Page 83 of Hometown Hottie

40

CARSON

Trying to decide the best approach to the situation at Red Stone Ranch, I lay in my bed and watched as the sun rose outside my window. I’d hardly gotten any sleep last night, but I wasn’t tired. I was amped, my brain awake and alert as I considered my options.

The first thing I had to do was to find out what Nova and Ryan really wanted from that place. What they envisioned doing with it if it was to become theirs. In the time I’d been back, there had been so much talk about all the potential it offered and how they had so many plans that George just wouldn’t let them realize, but I still didn’t really know what any of those plans entailed.

Ultimately, I agreed that the property had massive potential. There was enough land to do a lot with it, but I needed Nova to just tell me what she wanted, which seemed harder than it sounded. I also had to talk to Ryan about whether he even wanted to stay there, or if he wanted to move on.

So far, most of my discussions about it had been with him, but in retrospect, something seemed off about him, and it was making me wonder if it was pride standing in the way of him opening up to me about it, or if it was because he was trying to help his family but was ready to leave the ranch. I never would have thought it was a possibility, but the guy had sacrificed everything for that place and that family.

Maybe he had decided it was time to live his own life. I wouldn’t blame him for it.

As the sun broke free of the horizon and started rising in the sky, I rolled out of bed and got ready to coach football camp for the day, happy for the distraction it would provide. The Murphys were still on my mind as I showered and got dressed.

It was still way too early to leave, but I headed downstairs anyway, hoping that I was up before Mom for once so that I could make our breakfast. Of course, as soon as I hit the stairs and smelled pancakes, I knew I was already too late.

I walked into the kitchen to find her standing behind the stove with a whole stack of pancakes already done. I grinned and went over to brush a kiss to her cheek. “I was hoping I’d get to do this for you for a change. What time do you get up?”

“Why? Are you going to set an alarm just to beat me to it tomorrow morning?” she teased and motioned toward the coffee machine. “It’s already locked and loaded. All you need to do is push the button.”

I shook my head. “I should be ashamed that I’m letting you do all this for me. I’m a grownup. At some point, I’m pretty sure I’m supposed to start taking care of you.”

“If that’s true, we haven’t reached that point yet,” she said, winking as she flipped another pancake. “Besides, you do take care of me. Take that machine, for instance. I might’ve put the coffee in it this morning, but you’re the one who bought it. Same goes for the ingredients for the pancakes.”

“Yeah, but I’m staying here for now. It’s only fair that I pay my own way.”

She scoffed. “I’m your mother. You don’t need to pay for anything and you’re welcome to stay here as long as you like.”

“Thanks, but I can’t do that.” I hit the button for an espresso and waited as dark liquid filled the little cup she’d already placed in position. Cocking my hip against the counter, I looked at her, wondering if she was really okay with us going back to the days of her cooking my breakfast and doing my laundry. “You’d tell me if you wanted me to get out, right? I still don’t mind renting a place until I find a property to build on. I didn’t think it was going to take me this long when I agreed to stay with you.”

“You’ll find something when you find it,” she said easily, sliding the next lot of pancakes onto the waiting plate before she ladled more of the mixture into the pan. “Just so long as you make sure that you’re saving up some money to build said house and have a family someday. You’ve been so busy focusing on what the town needs that I’m starting to get scared that you’ve forgotten that you still need to be able to live.”

I chuckled, shaking my head at her. “Don’t worry, Mom. Financially, I’m all good.”

She glanced up at me, arching an eyebrow. “Only financially, huh? What’s going on, Carson? I feel like I haven’t spoken to you in weeks, but it’s been at least that long since you’ve gone to look at any properties or since I’ve heard you talking about settling down.”

“I still want that,” I said honestly. “It’s just that the idea of it seems to be getting further and further away.”

“So what’s on your mind?” she asked after flipping the pancakes and scraping the last bit of batter left in the bowl into her ladle. “Something’s going on with you. Why is the idea of a house and a family getting further and further away? That’s what you came home to do, so it should be feeling closer than ever, not further.”

I shrugged. “To have a family, I need someone who wants to build it with me and I’ve hit a snag as far as that’s concerned.”

“A snag?” Mom frowned. “What happened to Nova?”

“How do you know I was talking about her? Maybe there’s someone else.”

Mom scoffed. “Please. There is only her. We’ve spoken about this, so why don’t you just tell me about this snag instead of trying to pretend like you’ve got eyes for anyone else?”

“Fine. I don’t. There is still only her. She’s the only thing on my mind and the only one I want, but I don’t know. She’s hesitant.”

“Well, of course, she is, honey,” Mom said wisely, shutting off the stove once the last of the pancakes were done. “Let’s sit down and you can tell me why she’s hesitant while we’re eating. Maybe I can help.”

Taking the plate with the pancakes from her, I carried it and my coffee to the breakfast nook. Then I grabbed butter and syrup and set that down too before joining her. All the while, I thought about what to say about my situation with Nova.

For a guy who was supposed to be keeping quiet about it, I’d now told Vance and I was about to tell my mom. I didn’t know if Nova had told anyone, but if she had, we were getting dangerously close to everyone finding out before Ryan, and he was going to hate us even more for that.

Mom smiled as I blew out a frustrated breath, unsure what to think about the fact that she wanted to keep it quiet in the first place. “You know how much I love Nova, sweetheart, but she’s a complex girl. That’s one of the reasons why I love her so much. She’s independent, she follows her own heart, and she works damn hard, but if you’re not willing to be patient with her, then maybe she’s not the girl for you after all.”