Love, All (Camp Firefly Falls Book 19)

by Tamsen Parker

  “I was…” He made a weird strangled sound in the back of his throat, and one of Nate’s hands came out of his pocket, only to rake through his hair. Damn, boy. “I was wondering if maybe you and Chloe wanted to come, too. I know you probably have to work, and Chloe probably has a riding lesson, and you’ve got other stuff that you need to do that you don’t have time for during the week—laundry and grocery shopping and cleaning and paying bills and…other stuff, but I thought I’d ask. My dad is a really good cook, my mom is a first-rate bartender, and their neighbor has horses. She already said she’d love to take Chloe riding, and she’d be happy to take us all out for a trail ride if we wanted to go. She’s retired now, but she used to show horses competitively. And there’s plenty of room. Chloe could sleep in Willa’s old room, and if you don’t want to share with me, there’s a guest room that has its own bathroom, and I can drive so you wouldn’t have to fill up Clementine. If you don’t like it, I can bring you home early, or we could just go for a day if you don’t want to spend the weekend, and it’s not really a big deal even if you just don’t want to. But…I thought I’d ask.”

  Whoa. He was trying to be so cool and act like it wasn’t a big deal at all, but clearly Nate had put some thought into this. A lot of thought. He’d obviously mentioned the possibility to his parents and had talked to their neighbor and had considered all the reasons that it would be hard for her to make this work, even if she wanted to go.

  Which…she did. She really did.

  Going anywhere with Nate for a weekend sounded amazing, and the fact that he not only wanted to introduce her to his parents, but was confident that they’d like her enough to invite her for a whole weekend? That was so nice it made her want to cry. Like, seriously break down weeping in the middle of the sidewalk because this man… God, he had so much faith in her.

  She swallowed her excitement because there were ten thousand reasons why this wouldn’t work out. But she wanted him to know how much it meant to her that he’d asked, and that he understood all the reasons why even though she wanted to go, she might to be able to make it happen.

  There weren’t words that could convey precisely what she wanted to say, so she slipped her hand into his, weaving their fingers together and giving him a squeeze. That made his blue eyes pop even wider, but with surprise instead of anxiety. She never touched him anywhere in public like this, and yet, here she was. Making a gesture.

  “I’m not sure if I’ll be able to make it work, but I’d really like to. And I can’t tell you how much it means to me that you asked. I’ll have to talk to Chloe and my bosses, and I have no idea what they’ll say. But even if it ends up not working out, you just made me really happy. Thank you.”

  And to put the cherry on top, she leaned up and over and pressed her lips to his slightly stubbled cheek. He smelled good and felt even better, and her nipples got hard when her breasts brushed against his arm. Nate was an attractive man and a good man, and she wanted him. Maybe, just maybe, she could actually have him, even if it was only for a little while.

  When she pulled away, he had a truly goofy smile on his face. “Uh, okay, yeah. You’re welcome. And just let me know. Either way.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  His palms were getting a bit sweaty as they drove down his parents’ street. At the black mailbox with the granite post, he took a left and rolled down the tree-lined drive toward the house. When it came into view, he braced for the punch he knew would be landing on his right arm.

  “Why didn’t you tell me your parents live in a freaking mansion?”

  He didn’t think it would be helpful to point out that, in comparison to a lot of the houses in town, his parents’ was pretty modest. But he had to say something. “A) It’s not a mansion, and B) you wouldn’t have come if I’d sent you a real estate listing. It’s not a big deal, it’s just a house.”

  “Easy for you to say,” she mumbled as she crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat.

  He could tell by the way her throat worked when she swallowed that she was putting on a face of sass because she was actually nervous. So he reached over, put a hand above her knee, and squeezed. If Chloe weren’t in the backseat, he might’ve slid his hand up her thigh a bit, making a promise he’d keep later in the dark. Alas, Chloe was very much in the backseat, pressing her nose to the window to get a better look at the place.

  “Where are the horses?”

  “My parents don’t have horses—the neighbors do. But we’ll go over and see them after breakfast tomorrow, promise.”

  He was careful not to promise that she would get to ride, because if anything about the situation made Ruby uncomfortable, he wasn’t going to argue. Not a single word. But he could promise they’d go over to the Kendalls’ to at least see them.

  “Not tonight?”

  “No, not tonight. It’s dinner time, and then you’re both going to be subjected to a Carter family tradition. Sorry about that.”

  Ruby shot him a look, but he just gave her a faux-apologetic smile. And then they were there, pulling up in front of one of the garage bays, only to see his parents waving from the porch.

  Chloe was out of the car like a shot, almost before he could put it in park.

  “Hey.” He reached over and gave Ruby’s hand a quick squeeze. “They’re gonna love you, and they’re really going to love the Chlo-ster. Also, my mom makes really good cocktails and drinks like a fish, so even if you don’t like them, you can get sloshed and go to bed early. Time-honored tradition for first-time guests in the Carter house.”

  He didn’t mention that, if they came back, she’d be expected to have upped her tolerance and not quit quite so early.

  Speaking of, his mom was approaching the car, a tall glass of light brown liquid in each hand. She’d made Tipsy Arnies, his favorite. Hopefully she’d remembered not to spike all of it so Chloe would have something to drink.

  She approached his side of the car just in time for him to step out and give her a hug. “Hey, Mom. Good timing. Or have you been sitting out for hours waiting for us to show up?”

  “Dad and I decided to come out and have a drink while we waited for you. It’s been too hot to sit out, but tonight’s perfect. Warm but not sweltering, and there’s a breeze. We figured we’d eat on the patio, especially since your father is grilling.”

  “Sounds perfect.”

  He relieved his mom of one of the glasses and took a long draught. Ah, the Tipsy Arnie, the world’s most perfect summer cocktail. Hopefully Ruby would like it, too. Speaking of Ruby, he led his mom to the side of the car where Ruby and Chloe were standing, Ruby’s hands resting on Chloe’s shoulders as her daughter stood in front of her.

  “Mom, I want you to meet Ruby and her daughter, Chloe. Ladies, this is my mom, Georgina.”

  Chloe had that big-eyed look on her face, and she took a deep breath before holding out her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Carter. Thank you for having us.”

  A broad smile broke across his mom’s face, and he could tell she wanted to get down on her knees, even in the gravel drive, and give Chloe a hug. Instead, she took her hand and gave it a respectable shake. “You can call me Georgie. We’re going to be so busy having fun this weekend, you’re not going to have time to always be saying Mrs. Carter. I’ve got some strawberry lemonade for you on the porch. Are you thirsty?”

  Chloe’s eyes got even bigger, and Nate could almost see the “yes” wanting to bubble out of her mouth, but first she looked up at Ruby. “Can I, Mom?”

  “Of course.” Then Ruby offered his mom a smile and a handshake as well. “It’s really kind of you to have us for the weekend. I can’t tell you how much Chloe’s been looking forward to it.”

  Then of course his dad, who’d lumbered over form the porch, had to get in on the action. “Is that because she heard we’re having cheeseburgers for dinner?”

  “We’re having cheeseburgers? I love cheeseburgers.”

  His dad introduced himself, although he wouldn’t b
e surprised if Chloe just referred to him as the Cheeseburger Man from here to eternity. Eh, his dad had been called worse things.

  It had been a good idea to give his parents a heads-up about Chloe’s favorite foods. And Ruby’s, for that matter, though she’d told him they’d be happy with whatever his parents fed them. What was the point of bringing them up here if he couldn’t spoil them a little? He wanted them to love it here. Wanted them to want to come back. Which was…not surprising, exactly, because he liked Ruby a lot, and hell, he liked Chloe, too. But when would they get a chance to come back? Labor Day weekend maybe? Although Ruby would probably be busy at Landry’s. But whatever, they could work something out. For now, he’d just enjoy. Some of the people he liked best all in the same place—it made him feel good. Especially since he could tell that his mom had sized Ruby up and approved.

  “You’re very welcome. We enjoy entertaining, and it’s been a long time since Nate brought a girl home. Maybe…never?”

  He was so going to kill his mother. Especially with the cat-that-ate-the-canary smile on her face. Goddamn meddling Georgina Carter.

  Ruby gave him her own wide-eyed look, as if to say Oh, really?, and he had to scrub a hand over the back of his neck, trying to get rid of the heat of a creeping blush.

  “And I can’t imagine why, what with my mother loving to embarrass me. Here, quick, drink up so you don’t remember any of this.”

  ***

  She was stuffed. Like one of those creepy old taxidermied animals that looked as though it could come back to life, but probably shouldn’t. She would be totally content to fall asleep in this chair. Though if she did, she’d probably wake up with a face full of ketchup and potato salad. That is if her inelegant flop didn’t knock what was left of her Tipsy Arnie onto her lap and startle her awake first.

  Chloe—even though she’d eaten at least as much as Ruby had, if not more—was still upright and chatting at the people she’d easily been referring to as Georgie and Grahamburger all evening. She’d kept an eye on her daughter, making sure Chloe didn’t seem to be making a nuisance of herself, but the elder Carters genuinely seemed to enjoy her. It was nice.

  Tony’s parents had never bothered to even meet Chloe since they treated his time in Briarsted—his time with her—as a phase they were glad he’d gotten over, a youthful mistake, even though he’d been ten years older than Ruby when they’d met. But sure, she was the trashy small-town siren who’d lured him away from his good job in the city and tried to make him stay by getting pregnant. God, she hated those people. Chloe was a thousand times better off without them, but it was still hard to explain why she only had Grandma and Grandpa Hudson, who’d retired to cheaper living in Arizona and rarely got back to see Chloe. And heaven knew Ruby couldn’t afford plane tickets to go see them.

  Nate was joining in the conversation too, although he also seemed to be keeping an eye on her. Which should have felt suffocating or condescending, but since he’d acknowledged his parents could be exhausting, it just made her feel as though he was watching out for her. Like if she looked completely fried, he’d make an excuse and she’d be on her way to snoozeville in the enormous guest bedroom—with its own freaking bathroom that Georgina referred to as the “en suite”—posthaste.

  She was fine, though. A little intimidated by her surroundings, sure, but Georgina and Graham had been the perfect hosts and had chatted with her much as Nate had from the beginning. And god, the food was nonstop.

  Just then there was the distinctive sound of silverware clanking against a glass, and when she looked in the direction the noise had come from, Graham seemed poised to make a toast, his topped-off glass of Tipsy Arnie raised.

  “I wanted to say thank you to Nate for bringing such delightful dinner guests, and I also wanted to say thank you to Ruby and Chloe for joining us. And I believe that we’ve reached the portion of the evening where, as per tradition, you have to learn how to play the official game of the Carter family.”

  Next to her, Nate muttered something and rubbed the bridge of his nose. She wanted to ask him what he’d said, but before he could, Graham continued.

  “Battle Cribbage is a time-honored tradition going back a little over twenty years. Nate was demanding to play Battleship for the billionth time while Georgina and I were trying to have an evening of cribbage. At which point Willa toddled in and dumped all the pieces together. And so, Battle Cribbage was born.”

  The corner of Ruby’s mouth tugged up as she looked over at Nate, who was leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest, his cheeks a bit rosy, and she didn’t think it was just from the Tipsy Arnies. Nate was the cutest. So she nudged him with an elbow and then cracked her knuckles. “I’m game. Can I help clean up before we get this party started?”

  ***

  Two hours and a few fumbled rounds of Battle Cribbage later, Chloe was tucked into Willa’s old canopy bed and his parents had retired to their own room on the ground floor. It was just him and Ruby. While he itched to make use of them having a relative amount of privacy, he couldn’t. Ruby looked dead on her feet, and he didn’t want her to be dragging tomorrow because it would be a whirlwind of food and horses, sightseeing around town, more food, followed by a swim in the pool, more food, and capped off with another evening of cocktails and Battle Cribbage.

  So instead, he paused outside the door to the guest bedroom and did his best to keep his thoughts and his libido in check. Instead of throwing her over his shoulder and then tossing her on the bed, he stood there as though he was in high school, dropping off a date in front of her parents’ house.

  “Well, uh, goodnight.”

  Then he kissed her quick and headed down the hall. Which was maybe the least smooth he’d been since he was sixteen. He forced his feet to stop and then turned around to take a few big steps back to where Ruby was standing, understandably dumbfounded in front of the door. Nate was feeling flustered himself, but he took a breath and then reached for her hand.

  “My parents would be totally fine if we shared a room, but since Chloe is here, I wasn’t sure you’d want to. Also, we’ve, uh…” His cheeks got even warmer than they’d been from the cocktail hour Tipsy Arnies and wine with dinner. “We’ve never shared a bed and I didn’t want to assume, and you seem tired, like you could actually use some sleep, and I’m not sure if you were right next to me if sleep would be the first thing on my mind. In fact, I’m pretty sure it would be the last thing on my mind. But I didn’t want you to think… Well, never mind.”

  She looked at him, her brown eyes blinking slowly with exhaustion, and she smiled. “Sounds fair. But I had a good time tonight. Thanks for inviting us.”

  His heart swelled so much he thought it might burst. He’d enjoyed tonight, too. And before he could blurt out exactly how much he loved having her here because it would probably send her running out into the night with Chloe and all their stuff, he kissed her. A little firmer, a little longer than he had before, but still innocent on the scale of the kisses they’d had, and maybe the more intimate for that.

  Which meant he needed to retreat to his childhood bedroom before he either ravished Ruby or started babbling about how much he wished she would stay. For a long time. Maybe forever. Yep, that would not be okay. So he broke the kiss and headed down the hall, scrubbing a hand over the back of his neck, which was prickling with heat and unfulfilled desires.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Ruby collapsed onto the fluffy mattress, letting her head sink into the down pillow. So comfortable. It was going to be difficult to go home tomorrow. Back to work, back to her house, back to her far less comfortable bed, and no one to make her and Chloe breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and far too many snacks. That was probably okay, because she’d weigh ten thousand pounds if she actually lived with the Carters.

  Aside from the ridiculous amount of spoiling—of both her and Chloe—she’d genuinely enjoyed her time here. Georgina could be overbearing and take up a lot of the air in a room with her bust
ling, but Ruby liked women who knew what they wanted and went out and got it. And though Graham was overshadowed by his wife, he was a real sweetheart. She could see how Nate had come out of this house.

  She was about to close her eyes and drift off from their busy day when there was a knock at her door. Before getting up to open it, she waited. If it was Chloe, she’d wait a beat and just walk in. But there was nothing. She should get up. Really. How hard could it be? Get out of bed, walk, what, ten steps across to the door, and open it? Nope. Too beat.

  “Come in.”

  At the last second, she had a moment of panic that it would be Georgina, probably still in her pearls and perfect makeup, but wearing monogrammed pajamas. And here she was sprawled like a beached whale on her bed.

  But no, a vaguely spikey blond head poked through the door, and Nate smiled at her. “Can I come in? Or do you just want to go to bed? I’ll shut off the light and leave you alone if you want.”

  Shit, the light. She’d forgotten about that. The switch was by the door. She could’ve fallen asleep with it on, but no doubt she would’ve woken in the middle of the night and had a very unpleasant surprise. As tempting as it was to let him flip the switch and leave her to dreamland, Nate was more tempting.

  “Yeah, come on in.” She even went to the trouble of scooting over and patting the side she’d vacated.

  Nate came in and shut the door, slid the dimmer switch halfway down so the recessed overheads weren’t so bright, and then flopped down next to her, rolling onto his side and propping his head on his hand.

  “You doing okay? My parents can be a lot. When I was here for a month and a half last summer, I would sometimes have to hide in the basement. But more often I’d just drink more than my fair share of a pitcher of Tipsy Arnies and pass out.”

  Right, Georgina’s signature cocktail. “Those things are deadly. It’s like you’re not even drinking at all. They should come with a warning label.”