I tried to decipher the swift change, then wondered if it was because she would be going from one rented-out room to three in a matter of a couple days. “Am I—if I’m in the way, I can leave.”
“Oh, goodness, no.” She laughed at that, then started gathering bowls in front of her. “I think you’ve been the quietest guest we’ve ever had. It’s just this—” Her head shook as if she were talking herself out of it, and then she went back to gathering the things she needed in front of her.
“Is there something you need help with?” I prompted. “I really don’t know how to bake, but if you needed me to, I could . . . I mean, I’m sure I could figure something out.”
Savannah placed her hands on the island and looked up with an appreciative smile. Her lips parted, and after a moment of hesitation, she glanced at the kids who were watching the two of us with rapt attention. “Why don’t y’all go play for a few minutes?” When the two of them groaned and began protesting, she lifted a brow. “Give me a few minutes, and then we’ll bake.”
“You really don’t have to tell me whatever it is,” I whispered once the kids were out of the room, stepping closer to her so our voices wouldn’t carry.
“You’ll just hear it from the rest of the town.” She leaned against the other counter and placed her hands protectively over her stomach. “Every year, this development company sends one of their guys out here. They stay for a few days, trying to get their hands on the ranch, and then they leave.”
“The ranch?”
“The Dixon’s ranch.” Her head tilted a little. “I don’t know what all Sawyer has told you—”
“Where Hunter is?”
Her brows lifted in surprise. “Yeah. Yeah, where Hunter is. It’s a lot of land and there’s a very large peach orchard on it—that was their parents’ business, and now it’s Hunter’s. But the developers don’t see that, they just see the size of the land and what they can build there.”
The worry in her voice surprised me. I’d thought she was frustrated with this yearly annoyance, but she was afraid of Hunter actually selling . . . “Is the orchard profitable?”
She lifted her shoulders. “From what Sawyer and their momma say. There were a couple years right after Hunter took over that were horrible, but we were in a drought then and Hunter was making drastic changes. From what I hear, he’s brought the business back to what it was before, maybe even better.”
“But you still think he might sell.”
Her stare flashed to mine before darting away. “That’s just it, I don’t know. None of us do. There’s a lot of animosity between those brothers, and a lot of it comes down to that ranch and that business. I wouldn’t put it past Hunter to sell it just to piss the rest of them off.”
Sawyer hadn’t been kidding when he’d talked about his broken family.
But I couldn’t imagine what would drive one of them to sell a family business and home just to make the others mad.
“Is Hunter that cold?”
“No, he’s actually the sweetest of them all. He’s just that angry—they all are.” Her chin wavered before she was able to steel it, and then she met my stare again. “So, every year, we play nice and host the vulture while he goes around the town and gives everyone his business, trying to show he isn’t the bad guy. All while we wait to see what Hunter’s decision will be.”
I had a feeling from what Sawyer had told me that Hunter wouldn’t be keeping Beau and Savannah in on his decision. They’d either find out from the developer or from Sawyer once he got the news.
“Well, damn,” I murmured.
“You can say that again.” She pushed from the counter, hands up in a show of apology. “I’m sorry to unload all that on you, it’s nice to talk to someone who isn’t gonna run off and tell the town networking system.”
“Don’t be. Although, it will be nice not to be the topic of their conversation while he’s here . . .” I said with a wry grin, causing her to laugh. “Does Sawyer know he’s coming today?” I tried to keep the question casual, but from the intense way Savannah studied me, I knew I hadn’t succeeded.
But I couldn’t help but wonder why he hadn’t mentioned anything earlier, especially if this developer’s presence was so daunting to their family. And those thoughts only made me want to kick myself because it shouldn’t matter if he told me anything that was happening in his life at all.
“If he doesn’t yet, he’ll know as soon as the guy steps into town,” Savannah said confidently. “Just as everyone knew once you did.” She winked, then moved closer to the island again, softly trailing her fingers across the surface as she continued. “Everyone’s expecting him though. He always comes around this time, because it’s when the most damage happens and they know an owner can get easily fed up by that.”
“What kind of damage?”
“Depends. Nothing’s safe with tornado season.”
My brows lifted. “I’m sorry, what season?”
“Tornado,” she said slowly and a little uneasily when she realized that I’d had absolutely no clue I was in a place where there was a freaking season for those. “But don’t worry, we’re fine.”
“Right.”
“We are,” she said with a soft laugh. “There was that big storm just a couple nights ago, and everything was fine. No tornados.”
I simply stared at her for a few moments as I thought back to the other night.
There’d been an insane amount of rain, and thunder and lightning like I’d never seen, but I’d always loved a good storm, so it hadn’t bothered me.
A tornado would bother me.
“Were you expecting one?”
“Nope, because we’re fine.” She was the picture of confidence and ease, and I wondered how when we were talking about forces of nature that could relocate houses or fully obliterate them.
“I don’t believe you.”
A laugh left her that was so soft and sweet, I almost wanted to believe her. Once it had eased, she gave me an amused look. “I promise, we’re fine.” With a quick inhale, she looked around her. “I should probably get to baking though if I wanna be done in time to run out to Beau and get back in time for our vulture.”
“I can drop off whatever it is Beau left,” I offered. “I’m headed to Brewed, and Sawyer keeps saying I need to see more of Amber.”
Her surprise at my offer quickly shifted into that criticizing worry.
For long moments, she just watched me, clearly looking like she was trying to talk herself out of whatever she was about to say. And then the words “About Sawyer,” slipped out and filled the room like poison.
Warring responses crept across my tongue, but I managed to swallow them back as I waited for her to continue.
Because it didn’t matter that we hadn’t actually done anything yet, or that I was thirty and Sawyer was, well, however old he was . . . I was still renting out one of Savannah’s rooms and respecting the person who owns the house you’re staying in was one thing I most definitely learned growing up.
“I’ll admit, in the beginning, I was worried for you as my guest and just a human being because, well . . . Sawyer was being an ass, to be completely honest. And because he has a reputation, and I didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable staying here if something ended up happening between the two of you and then he went on to the next girl, as he tends to do . . .”
I didn’t react to her words.
I’d known how Sawyer was—Savannah and I had even had conversations about it during my first couple days in town. Hell, I’d tried to hold tight to Sawyer’s past to keep from falling for him.
“Then that didn’t happen, and I began noticing the way he was acting around you.” Her head moved in faint shakes and she forced a swallow. “And, Rae, now I’m absolutely terrified for him.”
At that, I straightened my spine and stiffened.
Because Savannah had choked out her last words, and her worry was palpable in the kitchen and was clinging to my skin, making my stomach clen
ch as I waited for her reasoning.
“You plan on leaving eventually, and with the way he looks at you, that’s something I don’t think Sawyer can survive. Not after Leighton.”
“Leighton?” The name felt foreign on my tongue, but it had resonated with familiarity when coming from Savannah.
It wasn’t a common name . . . but I’d heard her name before. Here. In Amber.
In whispers.
And I wondered if her name hadn’t been murmured around me numerous times by coincidence.
Savannah was staring at a spot on the island, eyes wide and normally golden face pale, as if she’d realized her mistake in giving me a glimmer of information I clearly hadn’t known yet. And maybe wasn’t supposed to know.
Her throat moved with forced swallows and her head faintly shook before she managed to say, “I can’t tell y’all what to do, I know that.” Her stare shifted to meet mine. “But that boy . . .” Her eyes glimmered with tears and her jaw trembled. “I’ve known him since he was four, I would protect him like my own children, and I’m begging you not to do this to him.”
I tried to push down that fear that was quick to build inside and asked, “Do what exactly?”
Instead of answering, she just looked over her shoulder and listened as her kids’ laughter poured into the kitchen before fading deeper into the house. After a moment, she said, “Your being here has the ability to destroy him.”
“You want me to leave?”
“No. I want you to let him go before it’s too late for him.”
If she’d known about the torture I’d been putting myself through—putting us both through—I wondered if we would still be having this conversation.
As it was, her words were making my internal battle that much stronger. And it disturbed me that the ache rapidly spreading through my chest was a direct result of her wish—of my consideration of it.
I cleared my throat and lifted my bag higher up on my shoulder. “Right. So, uh, I should probably get going. Did you want me to take that thing to your husband?”
Before I finished saying the words, the front door opened and shut, and heavy steps started our way.
I moved away, deeper into the kitchen, when Beau entered it—his eyes shifting from his wife to me, and then back again.
“What’s wrong?” he demanded, all grit and steel when he noticed Savannah’s watery eyes.
She loosed a sad-sounding laugh and waved him off. “Nothing. I thought you wouldn’t be able to come home?”
He rested his large hands on her swollen stomach, stare searching her face as he spoke. “I have to get back, but I had a minute. What’s wrong.”
“Nothing,” she repeated with an adoring smile as she placed a hand on his chest.
When their attention focused solely on each other, making me feel like I was interrupting a private moment, I tried to retreat out of the kitchen.
“Hormones,” Savannah continued, voice teasing, “vultures, tornados . . . just another day.”
“Tornados,” Beau said, tone void of emotion. When he spoke again, his voice was louder and stopped me. “Surprised to see you without my brother.”
I made a humming noise in my throat and turned to see them both watching me.
Savannah had an apologetic mixture of worry and disapproval. Beau looked so much like Sawyer it was unsettling, except he seemed to be one comment away from turning into the Hulk, as usual.
“Apparently that’s a common thought,” I said dryly. I didn’t mention that, before this morning, I hadn’t seen him since Sunday.
“Some advice since you’re new,” Beau began, and Savannah hurried to stop him to no avail. “He went through bad shit, and because of that, he isn’t worth whatever it is you want from him. He can’t keep his dick in his pants, and you aren’t the first girl who’s thought she could change that.”
“Beau, stop,” Savannah snapped as he continued in a harsh tone.
“I assure you, you can’t.”
I nodded, letting him know I heard and acknowledged his side of things as Savannah hissed, “Enough. We’ve said enough.”
And I had no idea how to respond to it all.
Gesturing behind me, I backed away while awkwardly rambling, “Okay, well, I’m going to work at Brewed because coffee and . . . reasons. I’ll be back some time . . . later. Have fun baking, Savannah.”
I’d almost gotten to the front door when I heard Savannah attempting to run after me. “Rae, wait.”
I put on a brave face and turned around, hoping my smile didn’t look as forced as it felt.
“I’m sorry. That shouldn’t—we shouldn’t have . . . I’m sorry. Beau doesn’t understand the situation because he isn’t seeing it, and I—” She placed her hands on her chest and then dropped them to her stomach. “I had no right getting involved. I’m truly sorry, those boys just mean the world to me.”
“I know,” I said quietly. “I can tell.” When she started apologizing again, I waved a hand between us. “It’s okay. Really. I understand.”
I wasn’t sure I did, but I needed to get out of that house and lose myself in another world for a while. And if Savannah started crying again, I might just join in with her.
When she took a step back, I continued for the door and then hurried to my SUV.
Once I was in there, I folded my arms over the steering wheel and dropped my forehead against them.
So much for the power outfit and makeup and conquering the world.
I barely had a hold on my heart and the emotions trying to escape me.
Chapter 21
Rae
I offered the barista a smile as I put my wallet in my purse after paying for my drink, and was about to turn to find a seat when a hand fell to my arm.
“Hey.”
The instinct to move from a stranger touching me lessened when I saw nearly identical eyes to mine studying me, creased with worry.
I wondered if I would get used to it, seeing those eyes looking back at me before I left. Seeing the mouth that so closely matched mine in shape and fullness, and even the way she tortured it.
Then I wondered if I would get so used to it and her that I would miss seeing it, seeing her.
“Hey, what’s going on?” I asked as I stepped away from the counter in case anyone else came up.
“I just hadn’t seen you.”
A breath of a laugh fell from my lips. “It’s only been a couple days.”
That worry deepened for a moment before clearing altogether, and then she was looking away, playing with her hands and her taupe-shaded lip.
My voice was soft and prompting when I said her name. “Emberly?”
She hesitated for a moment before squaring her shoulders and confessing, “Sawyer told me.”
“Jesus.” I glanced around to see if anyone was watching or listening in on our conversation before asking, “Told you what?”
“That things went bad between the two of you after First Monday.” She stepped closer, her voice lowering when my jaw clenched in frustration and embarrassment. “I’ve known him my entire life, we tell each other practically everything.”
“Practically.” I stepped around her to claim one of the chairs, mumbling under my breath, “This fucking town.”
“He was worried about you,” she whispered once I’d set my bag down on one of the low tables.
I turned to go to the counter when they called out my drink and brought my head closer to hers. “Some things aren’t meant to be shared.”
I would know.
When I returned to the seat, she was still there, having pulled up a smaller chair beside it.
“He didn’t really share anything,” she began once I was seated, even though I was focused on taking everything out of my bag and setting up. “And that in itself is weird for Sawyer and me.”
“I’m sorry?”
She touched my arm again and waited until I met her stare to continue. “I didn’t mean to upset you. I hadn’t known I would.”
Considering I’d told and shown Sawyer parts of me I’d never shown anyone, I was upset . . . with him. With myself. With Emberly for a half dozen things she couldn’t begin to understand.
“He said he’d screwed up with you, that everything had gone so wrong after y’all had left and that he couldn’t explain it—said he didn’t know if he even knew how. He was worried that you were gonna leave Amber because of what had happened but thought you needed time if you decided to stay, that’s all I know.”
Oh.
Even before I’d told Sawyer that he was the first I’d shared those things with, before he’d understood how little I let anyone into my life, he’d known to keep it to himself.
Damn him for making my heart do all kinds of things I didn’t want it to.
“He was constantly asking if you’d come in here,” Emberly went on, “and I could tell he was getting more and more worried that you’d decided to leave every time I told him you hadn’t. I tried telling him to just talk to you.”
“He did,” I said, stopping her from continuing. “He came to Blossom this morning.”
A chaotic mixture of excitement, hope, and dread flashed across her face as she waited expectantly.
“I’m not big on sharing personal details,” I said slowly, uneasily, and watched as she deflated a bit, even as she tried to nod in understanding. “But Sawyer and I are fine. We talked, worked things out . . .” I shrugged, not willing to go into anything else even though Emberly was failing at hiding her ecstatic smile.
“Good. That makes me happy.”
“That’s a first,” I mumbled as I reached for my drink. When I settled back in the seat, she was looking at me curiously. “I was beginning to get the impression people would rather I stay far away from him.”
An amused huff tumbled from her. “Maybe all the girls who weren’t able to lock him down.”
I nearly spit my coffee out and then struggled not to choke on it as I forced it down. “Lock—no. No, that . . . that isn’t what’s happening. We’re friends. Nothing more.”
“Oh.” Genuine disappointment bled from her, so starkly different from my conversations with Sawyer’s brother and sister-in-law that it caught me off guard.
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