Chapter 3

Austin got up early to let Red out in his new pasture and enjoy the outdoors. After cleaning up Red’s stall, Austin and Max returned for breakfast.

Emma was in the kitchen with Austin’s grandmother, who was reading her paper in the breakfast nook.

“I called my mother and got her recipe for angel biscuits,” Emma said as she pulled them out of the oven.

Grandma Montgomery perked up and said, “I haven’t had those since I was a kid.”

“What are they?” Austin asked.

“A cross between a buttermilk biscuit and a Parker House roll. They get their name because of their pillowy softness and golden buttery top. After you try one, if I did it right, the name will make sense,” Emma said.

She brought out a bowl with some butter and honey for them to try.

After his first bite, Austin said, “I suggest you end this probation nonsense and just hire Emma.”

“I had one last task for her before she gets complacent,” Grandma Montgomery said.

“What’s that?” Emma asked.

“Clean the exercise room.”

Austin hadn’t taken the time to explore the house yet, so he had no idea there was one.

“I didn’t realize you had one. Can we see it?” Austin asked.

“Sure,” Grandma Montgomery said and got up to lead the way.

One of the bedrooms on the second floor had been converted. It held a treadmill, exercise bike, massage table, and rolled-up yoga mats.

“I’m not a professional, but I’ve been told I give a good massage,” Austin said.

“Tell me another one,” Emma said, not believing him.

“I rub down horses all the time. Most of that translates,” Austin said, defending himself.

“I think there are supplies in the closet,” Grandma Montgomery said to bring them back to the task at hand. “Anyway, I would appreciate it if you would clean everything and organize stuff.”

“I’ll do that after I clean up after breakfast,” Emma said.

Austin looked around and asked, “Where’s Max?”

They all looked at each other and quickly hustled downstairs. Luckily, the pup hadn’t figured out how to get on the table, or the biscuits would’ve been gone.

Austin and Max made their way to the stable and worked on his dirt bike.

He received a message that Red’s blood work had returned and that he was stressed, but there was nothing seriously wrong.

Austin had the dirt bike running by lunchtime, but it needed a new seat, brakes, and tires. At lunch, he talked his grandmother into driving him to a shop in the next town over, where they had everything he needed. Austin loaded the dirt bike into the truck so they could change the tires.

When they dropped it off at the cycle shop, his grandmother told the folks there to give the dirt bike a once-over and replace whatever needed replacing; they’d be back in a couple of hours.

Austin was clueless until they pulled up to a fancy men’s store.

“You need dress clothes for the various events this summer,” his grandmother announced.

The store carried everything from tuxes to fancy riding gear with the requisite tall velvet hats. When the salespeople saw his grandmother, the place suddenly looked like a used car lot when a sucker drove up. Three of them almost fought with each other until the manager stepped in and took over.

“How may we be of service?”

“My grandson needs everything for the summer, from formal to casual.”

“Why don’t we get his measurements to see what will work for him?”

The manager took Austin to the back, where their tailor had him stand on a small platform with three full-length mirrors so he could see how the clothes looked. His grandmother sat down on a loveseat, and one of the staff brought her a glass of wine to enjoy while Austin was put on display.

Once the tailor gave the manager Austin’s measurements, the three salespeople began bringing in stuff for him to try on.

The first item was a double-breasted houndstooth blazer. Austin rolled his eyes.

“Roll your eyes at me again, and I’ll smack them right out of your head,” Grandma Montgomery warned.

The tailor looked nervous as she said, “We’re going to try this on for size.”

He tried it on, and to his relief, the tailor said, “He needs something more fitted and youthful.

“These two are on sale,” one of the salespeople said.

’Hell no,’ Austin thought.

She held up two sport coats, one a blue microsuede and the other black velvet. While this might have been in style at that moment, in a few years, it would look as bad as wearing your jeans so low that your underwear was exposed.

“Do you have anything in paisley?” his soon-to-be-dead grandmother asked.

His look must have given him away because everyone had a chuckle at his expense.

The rest of the afternoon flew by in a blur. After the initial fun of making Austin uncomfortable, they actually listened to his ideas. Of course, his grandmother had final veto power and rejected a few of his suggestions.

By the time they were done, he owned a gray, vested houndstooth suit, which looked surprisingly good in both his and his grandmother’s opinions. He also had two sport coats, one navy blue and the other something called buttercup, a yellowish beige. To go with those were a variety of dress shirts, pants, ties, and belts, as well as a lambskin leather jacket and a couple pairs of dress shoes.

Their next stop was to get his hair cut—the cut he’d gotten in Texas didn’t pass muster with his grandmother.

Once they were done, his grandmother was pleased. She declared he had the makings of a fine Virginia gentleman.

When they returned to the cycle shop, his dirt bike was ready. The salesperson explained that they’d beefed up the brakes, replaced the seat and grips, and put on new tires. These tires could be used on trails as well as on hard surfaces like roads.

They’d also cleaned the bike, so it looked almost brand new.

His grandmother bought him a helmet. Austin passed on the other gear because he wanted the bike for transportation, not to terrorize the neighbors.

Austin was reminded of what Don had said when they got to the driveway: real estate in the Virginia horse country was all about the entrance. But it couldn’t be an ordinary driveway; it had to be a winding, five-minute trek bracketed by magnolias and stately oaks bowing down to welcome you home. His grandmother’s house had that in spades.

Once they parked, his grandmother grabbed his new clothes.

“I’ll have Emma wash and press the shirts, and she’ll hang the rest in your closet.”

“Thanks,” Austin said. “I’m going to take a quick ride to test the bike. I might shoot over to the brewery.”

“Pick up a six-pack of American Ale. I’ll call and have it waiting for you,” Grandma Montgomery said.

“Will do.”

He pulled into the microbrewery’s parking lot, which was almost full. Tourists were enjoying the early summer weather as they sat around round metal tables with umbrellas, sampling the different craft offerings. Austin pulled around to the back and entered through the ‘employees only’ door.

A young Black man was loading beer glasses into a dishwasher.

“You must be Austin.”

“Yeah. I’m here to pick up some beer.”

“I’m Oliver. You know my girlfriend, Emma.”

“Oh, right. She’s our new cook and housekeeper,” Austin said.

“Go through that door and look for the big Viking-looking dude. He’ll have your beer ready.”

“Will do,” Austin said and turned to walk away. Then he stopped, remembering he planned to change things here and hopefully make friends. “Maybe we can hang out sometime.”

“Sounds good,” Oliver said.

When he walked through the door, he found Oliver wasn’t lying. There was a tall, long-haired blond guy who, if he’d had a beard, would look like the TV version of a Viking. He was currently waiting on some customers, so Austin cooled his heels.

When the guy finished, he turned, smiled, and held out his hand to shake Austin’s.

“I’m Liam,” he said as his hand engulfed Austin’s.

“Austin. I hear you have some beer for me.”

“Mrs. Montgomery said you can pick up beer anytime. She said that would save her having to call each trip.”