Page 98 of Hometown Hottie

Having decided to take matters into my own hands, I drove out to the ranch to talk to Nova’s parents. After I’d hit up my money guy to make the funds available, I’d called Mara and made an appointment, and they knew I was on my way.

Ryan was going to fucking hate me for going over his head like this, but I needed to take action. I couldn’t let his resentment stop me from moving forward with this, so here I was, pulling up to his parents’ house and wondering how they were going to take my offer.

I opened the door, nerves swirling through me as I thought about how much was at stake. This wasn’t just a game or even a season at risk. If I failed here today, Nova’s whole life could change course. Generations of their family’s hard work and sacrifice would be lost with the property.

No pressure or anything.

I dragged in a deep breath as I strode up to their front door, but before I could knock, Mara opened it. She looked so much like Nova that it made something deep inside me ache with longing. It had only been about twenty-four hours since I’d last seen her, but even that had been way too long.

I’d never been needy in a relationship, but I felt off-kilter all of a sudden. Like I needed her with me right now just to regain my balance. But there was a reason I hadn’t called to tell her I was coming, and that reason hadn’t changed.

Get it together, Drake. There’s too much riding on this for you to turn into a lovesick fool right now.

Mara smiled and gave me a quick hug. “I have to admit, honey, this is quite a surprise. Is everything alright? You sounded so serious on the phone.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to alarm you.” I hugged her back, then stepped out of her embrace and followed her into the house.

I’d all but grown up in the place. All the furniture was still exactly where it had always been and the delectable scent of Mara’s cooking still hung in the air. I wasn’t sure why, but it always smelled like vanilla, lemon, and homemade cookies in here.

The only thing that had changed since I’d been a kid was that there were always some new pictures on the walls. Pictures of Nova and Ryan as adults now joined the memories Mara liked to have in plain sight.

The pressure on my insides mounted. If I couldn’t convince the Murphys today to take my offer, this would all be gone. They’d be moving on and the house would probably be unrecognizable one day soon.

My breath stalled in my lungs at the thought of never coming here again. So many memories.

I didn’t know how they could stand the idea of losing this place, but I sure couldn’t. Mara gave me a sad smile when she noticed me looking around.

“It’s good to have you back in our home, Carson,” she said softly. “We’ve missed having you around.”

“I’m sure you haven’t missed having to feed three teenage boys instead of just one,” I said, trying to keep my tone light.

She chuckled. “Well, maybe not that part so much, but I kind of enjoyed cooking for you all. It always makes a mother feel good when the kids enjoy her food so much that there’s never any leftovers.”

We walked into the living room where George was already waiting. He got up to shake my hand, his hair so silver these days that very little of his natural deep brown remained. “Carson, it’s good to see you, son, but I’m a little confused as to why you needed to see us so urgently. Have a seat.”

After I released his hand, I sat down on the chair he motioned me into and prepared myself to jump right into the pitch I’d spent all night and all morning rehearsing. “Thanks for agreeing to see me on such short notice.”

“Of course,” he said. “What’s going on?”

“Ryan told me you’ve received an offer for the ranch as a whole, and I wanted to speak to you about another option.”

“Another option?” Mara asked as she came into the room carrying a tray of lemonade in glasses. “What other option?”

She glanced at her husband, but he shrugged. George’s skepticism shone in his eyes as he looked at me. “If there was another option, I’m sure we’d have been aware of it by now.”

“No, sir. This particular option only became available earlier today after I spoke with my financial advisor.”

He cocked his head, reluctant, but rolled his hand to show me to continue. I drew in a deep breath, gratefully accepting the lemonade from Mara but not taking a sip yet. “I want to invest in the property.”

Mara sat down and gave me a curious look. “Well, we know that, honey. You want to purchase the part of the property Nova’s cottage and the bakery are on. Ryan’s told us all about that already.”

“That was the offer that was on the table previously, but this is a different offer. An offer to invest rather than purchase.”

She frowned. “Invest? Invest in what?”

“The businesses Nova wants to start here,” I responded.

George sighed. “I’m not sure a bigger bakery and coffee shop are going to cut it, son. We don’t want her to lose her businesses either, but she’d be able to move those into town if we sold.”