Sweet, Sexy Heart – the Bradens & Montgomerys (Pleasant Hill – Oak Falls)

by Melissa Foster

  “Oh, please.” She put her hand on her hip. “You know you’re not going to read it.”

  He stepped closer, so close she had to look up to see his face. His square chin was peppered with scruff, dark eyes drilling into hers. If she went up on her toes, she could press her lips to his as she’d done in her dreams. That single kiss had led to all of the other delicious things they’d done. Her loneliest parts clenched in anticipation.

  As if Dash could feel the heat sizzling inside her, the edges of his lips quirked up. “I’ll give you my rewrites when I’m done, and you can tell me who wrote it better.”

  Her mind sped through dirty scenes she’d read, instantly replacing the hero with him, causing her cheeks to burn.

  “Penny for your thoughts,” he said huskily, jarring her brain into gear.

  She forced herself to step back, putting space between them. “Packing books. We’re packing books.”

  He motioned toward the card she’d forgotten she was holding. “Is that card for me?”

  “What? No. Sorry. It’s for one of my customers, Hellie Camden. Her husband died a long time ago, and her wedding anniversary is next week. I send a card every year to brighten her day.”

  “Right, she spends the evening at the gazebo in Hemlock Park, where he proposed to her when she was twenty.”

  “How do you know that?” As soon as she said it, she remembered what Lindsay had texted about his morning fan club.

  “I had breakfast with Hellie, Nana, and the rest of the dirty grandmas this morning.”

  “You had breakfast with them?” Was the whole town fawning all over him?

  “I was running by the café when they invited me to join them. They’re clever. They reel you in like they’re offering you milk and cookies and a friendly chat, and then you find out they’re plying you with whiskey and rum cake, and before you know it, you’ve told them your whole life story.”

  “That’s them. I guess your fan club is bigger than I thought.” She opened a box and put a stack of books on the table.

  “My fan club?” He opened another box and began taking out books.

  “I heard about the ladies who walked with you this morning, but you probably have gaggles of women chasing after you in every town you visit, and it’s none of my business anyway.” She pulled the supply cart over, and her eyes caught on the vase the flowers he’d brought her were in. It was full of acorns. Her heart skipped, and “Acorns,” slipped out.

  “I know it’s probably not what you’re used to. But my grandmother fills all of her vases with them. She says they’re nature’s magic because those tiny nuts transform into mighty oaks. Everything she says comes back to some sort of acorn metaphor.”

  Amber must have looked as dumbfounded as she felt, because he said, “It’s silly, I know. But at least they’re pretty.”

  “No, it’s not silly. Did my mom tell you I have a thing for acorns?”

  “No. She doesn’t even know I collected them after our walk this morning.”

  Her throat thickened. “You collected them?”

  “Yeah. In the woods by the creek. Why? A grown man can’t gather acorns?” He shook his head. “Damn. I was aiming for romance, and you just shot me down.”

  “I’m not shooting you down. It is romantic. I’m just a little blown away. When we were young, some of my sisters—Brindle and Morgyn, mostly, and whoever they could swindle into going with them—would sneak out to watch Trixie’s brothers break horses or have rodeos at crazy hours, like midnight or four in the morning. I never liked going, and my dad would come get me after they snuck out, and we’d go on walks, just the two of us in the moonlight. If I was sad, he’d say, ‘Let’s talk it out and set those bad thoughts free.’ It always helped. In the fall, we collected acorns. If you look through the window to my office, you’ll see a jar of them on the shelf behind my desk.”

  She pointed to the window, and he looked over, a smile curving his lips.

  “I would write down snippets of wisdom he’d share, fold them up and put them in the jars with the acorns. He never called them nature’s magic, but he’d say that life was like an acorn, and we needed to look deeper to find the seeds of wonderful things yet to come. I’ve never heard anyone else talk about acorns like that. That’s why I thought my mom had said something.”

  “She had a lot to say, as did Nana and her tribe, but nobody gave away your secrets. And trust me, I tried like mad to get them.”

  She laughed softly and lowered her eyes. He was so forward and sure of himself, and she liked it. But why was he interested in her of all people? If Morgyn were there, her most ethereal and creative sister, who believed everything was guided by the universe and made a career out of repurposing and breathing life into inanimate objects, she’d say fate was dangling Mr. Delicious in front of Amber. But Amber knew better than to get tangled up with a guy who would be marching out of town before too long, probably with a trail of women following him like the Pied Piper.

  “Are you sure you want to stick around and help me pack up books? You must have better things to do.”

  He held her gaze. “There’s no place else I’d rather be.”

  The honesty in his eyes tugged at something deep inside her. She told herself not to believe it, that he was probably used to charming women’s panties off and most likely saw her as a challenge. But it felt so real, she was having trouble convincing herself otherwise.

  “Let’s get started,” he suggested. “I’ll answer your questions about my fan club and anything else you want to know, and you can tell me all about yourself.”

  “I hate to disappoint you, but there’s not much to tell.”

  “How about you let me be the judge of that? Come on, sexy reader.” He rubbed his hands together, looking at the boxes. “Where do we start?”

  She explained the process, expecting him to back out, but he remained on the couch, sitting beside her as she wrote notes to the members, inserted a bookmark, and wrapped each book in tissue paper, and then Dash put them in envelopes with the appropriate labels.

  “So, what do you want to know?” He affixed a label. “How the walking group came about?”

  “No, it’s okay. I don’t really want to hear about women chasing after you. I’ve seen enough of it.”

  “It’s not like that.”

  She gave him a deadpan look.

  “Okay, maybe it is like that for some women, but that has nothing to do with me. I’m not out there looking for dates.” He leaned against her side with that charming smile. “I’m here looking at you, and trust me, sweetheart, there’s no better view.”

  “I think you have those cheesy lines down pat.” She picked up another note card, shaking her head.

  “Mental note: Sexy reader is not into cheese. How about whipped cream?” He arched a brow.

  She tried to hide how much she liked his ridiculous lines despite their cheesiness.

  “I got to hang out with your mom again this morning.”

  “My sister told me. It’s a little weird that she went walking with you. She rides horses and trains service dogs. She never goes out specifically to exercise like that.”

  “It was good for her to get out and talk with the other ladies. She had fun. We all did, and we didn’t just walk.”

  She looked up from the note she was writing. “I’m afraid to ask what else you did.”

  “You really do have a dirty mind.”

  “I didn’t mean it that way.”

  “Sure you did, but don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone.” He chuckled. “We did calisthenics. Vertical, not horizontal.”

  Ohmygosh.

  “Talk about hysterical. The way those ladies bantered, I felt like I was in a frat house. And at the café, when I suggested that Nana and her friends join me tomorrow at the park, I asked them what they wanted to gain from exercising, and Nana said ‘More stamina in the bedroom.’ I’m all for a healthy sexual appetite, but I didn’t need to know that.”

  “Nana i
s shameless.” Kind of like you.

  “I really like her. She told me about how she celebrates every little thing and that she’s hoping to get her granddaughter Sophie and Sophie’s husband, Brett, to move back to the area full time so she can see more of her great-granddaughter.” Sophie was Lindsay’s sister. She and Brett split their time between New York and Oak Falls. “I know Brett Bad and his family, by the way.”

  “You do?” She wasn’t surprised that Nana had overshared, but she was surprised that he knew Sophie and Brett.

  “My agent, Tiffany, is married to Brett’s brother Dylan. I’m going to see them in a few weeks at a fundraiser for the Ronald McDonald House that the Bad family hosts. My buddies and I have been going for the past couple of years. We give to the cause, of course, but we also sign memorabilia for them to auction off. Every little bit helps.”

  She liked knowing that about him. “It broke my heart when Brett told us they’d lost their sister to leukemia when she was young.”

  “It’s very sad. They honor her at the fundraiser. Speaking of fundraising, your mom said it costs thousands of dollars to train service dogs. I didn’t realize that the families who get the dogs do fundraising to cover those costs.”

  “It’s always been part of her program, although she’s a softie. She’s given dogs to people who didn’t raise enough money to cover the training.”

  “She didn’t tell me that. She’s pretty amazing. I like getting to know her. She was careful not to talk about you in the group, but she did admit she’s thrilled that Grace moved back home. She showed me a picture of Pepper, too. She looks more like you than Sable. She said she wants more grandbabies, and she’s worried that your sister Pepper will miss out on the best things in life because she works so hard.”

  “She told you that about Pepper?”

  “Yeah. You’d be surprised how people open up when they exercise with a group. It’s like therapy. That’s how I used to get my brothers and sisters to open up when we were kids.”

  “Really? How many siblings do you have?”

  “Two brothers and two sisters. Breakfast with your family reminded me of being with them. We’re always giving each other a hard time, but they’re my heart and soul. I practically raised them after our father left.”

  His feelings for his siblings warmed her, but she sensed uneasiness when he mentioned his father. “Your parents are divorced?”

  He nodded. “My father worked for my grandfather’s real estate development company and had an affair with his secretary. When my grandfather found out, he fired him. My father took off with her shortly after. They moved to Florida, and I think a few years later they moved out West. We never hear from him.”

  “He just left and never looked back? That’s awful.”

  He wrung his hands together. “He got in touch once, five or six years ago. He got into some shady business deals and needed money to get himself out of a hole.”

  “And he had the nerve to come to you? That’s such a callous, hurtful thing to do. What did you do?”

  “It did hurt, a lot more than I’d expected. For years I’d had a running dialogue in my head about what I’d say if I ever saw him again. I thought I’d make him apologize to my mom and my siblings, and I’d give him a piece of my mind. But when he was standing in front of me, he didn’t even look like the same guy who had left us. I remembered him as confident and powerful, always dressed in a suit, reminding us how important it was to work hard and be a man. But he just looked diminished. I don’t know if it was because I’d lost all respect for him or because life had beaten him down.”

  “It was probably both.”

  “Probably. Anyway, I didn’t say the things I had planned. I didn’t want anything from him other than his word that he’d never contact me or anyone in our family again. I gave him the money he asked for and said that was it. He wasn’t getting another penny. It’s shameful to have to pay off your father, but better me than anyone else.”

  Her heart broke for him. “I’m sorry. I can’t imagine how awful that must have been. Not just the money part, but his leaving in the first place.”

  “It sucked, but we got through it, and we’re all stronger because of it. When I look back now, as an adult, I’m blown away by how strong my mom was. She never let us see her cry, but I’d hear her late at night in her bedroom.” His brows knitted. “She didn’t just lose a husband—her whole life changed. She was a stay-at-home mom, and after he left, she had to go back to work, so I stepped in to take care of my brothers and sisters. We were all falling apart. I could feel my brothers and sisters pulling away, retreating into their own heads, and all I wanted was to hold us together. I would build obstacle courses in the backyard and drag them outside for competitions. That’s when I discovered that group exercise was like therapy. They hated it at times, but I didn’t care. I had a bigger goal, and it was the most important one I’d ever had. I’d have done anything to keep from losing them.”

  Amber felt like a veil was lifting and she was seeing him through clearer eyes. “You learned from your mom how to push past your own grief to help them. That says a lot about both of you.”

  “Any big brother would have done it.”

  “I don’t think that’s true. Are you the oldest?”

  “Yeah. Harrison is two years younger than me. We call him Hawk. He’s a pretty well-known photographer. You’ll meet him at the signing. He’s coming to take pictures.”

  “It’s nice that he’s handling your kickoff. I’m looking forward to meeting him.”

  “Good, because I thought we could all go to dinner afterward.” He must have seen hesitation in her expression, because he said, “Purely business, to thank you for hosting and to celebrate my first signing.”

  “A professional dinner. Okay, I can do that.” Even if my nerves are already catching fire. “Why do you call your brother Hawk?”

  “Because ever since he was a kid, he’s looked at the world through the lens of a camera, and he always captures the most interesting views. We could be looking at the same thing, and what I see is never as striking as what he captures on film.”

  “Tell me about your other brother and sisters.”

  “Let’s see. Damon is two years younger than Hawk. He tried my mom’s patience every step of the way after our father left, starting fights, skipping school. I’ve cleaned up more of his messes than I care to remember. But he got through it, and he’s a great guy. He still has a massive chip on his shoulder, but he channels his energy in healthier ways now. He recently took over our grandfather’s business, and he’s pushing it in a whole new direction. And then there are my sisters, Dawn and Andi.” His expression warmed. “They’re seven and eight years younger than me. Dawn is the host of Just Desserts, which is a baking show.”

  “You’re kidding. I love that show. She’s amazing. I tried to make the tiramisu crepe cake she made once because it looked delicious, and tiramisu is my guilty pleasure.”

  “Tiramisu at your service. It’s nice to meet you.” He held out his hand, as if to shake hers.

  She shook her head, but she was sure her amusement shone like neon lights in her eyes.

  “Can’t blame a guy for wanting to be your guilty pleasure.”

  Ohmygod. This guy… “You wouldn’t say that if you saw the mess I made. I have no idea how your sister did it. There were twenty-five paper-thin crepe layers, and mine came out awful. She could probably make anything look easy. She’s so vivacious, she makes you feel like you’re right in the kitchen with her.”

  “That’s Dawn. She can win over any audience.”

  “Sounds like she got her big brother’s genes,” she teased.

  He brushed his leg against hers, and those butterflies swarmed again. “The only audience I want to win over is you, sexy reader.”

  “Stop making me blush and tell me about your other sister.”

  “But making you blush is so much fun.” He laughed at her deadpan look. “You want to know about An
di? She’s a lot like you. She’s sweet and careful, and the smartest of all of us.”

  “I’ll own up to sweet and careful, at least relative to Brindle and Sable. But the smartest in our family is definitely Pepper.”

  “We’ll see about that. Andi is working on her PhD in marine biology, and she’s a research assistant to Sutton Steele, the host of—”

  “The Discovery Hour show,” Amber exclaimed. “I know Sutton. I went to Boyer University in Port Hudson, and she was one of my LWW sorority sisters. The Discovery Hour is an LWW show. Wait, so is Just Desserts. It’s on their lifestyle channel. But your sisters must not have been part of the LWW sisterhood, or I would probably know them.” Everyone in Port Hudson knew of the Ladies Who Write (LWW), which wasn’t a sorority, but more of a sisterhood, founded by a group of women who had bonded over their love of writing. They’d rented a house together, and later, three of the founding members had gone on to start LWW Enterprises, a multimedia corporation with offices across the United States.

  “They weren’t. I can’t believe you went to Boyer.” His eyes lit up. “I grew up in Port Hudson. My mom worked in the library for years before becoming a professor.”

  “I practically lived in the library. Maybe I knew her. What’s her name?”

  “Robin. She’s tall, blond, and a talker.”

  “I think I knew her. This is crazy. If she’s the Robin I knew, she was taking classes and wanted to be an English teacher. I remember wondering how anyone could work full time, go to school, and raise a family without losing their mind. She told me she had a family, but we didn’t talk specifics. I didn’t even know her last name. We talked about books and our futures, and LWW. She was very mom-like, and supportive of my dream of opening a bookstore.”

  “That’s her. She was determined, and she instilled that same determination in each of us. She got her master’s a few years ago, and now she teaches at Boyer.”

  “Wow, what a coincidence. I’m sure she doesn’t remember me, but I’m so happy for her. Would you mind telling her that?”

  “I’ll do better than that. You can tell her yourself.” He reached for his phone.