AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh, I’m great at relaxing,” he said, grinning. “Are you going to lie down on the couch, or are you going to stand there until you fall down? Lord, you must have a head as hard as a rock. Maybe I need to be checking the light post for damage.”
She blew out a sigh. “Fine, I’m lying down. Happy now?”
“Yes, that’s much better,” he said. “Keep that ice on your head.”
“You were bragging about how great you are at relaxing,” she prodded. “Must be nice.”
“Oh, it is,” he said. “It’s another O’Hara family trait. We are all passionate about our work. And it’s easy for us to be consumed by it if we let ourselves. My brother Duncan is an artist. Sometimes he’ll be in his studio for days at a time. Hank is a developer and owns his own construction business, as you know. My brother Aidan and his wife own their own mechanic shop, but he specializes in working on high-dollar cars like Ferrari and Porsche. And then there’s my youngest brother, Wyatt. He works for the DEA. He’s gone a lot and doesn’t really tell us a whole lot.”
“Good grief,” she said. “How many brothers do you have?”
“There’s five of us total,” he said. “And my uncle and aunt have five too. Plus my grandparents and various nieces and nephews. There are a lot of us.”
“They don’t mention it on the Laurel Valley Wikipedia page.”
He chuckled and said, “I’m starting to enjoy that smart mouth of yours.”
“I’m sure you’ll get tired of it soon enough,” she said, closing her eyes.
Colt raised his brows at that. Must be something of a sore spot, but he decided to deflect the conversation and keep telling her about his family. She’d meet them all soon enough. He’d make sure of that.
“What I’m saying,” he said, “is that we all tend to be obsessed with our work. But when it’s time to play, we play hard.”
“Is this where piano and golf come in?”
“Mmmhmm,” he said. “I’ve also got a cabin in the mountains.” He found a folded throw on top of one of the boxes and laid it over her. “My family owns a good part of the east side of the mountain and the lake, and we all inherited enough acreage so we could build our own places and leave land for our own children to inherit.”
“Someone planned ahead,” she said.
“That would be my great-grandfather,” Colt said. “He came here from Ireland to find his fortune, and find his fortune he did. Turns out he had a way with thoroughbreds and built himself quite a stable of champions. My grandfather and my dad have continued on that legacy.”
“You’re lucky,” she said. “Not everyone has a legacy.”
“No,” he agreed. “But everyone can start one. My cabin is nestled right behind that ridge down there on the other side of the lake. There’s another lake that’s smaller than this one, and it’s on O’Hara land. The fishing and water-skiing are great, and I have a hammock that has the ability to make a person fall asleep within seconds. It’s my escape when I’m able to get away.”
“And what do you need to escape from?” she asked, snuggling down under the covers.
“Beautiful women knocking themselves senseless so they can get me in their apartment,” he said teasingly.
“If I had the energy I’d throw something at you,” she said.
“Well, I’m disappointed to miss that. I’m sure you have quite the throwing arm. When I first saw you I thought to myself, she must play softball. I know an athlete when I see one.”
“Shut up,” she said, chuckling. “You are so annoying.”
“So you said before. You also told me I was too cheerful.”
“I liked it better when I thought I was dead and you were God.”
“We can role-play later,” he said. “You’ll need your full strength for that.”
“Maybe I could escape to your cabin,” she said. “Just for some peace and quiet. And maybe some Advil.”
He chuckled and said, “I’m getting it. And you can use the cabin anytime you’d like. It’s been almost a year since I’ve been able to get away. Laurel Valley isn’t as small as it used to be, and I rarely go a week without a call in the middle of the night or the weekend.
“Why don’t you hire another doctor?” she asked.
“I’ll have to before the year is out,” he said. “But there’s more money to be made at the hospitals outside of Laurel Valley. Most doctors don’t want to move to the middle of nowhere to work terrible hours and make a lot less than they would at the hospital.”
