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Claire sounded like she could have been a good realtor if she wanted to be. Morgan turned to me and pointed at a house not too far down the road.
“That’s where I live. See not too far but far enough ya know? Your kitchen, I’m jealous of it. It’s got this huge island in the middle that you could fit like four dozen cookies at least to cool at a time.” Her laughter filled our ears. “Yes, that’s how I measure the size of things. I’m just saying this place is like a dream home. Come on.”
She pulled me up the four front steps and onto the porch. Before I could stop her she had me inside. My eyes widened as I took in the sight of the place. It felt like home. A living room on one side and a dining room on the other. Straight ahead was the kitchen. Morgan was right, it was perfect.Exposed wooden beams on the ceiling gave it the farmhouse feel that I loved.
“Guys this place is. I can’t possibly stay here. It’s too much. I’m sure someone else who works here could use the space.”
Claire rolled her eyes. “We want you to have it. Even if you and Bryce are done, the rest of us aren’t and don’t want you to go. We want you to be comfortable and happy. Try to tell me it doesn’t scream comfortable and happy.”
I was a horrible liar, telling them that I wasn’t head over heels in love with this house would be like trying to tell Morgan that she didn’t look at Evan with stars and hearts in her eyes. That girl had it bad for him and he didn’t even know it. Or he didn’t and he was ignoring it for some reason.
“Can I think about it? Give me a few days?“
Claire embraced me as a sister would. “Of course. Take all the time you need.”
*****
It had been two weeks and the guilt of staying on the property still crept into my bones every day. As promised, everyone made sure Bryce wasn’t near me while I worked. If he was in the barns Evan would let me know to not stop by.
That was my new guilty pleasure, helping out in the barns. Something about brushing the horses or feeding the chickens really calmed me.
Luke: Sunshine, are you coming to dinner tonight?
Evan: dickwad won’t be there
Luke: thought we were calling him douche waffle this week
Hunter: No, we voted that one off.
Luke: when? How did dickwad win over douche waffle and no balls?
Hunter: does it matter? The rate he’s going at pissing us off we can use them all
Hannah: guys stop. As much as I enjoy the support you can stop hating him. Yes. I will be there.
Devin: You all need to grow up. Except you Hannah, clearly. Lilly will be ecstatic to know you’ll be there.
Hannah: can’t wait to see her and the kids.
Devin: can the rest of you keep your comments to yourself? We don’t need a repeat of last week.
‘What happened last week’ typed itself fast on my screen but was quickly deleted. It didn’t matter. I was moving forward or on. The boys went back and forth for a few more minutes before they quieted down.
While I wasn’t looking forward to spending the evening with everyone it was ridiculous to keep hiding. It was time to wear those big girl pants I dusted off when I moved out here.
Chapter Twenty Eight
Bryce
The air was suctioned from the room when she walked in. My back was to the door but the moment she crossed into the house I felt it. When she was around the Earth took a vacation for just a moment in its rotation so that the sun could get a break. Because when Hannah was around she was the sun.
“Hey, guys. It’s nothing compared to Morgan’s but I tried alright?”
Shifting my body just enough to see what she had I could see a tray of chocolate cupcakes from the corner of my eye.Fuck.Couldn’t she have brought vanilla or some random berry flavor? Probably because everyone likes chocolate cupcakes and it was a safe bet.
“They look great.” Hunter pulled her in for a hug as he took the tray from her. I wanted to hug her. I wanted to tell her they would taste great.
“Uncle Bryce! You said you were going to play with us. Mom promised.” Molly's demanding little voice pulled me from my trance.
