Andrew Montgomery peered out onto the road before him. The windshield wipers on his old Jeep swished sluggishly back and forth, too slow to do their job effectively. He wasn't sure if it was the rain or the place to which he drove that was causing him to feel slightly anxious right now. It was a new sensation for him. Andrew was used to being in tough situations, but this time, there was more at stake.

He had thought about turning his vehicle around at least a hundred times and heading anywhere instead of back to his hometown, but he knew he couldn't disappoint his family. Not this time. They expected him.

"This is ridiculous," he mumbled to himself. "Get your act together, Montgomery. This shouldn't be that tough."

Andrew hadn't wanted to face all the memories of his childhood, but he also knew it was time he stopped punishing himself. Things had changed.

It ended up being his brother, Miles, who'd managed to get Andrew to return home.

The wedding invitation had landed in his mailbox a few weeks back—an oversized cream envelope with embossed lettering announcing the upcoming nuptials of Miles Montgomery to a woman Andrew didn't know. He'd traced the ornate writing with his fingertips. The only thing that had surprised him was that it had taken his twin brother this long to get married. Although, he had never married either. That would have been something too difficult for his lifestyle.

Just as he saw the sign for Sable Falls, the rain slowed and the sun slowly peeked out from behind the grey clouds, almost as if to welcome him back. Traffic was steady as he drove down the street. Old, faded, multicolored brick buildings lined the town's main square, except now they all seemed slightly smaller and older. The red had faded to a dark pink, the yellow into an ugly tan, and the green now looked more the color of an olive.

A striped awning jutting off one of the buildings, covering several large pots of bright-colored flowers, brought a smile to his lips. It was a nice sight. He knew the place well. In his memories, he could still smell the sweet fragrance of the flowers inside. It was the one building he hoped hadn't changed.

Down one of the side roads he saw the familiar neon sign for the bowling alley. Only three of the letters were lit—OWL. He chuckled. Some things never changed.

Andrew turned his vehicle toward an older residential area. A blinking yellow light caused him to slow briefly before continuing down the newly resurfaced road. Sable Falls had once been a small lake community located just outside of Houston, but over the past few years it had grown immensely as more people moved to the area to escape the hustle and bustle of a large city. The town was an odd mixture of old and new money. A Victorian period home with sweeping porches stood next to a small wooden house that couldn't have more than two bedrooms.

Back near one of the main roads was the town's high school. It was where Andrew had graduated from fifteen years ago. It also looked as if it had been recently updated. The entire front part had been remodeled with an all-glass front entrance, and seemed like a school that belonged in a bigger, wealthier city. He wanted to keep driving towards his parents' ranch, but something drew him into the school's parking lot. It was full of cars and large trucks. He headed toward the back, near the stadium, and turned off the ignition.

The bright green of the stadium's turf was visible through the slits in the stands. He took in a deep breath and ascended the stairs to the middle of the stadium. He wiped away some of the water on the aluminum bench and sat down, scanning the field. The top of the scoreboard had a Montgomery Industries logo.

"Good job, Dad," Andrew said under his breath.

He leaned back and rested his arms on the bleachers behind him. His clothes would be soaked if he didn't get up soon, but he didn't care. It felt good just to breathe in the warm, humid air. Andrew thought about his senior year English teacher. He couldn't remember her name, but she had been one of the more eclectic teachers at the school, with her long curly red hair that looked as if she had never brushed it, along with her brightly colored pants and oversized shirts. On one of the walls inside her classroom she had displayed a poster with the words—You control your own destiny. Andrew had always thought about that poster, but sometimes things were out of a person's control. That's how his life had been. He'd been at the top of his game in high school, but then a single event on the first night of spring break during his senior year had turned everything upside down—literally. He'd never really understood why it had happened, but it was a night that had altered the course of his life.