Country Charm

By Ava Catori

Jenna Birch is forced to start over in a small, sleepy town after her brother's suicide. Yanked from the comfort of the only home she's known—she feels like a fish out of water. With her college funds non-existent and future plans on hold, Jenna's entire world is crumbling.

 

Benji Preston has a secret. His life is complicated, and spending time with Jenna allows him respite. Their harmless flirtation blossomed into something more, but not everybody is happy about their new relationship.

 

In fact, Benji is the same guy that Jenna's cousin has harbored a crush on for ages. With tongues wagging and jealousy dogging her every step, Jenna has to decide what's more important—her heart or her family ties?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ava Catori Books
• Release date: May 7, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201460730

Book preview

Chapter 1

Jenna shoved her bus ticket into the pocket of her faded jeans. Lugging her overstuffed bags onto the vehicle, she groaned at the lack of overhead space available. She squeezed between her bags and glared at an old woman who felt the need to judge the extra space she took up. Confrontation was the last thing she wanted after the big fight she’d had with her parents; she didn’t have the energy left. Bitter over her new circumstances, she closed her eyes to shut out the world.

How had it come to this? She was still alive, but that didn’t seem to matter to her parents. She understood that they were still reeling over the loss of her brother, but he’s the one that committed suicide. She’s the one that they shut out. She was still living and breathing, something that seemed to go unnoticed. It’s not that she didn’t grieve for her brother – but since it happened, her parents had checked out emotionally.

In fact, she’d grieved for months on end. How could she not? Her only brother, the one she shared all of her secrets with was gone. Did he have his own secret? Why hadn’t she seen it coming? It left her with a hole in her heart. There was no way she’d fully recover, but at least time softened the blow a little. She felt like the shell of her former existence.

Distraction was the key to helping her live again. Jenna hated not knowing why he took his life, and wished she could have done something, anything, to make a difference. It was pointless now, he was gone.

Forced to leave her family, the city she knew and loved, her friends, and any chance of going to college next semester, Jenna’s world crumbled at her feet. She had plans, and just like that her world stopped spinning.

After Derek killed himself, the money that had been put aside for college tuition was gone, going instead to funeral expenses, and living expenses after Mom quit her job to deal with her grief and depression. Now there was nothing left. Without money to pay the bills, Jenna was forced to accept that college had to wait. She’d find a way to pay for it eventually. Loans or grants; whatever it took - but for now, what she needed more than anything was time.

This last year took every bit of strength she’d had. Between her mom and dad being emotionally absent, and her need to keep going, she still had a lot of feelings to sort through. Derek didn’t leave a note behind, and it left everybody questioning what was going through his mind that made him want to take his life. Closure was a hard thing to find when you didn’t have answers.

Shady Cove was her final destination. She’d have to change buses twice. She could have flown, but it was cheaper this way. Cheap was what mom and dad were looking for, and just like that she was shuttled away from the city and only home she’d ever known, and forced to go live in a two-bit, backwoods, one traffic light kind of town with her aunt.

As the bus lurched forward, she watched the city fade into the distance. Hoping sleep would pass the time, Jenna bridled her anger the best she was able and closed her eyes once again. It almost didn’t feel like this was happening, but it was.

She was practically an adult, and she was being treated like a child. Fine, she wouldn’t officially be eighteen for another month or so, but at seventeen, she was close enough that she could take care of herself. She didn’t need to be shipped off to her aunt’s house like she was five years old.

Jenna could barely remember the last time she actually saw Aunt Beatrice and her cousin Grace. They lived so far apart that they’d rarely gotten together. There was the funeral that Aunt Bea flew out for, but Jenna’s mind was so clouded in those days after losing her brother, she barely noticed anyone.

Uncle Richard stayed home with Grace. Aunt Bea felt like a stranger with a familiar face. She hugged her at the funeral and listened to her soft words, dotted with a southern twang, but the words all ran together. Mom lost most of her accent when she moved away trying to escape her small-town roots, but Aunt Bea wore her southern charm with pride.

It’s not that she wasn’t a nice lady, but having to live with a family she barely knew was something she wasn’t looking forward to. It was all arranged without her knowledge, and when it was dropped in her lap, she was shell-shocked.

She begged her parents to let her stay, offering ways it could work, but the answer was still no. She’d be forced to spend the summer in no man’s land, otherwise known as Shady Cove.

She’d heard the stories from her mom over the years, about how desperately she wanted out of the small town when she was a kid, and now here she was shoving her own kid to the same town she’d left. Shady Cove was officially the most boring town known to man, according to her mother, and lacked any personality other than bland.

Changing buses, Jenna passed her bags off to the baggage handler this time. She chose a seat mid-way back, then pressed her head to the window as the numbness settled in. At least it was better than the anger she’d felt earlier. Her jaw still ached from clenching it so hard.

Jenna counted the telephone poles as they passed and drifted into a daze. This wasn’t how her life was supposed to be. She was heading to college, a prestigious one, and onto a new life. Things were going to get better – only they didn’t, they got worse.

One last bus change and she’d be clear across the country. It took countless hours, but at least the torturous trip would be over soon. She wished her folks had flown her out instead, this was taking forever.

As the last leg of the trip ended and the bus rolled up to the final destination, Jenna sighed. The sign said, Welcome to Grand Heights. Aunt Bea was waiting for her, and then they’d drive the rest of the way. Shady Cove sat two towns over from the bus depot.

Jenna tried to paste a smile on her face, but it wasn’t happening. There was no hiding the fact that she didn’t want to be here.

Jenna! Aunt Bea waved her over. She offered a warm hug.

She should have been grateful that her Aunt Bea was giving her a place to stay, but instead she resented the entire situation.

You must be exhausted, she started again. Let’s get you fed. I’ll make a nice batch of boiled peanuts and we can sit and talk.

Boiled peanuts? She asked, wondering if they were as gross as they sounded.

Oh dear, you’ve never had boiled peanuts? I thought for sure your momma would have made them. She loved them when we were small.

Are they mushy? I don’t like mushy stuff, she said, lacking any enthusiasm.

Oh darling, just you wait until you try them. Once you start eating them, those buggers keep going in your mouth, one after the other.

They loaded her bags into her aunt’s car. Jenna packed most of her clothes, but being limited on space she’d had to pick and choose her favorite things. She’d be sharing a room with her eighteen-year-old cousin, Grace.

She stared out the window as Aunt Bea drove, noticing the open space and lack of any malls, movie theaters, restaurants, and just about anything that might be something to do. There were a lot of trees, but not much else.

Pulling into the drive, Aunt Bea parked the car. Well, here we are.

Jenna looked at her new home for the summer, realizing she wasn’t in California anymore. Life would be different, but hopefully it was just for a few months. As soon as she turned eighteen, she’d be out of there on the first bus she could catch back to the west coast. She’d find a way to get by, and college was high on her list of priorities. September couldn’t get there soon enough.

Grace was in the living room, her feet propped on the table. Jenna hadn’t seen her since she was twelve, at some family reunion. At eighteen, she was a different person. Rolling her gaze in Jenna’s general direction, and begrudgingly greeted her.

She was about as thrilled as Jenna was that they’d be sharing personal space. It’s not like they were little kids excited about new bunk beds. They were fully grown women forced to cohabitate in a small space. What was once hers was now theirs, and she didn’t take too kindly to the interruption.

Aunt Beatrice prodded her. Grace, show Jenna where to put her things.

How about if she puts them back in California? She shot Jenna a look, then smirked.

Sorry, Jenna mumbled, and realized how much worse this was going to suck than she even imagined.

Grace led her to a small, square room and pointed to a bed with an old quilt on it. That’s yours. There are a couple drawers at the bottom of the white dresser you can use.

Thanks.

She looked at her cousin’s bags, It’s not all going to fit. You need to figure it out, or leave stuff packed.

Jenna nodded, then dropped onto the single bed. Hot tears wanted out. As much as she tried to hold them back, she couldn’t. Grace left the room and closed the door behind her. Jenna wasn’t sure if it was to give her space or to get the hell away from her.

Lost, she stared at the paneled walls through tear-stained eyes. She hoped her Mom was happy. She had her solitude, while Jenna was stuck in Shady Cove.

Her stupid brother caused all of this. Her entire life was being dictated by everyone but her. Her mom sent her away, and her father didn’t try to stop it. As for her dad, he busied himself in work, so he didn’t have to deal with his feelings. In the process, he seemed to forget he had a daughter that very much needed him.

If it weren’t for Bobby, the year would have been worse. Only now that Bobby heard she’d be shuttled clear across the country, he felt they should split up and date other people. It only seemed fair, he said, since they couldn’t see each other.

She was left with a broken heart and a bitter disposition. It’s not like anyone would miss her. Her friends barely noticed she was leaving. Everybody was too busy in their own lives to care that Jenna’s life was basically over.

Chapter 2

Shady Cove greeted its newest guest with a drenching downpour. The roads were wet, the grass was soaked, and the sound of the rain on the metal roof was one of the loudest things she’d heard since she got here.

Otherwise, everything was so damn quiet, except for Grace and family who wouldn’t shut the hell up. They’d been bickering about what to do for dinner for the last hour. Seriously, just pick something. While the town was quiet, the house and its occupants were anything but. They were headache inducing for sure. She looked forward to Monday when at least her aunt and uncle would be out of the house for work.

Jenna quietly studied her cousin. They were both kids when they last saw each other, easily five or six years ago. Grace’s long honey blonde hair had wheat-colored highlights in it. She was probably a few inches taller than Jenna, but it was hard to tell with her kicked back on the sofa.

She was a knock-out, and had a set of boobs Jenna wished she did, but there was something the slightest bit off about her. Her look screamed two-dollar hooker with a blend of country girl charm. She gave off a confusing vibe, and Jenna couldn’t quite figure it out. Her clothes, the wrong make-up, she’d stand out like a sore thumb in the trendier city. Of course, the tables had turned, and Jenna’s own style probably looked out of place now.

It’s not that she meant to judge, she just didn’t know what else to do in the moment. Taking in the new surroundings, Jenna judged every tiny detail more than she should have. How could she not? She hated being here, hated