AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It was noon, and Carson probably shouldn’t be obsessing over the time, but he was. Currently, he was leaning against the arena wall at Prosperity Ranch as Lane talked about the improvements Holt had made over the past year. It was all interesting, and definitely smart. The two brothers had created the beginnings of an empire. Holt used to do a lot of traveling to train skittish horses, but now the horses were coming to him. Some for weeks. Others for a few days.
Lane had somehow secured a grant that paid for the room and board of neglected horses, and they were now thinking about expanding. He had one more semester before he graduated in finance, and he was already putting his education to good use. It was pretty cool to see how Holt respected his younger brother’s opinions. Their relationship reminded him of his own brother.
“So do you think your grandad might be interested in setting up a couple of stables to help with the boarding?” Lane asked. “We’d rent out the stables from him, of course, and do all the work. I just know my mom wouldn’t want every inch of our property covered with horses.”
“I don’t see why not,” Carson said. “We could ask him today, if you want.”
“Great,” Lane said, clapping him on the shoulder. “Why don’t you two come over for dinner tonight, and we can discuss it.”
Another dinner invite? “Don’t you need to clear it with your mom?”
“Oh, don’t worry, she’ll be more than happy to have the two Hunt men over again.” Lane stepped away from the arena wall. “I’m going to find Holt and tell him that you’re definitely open to housing our horses.”
Carson was very interested in hearing about why Mrs. Prosper would be so happy to have him and Pops over for dinner again, but he didn’t think he could ask without raising questions.
Besides, it was after the time that Evie had said she’d take him on a tour of Prosper. Well, she hadn’t exactly been definitive, but Carson was counting her text from last night. Seeing her this morning had been . . . well, amazing. He’d been thinking of her that morning, and then suddenly, she burst onto the scene, just like the surge of flames consuming the garden mulch.
And he’d seen the interest in her eyes and the pink stain of her cheeks as he walked toward her. Evie had been wearing slim jeans, boots, and a button-down shirt that made her cuter than any rodeo queen he’d ever seen. She’d braided her hair, and the wisps had danced about her face from the breeze. She looked so natural on a horse, so at ease, that his pulse might have raced a little bit faster.
Evie had no idea how beautiful she was, and Carson needed to look past his attraction to her, or he’d be moving backward in his life. Down the path of heartache and destroyed expectations. There was a reason he hadn’t dated since Stacee. He’d had enough of loss and heartbreak in the last couple of years. He’d been trying to put that behind him and not let it rule his life.
And Evie Prosper was a walking land mine. She’d been more than clear about her aversion to living a small-town life. Well . . . it wasn’t like Carson was going to propose marriage on the spot. He chuckled to himself. No way. Evie was . . . she was . . . well, innocent and trusting and stubborn, that was for sure. He still couldn’t believe she’d never been kissed.
“What’s so funny?”
Carson snapped his head around to see Evie herself leaning against the rail, her blue eyes light today.
His mouth went dry. “What are you talking about?”
One of her eyebrows lifted. “I heard you laugh, so I was wondering what you’re laughing about.”
“Oh, that.” His heart was racing. Was that normal? “I can’t remember.”
Evie scoffed, then turned to look across the arena. “Then what are you looking at?”
“Nothing,” Carson said. “I was waiting for you.”
She wasn’t looking at him, but the edge of her mouth lifted. “You really want a tour that bad? You know, you could have asked one of my brothers, or even my dad.”
“I want you to show me your town.”
Her brow wrinkled, but there was a warmth in her eyes. “Like I said, it will take ten minutes.”
“Are you busy?” he asked.
She turned more fully toward him, and a few wisps of her blonde hair stirred against her jaw. She smelled a lot sweeter than he probably did, even though he’d showered after the garden work that morning.
“I’m always busy,” she said, as if she were impatient, but there was a lightness to her tone. “Let’s go, if you insist.”
“Okay, then I insist.”
She spun away from him and headed around the barn, toward the front of the house. Carson caught up with her in a few easy strides.
“We’re taking your truck,” she announced, veering toward it.
“You know, it’s kind of an old truck,” he teased.
She rolled her eyes, and he laughed. When her mouth expanded into a smile, he felt his heart expanding at the same time. Easy, Carson. She doesn’t belong to you, or to Prosper.
