Page 23 of Trick or Tease

“Yeah, it was.”

Before we knew it, the familiar sight of bright orange pumpkins stretched out for what looked like miles on one side of the road. On the other was dried corn stalks. I pulled into the driveway of Hogan’s Hill Farm with nostalgia washing over me.

It looked exactly the same as it had when I’d left for college twelve years ago. The white farmhouse with its wraparound porch still stood proudly against the rolling hills, the red barn still needed a fresh coat of paint, and Mom’s flower garden still exploded with color even this late in the season.

I sat in my car for a moment, suddenly nervous in a way I hadn’t been since my first day at the law firm. This was home. This was supposed to be easy.

The front door burst open before I could even turn off the engine, and there was Mom, wiping her hands on her apron as she hurried down the porch steps. She looked older than I remembered, her dark hair now streaked with silver, but her smile was exactly the same.

“Garrett?” she called out, like she couldn’t quite believe what she was seeing. “Garrett, is that really you?”

I climbed out of the Mercedes, and before I could say a word, she was throwing her arms around me, squeezing me so tight I could barely breathe. She smelled like apples and cinnamon and every childhood memory I’d tried to keep buried.

It was canning season. She must have been elbows deep in apples from the orchard. Just thinking about her homemade apple pie and the best applesauce a man would ever eat had my mouth watering.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” she whispered against my shoulder. I felt her tears soaking through my shirt. “Billy said you might come, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up. Your brother always dreams big.”

Guilt hit me like a punch to the gut. When was the last time I’d hugged my mother in person? She felt smaller than I remembered, more fragile, and I realized with a shock that she was getting older while I’d been too busy conquering Manhattan to notice.

“Hey, Mom,” I said softly, holding her tighter. “I’m here. Surprise.”

She pulled back to look at me, her hands framing my face like she used to do when I was little and had scraped my knee or gotten into trouble. Her eyes were bright with tears, and she was smiling so wide it made my chest ache.

“Look at you,” she said, her voice thick with emotion. “So handsome in your fancy clothes. My successful city lawyer.” She smoothed down my hair, a gesture so familiar it transported me back twenty years. Thank God I got that cowlick under control or she’d be spitting on her fingers and wiping it down. “I’m so proud of you, sweetheart. So proud.”

I’d been chasing validation from partners and clients for years but hearing it from Mom was a million times better. It was simple and filled with genuine pride. It made me realize how much I’d been missing.

“Where’s Dad?” I asked, glancing toward the barn.

“He’s working on that stupid John Deere,” she muttered. “He’s going to be over the moon when he sees you.”

“Told you I’d fetch the prodigal son,” Billy said, coming up behind me. He shoved me hard. “Had to drive all the way to the city, but I got him.”

I heard my car door close and looked to see Sabrina had grabbed her bag. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” she said.

I felt like I should say something, but I didn’t know what so I just waved like an idiot, wondering why I didn’t want her to go.

9

SABRINA

Ipushed through the screen door and let it slap shut behind me, breathing in the familiar scent of cinnamon that always seemed to cling to every surface in Granny Mae’s kitchen. Whether it was cinnamon rolls with the amazing cream cheese frosting or the softest snickerdoodles, her kitchen always smelled like cinnamon. The warmth wrapped around me like a hug I desperately needed after spending the day in the car with Garrett.

My god. The man sucked all the oxygen out of the air. His presence was undeniable. So big. And masculine. And handsome.

And damn, he smelled so good. The whole ride back I tried to puzzle out the notes of the cologne he wore. There was definitely something spicy to it. Maybe pepper. And patchouli. It was a little heavier than I typically like in a cologne but it worked on him. It matched his personality. Serious. Heavy. Dominating.

“There’s my girl,” Granny Mae called from where she stood at the counter, her flour-dusted hands working a ball of dough. “How was your trip?”

I slumped into one of the mismatched chairs around her worn wooden table, the same spot I’d claimed as a kid whenever I’d needed somewhere to think. “Long. Really long.”

“You kids stayed in the city?”

I loved that she still called us kids. “We did.”

I was suddenly embarrassed. Like I did something wrong. I was a grown woman. I could kiss a man if I wanted to. I could even take a man to bed. But there was no way I was telling Granny about any of that.

Seeing Garrett again had rattled me more than I wanted to admit. He looked at me like I was a stranger. And undressed me with his gaze at the same time. It was such a contradiction. He wasn’t the same boy I knew. It had me all mixed up.