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ChapterNineteen
Sweetie couldn’t sleep.Liberty had found out the payoff total for the loan Daddy had gotten and it was much higher than anyone had expected.After comparing it to the amount the Realtor had told Cloe they could get for the ranch, it was doubtful her parents and Mimi would be able to keep the house.Or even afford to buy a new one.
And worrying about where her parents would live wasn’t the only reason Sweetie couldn’t sleep.The other reason was a six-foot-three-inch lawman with eyes the color of a Caribbean sea and lips Sweetie couldn’t get enough of.This was the first night in the last week Sweetie hadn’t snuggled in his arms after they’d made love and listened to the strong thump of his heart.The first night he hadn’t kissed her good night as if he never wanted to let her go.
She hadn’t wanted to let him go either.But every night she had forced herself to return home.Sleeping with him was the one barrier she had placed between them in the hopes it would remind them both that this was just some casual fun.
Except it no longer felt like casual fun.
Being with Decker felt as right as her decision to stay in Wilder.It felt comfortable.More comfortable than any relationship she’d ever had in her life.When she was with Decker, she didn’t feel invisible like she had when she was with Jace.Or unheard like she did with her daddy.Or pressured to be a success like she did in Nashville.When she was with Decker, she felt seen and heard and content.It didn’t matter if she was the hometown sweetheart, or an obedient daughter, or a country superstar.
He loved her for her.
And he did love her.He hadn’t said the words out loud, but he’d said them with every kiss, caress, and tender look he gave her.
He loved her.
As she lay there in the dark, missing Decker with an ache that physically hurt, she wondered if she might love him too.
It should have been a scary epiphany.A few weeks ago, falling in love had been the furthest thing from her mind.Her life had been too chaotic.It was still chaotic.Just not so chaotic that the thought of Decker on bended knee and holding a ring didn’t seep into all her pores and warm her heart from the inside out.The feeling took her completely by surprise.She wasn’t ready for marriage.
Was she?
A tap on the window startled her out of her thoughts.She assumed it was a tree branch moving in the wind until it came again.Quietly, so as not to wake Cloe, she got out of bed and tiptoed to the window.When she drew back the curtains, her heart swelled at the sight of the cowboy standing beneath.She didn’t hesitate to turn and head for the stairs.
Decker was coming around the side of the house as she was coming down the porch steps.She ran toward him and dove into his arms.He swept her completely off her feet and swung her around twice before she realized that something wasn’t right.In fact, the feel of his arms and body were all wrong.When he set her on her feet, she stared in stunned surprise at the face beneath the cowboy hat.
“Jace?”
He smiled.A charming smile that had melted many a heart.Just never hers.“Hey, Sweetie.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I came to see you.”
“All the way from Canada and in the middle of the night?”
He flashed a grin.“I used to come and see you all the time in the middle of night.”
He had.He’d tossed pebbles at her window and she’d raced out to meet him just like she had tonight.Except, tonight, she hadn’t wanted it to be Jace.She’d wanted it to be Decker who had swept her in his arms.
Decker, Jace’s cousin.
Good Lord, what a mess.Did Decker know his cousin was back?If so, had he told Jace about his and Sweetie’s relationship?Was that why Jace was there?
“Look, I know it’s late,” Jace said.“But do you think we could talk?”
“Sure,” she said.“Let’s go sit on the porch.”
Since Sweetie had run out of the house in nothing but Decker’s western shirt—a shirt she had worn to bed ever since he had wrapped it around her the night at Cooper’s Creek—she was shivering by the time they reached the porch.
“Here.”Jace took off the jean jacket he was wearing and hooked it over her shoulders as they sat down on the swing.They had sat in that exact spot at least a hundred times before.Jace talking about football while Sweetie made up songs in her head.
“Feels like old times,” he said as he took off his hat and hooked it over the arm of the swing.The porch light was on, giving Sweetie a better view of his face than she’d had in the dark yard.
He had changed very little over the years.His hair was a tad bit longer.The smile crinkles at the corner of his eyes a little deeper.And he could grow a beard now—golden scruff covered his jaw and above his top lip.If possible, he was even more handsome than he’d been in high school.
He seemed to be assessing her too.His blue-eyed gaze ran over her features before a smile broke over his face.“You can still stop a man’s heart, Sweetie Holiday.”
