Sinfully Sweet

“It’s almost ten a.m. That’s hardly the crack of dawn.”

“It is when you didn’t go to bed until 5 a.m.”

Daniel forced himself not to chuckle at Kevin’s grumpy tone. “Maybe you should have gone to bed earlier.”

“No can do. This is my last semester of college. It’s my duty to stay out late.”

Recalling that he’d pretty much felt the same way eight years ago during his last college semester, Daniel didn’t argue. Instead he resettled his glasses on his nose, leaned against the SUV’s bumper and slid his to-do list and pencil from the back pocket of his jeans.

After crossing off packing tape and bubble wrap, he said, “Still need to stop at the grocery store-”

“Yeah, where you need to get coffee-”

“-and beer and hot dogs. While we’re there we’ll pick up more empty boxes. Another dozen or so should do it. Besides my computer equipment, all that’s left to pack are my books, CDs, DVDs, some kitchen stuff and my clothes.” He blew out a long breath. “Another two weeks and I’ll be leaving Austell behind.”

Kevin’s brows rose. “And that’s good…right?”

Daniel hesitated then said, “Sure. Why do you ask?”

“Because you sounded weird. Like unhappy or unsure or something.”

“Nah, it’s all good. Taking the new job, moving to a new city, it’s the right thing to do.”

Wasn’t it?

He frowned at the scuffed toes of his well-worn Nikes, his stomach tight with the same odd feeling that gripped him every time he questioned his decision to move. Which was crazy. Of course leaving Austell was the right thing to do.

In recent months it had seemed that his life had fallen into a boring, predictable rut. Something was missing- something he couldn’t quite put a name to other than to know it filled him with an unsettling sensation of discontent. His recent thirtieth birthday had proven a turning point, jolting him to reassess his life. Make some changes. Try something new. Surely, it was just the anticipation of moving to Boston and starting a new job that caused the momentary stomach jitters.

Not only would the managerial position with prestigious Allied Computers’ information technology department be a feather in his cap, being in a corporate office would get him out more. Give him more opportunities for a social life. Force him out of his well-worn rut.

“I think leaving this small town will be good for you, man.” Kevin said as if reading Daniel’s thoughts. “How you can have a social life here,” he waved his arm to encompass all of Main Street, “is beyond me.”

“It’s a challenge,” Daniel agreed. It didn’t help that his current job of designing websites didn’t require him to leave his home office. In the last two months especially, ever since he’d broken up with Nina-or rather, she’d broken up with him-it seemed as if he’d turned into an all work, no play recluse. But thanks to his life reassessment, all that was about to change.

He looked up and his gaze wandered over the old-fashioned storefronts cast in golden rays of sunshine. He could understand why at twenty-one Kevin couldn’t see Austell’s quiet appeal, but then he and Kevin were pretty much opposites when it came to living arrangements. Daniel had always preferred low key while Kevin thrived in his frat house surroundings.

Yeah, it would be hard to leave this quaint, picturesque town with its historic downtown, quiet streets, well- kept park and friendly residents where he’d lived for the past eight years, ever since discovering the town while attending the nearby college. Austell had given him a sense of belonging that he’d missed after leaving home. But hey, bigger and better things awaited him.

“So what’s next on the list?” Kevin asked. “Tell me quick. Before I fall asleep standing here.”

Daniel’s gaze fell back to his list and his jaw tightened as he focused on the next two items. “Sod and some top soil.”

“Yippee. What’s that for?”

“I guess you didn’t see my backyard.”

“Nope.”

“Consider yourself lucky. Another plus about moving is that I’ll have new neighbors. No more dealing with Carlie Pratt, aka The Scatterbrain With the Unruly Dogs That Routinely Dig Up My Yard and Wake Me Up At Ungodly Hours With Their Barking, or Miss Headache and the Crazy Canine Crew, for short.”

Kevin grimaced. “Bummer. Maybe you should get earplugs.”

“I’m better off with the top soil. I’d need a hell of a lot of earplugs to fill up those holes in my backyard.”

Daniel pressed his lips together so as not to burst out laughing at Kevin’s blank expression. Humor that wasn’t Three Stooges slapstick or didn’t involve bodily functions more often than not sailed right over his younger brother’s head. “Dude, I meant for your ears,” Kevin said slowly, as if explaining it to a first grader, “so the barking wouldn’t wake you up.”

“Oh,” Daniel said, very seriously. “Good idea.”

Actually, he’d tried earplugs but they didn’t help much as they always seemed to fall out. Not much fun waking up with a wad of wax stuck in your hair. But in two weeks, he wouldn’t have to worry about that anymore.

Nope, he sure wouldn’t miss the chaos that had lived on the other side of his backyard fence since Carlie and The Hole Diggers had moved in three months ago. He wouldn’t mind so much if she’d just keep her chaos on her side of the wooden fence that separated their backyards, but her dogs-two rambunctious puppies, both of whom showed promise of growing to be horse-like in size-managed to escape almost on a daily basis. And they somehow always ended up in his yard, much to the detriment of his lawn. His Realtor had taken one look at the crater-like muddy holes marking his grass and then decreed in an ominous tone that reeked of plummeting property value, “That mess must be fixed immediately.”

Well, he’d fixed it, but it wasn’t long before Peanut Butter and Jelly, P.B. and J. for short-and sheesh, who named their dogs after food anyway?-had returned and wreaked havoc on his yard again. Since when did dogs like to dig holes so much? It was as if those crazy canines thought freakin’ pirate booty was buried in his backyard. Yeah, Carlie had profusely apologized each time, and he couldn’t deny she looked pretty cute while doing so, but, c’mon, enough was enough. Probably he wouldn’t have minded so much if he weren’t selling the house. Probably. But according to his Realtor, many potential buyers harbored aversions to backyards that looked as if explosives had detonated in them.

“Can’t say I’m turning cartwheels at the prospect of going to the nursery for sod and dirt,” Kevin said. “What else ya got?”

Daniel once again consulted his list. “Stamps at the post office.”

“That doesn’t sound the least bit like ‘coffee at Starbucks.’ What else?”

“Spackle and caulk at the hardware store.”

“You’re killing me.”

“Birthday gift for Mom.”

Kevin’s eyes widened. “Whoa, I’d totally forgotten.”

“So you owe me big time.”

“Oh, boy. That doesn’t sound good. I’m going to end up filling doggie-dug holes with dirt, aren’t I?”

“’Fraid so.”

“But her birthday’s on Valentine’s Day. That’s, like, two weeks away.”

“I want to buy her present today and get it mailed off before I get buried under with moving.”

Kevin’s expression turned hopeful. “Since we always get Mom chocolate for her birthday, I foresee something sweet to eat in my immediate future. And where there’s chocolate, coffee can’t be far away.” He rubbed his hands together. “Let’s go.”

Since he couldn’t disagree that buying chocolate sounded a lot better than buying sod and dirt, Daniel pushed off the bumper and slipped his to-do list and pencil back into his jeans’ pocket.

“There’s a new candy place opening today that I read about in the newspaper.” He headed toward the corner and Kevin fell into step beside him. “It’s called Sinfully Sweet and it specializes in chocolates.” He grinned. “I think Mom has met her match.”

His grin widened at the thought of their mom, a teacher at the same high school he and Kevin had graduated from. Those teenagers didn’t stand a chance against Norma Montgomery. With thirty years of teaching under her belt, not to mention raising two kids of her own-three if you included Dad as she laughingly insisted you should-she