Page 115 of Hometown Hottie

56

CARSON

The sound of movements downstairs woke me up, gently drawing me out of a dream I’d been having about being in Nova’s bed after making up with her. I sighed groggily, opened my eyes, and wished that it had been more than just a dream, but when I looked around and found myself in Nova’s bedroom, I grinned.

Shit, it was real.

My grin widened. I got up and pulled on my boxers, kind of sad that I couldn’t wake her up with an orgasm but also not opposed to the coffee I could smell brewing. A lazy morning drinking coffee with my girl didn’t sound too bad either. I crept softly to the kitchen to surprise her.

The surprise was all mine. I stopped short and the grin melted off my face when I saw Ryan instead of Nova in the kitchen.

He glanced at me and heaved out a heavy breath, his head shaking as his eyes settled on mine. “Go put some clothes on so we can talk about how this is going to go.”

I groaned, turned around, and headed back upstairs, mentally preparing for a fight as I put his clothes back on. Mine were still in the washer, so not only did I have to face Ryan instead of Nova this morning, but I had to do it while wearing his fucking clothes.

Not the way I want to have this discussion.

As I walked back downstairs, I went over the arguments I’d been formulating in my head for months, but when I got to the kitchen, he simply poured me a cup of coffee and pushed it over to me. “When I said to stay with her last night, I didn’t mean in her bed.”

“Where else was I supposed to sleep?” I asked wickedly. I was probably stirring the pot, but hell, he’d just caught me waking up in his sister’s bed. The shit storm was already coming. I wasn’t going to tiptoe around my feelings for Nova anymore.

To my utter surprise, he didn’t seem angry. He didn’t laugh at my joke, and he definitely wasn’t amused, but he didn’t punch me or throw coffee in my face.

He sat down across from me at the counter with a coffee of his own, watching the steam rise from the surface for a moment before he sighed. “There’s an arson investigator at the bakery, so it looks like they really don’t think it was an accident.”

“Shit.” I squinted, wondering if I should share my suspicions about Frank with him as well. “Has Nova got any enemies I don’t know about? Competition in town or something?”

He gave me a pointed, exasperated look. “This isn’t a bake off gone wrong. And you’ve been back long enough to know she’s the town’s golden girl. Everyone loves her. She’s like the female version of you. No one is going to burn her bakery down.”

“Yet, it seems that someone did,” I said evenly. “Do you think it could’ve been Frank?”

“I don’t know, but the thought has crossed my mind. I just don’t know why he’d have targeted the bakery. If he’s pissed off with my dad for saying no to the deal, why didn’t he just set fire to the ranch?”

“The bakery is easily accessible from the road,” I reasoned. “He could’ve been hoping it would spread. Or he could’ve chosen it because he knows that’s where most of the money is coming from at the moment. Without the bakery, your parents are in deeper shit than ever before. If he doesn’t know I’m going to invest in the ranch, he probably figured it would cripple you and force you to sell.”

“I didn’t think about it like that.” He paled a little. “You don’t think he’d come after Nova here, do you?”

“I don’t know, but I doubt it. The bakery was the money-maker. She’s the brains behind the operation, but it’s not like she can keep the ranch in the black out of her kitchen here.”

Worry still sped through me at the possibility, though. I bit my lip, gripping my mug harder in an effort to stop myself from jumping up and going after her. Ryan glanced in the direction of her front door like he was considering doing the same thing, but then he turned back to me and shook his head.

“She’s with the fire chief and the investigator. She’ll be fine. As soon as she’s done, I’m sure she’s going to race right back here to make sure your head is still attached to your body.”

I faced him head on. “You can take as many shots at me as you want, but I’m not backing down again, Ryan. I can’t. She’s it for me, and I know you don’t believe it, but I’m done trying to fight it just to spare your feelings.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard that before. From Nova.” He took a small sip of his coffee, his eyes never leaving mine. “You’re serious about her?”

“Yes,” I said without hesitation. “She’s the one, man. She always has been, and while I’d appreciate your blessing, I’m not waiting until I get it anymore.”

“I’ve heard that too,” he said, letting out a long breath before he finally nodded. “Yeah, okay. I’m onboard. You have my blessing.”

My eyebrows shot all the way up. “For real?”

“For real,” he said, gritting his teeth but not looking like he was lying or trying to make a joke about it. “Just don’t hurt her again. I know she acts all tough, but she’s got a really small, really soft heart, Carson. You’ve broken it twice and I know that I had a hand in it both those times, so I’m willing to give you one more chance, but if you fuck it up?”

He didn’t answer the question, but he didn’t need to. In reality, he was only giving me one real shot at this, but one was all I needed. I was going to make this work. Come hell or high water, I wasn’t going to mess it up now that we finally had his support.

Ryan was doing his best to make peace, and while part of me still wanted to tear him a new one for all he’d done to keep us apart, I simply nodded. “If I fuck it up, you’ll rip off my balls with your bare hands?”