Page 56 of Forbidden to Fall

“Because I sleep outside sometimes?”

“Not just that. You’ve gone exciting places, and I’m sure you’ve had all sorts of adventures, while I…” I looked out the window to the buildings that had started appearing as we arrived in town. “I’ve been here,” I murmured. It sounded so morose that I felt the need to follow it up with something lighter. “I don’t even know how to drive stick.”

“I can teach you.” He put on his hazard lights, then rested his arm on the back of the seat again to back up into a parking place in front of Dust & Timber. “Do you want to leave Autumn Ridge?”

“Yeah. No. Maybe? I don’t know. I love it here. I just feel like I haven’t done anything since high school.” I smiled. “Not even sleep in the woods. This whole project with you and your mom is the most exciting thing that’s happened to me in years.”

He put on the emergency brake and looked at me.

That was the thing about James. When he looked at me, he really looked at me.

“I envy you,” he said.

My brows shot up. “Me?”

What in the world was there to envy about me—especially from someone like James Carver?

He held my gaze, then his focus shifted to the rearview mirror. “There’s Bennett.”

Wishing Bennett would’ve waited just one more minute, I opened the door and got out.

Bennett was tall and athletic, with dark brown hair and hands that spoke to his profession as a carpenter. He looked at me, then at James, his brows up. “A Stevenson and a Carver. That’s a nostalgic sight right there.” He put out his hand, and James took it.

My shoulders lowered with relief. Maybe Ryan’s lingering grudge had given me a distorted idea of how people viewed James in Autumn Ridge. Or maybe Bennett knew from experience how hurtful town gossip could be. He’d married someone from Autumn Ridge, but his marriage to Maven hadn’t lasted. It was a shame—I liked both of them a lot.

“Hey, Sadie,” Bennett said with a smile. “Good to see you again. Come on back. I’ve got everything ready for you to take.”

I’d been right that Bennett would happily help load the stand and the two larger displays, and with James there too, I was left with nothing to do but carry one small display and supervise their capable efforts.

Once things were loaded and strapped down, I thanked Bennett, who came to open my door.

James beat him to it, though, and the way Bennett smiled slightly—like James was showing some sort of possessiveness—had me blushing to my roots.

When we got back to the farm ten minutes later, James drove the truck all the way down to the sugar shack, where we unloaded.

“You baking?” he asked.

“Not quite yet. I was hoping to talk to your mom about packaging options, actually. Do you know if she’s available?”

“She’d love that. She’s going stir crazy. I made her go to the doctor about her knee, and she’s under orders to keep it elevated.”

I cringed. “She must hate that.”

“More than anything. If I had to guess, she’s probably taken advantage of my absence to disobey those orders. Come on. I’ll drive you back up to the house.”

James led the way into the house a couple minutes later, and sure enough, May was in the kitchen.

“Don’t you scold me, young man,” she said preemptively. “I don’t take orders from people whose diapers I changed.”

“Or anyone else.” James kissed her on the cheek.

She smiled, and her gaze went to me. “How are you, darlin’?”

“I’m doing great, Mrs. Carver. Do you have a minute to chat?”

She smiled. “If it were up to this young man”—she swatted him with a dish towel—“all I’d have are minutes to chat. Let me just get us some tea and a little somethin’ to snack on.” She limped toward the fridge, but James stopped her.

“I’ll get it, Mama. Go put your leg up like the doctor told you to. You didn’t change his diapers, I assume.”