Page 38 of Stuck with the Hero Next Door

I leaned against the porch railing—carefully, since it wasn’t fully trustworthy—and stared out at the gravel road winding back toward town. “It’s not what I pictured,” I said softly.

Levi stood beside me, his hands resting on his hips. “You mean the cottage?”

I shook my head. “Any of it. This. Everwood. Staying.”

He didn’t say anything.

“I had this plan,” I said, shaking my head at the absurdity of it. “Miller’s Pass, the job, the apartment with the exposed brick I couldn’t really afford... it all made sense. It was efficient. Smart.”

“And now?”

I exhaled. “Now I’m not sure what I was chasing.”

Levi’s voice was low. “Plans are easy to make, but harder to change when you start to want things that aren’t part of the blueprint.”

I glanced at him. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying,” he replied with a small smile, “I haven’t told you the best part of your little cottage.”

The light caught in his hair, soft and gold, and suddenly, it was hard to remember what we were talking about. “And what is the best part?”

“Just that I live close enough that we can carpool to Bingo Night at the church.”

Bingo Night. I never thought I’d be that kind of person. But in Everwood, maybe I could be.

Would be.

“Come on,” Levi said eventually, pushing off the railing. “Let’s get you back before Janet starts calling in a search party.”

I followed him to the car, pausing one last time to look back at the little house tucked between the trees. Yep, I was hooked.

Chapter 10

A Cottage and a Beginning

Levi

Bob laughed when I called him, dry and creaky. “You want the old place next to yours?” he said, his voice crackling over the speakerphone. “Thought you’d sworn off neighbors.”

“I’m making an exception,” I said, pressing the phone between my ear and shoulder as I tossed another flake of hay into the feeder. “It’s for a friend.”

There was a long pause. I knew Bob well enough to know he was picturing something. “Female friend?”

I rolled my eyes skyward. “Just need the lease terms, Bob.”

“Uh-huh,” he muttered, but I could hear the grin in his voice. “Tell her she’s got to keep the porch light off after midnight. That thing’s wired to a motion sensor, and it drives the raccoons nuts.”

“I’ll let her know.”

“I’ll draw up the rental paperwork and email it over. You can fill it out on her behalf and get her signature later.” That was Bob—mostly indifferent, mildly suspicious, but ultimately easygoing once you cleared the crust.

I hung up and looked over at the empty cottage tucked behind the pines. Mom and a few of the knitting ladies wasted no time in bustling over to the cottage and cleaning it. It was move-in ready, save for a few repairs I’d already planned to fix. It needed a little work—a loose railing, some gutter repair, a stuck window, nothing serious—but it had charm. More than that, it was hers now. If she wanted it to be.

By the time I pulled up to the inn to break the news, Cassie was already outside, perched on the steps with a half-eaten apple in one hand and her phone in the other. She looked up as I parked, brushing her hair out of her face.

“Good news,” I said, walking over. “Bob’s cottage is yours if you want it.”

She blinked. “Really! That was fast.”