Perfect Risk (Mason Creek #1) - C.A. Harms Page 0,1

A few were new, mixed in with the old, as the demand changed over the years and the younger generations took chances on new ventures. But the original stores were still the same and that was something I knew I could count on here.

I turned left onto Tucker Lane and got lost in the darkness of the country road up ahead. The further I drove, the darker it got, leaving behind the quaint neighborhoods that were tucked back into small coves along the way.

The very second my headlights reflected on the chrome sign that I knew still bared the faded words, ‘Michael’s Lane’, tears pooled in my eyes.

So many years missed, so many memories lost during my quest to find something bigger.

Phone calls filled with fake happiness and well wishes, I regretted so much I had let my pride keep me away from my favorite place in the world. And my favorite people, my parents and Anna, her little boy Drew, who I barely knew, but have seen so many times through virtual chats. They’ve always been my biggest fans, always allowing me to believe that I was capable of the greatest things. In their eyes I was the, greatest thing, I guess that’s why I toughed it out in the city for so long. The idea of disappointing them destroyed me.

It took only one sentence to give me my final out. Your mother fell and broke her hip.

My father didn’t ask me to come home, he didn’t tell me they needed me, but there was something in the tone of his voice. Desperation maybe, but definitely worry that he was trying to hide.

I don’t know if it was the little girl in me, but hearing the break in my father’s voice almost broke me in return. He’d always been a strong-willed man, he never asks for help. Determined to get through it on his own, he rarely allowed my mother or I to see him falter.

My choice was easy, I left behind the life I hated in a city that I’d never truly found my place in. All my belongings fit into a small trailer and everything else stayed in the furnished tiny apartment.

I drove away with no regrets, I don’t know if I even glanced in the rearview mirror. Because everything that laid ahead was what I had to look forward to.

The long lane that led to my parents’ home was dark, no streetlights, no side buildings to light the way. But up ahead, hidden in a mass amount of tress I could see the old Victorian lit up bright. Like they were waiting for me, watching out the windows for the headlights to peek through the trees. The excitement inside of me was exhilarating.

Hearing the gravel pop beneath the tires of my Toyota, I slowed to a stop next to my father’s company truck that read Plumbing Solutions on the side. It was a family-owned business of four generations and just another place I’d grown up around.

After I parked my car, I left behind everything but my small bag and climb out. Stretching my legs after a long drive and I took only two steps before the front door came open and out stepped my father.

Even in the ten months since I’d last seen him, he looked as though he’d aged ten years. The defined lines near his eyes, the peppered gray hair that had begun to take over his dark locks, it was all hard to miss. Instantly, I rushed for him and wrapped my arms around his shoulders, resting my head upon his chest.

Breathing in the familiar woodsy smell I teared up but fought the urge to cry.

“Hey bug,” I’d always hated that name, and now that I was twenty-five years old it seemed more ridiculous. But that never stopped my father from using it as often as he could. “Never did like you being so far away,” his voice sounded hoarse, “but now you’re home.”

I nodded because I was afraid to talk. My emotions were getting the best of me, my mom’s struggle, my father’s worry, what happened back in LA, feeling like a failure, all of it came crashing down.

“I’m home,” my words were barely above a whisper.

I don’t know how long we stood there, him holding me and neither of us saying a word. We didn’t have to, the silence said enough for the both of us. We were both happy, settled and feeling like things were now once again exactly as