Small-town Scandal

Prologue

"You'll do great here, Devon," Laurel said, throwing her arms around her brother, "I'm glad you have a job."

Devon could have good days, and he could have really, really bad days. But his autism, even if it was high-functioning, could not hold him back. This made Laurel proud, seeing her brother excel despite the struggles of his condition. She was just glad that someone finally gave him the time of day and saw his potential. There was nothing physically wrong with Devon; he was tall, quite handsome, and spoke eloquently. But being socially inept caused him to go through many job interviews with no success, as well as a failed attempt at university. All Laurel wanted was for her brother to be happy.

"It's nothing, really. Just a job selling coffee and E-cigarettes." Devon said, shrugging his sister off, "But look at you --- going off to university. When do you head out there?"

Laurel smiled, trying not to let the thoughts of leaving her family and Eversee Heights deter her from her dream, "Tonight. I didn't want to leave without saying good-bye first."

"If you did, I would head all the way down to the city and embarrass you in front of your friends." Devon smirked, prodding his sister.

"One would need friends first," Laurel laughed, shoving her brother back.

The front door to the store chimed, causing both Laurel and Devon to look in the direction to see who it was. In walked the tall, dark haired, muscular Brett Steele, owner of Modern Society, the coffee shop that Devon had got a job at. He was successful in all of his endeavours and had made great head waves in Eversee Heights. Everyone knew that he was going to bring life back to the town one step at a time. The only reason Devon managed to get a job at Modern Society was merely from being a regular customer, coming to the coffee shop to use the wireless internet. Brett saw that Devon couldn't get a job, and recently losing one of his employees, decided to take a chance on Devon. Laurel was grateful.

But Laurel couldn't deny that Brett was very attractive in an unattainable way. She knew his history, as did the rest of the town. Brett had been married twice previously, and was now working on his third wife who happened to be a successful photographer around town. Apparently they had met while Brett was married to his second wife when Brett hired Emily Sweetman to take pictures of the new store. It didn't take long until rumours were spreading that Brett and Emily were seeing each other, despite Brett still being married.

Even though Brett couldn't seem to understand the concept of faithfulness, he was a very nice man who the town adored. If he hadn't of brought so much business to the down town core, people may have been quick to judge him. But they didn't, instead they looked the other way, as most small towns tend to do.

Brett was so reserved that as he walked up to Devon and Laurel, he merely nodded in their direction with a hint of a smile on his face. Laurel tried not to stare, but found herself scanning the tall frame before shooting her eyes back down to the counter that separated her and Devon.

"The new store looks great," Devon said to his boss, "I like how the kitchen looks."

"Yeah, it's coming along, isn't it?" Brett replied, going behind the counter to grab one of his ledgers.

"You remember my sister Laurel?" Devon said, pointing to his sister.

This was the first time that Brett really acknowledged Laurel, smiling politely at her, "Yes, I do. How are you?"

Laurel tried not to be awkward, but she had a tendency to do so without noticing. She was an awkward person, something that had come from years of having older parents that didn't really understand the new society. She didn't want to blame her parents for raising her this way, but it was the truth. "I'm good, and yourself?"

"Keeping busy," Brett replied, and for a moment, his eyes scanned down Laurel. But he quickly averted his attention, focusing on the task at hand. 

There was no denying that Laurel felt butterflies in her stomach at the sight of Brett, but she was sure that this was a common thing for women around him. He was established, handsome, and had a magnetic personality. When he smiled, Laurel was sure her heart stopped.

"Laurel is about to head off to university." Devon announced, proud of his sister.

Brett lit up at the thought, stopping himself from what he was doing so he could lean against the counter, "Really? That's great of you. What are you going for?"

"I'd like to be a writer," Laurel replied, wondering if Brett would have the same response as everyone else when she spoke of her wanting to write, most thought it was petty and the likelihood of her succeeding being slim to none, "so I'm going for English Lit."

"A writer? Wow, you don't hear that too often around these parts. Most people want something in business or healthcare. But good for you --- we need more trailblazers around here." Brett said, the corner of his mouth turning up.

"Well, you're doing a pretty good job at that," Laurel replied, tucking her brown hair behind her ear, "everything looks great."

Brett nodded, "Yeah, thanks. I've got a few more plans up my sleeve, but we'll see how the new bar and grill goes before I get too ahead of myself."

"Good luck with that." Laurel said, shooting him the best smile she could.

He took notice, a smile appearing on his own mouth that mimicked hers, "And good luck to you in university. I'm sure I'll see your name on the front of a book more sooner than later."

"We can only hope." She replied, chuckling at the thought.

With one nod of his head, Brett gathered his things and stepped away from the counter, "See you guys later. Have a safe trip, Laurel."

The minute Brett left the shop, Laurel could not seem to contain the real smile that she had been hiding. That same smile that meant she was crushing --- hard. Devon took notice, raising his eyebrows at her. But Laurel shoved him away, rolling her eyes.

Brett was an enigma, and Laurel wished more than anything she could figure out what made him tick. Another thought for another life.