AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Wes runs the local brewery with his brothers, but he’s recently acquired his real estate license. Most of the transactions he does are personal, but he’s been my go-to for the commercial property I’ve been buying up, including the fishing cabins along the river.
Kinley’s car is locked, so I leave the suitcase in the back of my truck. I see Wes at a booth through the window and head instead. I can’t decide if I want to avoid Willow or if I’m desperate to see her again. To corner her and slip my hand down the front of her leggings and my tongue down her throat. God that pussy was so fuckingwet.
My dick twitches at the memory.
Down, fucker. We’re in public. I discreetly adjust my jeans and head inside.
I make a straight line for the corner booth, scanning the diner for any hint of Willow. It’s part old habit, part involuntary.
“Hey, got you a cup of coffee.” Wes nods to a steaming, full cup. Thank fucking god. I was all out at home. There isn’t enough coffee in the whole fucking state of Alaska to get me through this day, and I’m not about to turn down what I can get my hands on.
“Thanks.”
I hear a chorus of female voices. I’m pointed right at the kitchen and lift my gaze in that direction. The three Gray sisters emerge with Rose. Willow looks the roughest of them. Tired eyes and slightly tangled hair I’m proud to have messed up while I fucked her hard—
“I know you said you weren’t interested in the old theater,” Wes says, pulling me back to the present with his low, hushed tone.
“I’m not.”
“I have an offer incoming.”
“Great news. The Bernards should be happy to have it off their hands.”
“It’s from a developer.”
“Fuck.” My mutter turns a few heads. I focus on my coffee, taking a long, hot sip before leaning in and lowering my voice. “Suppose they want to tear it down?” Though I have no interest in owning it, I know how much that place meant to Willow. It’s one thing for it to be boarded up. It’s another for it not to exist at all.
“They’re thinking about gutting it. Turning it into an outdoor outfitters store.”
“A tourist trap, you mean.”
Wes shrugs. “Yeah. Pretty much.”
“Can I take your—oh hey, Mason!” Aurora Gray attacks me with a hug before I even know what hits me. The last time I saw her was at the wedding that never happened. But she was always like a baby sister to me. Ever since I started dating Willow, back when I was fifteen. “I’ve missed you!”
“Hey, Aurora.”
“Does Willow know you’re here?” She means well, but her innocent declaration turns half the heads in the diner.
“You didn’t hear?” Wes asks her. “They were stranded together last night.”
“Oh no! No wonder Willow’s in such a growly mood.” She pulls out her pad and pen. “I better take your order before Grandma Rose gets mad. I’m so bad at this waitressing thing.” She looks like a kicked puppy. A look I remember well. Despite her best intentions, trouble seems to follow Aurora wherever she goes. “What would you like?”
After we place our order, Wes turns his expression serious. “I’ve already presented the offer to the Bernards. They have forty-eight hours to respond. They didn’t want to make a decision until I’d followed up with every possible lead I had. They don’t want to see it torn down, but they’re ready to retire.”
He doesn’t have to say the rest. They can’t afford to refuse it either. The place, even empty, is costing them a small fortune to own. “Fuck,” I mutter, scrubbing a hand down my face. “You got any other leads?”
“Just you.”
I chew on that thought for a bit, sipping my coffee until my mug’s empty. Before I can flag someone down for more, Willow appears at the table side. Dammit if my pulse doesn’t double instantly. Her intoxicating lavender scent will fucking haunt me for a lifetime if I don’t convince her to stay in Caribou Creek.
“Do you have my suitcase?”
“In my truck.”
“Thank you,” she says flatly, marching off before I can offer to help.
“Be right back,” I say to Wes, following Willow outside.
