The Edge of Autumn- Interracial Fiction (BWWM)

The Edge of Autumn- Chapter 1

Finn Somerset waited in line at the San Morello Gas Oasis, his patience wearing thin with each passing moment in line. His long legs ached from the long drive from Los Angeles north to San Morello, and he was frustrated and exhausted as he stood in the unusually long line. He looked around at the other patrons, generally uninterested in the whole situation unfolding before him.

Heaving a sigh, he stared blankly at the attendant, a pretty young woman whose false cheeriness seemed to be waning with each customer she helped. Finn had attempted to pay at the gas pump, but the machines were malfunctioning and unable to accept credit card payments without the attendant taking the payment inside the store. There was a line of customers just as frustrated and agitated as the woman behind the counter was with the added issues. Finn gave another sigh as he allowed his mind to drift staring blankly across the street, to San Morello's vibrant downtown.

Fifteen years before, Finn would have never imagined that the city would look so drastically different. San Morello was a place that Finn once knew well. He knew it was foolish to believe fifteen years wouldn't change San Morello, but part of him had hoped time would have stood still in his absence. Staring out at the changed landscape of downtown, Finn questioned his sanity and rationale for coming back to San Morello.

The place held many fond memories for Finn, but he had no familial ties left in San Morello. The grandparents that introduced him to the charming town, passed away nearly a decade before. Finn fought the disappointment he felt in the new and arguably improved San Morello. Finn took notice of the faux-aged façades of the upscale designer boutiques and drive-thru restaurants. They all looked as if they were built at the turn of the twentieth century when he looked through the tinted lenses of his sunglasses onto the street. Finn removed his glasses, squinting at the harshness of the midday sun shining into the service station. This was now his home. While the buildings exteriors were meant to blend in with their historic surroundings Finn couldn't help but feel offended by their attempts at being inoffensive. To him, the new buildings were frauds dressed up as historic relics, but standing out with a shiny newness that left Finn feeling cold.

"How can I help you?" asked the attendant, a note of annoyance let Finn know that she had posited the question to him at least once before as he realized he was next in line.

"I'd like a fill up. I'm at pump number four," Finn said producing the black titanium credit card from his wallet. The woman looked to the parking lot and gave a small nod of approval when she caught sight of Finn's sleek luxury sedan from her perch behind the register. At one point, Finn's expensive car and exclusive card would have garnered more than a few questioning looks in a small town like San Morello, but fifteen years after his departure, high-end luxury had become a part of everyday life.

"Here you are sir," the attendant said, returning the card to Finn, a look of interest now sparkling in her green eyes as she added in a breathy note to replace the harshness of her earlier tone. Finn was no stranger to the predatory gaze of a woman. Aside from the interests in his bank account, he had a large lean body from years of playing soccer and LaCrosse in high school and college. He looked like his father down to the icy blue of his eyes, but Finn's mother's Hispanic heritage gave his skin an Olive hue that most mistook as Greek or Italian. When women flirted, Finn was generally gracious; even when he wasn't interested.

The attendant at the gas station was attractive enough, as far as he could surmise. She was trim, seductive, and from the way she presented herself, she had very little experience with rejection. Finn considered the ease with which he could get the woman back to his house, but his fatigue got the better of him as he put on his sunglasses, and walked away without further comment.

As Finn continued toward his destination, he felt more like a stranger in a strange place than a man coming to a place he'd thought of as his home away from home. The small and humble farming community that was the San Morello of Finn's past was a playground for the wealthy city-dwellers and tourists. The farms and markets that made up San Morello since it's founding, had given way to a construction boom that brought in new high-end shops and luxury accommodations. As much as he wanted to condemn the newcomers for their takeover of the once quaint town, Finn was as much a wealthy outsider as those he wanted to condemn. His mind tried to reconcile the changed landscape with his memories of the roads he now traversed. What was once a large plot owned by a dairy farmer, a man who was good friends with Finn's maternal grandparents, was now a gated community of large mansions with neatly manicured lawns. Pools and Tennis courts replaced the open fields upon which the cows used to graze. Although he always complained of the smell, Finn felt a pang of sadness knowing that it was no longer there. Finn slowed his car as he passed the immaculate topiaries and black scrolled gate of the new country club, trying to familiarize himself with the changes.

San Morello's location; not too far from the Bustling City of San Francisco, or the tech haven of Silicon Valley, and just near an area making a name for itself as the "new wine country" made it ideal for development. It's picturesque charm and beauty brought in tourist craving a taste of small town life as well as the rich and powerful searching for a weekend home.

Finn pushed his doubts aside as he began to recognize the houses and farms that made up the street he was most familiar with, Cherry Lane. With a wistful sigh, Finn turned his car off the main road and headed up the long driveway. Slowly, a smile parted his handsome face as he spotted the "Sold" sign in the front yard. Finn killed the engine then, unfolded himself from behind the wheel of his car, not bothering to park it in the garage attached to the large farmhouse.

Finn took a few steps back get a clear picture of the farmhouse. It was still quite large and imposing, but it was no longer a larger-than-life palace, but a 5 bedroom fully renovated homestead, of which Finn was now the owner.

Finn's assistant Melinda had taken care of most of the negotiations for the purchase of Dorsey Stables. She'd even helped stave off a bidding war with a real estate developer who was determined to build yet another planned community from the property. Finn came out the victor not by offering more money, but by promising to keep the land intact, and offering to pay the seven-figure sum for the land in cash, without ever stepping foot onto the property until that moment.

For months, Finn had sent his assistant off in his place to meetings and inspections for the expansion of the main farm house and conversion of the small cottage on the property into a top of the line home office.

Although a traditional career in engineering can be lucrative, Finn's earnings from his work in the field were far beyond anything he'd imagined. While working on creating an effective solar-powered air conditioner, whose sensors adjusted it's output based on how much energy the solar panels were absorbing, Finn found his fortune. While he never quite finished the air conditioner, a colleague of his thought his sensor had many other applications. His colleague turned out to be correct.

Finn's sensor was integrated into smart phones, computers, and cameras everywhere, and the invention transformed Finn from well meaning environmental engineer to retired Billionaire at the age of thirty-one.

Finn keyed the alarm code that his assistant had given him into the keypad at the front door. With a distinct click, Finn pushed through the front door and laid his eyes on his new home.

The place was decorated in a modern-rustic motif outfitted with reclaimed wood floors and soft-looking oversized couches. Finn could feel his heart beat a tattoo as the reality of his surroundings set in. Finn walked from room to room, finding that all of his things had been moved and put away in their places. Stepping into the master bedroom, Finn didn't bother to take his shoes off before diving head first onto his California King Bed. The soft luxury of the crisp white linens enveloped him. Finn hadn't realized how exhausted he was from the ride up to San Morello until he was fast asleep.