Coming Home

By Marilu Milligan

After a nasty argument with his father, Joshua Carter left everything behind, his mother, his long-time girlfriend, his best friend, even his beloved car. He joined the Army and went on with his life. He was fine until his mother called with the news that his father was sick and she needed him. After five years away, it looked like he was finally coming home. To what, he didn't know...

Angie Martin had been madly in love with Josh Carter, but she could never get him to express his feelings for her. One bad decision led to their break up and Josh leaving her and their hometown behind. Now that he was back, could they just be friends? Or would the old feelings come back to the surface?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Marilu Milligan
• Release date: Jun 11, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476018393

Marilu Milligan

Marilu is a southern girl, born and bred. She makes her home in Georgia with her husband and high school sweetheart, Nathan, and their two children, Madison and Austin. An avid reader, she decided to try her hand at writing the stories she's adored for so long. She's been hooked ever since....

Book preview

Coming Home

by Marilu Milligan

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2012 Marilu Milligan

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Thanks to my husband, Nathan, who's been by my side my whole life. A special thanks to my PIC for pushing me to pursue this; Jen, I love you, girl...

Chapter One

His first thought as he drove past the city limit sign was that it was raining. His second? It had been raining the day he left. The irony, such as it was, made him smile. He'd sworn that he was never coming back, but here he was, returning to the town he grew up in.

Things were different for him now, of course. Twenty four year old Joshua Carter was a lot older and a lot smarter than the nineteen year old bad ass he'd left behind. He'd grown up, wised up. He viewed life a little differently now. And he owed it all to good ole Uncle Sam and the United States Army.

When he left, he had been pissed off at the world. He had packed a bag, nothing but clothes, and made his best friend, Shane Davis, drive him to the bus station. He would have preferred to have driven his beloved Plymouth convertible, but the transmission had went a few days before he had graduated, so he left it parked in the garage next to his childhood home.

He and his old man had gotten into yet another fight. He had said What are you going to do with your life? You should get off your ass and do something.

His mother, whom he loved dearly, had agreed with his father. Josh, dear, your father is right, she had said. Hell, wasn't he always?

His on again off again girlfriend, Angie, had decided that they needed yet another break. She said that she needed some space, some time to think about what she wanted. Then Shane had told him that he'd seen her out with Brad the brain, her neighbor. The boy who was even more in love with her than Josh had been.

It had all been too much for him. He had went to the bank and removed every penny he had in savings. He kissed his mother goodbye. Shook hands with his best friend. Then he got on a bus headed toward LA. He'd made it to Texas the next morning, waiting on the next bus. That's as far as he got before he ran into an Army Recruiter at the bus station. The ten minutes he had spent talking to that guy had changed the course of his life.

Adam, the recruiter, was still a good friend to him. They'd kept in touch over the years as Josh had moved from one post to the next. On one hand, he could count the people who had mattered to him and Adam Wright fit into that category.

As Josh drove down Main Street, in Hamilton Hills, Pennsylvania, in his brand new Black Chevy Silverado, he thought about the phone call that had brought him home. The one that signified the start of the next chapter of his life. The one that changed everything.

His mother had called him late one night in the middle of May at his apartment on base in Georgia. She called to tell him that his father, Michael, had suffered from a stroke and wasn't doing well. She said that she had no one to run their family's auto body garage. She needed him to come home. Not for his father, but for her. She was trying, but she couldn't do it all.

He'd been stationed at Fort Stewart near Savannah, Georgia for a little over six months, working as a mechanic in the shop on base. He was good at what he did. It was something he'd always been good at. Thanks to the Army, he was now certified. A certified Army mechanic. The hummers and tanks he was working on now a far cry from the cars he'd worked on during the summer as he was growing up.

Before she'd called, he'd been planning to extend his enlistment indefinitely. After her call, and a lot of thinking, he let his last month pass and received his discharge. He was now, once again, an American civilian. One who had everything he owned in the four boxes stacked on the backseat of his new truck.

He turned onto Third Street and drove the last four blocks to Franklin, the street he grew up on. Pulling up out front, he shut off the engine and looked out through the rain at the house he'd once called home. It hadn't changed much, except it needed a new coat of paint. He'd have to see to that, once he got settled.

Taking a deep breath, he pushed the door open and stepped out into the rain. Running up the path, he walked up the front steps and knocked on the door. As the door opened, he got his first glance of his mom in over five years. That, more than anything, made him feel like he was home.

With a cry of joy, Isabella Carter enfolded her now grown son in her arms. Josh stood there on the front porch wrapped in his mother's arms. He let her hold him as she cried. He had to bend to wrap his arms around her small frame.

Ma, don't cry. It's okay, he said to her as he patted her on the back.

Removing herself from him, she took him by the arms and stood back to look at him. Oh, Josh. You've changed so much. Where did my boy go?

Running his hand over his buzzed head, he says, Not really. I'm still me. I just grew up a little, that's all.

Standing at just over 6 foot, he towered over his petite mother. His broad shouldered, muscular frame filling out his Army t shirt. A pair of old blue jeans hung low on his trim waist. His face and perfectly chiseled jaw, lacked any sign of the young boy who had left. The only thing that remained the same was his striking blue eyes and his adorable smile.

Believe me, you have changed. You're so handsome. Sighing wistfully, she stepped aside. Come in. Don't just stand out here.

Ma, have you been to see him today? Mike Carter was in a hospice not far from Hamilton Hills. Since the night he'd collapsed at the shop, he'd been in a coma. His mom had elected to move him from the hospital into the hospice, keeping him on life support.

No. I can't take seeing him that way. She pulled him along behind her into the kitchen. Waiting for him to take a seat at the table, she said, Jay, it doesn't look good. The doctors say that in all likelihood, he will never wake up. You and I have to make the decision soon.

I know. We will. Just not right now, okay? Let me get my head together first. Looking around, he took note of the changes in his mom's beloved kitchen.

Her kitchen was the place where he had spent a lot of time with her when he was little, trying to stay out of his father's path. Some time over the last half decade, it had been remolded. Gone was the ugly white cabinets with the gold knobs. In their place was shiny new oak cabinets with silver knobs. Stainless steel appliances replaced the old broken down stove and refrigerator. The dishwasher and built in microwave over the stove both new additions. Where there had once been cracked linoleum, there was now white tile. It looked good.

Hey, how long ago did you do all this? he asked, turning back to his mom.

Just last year. Your father surprised me with it for our anniversary. Isabella moved to the counter and poured Josh a cup of coffee. After adding three sugars, she placed it in front of him.

So, he's been good to you? He hadn't always been. But he knew how much she had always loved him.

Yes, Josh. He's been good to me. She pulled out the chair to his left and sat. Reaching for his hand, she said. Jay, I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry that I didn't protect you better. I'm sorry that he treated you the way he did. I can't change it, no matter how much I want to.

Ma, it's okay. Don't dwell on it. Like you said, we can't change it. Just forget about it. I have. Mostly. It still took him by surprise sometimes, though.

Well, regardless, I'm sorry. She sat back in her chair and looked at him. Seeing his closed emotionless expression, she changed the subject. Your friend Shane has been helping out at the shop. He had been working part time for your dad anyway. He quit his job at the factory and went to work for me full time.

Shane was working at the factory? I didn't know that. It had been over four years since he'd last talked to Shane, so there wasn't much he did know about what his childhood best friend was doing.

Yes. After he married that Lucas girl, he went to work over there. When she got pregnant, he asked your father for a job. Mikey brought him in to work a few afternoons a week and on weekends. He promoted him to assistant manger last February.

Shane married Karen Lucas? And he has a kid? Damn. Josh shook his head in amazement.

They live three houses down on the left. They bought it about six months ago. Isabella said, You should go by the shop later. Even if you aren't ready to go to work. Shane's my manager now. I hope you let him keep that position. I have to say, without him, I don't know what I would have done.

Don't worry, Ma. I won't take it from him. If he's doing a good job, then he deserves it. Josh drained his coffee cup and stood. Is it alright for me to stay here for a little while? Just until I can find a place?

Of course you can stay here. What kind of question is that? This is your home. Isabella stood, too, and carried his cup to the sink. Your bedroom is just as you left it.

I gotta get my things from the truck. I want to take a shower, then I'll head to the shop. Josh walked to the window, watching as the rain slowed to a sprinkle. Is there anything else I need to know before I head over there?

Not that I know of. Any questions you have, just ask Shane. He knows more about it than I do. She moved over to stand beside him at the window. He's expecting you.

Good. It'll be nice seeing him. I missed him. He just hoped that Shane wasn't too pissed off at him for losing touch. It wasn't for lack of effort on Shane's part. Josh had just stopped returning his calls.

When Josh turned from the window to look at his mom, she touched him on the arm. Jay, it's fine. He's not mad at you. He understood your need to make a clean break from here. He's anxious to see you.

I just thought it would be best. I really didn't think I'd be coming back. The decision for him to return hadn't been an easy one, that's for sure. But his mom had needed him, so here he was.

Well, honey, I'm glad you did. There are a lot of people here who care about you. His mother smiled at him and said, Welcome home, son.

Giving his mom a small smile in return, he said, Well, I don't know about a lot, but you're here. That's what matters. I'm here for you, Ma. Despite the mixed feelings he had about it, he was indeed home.

Josh spent the next hour unloading his truck and unpacking his things. He'd managed to clear some space in his closet to hang his clothes, still in the plastic wrap from the dry cleaners. He'd rearranged his dresser so that all of his socks and underwear would fit. The rest would have to wait until later.

It felt a little surreal, standing in his childhood bedroom looking around. It was exactly like he'd left it. Down to the open CD case beside his stereo to the posters on the wall. His mom had told him that after he left, she'd changed the sheets and made up the bed. After all these years, all she ever did was dust and vacuum in there.

As he looked around, he caught sight of the picture of he and Angie on the nightstand. Having left any reminder of her behind, it was the first time he was actually seeing her face in years. When he first left, all he thought about was her. All he had to do was close his eyes and he could see her. After a while, her memory had started to fade a little, but she was still there.

He walked over to pick up the wooden frame. After looking it over, he opened the nightstand drawer and placed it inside. At that moment, he didn't want to think about her or what she was doing now. He had enough on his mind. He didn't have time to reminisce or think about what might have been.

Grabbing a change of clothes, Josh disappeared into the bathroom.

As the press jammed for the third time that day, Angie Martin found herself cursing. Again. It was almost noon and she hadn't been able to accomplish a thing. They had 600 sales papers to print for the local department store. The owner was supposed to be by at two o'clock and time was quickly getting away from her. She had no idea how her mom continued to do this day after day.

She'd only been home for three weeks. Freshly graduated from Columbia University with a degree in Journalism, a degree that she had no desire to pursue, she had come home to help her mother, Pamela, run the family print shop. At least until she figured out what she'd wanted to do with the rest of her life.

Having spent the last four years in New York, she'd started to crave the simplicity of Hamilton Hills. When she'd first left for school, she couldn't wait to get out of there. So much had happened her last year at home, her senior year of high school, that she'd run out of there as fast as she could.

She'd accidentally broken up with Josh. He'd left to join the Army. She'd tried to have a relationship with Brad and failed. Her mom's father had died. It was like life had it in for her that year. She'd needed a change. New York had definitely been a change. Now she was home. And wondering, not for the first time, why she was there.

To top it all off, Karen Davis, formerly Lucas, had called her last night to tell her Josh was coming home. Ever since the phone call from her childhood best friend, she'd been on pins and needles. It wasn't as if she was still in love with her high school sweetheart or anything. Not really. It was just that he'd been such a big part of her life.

They'd dated off and on for over two years. He had a devil may care attitude about everything and she'd always played it by the book. That's partly what had drawn her to him in the first place. He was a bad boy through and through and it had proved to be too much for her. She'd been completely and madly in love with him. But he'd broken her heart over and over again. The last time they'd split, she'd been the one to break up with him, however it happened. She had wanted to teach him a lesson.

Turns out, the joke was on her. He'd up and left Hamilton Hills without a backward glance. He'd even cut Shane off and Shane had been his best friend. From what Karen had said, Shane hadn't talked to Josh in over four years, even though Shane had been running Carter Auto and Collision since Mikey Carter's stroke the month before.

Now Josh was coming home. He had served over four years in the Army, been given his discharge and he was coming to take over the family business because it was very likely that his dad wouldn't recover. So that meant that he was coming home to stay. In Hamilton Hills. Just like her.

Shaking herself out of her revery, she counted to ten. Taking a deep breath, she yelled, Mom! Can you come here for a minute?

Pam, who had been in the office in the back, started up the aisle. Yes, dear? Taking in Angie's ink smudged appearance, she frowned. What happened?

It jammed again. It's the third time this morning. I've got to get these printed before Mr. Johnson shows up at two o'clock. Wiping her hand across her chin, she smudged more ink onto her face. I've only gotten 300 of the 600 printed.

Sighing, Pamela said, Okay. I'll go call the repairman again. He was just here last week. She looked around the room thoughtfully, trying to decide what to do. "I'll tell you what, move the die over to the smaller press. It doesn't run as fast, but it's more