Page 118 of Hometown Hottie

“Is that an invitation?”

“Do you need one?”

He considered it for a moment as he got us on the road. Then he shook his head. “No, I guess not. I’m staying over again tonight, but I’d like to take you somewhere before we go back to the ranch.”

“Okay. Where do you want to take me?”

“You’ll find out soon,” he said mischievously, then left me hanging all through lunch and our reading session.

By the time we’d been in his truck for another fifteen minutes after we’d left the library, the curiosity was just about to kill me. “Seriously, where the hell are we going?”

“To the house I’m buying.”

I blinked back my surprise. “You found a place? I didn’t know that! Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I found it while we were separated, then the bakery burned down and that hardly seemed like the time.”

“It’s been days since then.”

“Sure, but I’ve been distracted.” There was a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips when he said it.

We started slowing in front of what turned out to be a huge piece of land with a tiny, dilapidated house on it.

“This is it,” he said happily, putting the car in park before climbing out and walking around to open the door for me.

I followed him out, looking around at the overgrown garden, the chipping paint on the walls, and the sagging gutters. “Really? This is the place you’re buying? I thought you wanted to build. If you decided to buy something, I’m surprised it’s not a mansion. This place certainly has character.”

He took my hand again, leading me up a path of broken flagstones to the front door. There was a garage, but I could see why he hadn’t parked in it. The door was broken. The dark, gaping hole in it made me wonder what kind of critters had made their homes in there.

A shiver ran down my spine. “Seriously, this is a joke, right?”

“No jokes,” he said as he produced a key and unlocked the door that had seen better days.

Inside, the place was dark, dingy, and dirty. Our footsteps echoed across the old tiles in the foyer, leading into what I assumed to be the living area. Carson and I had both pulled off our sunglasses when we’d walked in, and I turned to him. The crease between my eyebrows grew deeper as guilt gnawed at my stomach.

“Are you thinking of buying this place because it’s the best you can afford now that you’ve given us so much money? This is too much of a sacrifice.”

“No.” He took my other hand in his as well and tugged me closer. My chest touched his and he dipped his forehead to mine. “A big, shiny house isn’t going to make the town better and that’s what I aim to do with the money I have. The investment I made in the ranch hardly made a dent, Nova. I’m okay. I’m not buying this place because it’s cheap. I’m buying it because it has potential and because I’m not sure yet what the future holds.”

“What do you mean?” My heart gave an aching pang. I looked into those gorgeous green eyes and suddenly realized what was coming. “You’re leaving, aren’t you? That’s why you’re not building the house you said you wanted when you first got back.”

“I’m thinking about going into broadcasting,” he admitted. My spirit would’ve sagged if he wasn’t still holding me so tightly that it didn’t feel like his way of breaking up with me.

“You’d be great at it,” I whispered, not wanting to speak normally in case my voice gave away the pain growing inside. “It’s just, uh, sad that it would mean you have to leave again.”

“Hey, now,” he said softly, nudging his nose against my own. “I’m going to come home, baby. To you, to our town, and to our families, and I want you to be here waiting for me when I do. I want you to be mine and I haven’t accepted any gigs yet, so if you don’t want me to go, I won’t.”

“No, it’s not that.” I tipped my head back and released his hands to wind my arms around his neck. “I want all the same things you want. I guess I just wasn’t expecting you to leave again so soon.”

As he spoke, he backed me up against a wall, his body hot and heavy against mine, and he looked straight into my eyes. “I’m not leaving you this time, Nova. We’ll work out the details and the logistics, but even if I do leave town, I won’t be leaving you.”

Pushing me up against the wall, he caught my wrists and extended them above my head. Keeping a tight grip on them, he kissed me deeply. Shock still reverberated through my system, but with each stroke of his tongue against my own, I felt more reassured that it wouldn’t be the same this time. With each item of clothing that we removed, I told myself we weren’t going to let this break us apart, and when he sank into me, I held on to him tightly, silently promising him that I would support him in making all his dreams come true with the same fervor that he’d shown in his support of mine.

Together, there was nothing we couldn’t do. I just had to keep my wits about me, not let my brother get into my head when he said “I told you so,” and quite possibly, I would have to prepare myself to leave Silver Springs for short bursts of time.

As I came, he swelled deep inside me at the same time. Blind with pleasure, I kissed him again, knowing that we were still only just beginning. This wasn’t the end. I absolutely refused to let this be the thing that finally put an end to us. With the bakery months away from even being open again and Dad and Ryan able to take care of the ranch together in the meantime, maybe it was my turn to be there for Carson for once.