“I don’t,” he agreed, “not when it comes to this. Because it’s always been as simple as doing my job and doing what I knew would eventually help a community.” Unease darkened his eyes as he studied me. “But the girl I love loves you, and you are very clearly against what I want to do here. That has never been a factor before.”
“It isn’t personal,” I repeated, “and it won’t be no matter what ends up happening. If you buy that land and change everything, or if you walk away without a sale, Megan will still be one of my favorite people, and I will be expecting an invitation to the wedding.”
A soft huff escaped him, his mouth stretching into the widest grin as his eyes took on that faraway look again. “Can you imagine? Megan would lose it if she thought for even a second that you would be there.”
“Oh, I will, without a doubt. Just tell me when.”
His attention snapped to me and his smile softened. “Thank you, Rae.”
I angled my head and took a step back. “Go eat. I’ll see you—” I sucked in a ragged breath when I saw the source of the chills sweeping my body.
Not the dozens of eyes on Nathan and me or the ears turned in our direction.
Not Emberly, standing stiff as a board, arms wrapped around her waist in a stance eerily similar to mine, with an expression that edged on furious.
But the man beside her. Dark hair wet and messy, as if he’d just taken a shower and run his hands through it. Arms folded over his chest, all tanned, lean muscle twitching as he restrained himself from coming our way. Jaw locked tight as he watched me with a blank stare.
Horror moved through me, swift and cold, as everything slammed into me with stark clarity.
Because I’d known as soon as my eyes had locked with his that the simplicity I’d hoped for earlier—leaving him before I could hurt him, the way Savannah had asked—would never be simple.
The way my body ached to move toward him, to comfort him, guaranteed it. The way my heart had begun racing so forcefully, threatening to beat out of my chest, ensured this was already so far past leaving.
And then, worst of all, the twisting in my stomach as I worried about all the ways he could be taking my conversation with Nathan. I’d never worried what a man thought because there’d never been a reason to.
“Sawyer . . .” His name left me on a breath as if my soul had called for him.
“Who?” Nathan must have looked that way, because he said, “Oh . . . he looks pissed. Is that your boyfriend?”
“Um . . .” I blinked rapidly, trying to pull myself back to the conversation as answers danced on my tongue.
No. Of course not.
He’s just a friend.
He’s mine . . .
“No. No, that’s Sawyer Dixon.”
Recognition lit in Nathan’s eyes immediately. A breath that sounded like a low whistle left him as he bent to pick up the tea from the table. “Damn. I was warned the family was cold, but if that’s what I have to look forward to.”
“Trust me, that look isn’t being directed at you.” And I wanted to change it . . . fix it. Smooth it out and assure him everything was fine.
What the hell was happening to me?
In an instant, Nathan’s mood shifted and he turned to face Sawyer fully as he took a step toward me, placing his body slightly in front of mine.
“Nope,” I said quietly, then grabbed his arm to turn him around again. “That will only make it worse.” When he started looking over his shoulder, I hurried to continue. “I appreciate it, but there’s no need. He’s harmless, I promise. I know how to handle him.”
Nathan studied me for a moment, contemplating what I’d said before he asked, “Is your talking to me really changing the way they think of you that much?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Probably not. But Sawyer’s . . . well, he’s different. And I don’t think he expected to walk in and see me talking with another guy—especially the one who’s trying to take his family’s ranch.”
The protectiveness slowly slipped away. “So, you and a Dixon.” He didn’t phrase it like a question, but I still lifted a shoulder as I glanced past him to meet Sawyer’s hardened stare.
No.
No, no, no . . . it will never be me and anyone.
Yet, I found myself saying, “It’s very complicated.”
Nathan rubbed his free hand over his face. “Would that have anything to do with your pitch for me to leave without the land?”
“I would have told you everything exactly the same even if I’d never met him,” I said without hesitation. From the way Nathan nodded, he heard the honesty ringing through my words.
Because, while Sawyer had mentioned the ranch, he hadn’t mentioned this. He hadn’t mentioned the fear of losing it.
Savannah had.
And I didn’t need to see every part of the town to know what Nathan wanted to build just outside it would change it all—would take away its charm.
“Okay . . . okay,” he said definitively. “Then I’ll see you around, and we’ll talk in a couple days.”
“Sounds great.” I offered him a weak smile, unable to give much else when my stomach and heart were in a frenzy because of the man standing a dozen feet away from me.
As soon as Nathan was stepping outside, I bypassed every other set of eyes on me and went to the ones I could feel piercing me. Sawyer hadn’t moved, and I hated that every cell in my body was screaming to go to him.
With a steadying breath, I forced myself to step around the table again and gently fell into my chair.
Even with the soft music playing throughout the café, the lack of other noise made it uncomfortably silent, but I didn’t look up again. I already knew what I would find.
Once my laptop was resting on my legs, Sawyer’s body came into view, and another chill swept through me, stealing my breath as I waited for what would come next.
As I begged my traitorous tongue not to tell him all the things swirling through my mind.
A stuttered breath rushed from me when his large hand cradled my cheek and lifted my face so I was looking at him.
Eyes like ice bore into mine, saying so many things so quickly that I wasn’t able to pinpoint any one of them. But the way he was looking at me as if he would never get enough of me . . . I understood that.
I understood it and wanted it as much as it terrified me.
I placed my hand on top of his, pressing my cheek harder to his palm for a moment before releasing him. But then he was tilting my head back further and leaning down to press his mouth to mine.
There.
In the middle of Brewed.
In front of everyone.
His mouth moved against mine gently, sending a rush through me and nearly making me forget where we were. A sound of both surprise and need caught in my throat when his tongue met mine. Soft and passionate. A plea and a claim.
And one hundred percent under his control.
So different from our other kisses, but just as detrimental to my frail control and even more detrimental to my heart.
After another sweep across my lips, he trailed his nose along my jaw to whisper in my ear. “Fucking beautiful.”
My body melted into the chair when he pushed away, walking out of Brewed without another look in my direction.
No sooner had the doors shut behind him than whispers floated through the café, and with them, Leighton’s name. I was too stunned to catch anything more than a word here and there as I replayed the encounter and that kiss again and again.
Sawyer hadn’t asked about Nathan.
He hadn’t demanded to know what was said or even told me why he’d shown.
He’d just left me wanting more, craving him, unable to focus on anything other than the way his mouth had felt on mine, softly coaxing more from me, until I eventually gave up trying to get any work done and went back to Blossom.
Chapter 22
Sawyer
Hunter paused from climbing out of his truck to watch me pull up the
drive, expression as impassive as ever beneath his baseball cap. Once I came to a stop behind him, he lowered himself to the ground, only to reach back into the truck.
Never nodding. Never saying anything. Never acknowledging I was there other than when he’d watched me.
“Hunt,” I called out as I shut my door and started toward him.
He turned and chucked something at me, and I easily caught the fast-sailing object. “Good to know you can still catch.”
“You doubted that?” I asked, my tone only holding a hint of offense as I bit into the peach he’d thrown at me. I nodded as I chewed. “Almost there. It’s hot this week, they’ll be ready in a few days.”
“That’s what I’m thinking.” He shut the door and started toward the house without bothering to see if I would follow. “Guess I’ll announce we’re opening up picking this weekend.”
Peach picking.
It was something the town looked forward to every year—a summer kick-off of sorts—and something people even drove an hour or more to get to our orchard for.
Our dad had been in the business of selling to grocers long ago, but when sales had gotten too cutthroat, he and Mom had made the decision to go a different route. The first year they planned to let people pay to come pick their own peaches was the year Dad died. He’d never gotten to see what came of it.
He hadn’t watched the ranch take a major hit only to boom in the years following.
He hadn’t watched Hunter shut himself in and hold the fate of this land and our parents’ dream in his hands year after year.
He hadn’t watched all of us break apart because of it . . .
And thank God for that.
“About that,” I began as I climbed the steps up the porch. “We have a visitor in town.”
Hunter paused at the door, hand on the handle, and looked at me curiously. “You already told me about her.”
“Not Rae. The developer’s here—new guy, not the one who usually comes.” And depending on Hunter’s decision with him, peach picking may or may not happen. This ranch may or may not be standing in a few months.
Nothing about his expression gave any indication of what he thought about the developer coming into town, and it wore on my already fraying nerves. After a moment, he huffed and opened the door. “He’s early this year.”
“And?”
“And what?” he asked after we were already in the kitchen, tossing his hat and keys on one of the counters as he headed toward the fridge.
He pulled out a couple bottles of water and threw one to me, giving me a look like he had no idea why I would be here or care about the developer.
“I need to know what you’re gonna do.”
“Need?” he asked with a sneer. “You don’t need to know shit.”
My grip on the bottle tightened and I ground my jaw until I was sure I wouldn’t lash back at him. “This is our—”
“My,” he corrected quickly. “This is my ranch. I’m the one who stepped up. I’m the only one who gave a fuck about this place and our family when the rest of you disappeared or refused to help.”
A bitter laugh fell from my lips, but he continued before I could say anything.
“Which means it’s mine to do with as I want.”
The warning and threat in his words had me choking on my own. Had a sick sense of dread dripping down my spine.
“You can’t come here every year and decide it’s ours again to ensure I won’t do what’s best for me,” he finished gravely.
“Best for you,” I murmured, my head shaking. “If what’s best for you is to give this place up, then give it to someone who wants it. Someone who has always wanted it.” I slammed the water on the kitchen bar and turned to leave, but hadn’t made it more than a few steps before facing him again. “Nine years, man. Nine fucking years, and you still don’t see it.”
His chin lifted slightly, silently demanding I explain.
“You’ve got so much anger and bitterness weighing you down, that you’ve never been able to see past this.” I spread my arms, indicating the house and the ranch. “Yeah, life threw some shitty cards your way when Dad died and you took over this place. But because of your resentment, you see nothing else.”
“Is that what you think?” he rumbled, his head slowly moving in something resembling a nod.
“It’s what I know,” I countered. “You hate Beau because he refused to step up, but he already had a business to run with Savannah, not to mention coaching at the high school. You hate Cayson because he wouldn’t come back for the family or to help . . . yeah, okay, I’ll give you that one. And me? Who the hell knows what you actually think about me, but you apparently think you’re the only one who did anything for our family after Dad died.”
“I am the only one,” he said unquestionably.
A harsh laugh burst from me. “How did you never once notice that I stayed? I stayed for our family and this ranch even after you continued to push me away because of my age. I have never once left, and I am the only one who has been there for any of you.” I waved a hand at him. “But here you are. Pissed at the world and your family because of what you lost and sacrificed.” My head shook slowly and my voice lowered to a somber whisper. “You aren’t the only one who lost everything.”
He made a face as if to say he wouldn’t deny what I’d said, but didn’t exactly agree with it either. “Yeah, but I threw myself into keeping this place running when that happened. What did you do other than throw your life away and fuck your way through the surrounding cities?” When my only response was my jaw and fists clenching tight, he lifted a brow and began walking away. “Leighton would be proud.”
I staggered back a step from the brutal blow and struggled to make my lungs work.
But I couldn’t figure out how.
I just stood there, slowly suffocating under the pressure of my grief and self-loathing until they were all I knew.
Until I found myself in my truck, racing off the ranch, into town.
Get her out of your head. Get her out of your head. Get her out of your head.
But the more those words swirled around and around, the more I confused who I was thinking of.
I’d known, without a doubt, I needed to push every thought of Leighton from my mind for a few minutes, but the girl I had automatically begun driving toward could have me forgetting everything with a look.
A smile.
A tease.
And the grasp she had on my heart made me want to push her away forever. Made me want to hate her all over again for having that inexplicable draw that I couldn’t resist. For making me fall.
I didn’t want to forget Leighton.
I didn’t want to crave someone the way I did Rae.
I wanted to fuck away the pain and go back to how my life had been. Christ, I wanted my old life . . . if only for a day.
A harsh curse burst from me as I pulled to the side of the street and slammed on the brakes, grabbing for my phone as I did.
My chest moved in short, quick pitches as I tried to pull in air. My hand trembled as I struggled to enter my password and pull up the contact list to call someone, anyone, I could get lost in for a half-hour. But I couldn’t see the names, I couldn’t see anyone except Rae broken up by short bursts of Leighton.
Leighton.
Leighton.
Leighton.
“Sawyer, I love you.”
“I cherish you.”
I dropped the phone into one of the cupholders and pulled onto the street, clawing at my chest as I drove until I ended up at the one place I’d been trying to avoid. And, yet, the only place I wanted to be.
I don’t remember if I turned off my truck or shut the door behind me, only that I ran up the rest of the drive, to the porch, and burst through the door.
I hadn’t taken more than a few steps toward the stairs when Savannah rounded the corner into the entryway, surprise covering her face at seeing me there. “What are you doing?” When I continued toward
the stairs, she hurried to say, “She isn’t here, Sawyer.”
Turning to look at the entryway and then the front door, my jumbled thoughts ran wild as I tried to figure out why.
I needed her.
“Where—don’t,” I snapped when Savannah placed a hand on my arm.
“You’re shaking, what happened?”
Brewed . . . damn it. “I have to go.”
“Wait.” She gripped my wrist in a vain attempt to keep me in place. The possibility of accidentally hurting my incredibly pregnant sister-in-law with my agitated, jerky movements was all that kept me still. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” The word was low and harsh and stunned Savannah from the way her eyes widened.
But just as quickly, guilt tore across her face. “Oh God. Did . . . did Rae talk to you?”
Ice coated my veins at the worry in her voice.
I’d thought it was hard to breathe earlier—it felt impossible now.
My lungs were protesting the lack of oxygen as I thought of all the possibilities of why Savannah could look and sound this way. Of all the things Rae would need to talk to me about.
“About what?”
Before she had a chance to respond, the door opened, revealing the girl in question.
A pained, ragged breath filled my lungs when I took her in. All hypnotic eyes and tempting lips and curves that begged to be touched.
That girl.
That girl.
That goddamn girl.
Needed her to breathe.
Rae’s body stiffened and her expectant expression faltered when she saw us there. “What?”
The first step toward her was met with the softest resistance on my arm. I didn’t look away from the girl in front of me as I demanded in a low tone, “Let go, Savannah.”
She released me instantly, and then I was erasing the distance between Rae and me with long strides and capturing her face in my hands to crush my mouth to hers.
Fall in Love Book Bundle: Small Town Romance Box Set Page 154
