Autumn couldn’t read his expression as he studied her, so she held up the mug of coffee.
“Hey, you.” Autumn smiled. “It’s a peace offering in case you have frostbite.”
Joel’s lips curled up slightly, and he took the mug as Oscar pushed his nose between Joel and the doorframe. Autumn quickly scratched Oscar’s ear and glanced up at his owner, who was sipping the coffee. He still hadn’t said a word.
“I’m sorry I pushed you in the lake.” She stood up straighter and Oscar left them alone.
“You know.” He took another sip. “Before I stepped on that dock, I thought better of following you out there.”
“No, you didn’t.” Her brows shot up.
“Yeah. I actually did.” A smile broke across his lips, and she felt like she could finally take a breath.
She dropped her head in her hands and groaned. “I swear, I don’t usually push unsuspecting souls off docks.”
“How about bridges?” he teased.
She laughed and shook her head.
“I shouldn’t have kissed you. Not right then, at least.” He took a step back from the door and invited her in. She glanced behind her at her house and stepped inside. She was sure her friends were watching every step she made. She also wished she’d thought more about her wardrobe choice. She was in a low-cut camisole and a pair of jean shorts.
Joel invited her into the study, and he took a seat on an ottoman while she sat on the leather chair.
“The worst part about last night was that I actually liked the kiss.” Her cheeks reddened. “I didn’t want it to end, actually.”
“Well, that’s certainly a different way of showing it.” A bemused look settled into his eyes.
“I just . . .” She bit her lip. “Look, I’m sorry for what I did, but I’m not sorry for being disappointed. I really don’t understand why you’ve been keeping things from me.”
“There’s no good reason.” He shrugged. “Possibly self-preservation.”
She chuckled, and her body instantly relaxed. “I’m glad it didn’t happen around any power tools.”
“So am I.” Joel stood and walked over to his desk. A pile of papers sat tidily on top, which he grabbed and brought over to her.
Her eyes fell to the top page, and it matched the coversheet she’d found the day before in the basement.
“Your uncle needed a substantial amount of money. At first, the amounts were small, but they continued to add up. He leveraged some of his smaller homes in the beginning.”
“So you gave him loans using his property as collateral.”
He flipped a few pages back. She didn’t recognize the page from the stack she’d found in the basement.
It looked like her uncle had attempted to use the B&B as collateral right before his death.
“Do you have any idea why he needed so much money? Was it to live on?” Autumn asked, bringing her gaze back to Joel’s.
“I don’t. His wife passed away many years before he started to take out the loans. We didn’t want to pry. He’d done so much for the community for so long that we’d actually tried to help him without going this route.”
“What do you mean?” Her pulse sped up.
“I lent him twenty thousand as a personal loan way before all of this.” He shrugged and didn’t bother mentioning that he never got it back and never intended to. “Maybe it was for medical expenses or general upkeep on the B&B.”
“It’s hard to imagine any of the money went to the B&B. It’s in rough shape.”
Joel nodded in agreement, but she noticed that his jaw clenched.
“What?”
“He wanted to put up the B&B, but my brothers and I knew the risk didn’t outweigh the reward on that one. No offense.”
Autumn laughed and shook her head. “None taken.” She handed him back the papers, and he put them back on the desk before taking a seat.
“I always felt bad about that decision.”
“You shouldn’t. I noticed there had been a lien on the B&B at one time though.”
“That’s correct.” He nodded. “It was for such a small amount, we just forgave it.” Joel scratched his chin. “It was in the very beginning before he started looking at his other properties, and the B&B was still in halfway decent shape, but as far as I know, that’s long been released.”
“I’d imagine it would have come up during the title transfer,” she agreed, which was one of the reasons that kept churning through her head last night. She’d felt like such an idiot for presuming anyone would want the pile of problems she’d inherited, especially a North. “I’m so sorry. I feel so bad for pushing you in.”
“Hey, it made me famous so . . .”
She groaned. “You saw that?”
“Hard to miss on the front page.” Joel laughed, and the sound filled her with hope that maybe she hadn’t completely blown it with him.
“At least you look good in print.” She smiled and noticed the paper was on the side table next to her. “You certainly have a lot of women willing to drop everything and help out.”
“What can I say? To some, I’m actually a catch.”
“I can see it on the surface. Tall, dark, and handsome, with beautiful blue eyes and a body—”
“A body that what?” he asked, his voice lowering slightly.
“A body that is tempting.”
He let out a low growl and stood. “You’re never boring.”
“Music to my ears.” Autumn chuckled and stood too, thinking she needed to get back to her friends.
“How about you have dinner with me? Any questions you have, I’ll answer to the best of my ability. No more secrets.” He looped his arm around her waist, and she stilled, not wanting to go anywhere.
“I’d like that.”
Neither of them moved. Joel’s eyes stayed on Autumn’s as she felt her pulse rise by his mere proximity. She loved everything about him, from the way he smelled like soap to the ruffled bedhead he was sporting.
“You know, I’m going to make that B&B so cute that you’ll wish you had a lien on it.”
He smiled widely and shook his head. “I don’t doubt it.”
Joel ran his finger along her collarbone, and she shivered, loving every second of his touch.
“You have to have vision to be excited about the B&B like you are, and that makes me see your vision too.” He stepped closer. “I know that place is going to be the talk of the town someday, and it will all be because of you.”
She blinked up at him. “You really think so?”
“I know so.” He looked down at Autumn and saw the familiar spark of determination in her gaze. “Everything about you is such a turn-on.”
That brought a smile to her lips, but she didn’t say anything.
“When do your friends leave?” Joel asked, looking into her eyes and feeling the desire pulse through him.
“A couple of days.”
“Then we’ll have dinner in a couple of days.”
She nodded, and he wanted to kiss her, but after last night, he decided to make her wait.
Chapter Seventeen
Autumn had seen Oscar and Joel walking down the sidewalk while she enjoyed her new wraparound porch earlier this morning. Joel didn’t notice her, probably because he wouldn’t have expected anyone to be lurking in the yard with the condition the place had been in for so long, but she did notice him, and he looked as good as when she’d left him a few days ago.
Her friends knew she had it bad, but Autumn was trying to keep her emotions in check around him. That was going to be her goal when they went to dinner. She’d be calm, cool, and completely collected in his presence to make up for his being shoved off the dock.
She cringed at the memory and hoped his brothers wouldn’t hold it against her. Actually, she was less worried about his brothers and more concerned about his mom and grandmother seeing the newspaper.
Way to make a first impression. She shook herself out of it and poured herself another c
up of coffee.
Nonetheless, she loved her new porch, and she felt confident that it would withstand a group of people without necessitating an emergency room visit. The house was really coming along. It was amazing how fast things went when professionals were called in. A couple of the powder rooms had already been remodeled. Two sitting rooms upstairs had been painted and new carpet laid.
Autumn wandered to the staircase and ran her hands along the new wooden risers. They’d replaced many of the steps along with installing a new bannister.
Tomorrow, the carpet installers would be fitting a runner in the center of the stairs. Mason had everything scheduled down to the second for when items could be checked off the list.
Autumn made her way to the library. This was the project she and her friends had started last night. They’d already removed all the furniture and had begun tearing up the carpet before they left for their flight this morning. She had amazing friends. No doubt about it.
Beautiful wood floors were underneath, and she felt like the tides were finally starting to turn in her favor. Removing the carpet brightened up the entire space, and the wood floors seemed absolutely perfect for a library.
As she rolled up the carpet and maneuvered it into the hallway, she let out one big heave as she pushed it out of the way. She nearly tripped over the rug as she went back into the room but grabbed onto one of the built-in shelves to steady herself.
A photograph sailed to the wooden floor, and she bent over to pick it up. Halfway expecting to see Uncle Fred or his wife, she was startled to see a young woman, about her age, staring back at her.
Autumn studied the picture, noticing the same auburn hair and green eyes that she had, and chills cascaded over her flesh. Could this have been Uncle Fred’s daughter? Sadness crept over her as she reached up to the shelf where this photo had been stored to find several others.
There was so much she didn’t know about her family, and it seemed like every day she stayed in Silver Ridge, the more she learned about a past she never expected and certainly had never heard about. It made no sense that her father would have shut everyone out of his life.
Her breath caught when she shuffled through them. The photos were all with the same woman but at different ages. There was no doubt that this woman would be around the same age as Autumn. She analyzed the surroundings and realized that whoever she was, she had been in this very same house. Whether it was the old fireplace in the living room or the gardens in the backyard, the backgrounds in most of the photos looked to be somewhere in this house.
Clutching the photos, she made her way out of the library and to her purse in the dining room, where she stuffed the images inside. She’d definitely ask Joel who the woman might be. He could have come across her over the years and would probably know more than she did.
There was certainly a striking resemblance, which was quite unsettling, but what worried her more was that if Uncle Fred had a daughter, why wouldn’t she have received his inheritance?
Hopefully, she’d be able to find some answers.
Autumn looked at the clock and knew she should start getting ready for dinner with Joel. She’d been looking forward to it since she left his house days ago, but finding these pictures really threw her off.
As she climbed the steps to her bedroom, she let the weight of her undertaking slowly lift. This B&B might not resemble a place anyone wanted to stay at the moment, but someday it would, and she’d be the Tucker to get it back into shape. She didn’t know why, but she felt like Silver Ridge was home and where she needed to be.
The town was the closest thing she had to family. The history here provided a connection that she’d desperately craved without ever realizing it. Traveling around the world did nothing but make her feel disconnected. At first, it had been her way to escape the sorrow, but as the years went by, she realized the sorrow only grew until it was screaming at her. She couldn’t escape the grief no matter how hard she’d tried, which was why coming to Silver Ridge seemed like the perfect place to work through everything she’d been trying to avoid.
She walked into her bedroom and flipped on the light. Letting out a sigh, she looked around the room. This spot was last on her list, but it certainly needed as much attention as every other room.
Tiny rose covered wallpaper was peeling in the corners, and underneath, where the wall was exposed, tiny cracks reached for the ceiling. This was one of the rooms that led Mason to believe there was a roof problem, and he was right. While the roof was certainly high on her list of musts, she wasn’t planning on a new roof until late summer, before the rain and snow hit the area.
The bathroom tile project was something she wanted to get started soon. The pink and mauve tile signaled another era, and she dreamed of an evening when she could turn on the water in the claw-foot tub and soak away her day’s problems, but until then, she turned on the water in the somewhat grimy shower and climbed in under the steady stream of hot water.
Her mind drifted to the woman in the photos as she rinsed her hair. There had to be a connection to the Tucker family. There was no doubt about it with a resemblance like that, but she couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to her, whoever she was.
As she rinsed out the conditioner, she let her mind drift to Joel. He was so easygoing and understanding, not to mention extremely good-looking, which only made her dry off and move faster so she could see him sooner.
Autumn quickly dressed, dried her hair, and dabbed on some mascara before dashing out of the house. When she reached Joel’s front door, she saw a note attached.
In the shower. Went out on a call that went a little longer than anticipated. I’ll be right down.
Autumn ripped the note off the door and drew in a deep breath. The thought of Joel upstairs showering while she was downstairs staring at a wall seemed like such a waste of water. She walked into his house and stuffed the note into her purse.
She wasn’t sure where he’d planned on taking her tonight, but as she walked further into the home, she saw a beautiful table set for two on the patio, a bottle of wine chilling on the kitchen counter, and a gorgeous bouquet of roses.
Autumn looked around the kitchen as she tried to get her nerve up for what she was about to do. Seeing everything laid out here tonight with such care made her heart swell. It didn’t matter if he was right next to her, across the street, or upstairs in the shower. She felt such a strong connection to Joel, and it only grew with time. She bent over and inhaled the scent of the crimson roses, and the fragrance gave her the little courage she needed.
Setting her purse next to the bouquet, she drew in a deep breath and made her way to the stairs. She’d never done something like this before, but every cell in her body wanted to be close to Joel, and she couldn’t stop imagining him in the shower.
With each step up the stairs, the intensity of her need only grew, but her body was trembling with a mixture of fear and excitement. She had no idea what she was going to do. She hoped when she saw him under the water, her brain would start working again because right now, all she felt was a pull to him.
When she reached the top of the stairs, she saw Oscar snoring on the landing next to a bench. It suddenly dawned on her that maybe scaling the stairs in a home with an Oscar might be the wrong kind of surprise for both of them.
“Hey, Oscar,” she said calmly, hoping he wouldn’t greet her with teeth.
Oscar opened one eye and closed it just as quickly. One obstacle down.
Autumn drew in a deep breath. She could do this. She glanced down both hallways and took a guess as to which way to go. As she got closer to the door at the end of the hallway, she saw that it was propped open and heard the sound of the shower.
Her pulse was pounding with each step forward, but the excitement was pummeling through her. She walked into his bedroom and couldn’t believe she’d made it this far. Not with Joel naked in the bathroom through the next door. Autumn looked around the room and loved how it felt like Joel. A large sl
eigh bed centered the room, and several short chests anchored each side of the bed. The room was done in neutrals with ivory walls and beige bedding.
His clothes were thrown on the bedspread, and for some reason, that made her breath even shakier.
“You can do this,” she whispered to herself.
Autumn took a few steps toward the bathroom. The door was already open and steam was rolling out.
She made it about a foot away and looked inside to see a double vanity, a claw-foot tub, and then a tile wall. She assumed the shower was just behind the white tile.
“Joel, are you in here?” She poked her head into the bathroom and smelled the same soap she loved smelling.
A few seconds of silence passed, and her heart rate was beating all over the place. She’d been too presumptuous.
Just as she was about to turn around and slink away, she felt his arm slide around her waist. She gasped with surprise and turned around to see Joel’s beautiful eyes full of desire as his gaze settled on hers.
“Hey, beautiful,” he whispered.
“Aren’t you supposed to be in the shower?” she teased.
“I forgot a towel.” His voice lowered as his gaze fell to her lips.
She felt desire pulsing through her so sharply she knew she there would be only one thing to make the ache go away. She needed Joel. She’d needed him from the moment she met him.
Autumn drew in a shaky breath and looped her arms around his neck. She’d never wanted a man so badly in her life.
“You look absolutely gorgeous,” Joel said softly, tucking a fallen piece of hair behind her ear, “but I should finish my shower.”
His words nearly unhinged her. They were so close. She moved her hands down from his neck and rested them on his bare chest, feeling the heat roll off his skin. Rather than step away, she kissed his chest and slowly worked her mouth up his neck. He let out a slow, long growl of desire as her hands skirted along his bare skin.
Without waiting a second longer, he lifted her dress off her and tossed it on the floor. She put her mouth on Joel’s, and he let out another deep groan as her mouth parted against his. He cupped her breasts in his palms through the lace bra and kissed her deeply, feeling her arch into him.
Happy Truth About Love: Island County Spinoff Series (Silver Ridge Series Book 1) Page 16
