Axel Read online

  Axel

  Schmidt Brothers

  Sammi Starlight

  Copyright © 2019 by Sammi Starlight

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

  Chapter 1 ~ Axel

  Chapter 2 ~ Harper

  Chapter 3 ~ Axel

  Chapter 4 ~ Harper

  Chapter 5 ~ Axel

  Chapter 6 ~ Harper

  Chapter 8 ~ Axel

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Chapter 1 ~ Axel

  “Let’s go man. What else do you have to do? The shop is closed up now until after the New Year. Come out and have some fun with us. You never come out. How are you going to meet a woman?”

  I shook my head at my little brother, Diesel, and chuckled. I normally hated the bar scene, but he was right. Christmas was in a couple of days and we decided for the first time in decades to close down the whole week between Christmas and New Year’s. Things had been going well in our shop the past year, and for once, we could afford it.

  I shut the notebook I’d been making some notes in and stood up. “Have you ever thought about the fact, little brother, that I don’t want to meet a woman? And not one at a bar for sure. That’s something you would do.”

  He laughed and stood up from the chair across my desk. He was still in his shop uniform. “Probably. I have to go home and shower but I’ll pick you up at eight?”

  “I’ll pick you up. I’ll be the DD.” I grabbed my winter coat from the hook behind the desk and was hit with a wave of nostalgia. I remembered all the times I stood where my brother was, urging Dad to close up shop so we could go do something. Now I was the one running the shop.

  I took over for Dad about five years ago. He had worked hard his whole life to provide for my mom, my brothers, and me. He deserved some time with Mom. They did some traveling but mostly he spent his free time fishing.

  “Fine. I’ll see you at eight.” He left my office and I gathered my keys and a few other things before heading out.

  I drove my truck home to my small cottage on the same private lake Mom and Dad lived on. It was a modest place with two bedrooms and only one bathroom. It was all I needed and I couldn’t beat the view.

  I had just sat down to eat some leftovers Mom had brought over earlier when there was a knock on the door. Before I could even get up, Mom opened the door and came into my house.

  “Mom! How many times do I have to tell you to wait until I answer when you knock. What if I had someone here?” I loved living by my parents, but it had its moments.

  “Oh honey, you never have anyone here.” She waved her hand to dismiss me and sat down at the table across from me.

  “But what if I did?” I emphasized again, going back to eating my meatloaf. She was right, but there was still always a chance I might not be alone.

  “I heard you’re going to the bar with your brothers tonight.” She brushed some imaginary crumbs off the table.

  “Yeah.” I narrowed my eyes at her. “You aren’t here to talk to me about that, are you?”

  She folded her hands in front of her. “Well, um, I was out at the grocery store today and I ran into someone.”

  “I’m not going on another blind date, Mom. The last one you set me up on was a disaster and I swore no more. I love you, but your taste in women for me is horrible. Now if that’s all you wanted, I need to finish eating and shower before I have to pick up Diesel.”

  She took a deep breath and I paused eating. “What? Just spit it out.”

  “Harper is back in town. The rumor is that she’s moving back. She’s divorced and coming back to Mountain for good.” She rushed the words out and sat back in the chair.

  My heart jumped into my throat but I wouldn’t let Mom know how the news of Harper moving back to town affected me.

  Harper was my high school sweetheart. The love of my life. The reason I hadn’t really dated anyone since. I wasn’t waiting for her, but no one ever measured up to her and or gave me the kind of feelings I had when I was with her.

  We’d known each other our whole lives but that’s what happens when you live in a small town like Mountain, Wisconsin. We grew up as friends but freshman year I’d asked her to homecoming and we’d been inseparable ever since. At the time, I thought I was going to marry her.

  But she had other plans.

  She always said she couldn’t wait to get out of this small town where everyone knew each other and their business, but I didn’t think she was serious. She applied to college at UW Madison but I never thought she’d go, much less break up with me.

  I was wrong. Since I didn’t share the same dreams as her, she left me the summer after we graduated high school and moved to Madison. Although I never heard from her again, I heard bits and pieces through the grapevine. That’s how I found out she had gotten married to a world famous surgeon from the hospital there. But she stayed true to her word and never came back. Her mom and sister would go visit her, but she didn’t come back to Mountain.

  I thought of her every day since she left. I tried to forget her. I tried to forget her with women and booze for awhile. Thankfully Dad set me straight before I did something really stupid or got myself killed, but I still thought about her. I remembered the way she would wrap her arms around my waist for a kiss. I remembered the way she smelled when I picked her up for a date. We had some amazing times and it broke my heart that she didn’t want to stay with me and have a family.

  “So what if she’s back?” I picked up my plate and walked to the sink so Mom couldn’t see my face. “That was a long time ago and we were just kids. I’ve moved on.”

  Mom laughed. “Have you really Axel? That’s why you’re still single at the age of thirty-five? And why you haven’t gone on a date with anyone more than once or twice?”

  I turned around and leaned against the counter, crossing my arms over my chest. “Maybe I like being single.”

  She stood up, shaking her head, a wry smile on her face. “Keep telling yourself that, sweetie.” She kissed my cheek. “Have fun and watch out for your brothers.”

  “I will. Love you, Mom.”

  “Love you too.”

  I watched her walk out of my house and scrubbed my hand over my face. So Harper was back in town. It didn’t really mean anything as far as I knew. She rejected me once, why would she want me again? More importantly, why would I want her?

  I hoped in the shower, letting the warm water run over me, trying to wash any thoughts of Harper out of my head. I sure as hell hoped I wouldn’t see her tonight. The bar we were going to was a popular hangout the Friday before the holidays.

  I wasn’t ready to face my past just yet.

  Chapter 2 ~ Harper

  “I’m so excited you came home for Christmas this year!”

  My sister Charlotte threw her arms around me and squeezed me. I laughed and hugged her back. “Me too.” I pulled away from her and sat at the island in the middle of my mom’s kitchen. “I might be staying permanently though.”

  “What!?” She squealed and sat next to me. “Why? I mean not that Mom and I wouldn’t love to have you back here, but again, why?”

  “Because there’s nothing for me in Madison anymore since the divorce. All of our friends were David’s friends. I didn’t have a job. I’d rather be here with you guys. Make up for all of the years I didn’t come home I guess.”

  “Mom is going to be so excited.” She wasn’t home from work yet, but I had already been talking to her a bit about moving back. I brought almost all of my things with me when I came fo
r Christmas - not that I had a lot of stuff. I didn’t take hardly anything in the divorce. I didn’t want any reminders of that marriage.

  “Let’s go out tonight.” She grabbed my hand. “Everyone in town will be out. It will be so fun to see everyone again.”

  “Everyone? Or Axel?” I was excited to see everyone. I know what most of them had been saying about me since I left for Madison all of those years ago, but most people in this town were pretty forgiving.

  “I doubt he’ll even be out. He never goes out. All he does is work and fish. He has a little cabin by his parents on the lake. He’s boring.”

  I laughed. That didn’t sound like the Axel I grew up with. He was always the center of attention and people were drawn to him.

  And it killed me I broke his heart so long ago. I was so young and foolish and thought life outside of this small town would be so much better. When we were kids, I would constantly complain about the town. I always thought bigger was better and it killed me when Axel didn’t see it my way, but he liked Mountain. He had plans to take over his dad’s auto shop and he was fine with that.

  I wanted more. I wanted the big city and opportunities. Axel and Mountain weren’t good enough for me then.

  So I left and got my degree in marketing from UW Madison where I met and married my fancy doctor but I was miserable. My marriage was cold and there was no love. David was nothing like Axel.

  I thought about Axel every day. Eventually my life came crumbling down around me when my doctor husband had an affair with his nurse, but part of me was relieved. I was tired of living the lie anyway.

  Now I was back in Mountain and ready for a fresh start. I had no false hope that Axel would forgive me. I couldn’t believe he was still single after all of this time. It made my heart ache when I thought about how I hurt him.

  “Fine, I’ll go out. But I don’t know how late. And I’ll drive. I don’t plan on drinking a whole lot.”

  Charlotte jumped off the chair squealing. “Let’s go get ready.” She pulled me off the chair and back to her room.

  We had so much fun getting ready, laughing and joking around. I let her do my hair and make up. We drove to the bar, singing along to our favorite song. I was so glad I made the decision to come back to Mountain for Christmas.

  We pulled up to the bar and the parking lot was already packed, but Charlotte managed to find a spot to park. I took a deep breath as I reached the door handle, mentally preparing myself for all of the looks and questions I would be getting from my old neighbors tonight.

  I had already decided to give as little detail as possible, but I knew how nosy some of these small town people could be; that was one of the reasons I had for wanting to leave all those years ago. I learned in my time in the big city that it wasn’t all that different when juicy gossip was involved. Everyone wants to know everyone’s business.

  I was also preparing myself to see Axel. Charlotte had said he didn’t go out, but Christmas was right around the corner and he may make an exception. I didn’t know if I was ready to see him yet.

  “Let’s go!” Charlotte urged me, grabbing my hand as soon as I opened the car door. “We’ll never get a table if we don’t get in there soon.”

  We headed inside and the place was packed already. We managed to snake our way to a table in the back of the bar without being noticed yet. We slipped off our coats and hung them on the stools. Charlotte brushed her hair out of her eyes and put her hands on her hips as she surveyed the crowd in front of them.

  “Everyone is here! Tonight is going to be so fun.” She gave me an impulsive hug. “I’m so glad you’re here, Harper. I’ve missed you so much.” She squeezed me tight and I almost started crying. I missed her too and was angry with myself for letting my selfishness and my jackass ex-husband take me away from my family.

  I pulled away from her and grasped her hands in mine. “I’m here now - to stay.” I had been going back and forth a little bit in my head, but talking to my sister helped me make my final decision to stick around.

  Before we could say anything else, a tall guy came up behind Charlotte. He had dark hair and looked vaguely familiar, but it had been so long since I’d been back in town, I couldn’t place him.

  “Hey Gorgeous. I was looking for you.” He set down two beers on the table. “I got a beer for you and your sister.”

  “Thanks.” I grabbed mine and took a long drink, hoping the alcohol calmed my nerves some.

  “Harper, you remember Nash, don’t you?” She smirked at me.

  I almost dropped my beer at the realization that Axel’s little brother Nash was standing in front of me. He wasn’t so little anymore. In fact, I was pretty sure he was taller than Axel, which was saying a lot since he’d been six foot four the last time I saw him. His dark hair was longer on top and he had the same dark eyes as his older brother. I’d always referred to Nash as Axel’s “mini-me”, but he wasn’t so mini anymore.

  “Oh my God, Nash.” I gave him a big hug. “It’s so good to see you. How are you? What are you up to?”

  “I’m good. I’ve been working at the shop. Axel runs it now so Dad could retire and fish all day.”

  “Sounds about right. And probably drive your mother crazy.” I’d always liked Axel’s parents. My own father died when I was five and my mother never remarried, so Axel’s dad was sort of like my surrogate father while we were dating. It would be good to see them again. Unless they were angry with me for leaving their son the way I did.

  “That too,” He laughed.

  We chatted a little bit, Nash filling me in on some of the town gossip when I glanced up and noticed Axel walking up behind him. My heart skipped a beat when our eyes met.

  “Hello, Harper.”

  Chapter 3 ~ Axel

  She hadn’t changed a bit.

  Well, that wasn’t entirely true; she had gotten more beautiful. She was dressed in a sweater, jeans that hugged her curves, and her brown hair was back in a ponytail. I fought the urge to kiss her. I had forgotten how green her eyes were and the way they could sparkle.

  “Hey Axel,” she said softly, her eyes darting down to look at her feet.

  “How are you?” I wanted to sit and catch up with her. I thought if I saw her I would be angry and feel the pain of her leaving me again, but I didn’t feel any of that. Instead, I felt this intense need to take her away from the loud crowd so we could catch up. I realized I had forgiven her years ago. We were just kids back then.

  “I’m good. How are you? How are your parents? And Diesel?” She took a drink of her beer and I thought I noticed her hands shaking. Was she nervous to be talking to me? Maybe she didn’t even want to.

  “I’m good, thanks. Running Dad’s shop. He’s retired now and his full time job is annoying the crap out of Mom.” She smiled and my heart skipped a beat. I forgot how gorgeous she was when she smiled. “Diesel is good too, he’s managing to stay out of trouble and works for me. Both of my brothers do. Business is good as well. For the first time we’re able to close our doors between Christmas and New Year’s to give everyone a little break.”

  I don’t know why I felt the need to justify my life to her. I never regretted my choices and was proud of what I did. I didn’t go to college, but I worked with my hands and Dad always taught me that was an honorable way to make a living.

  “That’s great, Axel. It sounds like things are going well for you,” she replied softly and I thought I noticed a hint of sadness in her eyes.

  “What about you, Harper? How are you?” Maybe it was a cheap shot to ask her that after she just got divorced and moved home, but I actually cared about her still.

  She shrugged her shoulders. “I’m good. I’m sure you heard about my divorce. Maybe even that I’m moving back here. Mom and I had been talking about it but I wasn’t sure if she told anyone or not. Charlotte didn’t know, which surprised me.”

  “I’m sorry things didn’t work out how you wanted them to.” I reached out and touched the small of her back sof
tly. “I mean it.”

  She gave me a wry smile and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “Thanks. You always told me the grass wasn’t greener on the other side. I guess you were right.” Her eyes got a little glassy with tears that threatened to fall and I fought the urge to pull her to me and comfort her.

  “I never wanted you to get hurt, Harper.” I stared down into those hazel eyes I had fallen in love with so long ago and I found myself feeling those things again. She gazed back up at me and if we weren’t in a noisy crowded bar, I swore she would have let me kiss her.

  “Woo hoo! Look who’s back in town!”

  My brother came flying up and embraced Harper, lifting her off the chair and swinging her around in a bear hug. I clenched my hands by my sides, not thrilled with the way my brother was touching my girl. Or the woman that was once my girl.

  “Diesel!” She laughed as he set her down. “It’s good to see you.”

  “I heard a rumor you were back in town.” He glanced over at me and I narrowed my eyes at him. “Christmas is in a couple days, Harper is back in town. I think this calls for some shots.”

  Everyone cheered in agreement and the moment between Harper and I passed. Diesel waved the bartender over and ordered a round of shots for us. Harper turned her attention to my youngest brother so I went to sit by Charlotte. I’d always gotten along with her.

  “It must be good to have your sister back.”

  “You have no idea. I mean we would still video chat every day and text all the time, but it’s not the same as having her here all the time. I’m so excited she’s moving back.” Charlotte smiled. “What about you? What do you think about her moving back?”

  “What do you mean? It’s no big deal. We dated forever ago.” I tried to blow her off. Or maybe I was trying to convince myself I didn’t have feelings for the girl sitting nearby teasing my baby brother - who incidentally was about to get his ass kicked.