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Harley is the prettiest of all the Wood brothers, and I’m 99 percent certain he has a body count that would make me blush.
We’re just not a good fit.
So why do I prolong this charade with the fake buyer? For the dumbest reason ever. I like his company. Not only do I like looking at Harley. I like making him bristle. I revel in his reactions to my outrageous demands. Our banter is fun. And, he smells good, like fresh-cut pine and clean sweat.
And I really do like Hilltop House. I’m getting tired of my condo, and I’d love a house with a garden and kitchen big enough to entertain friends.
And that’s why I’m headed to the bank now, to get pre-approved for a loan. Once that’s done, I can come clean with Harley. Maybe he won’t care that I’ve been leading him on, especially not when my offer is above asking. I have plenty set aside for a down payment, plus some wiggle room for earnest money if this becomes a bidding war. So it’s a good thing I’m the listing agent, right?
I sit at the windowed office of the assistant bank manager, Brenda. She’s gone to fetch us both some coffee, so I pass the time by staring out into the lobby, bustling with customers.
I recognize nearly everyone here. Even with the town having grown so much in the last few years, there are still plenty of people in any given place that I know from growing up here. Rex is in line at the teller carrying a zippered money bag marked “Rex’s Towing and Garage.”
I watch as Brenda is pulled aside by one of the newer loan officers who needs to confer with her on some paperwork. Brenda looks something over, then peers at the officer’s computer screen and expertly taps some keys. She grimaces, then I read her lips: “I’m so sorry, we’re not able to approve that.”
The client’s back is to me, and I can’t believe I hadn’t noticed it before. I’d recognize those shoulders, that hoodie, and that haircut anywhere. Harley Wood is applying for a loan…and apparently not getting it.
I feel embarrassed that I just witnessed whatever that was, and I study my hands as Brenda returns with our coffee and shuts the door behind her.
“What can I help you with today, Charlotte?”
I swallow and say with a sudden heaviness, “I need pre-approval for a mortgage. I’m looking to buy a house.”
Brenda sets down her coffee and claps her hands. “That’s wonderful news. I thought maybe it was another business loan application. We’ve had so many of those that we’ve had to start being picky with these credit scores.”
Playing dumb because, of course, I want the tea, I tilt my head. “Oh really?”
She winces and sits down in her squeaky chair, getting settled. “Yep. That was a bummer, for instance.” She gestures with her head to the lobby, where I see Harley’s long legs loping away toward the exit, his face chagrined like a lost puppy.
“It might work out if he had his brother cosign for him, but that boy is stubborn. Buck, on the other hand? Excellent credit history.”
I am 99 percent sure that Brenda should not be telling me any of this, but then I have no idea what the rules are around confidentiality and loan applicants. Geez, somebody remind me not to cross Brenda. What a gossip.
“You don’t say…” My bottom lip automatically draws up between my teeth, where I gnaw on it for several seconds as I watch Harley and his too-tight jeans get into his truck and drive away.
The pre-approval process goes smoothly enough, but the guilt gives me heartburn.
Maybe once I buy the house, that will help him out.
I mosey down to Ruby’s Diner, where I have lunch every day with my lifelong friend and librarian, Rebecca, and my new friend Emma, who lives up on the mountain but joins us down here in civilization whenever she can.
I want to tell them everything I heard at the bank, but I don’t want to be a party to gossip.
The mayor, Flash, trots over to greet me, and I give him scratches behind his floppy golden ears. He rests his bucket-sized head on my leg and gazes at me with soulful eyes like he understands.
Emma and Rebecca chitchat about their lives, their kids, their husbands, and my mind drifts off.
Something about this golden retriever reminds me a lot of Harley, which pricks at my heart. Harley would never look at me like this with pure adoration, though. Especially if he finds out the truth. He’d be so dang mad if he found out what a manipulator I am.
Alas, Harley Wood is just another pretty face I’ll have to get over. Even though he’s totally irresistible. His full lips make a woman wonder if he knows how to use them.
Ugh. I’m sure he does know how, if family genetics plays a part in that: both Grace and Presley, married to Buck and Wade Wood, respectively, have that look. Not to be gross, but I can tell when those women are well and thoroughly wrung out. One time, I saw Grace limping at the supermarket, and when I asked if she was okay, she grinned and blushed a deeper shade of red than I thought possible for a human. “Oh. Just…working out too hard.”
That was a load of bullshit, but I kept that to myself and stayed salty, kicking myself for turning Harley down when he asked me out last year.
Why would I ever turn down a Wood brother? It’s complicated.
“You seem off today,” says Rebecca when she sees my face.
