Season of Love

by Jill Sanders

  There was a white wall near the back, with a row of teal curtains hanging in front of what he assumed were dressing rooms.

  Glancing around the room, he saw the brick wall that they had tried to sledgehammer away and was thankful that it was obviously not a structural necessity. The thing was barely staying up. Once they took out this wall, there was another half wall that would have to go in order to fully open up the space.

  The dressing room walls could easily be built along the back, just in front of what he assumed was a storage area and bathrooms.

  The floor would have to be patched or replaced once the walls were out, but for the most part, it was all easily doable.

  “I’ll hammer,” Carter jumped in. “You haul.” He nodded to the wheelbarrow.

  “Nope, I offered to help, therefore, I get to call it.” Corey smiled when Carter groaned. Yet another rule they had, and Corey was currently thankful for it.

  “I’ll help you,” Riley said, handing him a shovel. “I’ve been doing this all morning.” She rolled her head and shoulders, and Corey noticed that his brother watched the move like his life depended on knowing every detail.

  Chuckling, he turned and stilled as Lilly held out the sledgehammer. “I guess that means we’re on hammer duty.”

  It was his turn to watch her as she licked her bottom lip. Shaking out of the trance, he took the sledgehammer from her. “Why don’t you sit this out, at least until the majority of the wall is down. It’s too dangerous…”

  She tilted her head and he stopped talking. “We’ve made it this far without a man around today,” she replied.

  “The way the wall is now, we’ll be lucky if it doesn’t come down on me.” He sighed. “Trust me,” he pleaded with her. “Just stand…” He took her shoulders, shifting the heavy hammer in his hand. “Here.” He positioned her so that if the wall did come down, she would be clear of debris.

  He could tell she wanted to argue, but then her eyes went to the wall and she nodded again, biting her bottom lip.

  “Will you be okay?” she asked.

  He chuckled. “Piece of cake.” He pulled on the plastic glasses that were sitting on a folding chair and a pair of thick gloves that someone else must have left there. They fit his large hands perfectly.

  The first swing proved to him that the wall was unstable, and by the fifth swing, most of the wall was down. Still, it took him almost fifteen minutes of swinging the heavy sledgehammer before it was safe for her to help him destroy the rest.

  3

  Was it getting hot in here or was the extra heat due to the fact that Lilly couldn’t take her eyes off of Corey as he swung the sledgehammer. The muscles in his arms, shoulders, and back were like magnets for her eyes.

  She even felt a little out of breath as she watched what each swing of the heavy hammer did to his body. Her eyes had traveled up and down him on more than one occasion, over his worn jeans and the ass that called for her attention.

  Damn, she was going to need a cold shower.

  “Ready to help?” Corey turned to her and slid the safety glasses down his nose slightly to peer over them.

  Yeah, she was ready. Really ready. So ready she had to swallow the desire to reach up and run her fingertips over the muscles she’d been fantasizing about.

  Damn, it had been too long since she’d been out on a date or with a man. Her last boyfriend had been what she’d thought of her entire young life as “the one.” She’d waited for years for Dylan Bishop to see her. When his sexy brown eyes finally did, she’d realized she’d spent a lifetime overlooking just how big of a jerk he was on the inside because his outsides had been so damn juicy. Vowing to not make that mistake again, she straightened her shoulders and took a deep breath.

  “Sure, where do you want me?” she finally asked.

  His eyes ran over her quickly, then a slow smile changed the look on his face from concentration to amusement.

  “How about you start working here?” He nodded towards the half wall, then handed her another sledgehammer, smaller than the one he had resting over his shoulder.

  “Sure.” She pulled on her gloves. After making sure he was standing back far enough, she swung the sledgehammer like her father had taught her. She’d helped him tear down the old barn on the edge of their property when she was sixteen.

  “Nice,” Corey said under his breath. She held in a smile and continued to slam the wall until it tipped over with a satisfying crack and crumbled at her feet.

  The next two hours, the four of them worked clearing the bricks and rubble until all that was left on the cement floor was a fine layer of dust.

  Standing with her hands on her hips, she glanced around the large room and could just imagine how it would look a month from now, filled with clothes, furniture, paintings, and other items that would make it the best place in Pride for your boutique shopping needs.

  “Well?” Corey said, standing beside her. “Is this what you had in mind?”

  She turned and smiled at him. “It’s perfect.”

  “Can’t you just imagine it?” Riley stepped forward and raised her arms above her head, then flung them out as she circled. “Over here will be a long glass case with jewelry and trinkets. The register will go here. A sunglass case and the hand bags will go on the wall there.” While Riley laid out their plans, she walked around motioning to the empty space. Everyone followed along. Lilly chanced a glance at the men and realized the two brothers were totally entertained by Riley. She could tell she wasn’t the only one eager to see the finished product.

  Riley had always had a way about her, a way that dragged everyone into her moods. Currently, her mood was sheer excitement. Lilly could plainly see it all over her cousin’s face. For that matter, anyone within eyesight of Riley could see and feel it. Lilly’s smile grew as she watched her best friend dance around the now clean and very large space.

  “Yes.” She almost whispered it. “I can see it.” She turned to smile at Corey, and her face froze when she noticed he had stopped watching Riley, and instead had his gaze locked on her face. His green eyes seemed to bore deep into her emotions, into her soul.

  Instantly, she berated herself for the cheesiness of that thought. She’d probably read it in some dime-store book long ago. Shaking her head clear, she turned back to her cousin, forcing what those green eyes did to her aside.

  Walking over, she took Riley’s hands in her own. “Classy and Sassy, phase one complete.” She smiled.

  Riley nodded and giggled. “Phase two begins tomorrow.”

  “What are the different phases?” Carter asked.

  “It’s a five-step progression,” Riley answered, turning to him. “Phase one, clean and clear. Phase two, build and beautify. Phase three, purchase and stock. Phase four, setup and advertise. Phase five…”

  “Sell and sell,” Lilly added with a smile.

  “Good plan.” Corey chuckled. “Much like the one we had before opening Baked.”

  Riley turned back to him, her head tilted slightly. There were so many questions left unanswered about the mysterious brothers. No one in town, not even Patty O’Neil, knew where the brothers had moved to Pride from.

  “Have you owned a business before?” Lilly didn’t know why that was the question out of many running through her head that slipped out.

  “No,” the brothers answered together.

  “How did you come up with a plan?” Riley asked, her eyes going to Carter’s. “Our parents have been hugely helpful.”

  Something changed in the men’s matching eyes.

  “We have each other,” Corey added quickly.

  “We’d better get back. It’s almost closing time.” Carter glanced down at his watch.

  “Thank you.” Lilly stepped forward. “We would have been either buried under the rubble or working on this for at least another week if you two hadn’t stepped in.”

  Corey turned back to her as Carter walked to the front door. “Any time. Next time you need a hand, you k
now where to find us.” He smiled, then turned and followed his brother out.

  The door shut and a full minute of silence went by before she turned to Riley. Before she could take a breath, Riley smiled.

  “Wow,” Riley said, beating her to it. “Just…”

  “Wow,” she agreed.

  “Okay, I know we’ve talked about this, but dibs.” Riley smiled.

  “Carter?” Lilly asked easily.

  “Duh.” Riley smiled. “Corey totally has the hots for you.”

  Lilly sighed. For some reason, hearing it from her cousin made it seem… strange. She’d felt something growing between her and Corey since the first moment she’d seen him in town. They’d flirted, sure enough, but she hadn’t felt anything like the attraction she’d felt in the alley. She’d somehow convinced herself that it had been just a moment, almost a hit-and-run type of attraction. She’d had plenty of those in her lifetime and had been mildly surprised the handful of times those situations had turned into an actual date. Three of those instances had yielded boyfriends, the longest relationship lasting four months, two days, and six and a half hours.

  “What makes you say that?” she asked, needing to know.

  Riley rolled her eyes. “Seriously, cuz, did you see the way he was looking at you in the alley?” She nodded towards the back door. “Come on, maybe we can mooch dinner off your family tonight.” Riley took her arm and led her towards the back door.

  “Hang on.” She pulled away and rushed to flip the lock on the front door. When she returned to her cousin’s side, Riley was laughing. “What?” She frowned.

  “Look around. What is there in here to steal?” she said between giggles.

  Lilly looked around. “Tools.” She held her chin up high. “Besides, it’s a good habit to get into.”

  Riley settled, then nodded. “Agreed.” She hung her arm off Lilly’s again as they made their way towards the back door. “You drive. I don’t think I can muster the strength to push the clutch in on the truck.” Her father’s old truck sat in the alley, next to Lilly’s little Honda.

  “Fine, but that means you’re sleeping at my place tonight.”

  “Deal,” Riley said after a large yawn. She rolled her shoulders. “Maybe we can sneak up and enjoy a soak in Aunt Megan’s hot tub.” Lilly nodded. “I can message them.” It did sound good, letting the hot jets soothe away the aches and pains working hard had caused.

  “Don’t bother. They’re out of town for the week. Sara’s watching the place,” Lilly told her. “How about we head over there first?”

  As the sun set over the water, they pulled into the big house that sat across the road and down a ways from her childhood home.

  She couldn’t count the times she’d snuck out of her room to rush over to Sara’s or Riley’s places. There were six homes on her road and half of them belonged to her family. Sara’s family ran the local B&B. With the steady flow of tourists renting out the beach cabins, this section of the road had seen increased traffic and had been paved in the last couple years. The size of the parking area in front of the walkway that headed towards the cabins had been doubled, as well.

  Currently, there were two cars parked in the visitor spots, which told them that Sara was playing host to the guest while her mother was out of town.

  “What do you think they’re going to do after the baby comes?” Riley asked, leaning forward and looking up at the big house. Every light was on in the place, which made Lilly realize that they might be serving dinner to their guests still.

  “What do you mean?” Lilly turned off the car she’d parked behind Sara’s newer Jeep.

  “Well, you don’t think they’re going to stay at the place they have now, do you? It only has two bedrooms.”

  “So?” Lilly frowned. “Plenty big for the three of them.”

  “Yeah, but suppose they want another one?”

  “Another kid?” Her cousin’s chuckle was the only answer. “Then I suppose they will either make room or move.” She started to get out of the car.

  “You don’t think they’ll leave Pride, do you?” The tone of Riley’s voice made her pause.

  “Why?” She turned quickly. “Did you hear something?”

  “N-n-o,” she stuttered, a foolproof sign that she was lying.

  Lilly’s eyes narrowed. “Spill.” She crossed her arms over her chest and refused to move until she had the entire story.

  Riley turned towards her. “Okay, but you can’t tell anyone I told you.” Riley’s eyes narrowed, so Lilly quickly crossed her heart with her fingers and nodded. “Okay, it’s just… Sally just started working down at the real-estate offices, and she was talking to my mom during one of their lunches. She told my mother that Parker had come in asking if she could start looking at comparable properties to their place. He wanted to find out how much he could sell the house for.” She took a deep breath. “He didn’t ask her about purchasing a new place, just about selling their current place.”

  Lilly bit her lip and looked up at the big house. “That doesn’t mean…” Her words dropped off when a very pregnant Sara stepped out onto the front porch and put her hands on her hips as she looked at them sitting in the car.

  “We’d better go in. She’s seen us now,” Riley said under her breath. “Remember”—she turned back to her— “not a word.”

  Lilly nodded quickly, but she wasn’t going to just let Parker whisk her cousin and her soon-to-be-born second cousin—or was it first cousin once removed? —away from them.

  She stepped out of the car, and Sara called out, “I was beginning to wonder if you two were going to sit in the car all night and gossip.” She smiled and took a hug from both of them.

  Lilly’s hands went to Sara’s belly. “How’s Jr. doing?”

  “She’s doing fine.” Sara laughed. It was an ongoing joke, because neither Sara nor Parker wanted to know the sex of the baby. “You two looked like you’ve gotten a lot done today.” She motioned for them to sit on the front porch.

  Sara slowly sat down in one of the cushioned rockers, and Lilly took the one next to her. Riley sat on the stairs to pet one of the dogs that was always lying around. Sara’s parents owned three, currently.

  “Yes, the inside walls are down,” Riley answered.

  “Not by yourselves, I hope.” Sara frowned between them.

  “No, we had help,” Lilly told her.

  “The brothers Baked.” Riley smiled.

  “Oh?” Sara said. Her eyebrows shot up, indicating her interest in a good story. “Do tell. I want to hear all about rippling muscles and flirty glances.”

  “You’re about to pop. Why do you want to hear about sexy, sweaty men slinging sledgehammers?” Riley joked.

  “Besides, there weren’t any flirty glances,” Lilly added.

  “Says you.” Riley turned her attention to Sara. “Corey Miller has a thing for our dear cousin,” she said with a smile. “It started this morning in the alley.”

  “The alley?” Sara asked, leaning slightly forward as she rubbed her hand in slow circles over her large belly.

  “Ry,” Lilly started, but was quickly shushed as her cousins gossiped about her right in front of her.

  When the story was done, Lilly stood up. “I didn’t come here to gossip. I came to mooch food and sneak into that hot tub upstairs.”

  Sara chuckled. “Be my guest. There’s plenty of leftovers, since the Bordens decided to drive into Crestview for dinner instead of eating here. I can’t sit in the hot tub for a while yet, but you’re both welcome—” She stopped talking when car lights hit them. “That will be my husband,” she said with a big smile. “Go on up. Let me have my man to myself for a while.” Sara waved them off as Parker stepped onto the front porch.

  “Hey,” he said to them as they slipped in the front door.

  “Hey. Food, then hot tub,” Riley said quickly. “Talk later.”

  “Sure.” Parker chuckled, then knelt down and kissed his wife.

  Lilly sighed a
s she watched the slow kiss and wondered if she’d ever find a man who would look at her the way Parker looked at Sara.

  “Makes me sick,” Riley said as they dished up plates of food to take with them upstairs.

  “What?” she asked, piling fried chicken and a few rolls on her own plate.

  “The way that man looks at Sara. As if he’s just seen her for the first time and has fallen madly in love with her on sight.”

  “Yeah.” She chuckled. “Sick to my stomach over it.” She rolled her eyes.

  “I just mean…” Riley juggled her plate and grabbed an open bottle of wine from the fridge. “It’s just…”

  “Thanks.” Lilly took the bottle from her cousin and tucked it under her arm. “Go on.”

  Riley frowned at her. “I was…” When Lilly raised her eyebrows, Riley gave up and grabbed a Coke instead. “It’s like a once-in-a-lifetime thing. Now that Sara has found that, the chances of us finding it are slim.”

  “Why?” she asked as they climbed the stairs towards their aunt and uncle’s bedroom. The hot tub sat on a large deck off the back of the house, directly outside the massive room. “We know plenty of people who have what they have.”

  “Oh?” Riley nudged open the door and waited for her to pass through before shutting it behind them. “Who?”

  “Our parents,” she answered quickly. “Them.” She nodded to the large canvas of the Jordan clan on the wall. Megan, Todd, Matthew, Sara, and Susie, along with four dogs, sat on a large piece of driftwood with the ocean to their backs. It was one of Riley’s mother’s best paintings.

  Allison Jordan had done family portraits of everyone in the Jordan clan at one point. There were older paintings of the family somewhere in the house, as Lilly knew too well since she had sat for at least five of them with her own family.

  “Yeah, I suppose, but the Jordan clan is…”

  “What?” Lilly pushed open the back door and smiled at the hot tub. Setting their plates down, they removed the cover and turned on the bubbles. They stripped down to their bras and underwear and climbed in while setting their plates on the edge of the tub.