Jacquelin Thomas - Return To Me

“You’re lucky in that respect. I have no family,” Bree stated flatly. “I’ve had to deal with everything alone.” Austin had no idea just how lucky he was to have supportive family members. Anyone she’d truly cared about in the world was gone except for Emery.

“You’re not close to them?”

“I grew up in a drug-infested apartment in Atlanta for the first six years of my life. My mom died of a drug overdose, and I lived with my paternal grandmother. When she died a couple of years later, I was placed with a foster family. I don’t have any other relatives—at least any that I know about.”

“I had no idea,” he uttered.

Bree gave a slight shrug. “There’s no way you could’ve known. Besides, it wasn’t that bad. I had good foster parents. We lived in a nice neighborhood in Atlanta, with a great school. I was on the basketball team and even earned several college scholarships.” She wiped her mouth with a paper napkin, then said, “I think I turned out okay.”

“I agree,” Austin said with a smile.

Bree settled back in her chair. “So, tell me about you.”

“Well, I grew up believing that my dad cared more for his twin daughters than he did me. Moving here and spending time with him, I found out that it wasn’t the case and that I’d wasted a lot of time being angry with my father.”

“Jordin adores you,” she said. “Jadin, too.”

“I have two incredible sisters.”

“What made you choose law, Austin?” Bree asked. “Especially since you were angry with your father during that time?”

“I think it was a way for me to feel close to him. Maybe I wanted to make him proud.”

“What’s the story behind that scar above your eye?” she questioned.

“You noticed?” He grinned. She smiled back.

“When I was in the ninth grade, I got into a fight with a bully at school. He picked up a stick and hit me with it.”

“Wow... I hope he got the worst of it.”

“Oh, I left some scars,” Austin stated. “When I saw that I was bleeding, I lost it. I was told that it took three people to get me off him.”

“I had a fight in high school,” Bree said. “It was with a jealous teammate. She got into some trouble in one of her classes, so she had to sit out a game. It was my chance to finally show the coach what I could do, so I took it and I got her spot.” She sipped her tea. “The thing is I really needed to be noticed—it was the only way I could go to college. My foster parents were good to me, but they’d made it clear that with four kids—we needed to try to get as many scholarships as possible.”

Austin took a sip of his drink. “My dad paid for my college education and trust me, I’m grateful. I’ve already started an education fund for my children.”

“I thought you didn’t have any,” Bree interjected.

“It’s never too early to start planning,” he responded.

She smiled. “You’re a very smart man, Austin. I have a college fund for my son, as well.”

It pleased Austin to hear this. At least Emery had been placed with a responsible woman. “How did you end up in Vegas? Was it because of your husband?”

“After I graduated, I landed a great job there with a mental health center. My husband was a musician and found work right away—it just worked out. But when he died, I didn’t want to stay in Nevada. Jordin had been urging me to move closer to her for years, and since she was the closest thing I had to family, I moved to Charleston and decided to open my own practice.”

“When I was growing up, people didn’t openly admit to seeing a psychologist. They didn’t even talk about mental illness,” Austin countered.

“In the African American community, there are still some people who consider mental illness to be a white person’s disease,” Bree stated. “It’s terrible because statistics tell a different story. Twenty percent of blacks are more likely to experience some form of mental illness than Caucasians.”

“I think it has to do with socioeconomic disparities from slavery to race-based exclusions when it comes to health care.”

“It’s true,” Bree said. “People who live in poverty or have substance abuse problems are at higher risk for poor mental health.”

Austin couldn’t help admiring her intelligence and compassion.

They finished off their meal.

“I’m glad I ran into you,” Austin told her. “I hate eating alone.”

“Same here.” She wrenched herself away from her ridiculous preoccupation with his arresting face.

“Bree, that’s not exactly true,” Austin confessed. “The truth is that I’d like to get to know you better. I enjoy your company.”

His words pleased her. “I’d like to know more about you, as well.”

They exchanged phone numbers.

Bree checked her watch. “I need to get back to my office. I have several appointments this afternoon.”

He took her hand in his and kissed her on the cheek. “Until next time.”

“Goodbye,” she whispered, pulling her hand away from his grasp, his touch sending shivers through her.

Their steps were hurried once they exited the shop. She needed to get to her office and Bree was sure that Austin had to return to work, as well.

Many hours later she still couldn’t escape the gentle look he’d given her as they parted ways.

* * *

That evening the phone rang as Bree came out of the bathroom, clad in flannel pajama bottoms and a T-shirt. She padded barefoot around the king-size bed to answer it.

“Hey, it’s Austin.”

She hadn’t expected to hear from him so soon, but his call thrilled her. “What’s up?”

“I wanted to tell you again that I had a great time with you. I’m glad we ran into each other.”

Bree’s heart was hammering foolishly. “Same here.”

“Do you have some time to talk?”

“Yes,” she responded. “Emery’s sleeping, so we’re good.”

They made small talk for a few minutes before Austin said, “Bree, I have a confession to make. I’m very attracted to you and I’d like to take you out. That is if you’re not involved with anyone.” He gave a short laugh. “I guess I should’ve asked this first.”

She couldn’t deny the spark of excitement she felt at the prospect of dating him. “I’m single, Austin. As for spending time with you—I don’t have a problem with it. You’re not exactly what I’d call boring.”

“I guess the next step is when and where. How about tomorrow night?”

“I need to check my calendar really quick,” she said. “I have to attend a fund-raiser at my son’s preschool. I’m not sure if its tomorrow or the next day.” Bree quickly checked the calendar on her cell phone. “Okay, tomorrow I’m free.”

“Can you get a babysitter lined up for your son or is this late notice?” Austin inquired.

“It’s not a problem. I have someone who can pick him up from school. She watches him for me whenever I need her. She lives next door.”

“That’s great to hear.” Austin didn’t have a problem with her bringing Emery, but Jordin had forewarned him that he couldn’t rush Bree where the child was concerned. She didn’t bring her dates around Emery until she felt the time was right.

They spent the next sixty minutes on the phone talking.

Bree hung up to call her neighbor. “Hey, Miss Sara. How are you?”

“I’m fine, sugar. How’s my li’l sweetie?”

“He’s doing fine,” she responded with a smile. “I’m calling to see if you can watch Emery for me tomorrow evening. I’m going on a date.”

“It’s about time you got out and found yourself a nice man. I been praying for you.”

Bree laughed. “He seems pretty nice.” Just thinking about Austin sent shivers of delight down her spine.