couch and pinning me beneath him.

“Say it again,” he demanded.

“I love you.”

“I love you too, Sparky.”

About the Author

C
ATE
A
SHWOOD
wrote her very first story in a hot-pink binder when she was in the second grade and found her passion for writing. Her first successful foray into romance writing came five years later when she wrote her best friend, who was experiencing a case of unrequited love, her own happily ever after.

Cate’s life has taken a number of different and adventurous roads. She now lives a stone’s throw from the ocean just outside of Vancouver, British Columbia, with her husband, her son, and their two cats. Her life is filled with family and friends, travel, and, of course, books.

Cate loves to hear from readers. You can find her at:

Website: http://www.cateashwood.com

E-mail: [email protected]

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cate.ashwood

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cateashwood

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