Going Home

Chapter One

Chapter One
Beaver Hill, Texas

As Nate descended the steps of the plane and stepped down onto Texas soil late Sunday morning, he drew in a deep breath. He'd made it out of Hollywood. He'd made it home.

Home.

He scoffed at the word and the memories it evoked within him. He didn't have a home...he never had. But Texas was where he got his start.

He slid on his sunglasses to fend off the glare of the hot sun.

During the plane ride, he had thought about where to go. He could stay at the old hotel in town, but he'd be susceptible to fans finding him. That thought made him feel stifled. There was his father's place. He guessed that was as 'home' as he was going to get at this point. It would have to do, at least for the next two weeks.

The problem with that option was that he and his father hadn't spoken in years. Ever since he'd left for the big city to make a life for himself. Hopefully his father had changed...for the better.

He quickly got his luggage and rented the truck that he had arranged for earlier, not wanting to draw attention to himself.

As he drove away from the airport, he glanced down at his watch. Terence would have read the letter he had left for him by now, and he was probably livid. It briefly explained what Nate was doing but not where he was going. And Nate wasn't worried about being found. Terence knew better than to push Nate Hill too hard because Nate Hill would retaliate. Terence would leave him alone for the next two weeks as Nate had requested, now realizing how serious Nate had been all those times when he had told Terence that he wanted a break. He'd give it to him now, not that he had much choice in the matter.

The ride to Beaver Hill took a good three hours and it gave Nate time to try and relax before seeing everyone again. How long had it been since he'd been back? Fifteen years, at least. He'd cut out of Beaver Hill when he was nineteen with dreams of making it rich, and he had. At that young age and, being as cocky as he had been back then, he had vowed that he would never return to Beaver Hill again. Ever. But 'ever' is too strong a word, and here he was back in Beaver Hill, breaking his vow.

The fight he'd had with his father had been enough to keep him from coming back all those years. 'His father'. He snorted in disgust. He'd stopped calling him his father long ago.

Lyle Hill was about as stubborn as they came, if not more. But Nate was the exact replica of him, only he didn't drink like his father did. They had never gotten along no matter how hard they had tried in the beginning. After awhile, they had just accepted their differences and let their relationship go to waste.

Lyle Hill was a drunk, had been for all of Nate's life. If anyone was to blame for their relationship, it was Lyle. He'd never been sober enough to take care of him or his mother, Alice. He groaned as he thought of his mother. She'd left them when he was ten years old. She never had been able to handle Lyle's drinking, not like Nate had. Not that he had really had a choice as a young boy.

Nate had begged her to stay but she had packed her bags and walked out of the house, never looking back once. Nate remembered her last words to him.

"If you're smart, you'll get out of here too."

No, 'I love you, Son' or 'I'll miss you'. Not even an invitation to go with her. She just left.

To this day, he had never heard from her. He had the money to find her now, but he didn't dare. What would he say to her? What if she didn't even want to see him? It was much too risky. Besides, she was the one to walk away, not him. If anyone were going to do any finding, it'd have to be her.