A Thing Called Love

by Jill Sanders

  “There, now we can talk anytime. Day or night.” He sighed and took her hand in his, then kissed it.

  “Does that mean it’s official?” she asked.

  His eyebrows shot up as he backed up. “I would think that after last night…”

  “I’m joking.” She nudged him on the shoulder.

  He chuckled. “Just so we’re clear.”

  “We are.” She smiled over at him, and he felt his heart skip a beat.

  Sitting in the bakery with Kara while the people of Pride came and went, he figured it was also obvious to anyone who saw them sitting next to one another in the booth. His arm was wrapped around Kara’s shoulder as they sipped their coffee and had sugary pastries.

  She filled him in on her sister’s visit with their parents. Their folks were getting ready to sell their home in Portland.

  “They’re hoping to purchase a place closer to Pride,” she said as she finished the last bite of a breakfast quiche. “Since we’re both determined to remain here.”

  He thought about his own future. At one point a few years back, he’d been determined to leave Pride. Two years in the city for school had quickly changed his mind, and he’d returned home.

  Then again, he hadn’t done anything to make the return more permanent. In fact, he was still living in his childhood bedroom, under his parents’ roof. Sure, he had an excellent job, but most guys in his position had their own places or lived in the barracks. He’d thought about finding his own place and now that he was looking forward to a relationship with Kara, the need to do so had grown.

  “Have they had any luck finding a place?” he asked, curious to see what was available.

  “I think they’ve found a rental until the new subdivision your family is working on opens up.” Kara shrugged.

  Damn, why hadn’t he thought of that himself? He knew that they were scheduled to start building the new homes in two short months. He could be on the list of first home buyers if he wanted.

  “Good idea,” he said under his breath.

  “What?” She arched her eyebrows and looked over at him.

  Shaking his head, he sighed. “I’ve been thinking the same.”

  “Oh?” She turned slightly towards him. “Is that why you’re avoiding working with Jacob?”

  He nudged her. “Trust me, if you’d witnessed him and Rose bickering, you’d avoid them too.”

  “I saw them the other day at the hardware store.” Kara nodded. “I see what you mean. They were arguing over what type of flags to buy. You know, the kind you put out to mark property lines.”

  “Right. They went with pink. They’re everywhere up there now.” He motioned towards the hill overlooking the town.

  Kara’s eyes followed his gaze. “It’s hard to believe that soon there will be homes up there.”

  “One hundred and thirty to start with.”

  “Wow, that many?”

  “Plus a clubhouse, state-of-the-art gym, pool, tennis courts, and more.”

  “Wow, I’m going to have to head up there and take a look at it all for myself.”

  “Right now, it’s just a bunch of dirt being moved around.” He took her hand and realized he’d taken enough of her time that morning. She probably had work to get to. Besides, he wanted to do a little home searching himself before dinner tonight.

  “What are your plans now?” she asked out of the blue.

  He shrugged, not wanting to tell her he was probably going to spend the day looking for a place to live and talk to his brother about setting a lot aside for him.

  “I’m free,” she suggested. “Why don’t you take me up there so I can see it for myself? That way, I can get some information for my folks.”

  “Are you sure?” he asked her.

  She chuckled and nudged his shoulder. “What does a girl have to do to get you to spend the day with her? Beg?”

  “You don’t have work?”

  She slowly shook her head. “Not until tomorrow.”

  He shrugged. “Okay, I’m game. You may want to change into some boots.” He helped her out of the booth. “And maybe some old jeans.” He glanced down at his own tennis shoes. “I’ll need to change too.”

  “You can drop me off and then stop by on the way out of town to pick me up.” She started to pull some cash out of her purse.

  He stopped her and quickly paid for their breakfast.

  “Okay,” she said as her eyes narrowed, “but I’m buying next time.”

  He shrugged. “It’s up to you.”

  She got up on her toes and kissed him. “It’s what I want.”

  He smiled, knowing that they had been standing in full view of the large window at the bakery. No doubt, the entire town would know about them by the end of the day. For some reason, that fact pleased him immensely.

  He walked into his parents’ house, and his mother caught him just as he was climbing the stairs to change into his work jeans and boots.

  “Your brother told me that you were sneaking out of here early?” she asked, holding a large bucket of laundry that no doubt held some of his clothes. He’d tried to convince her when he moved back in that he was capable of taking care of himself, but so far she hadn’t allowed him to lift a finger around the place except to move furniture or make repairs.

  “Yeah.” He took the basket from her. “I’ll take these upstairs. I’m going to be heading out to the site after I change.”

  He saw the surprise in her eyes at this news. “Jacob said you were too busy today helping a friend?”

  “Plans changed,” he called over his shoulder as he headed up the stairs.

  When he came back down, his parents were gone, most likely out on a walk since both dogs were MIA as well.

  When he drove back over to the cottage, he knew it was past time to move out. He’d pretty much talked himself into finding the first rental place that was available.

  He drove through town and slammed on his brakes when he saw the sign above O’Neil’s grocery store.

  Why hadn’t he thought of the apartment before now? Pulling into the small parking lot, he rushed in and, ten minutes later, walked out of the store with a smile on his face and a set of keys to his new place in his pockets.

  “You look happy,” Kara said as she climbed into his truck.

  “I’m moving,” he blurted out.

  Her smile slipped and turned into a frown.

  “You are? Where to?”

  “The apartment above O’Neil’s.” He saw her relax.

  “I drove by after she put out the sign. Apparently, she’s had the place empty while Parker was doing some renovations. The place is ready, and I’ll be moving in tomorrow.” He frowned suddenly. “Well, tomorrow after work.”

  “That’s great news. I didn’t know you were officially looking for a place of your own,” she said as he pulled onto the main road that would take them up the hill towards the new subdivision.

  “I wasn’t really, but I figured after last night…” He reached over and took her hand. “I’d like some privacy with you.”

  “Good idea,” she said with a sigh. “I was wondering what I was going to tell Robin. Not that I don’t love living with my sister in a little cottage, but it would be nice to have some time with you without making her feel…”

  “Like a third wheel?” he said, and she nodded in agreement.

  “So, tell me about this subdivision,” she said, and he chuckled when she pulled a notepad from her purse to take notes.

  “Hidden Cove,” he supplied. “Homes will range from eighteen hundred square feet to just above three-thousand. Two- or three-car garages. Each lot will be three quarters of an acre.”

  “Wow, that sounds just up my parents’ alley,” she broke in after writing down some notes. “Dad likes his toys.” She glanced over at him. “My mother swears she needs a four-car garage just to keep his riding lawn mower, motorcycles, and other gadgets in.”

  “I think I’m going to like your dad,” he joked. “My
dad has an entire barn. But in the past few years, my mother has filled it with stuff. She remodeled the entire inside of their home a few years back and instead of selling off stuff…”

  “Yeah, I know, she gives it away to strangers,” Kara said with a chuckle.

  “Right.” He rolled his eyes and turned off the main road to head up the long private road. “This will be the main entrance. There will be a gate here.” He slowed the truck down. “A grand stone entrance with a sign. Rose has the drawings all done. I’ll show it to you when we get up to the construction trailer.” He continued up the steep drive and parked beside his brother’s truck.

  “We’ll head inside first and grab a map of the lots before hiking around so I can show you where everything will be.”

  He opened the door to the trailer and then stood in shock as his eyes adjusted to the scene of Jacob and Rose in each other’s arms in a heated embrace.

  Chapter Thirteen

  When Conner slammed the trailer door shut, Kara grew concerned, until he turned towards her and shook his head.

  “I knew it.” He chuckled, then glanced around and knocked his boots a couple times on the small steps. He opened the door again, more slowly this time.

  When Kara stepped into the trailer, Conner was sitting behind the desk, looking down at a computer screen and Rose, a woman roughly Kara’s age, whom she hadn’t officially met yet, was standing a few feet away looking down at her phone.

  When Kara took in the blush on Rose’s cheeks and noticed the woman’s long dark hair coming free from a French braid, she guessed that the pair had either been in a fight or had been doing something else moments before.

  It was very obvious to Kara that the two were embarrassed about something, and she glanced towards Conner, who was just smiling like a loon.

  “Hey,” he said to his brother. “Kara’s folks are looking to move to Pride, and she wants some information on what’s available.”

  “Oh,” Rose jumped in. “How wonderful.” She held out her hand. “I’m Rose Derby.”

  “Kara Jenkins.” She shook the pretty brunette’s hand. “Why don’t you come back here to my office. I’ll show you the plans we have so far.” She motioned for Kara to follow her into the other small office.

  “So, what’s new?” Kara heard Conner say just before Rose shut the door between them.

  The woman looked relieved to be out of the room.

  “Is everything okay?” Kara asked, innocently.

  “Yes.” Rose sighed. “Just…” She shook her head quickly. “Yes.” She smiled. “Why don’t you tell me what your parents are looking for.”

  A few minutes later, Conner walked in and they spent the next half hour going over every floor plan Rose had designed for the subdivision.

  Kara liked a few of them and snapped pictures to text to her folks.

  Then they were shown a large map of the subdivision, which had all the lots and roads mapped out on it.

  “Phase one will start in a few weeks, after they are done cutting and completing the roads. Sewage and electric are going in now, so if you show her around today, be careful. There are a lot of workers out there.”

  “Will do.” Conner nodded. “I’m planning to build here myself.”

  Rose’s eyebrows shot up. “You are?”

  He chuckled. “Yeah. I just signed a lease on the apartment above O’Neil’s, so I have plenty of time.”

  “That’s wonderful,” Rose said easily. “I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have the option of staying at my parents’ place.” Rose turned to Kara. “My folks purchased a summer home near here shortly before I was born. We used to spend each summer down here.”

  “We did too. Well, a few weeks each summer when my parents could get away from work. Only my folks never purchased a place. We’d always stay at the bed and breakfast.”

  “You did?” Rose asked. “I bet we ran into one another plenty of times over the years. Either at the beach or somewhere in town.”

  “Probably.” Kara nodded in agreement.

  “Well, anyway, here’s a smaller copy of this map so you can go out and look at which lots are available. Some of them have higher prices due to the views.” She motioned to a row of squares on the map. “These all have great views of the beach below. We’ll have a private access pathway and stairs leading down the cliff to the beach below here.” She motioned to a spot. “Only ten sites will have those views.”

  “Nine,” Conner corrected. “I’ve snagged this one for myself.” He motioned to the last lot, which sat off on its own at the end of the street.

  “You did?” Rose asked.

  “Just made the deal with my uncle over the phone and cleared it with the foreman.” Conner motioned to the other room. “Jacob thinks I’m crazy to let you design my home. I told him I was crazy to let him build it,” he added with a smile.

  Rose touched his arm. “Thank you. You’re our first official sale. Well, if you don’t count your cousins’ homes that we’re building on the adjoining property.” She turned back to Kara. “We haven’t officially opened up any lots for sale yet. Your parents will have plenty of time to decide which lot and home design they want. We hoped to start letting people in once the main roads are finished in about a month.”

  “The perks of being related to the developer,” Jacob said from the doorway.

  “You know, Robin and I had talked about building a bigger house on the land that came with the cottage and the barn,” Kara admitted.

  “If you get to the point that you want to start designing a place, let me know,” Rose said quickly.

  For the next half hour, Conner looked over all the house plans. Kara had to admit, she’d narrowed it down to two styles she really liked for her parents and one she dreamed of for herself. It surprised her a little that Conner quickly chose that one for the land he’d picked out.

  “That’s the floorplan I had hoped someone would pick for the lot you picked out,” Rose said with a little sigh. “It’s my favorite.” She smiled at him. “Perfect for someone who plans on having a large family.” Rose’s eyes moved over to Kara’s. Then it was her turn to flush as she avoided the woman’s eyes.

  Did Conner want a large family? What was she even thinking? Sure, they’d had one wonderful night together, but as far as she knew, he wasn’t even thinking of commitments yet. Was he? It was far too soon to think of anything beyond that day. She tried to convince herself of that as they headed out to look at the lots at the top of the hill where his plot of land was.

  She liked a few lots for her parents and figured that since they were moving to their retirement home, they would want to overlook the water themselves.

  “You got quiet,” Conner said after parking his truck in the dirt along the side of what would be the road soon.

  “Just trying to imagine how all of this will look,” she lied.

  “I can’t believe little Rose has the skills to create those wonderful home plans,” he said with a chuckle as he helped her out of the truck.

  She was thankful she’d changed into her hiking boots and worn jeans, as her feet sank a little in the mud.

  Conner didn’t seem to mind or care that they had to walk through the muck that last night’s rain had caused. He held onto her hand and helped her through the worst of it as they made their way to where little signs showed them where each lot was.

  “This one’s mine.” He motioned to the small sign. “We’ll have to walk through the brush to see the view. They won’t clear the lot until after the roads are in.”

  As they made their way through the thick bushes, Conner held back the branches to let her pass. She avoided a few spiderwebs and would have stepped directly in one if Conner hadn’t stopped her and used a stick to knock the massive thing down.

  She pulled the hood of her hoodie up and tightened it, afraid of getting webs or spiders in her hair. She shivered visibly each time that she noticed a web sparkling in the daylight. Even though she had to admit that so
me of them were beautiful, she still cringed each time she noticed the massive things.

  “I swear I’m not usually this squeamish,” she told Conner after he’d knocked down a few more webs with a stick.

  He chuckled. “My mother and sister are the same way.” He turned to her and laughed when she tightened the hoodie of her sweatshirt even more. “You know, they don’t set out to climb on people. Think about it, we’re what? A million times bigger than they are. Imagine seeing a creature that large hovering over you. You’d run the other way as fast as possible.”

  “Yeah, but I don’t have eight legs and drink blood.” She shivered visibly, causing him to laugh even more.

  “Fair point.” He motioned to the clearing ahead of them.

  When they stepped out of the thickest part of the bushes, the view opened up and she gasped at the beauty.

  “Wow.” She tried to take in everything. The beautiful Oregon coastline lay beyond a small grassy hill. A little over a hundred yards below them sat a pristine beach with dark rocks jutting out of the blue Pacific waters while white waves crashed along the sandy beach. Down the other way, the lighthouse sat, a white column in the midst of the grassy hillside along the shoreline.

  “The property line is here,” Conner said, motioning to a little pink flag that sat halfway across the green hill. “The house will sit up there.” He turned and motioned to the thick trees. “Once it’s cleared of most of the trees. I’ll want to keep a lot of the bigger ones.” He tilted his head as if imagining it all. “Maybe Rose can add more windows off the back of the place.” He turned back to the view as he smiled slowly. “I’ll build a large deck.” He glanced from side to side. “I’ll add some stairs down to the beach just past a nice wide yard.”

  She listened to him dream about his future home and could actually see everything he was talking about. Her heart ached at the thought of having her own future so planned out. So… perfect.

  Then Conner turned to her and shook his head. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to hijack your time. We’re supposed to be looking for your parents.”

  “It’s okay,” she said, avoiding his eyes. “It’s so peaceful up here. I’ve pretty much made up my mind that they should have one of the lots looking out over the water. I’m positive they’re going to want to see this every day.”