Fall in Love Book Bundle: Small Town Romance Box Set

by Grover Swank, Denise

  The need to tell Sawyer, to ease his and Savannah’s minds, rushed through me . . . only to die just as fast. Because I knew if I told them what I’d just learned and got their hopes up, only for Hunter to end up doing exactly what they all feared, I would never be able to forgive myself.

  The twisting in my stomach and the way it felt impossible to catch a breath at just the thought of it told me as much.

  How had I gotten here?

  In this position, buried so deep in this town and this family and that man, that I wasn’t sure I wanted to get out.

  “You seem surprised,” Nathan said, grounding me in the present.

  “I am,” I said without thinking. Blinking rapidly, I met his curious stare and gave him what truths I could. “With the way you’ve been treated, that he met you with a shotgun . . . that I’ve become so invested in this town in such a short time.”

  Amusement danced across his face. “Think your speech at the coffee shop should’ve clued you into the last one.”

  “Yeah, maybe.” When my text tone sounded, I looked to the counter where we’d prepared our bowls. “Sorry, just a second.”

  I placed my bowl on the table and pushed to my feet as another text came through.

  Each step closer to where I’d left my phone had excitement growing brighter and brighter inside me as I thought about who was most likely sending the messages. What he might have said. How badly I wanted to see him even though he’d been there that afternoon.

  The excitement was hazardous to my heart.

  I didn’t care.

  By the time I scooped up my phone, I was torturing my bottom lip with my teeth and fighting a smile . . . that abruptly faltered when I looked at the screen.

  The number was one I didn’t know, but that didn’t matter. I knew who it was from.

  Unknown: I know what you’re doing. You think I’ll step down if you shut me out enough. But you’re the best damn thing to ever happen to me. I’m not just going to give up on you or us. You’re it for me, Rae. I love you.

  Unknown: Come back. Please come back. I can’t lose you.

  Jack.

  I’d never had a guy keep trying like this.

  There were always messages and calls when they realized I was actually gone, but once I blocked them from my life, they stopped . . . for the most part. Whether Jack had gotten a new number or was using someone else’s phone, I didn’t know, and it didn’t matter.

  Because he was still trying, and I didn’t know how to do this. Break his heart again when I’d already known leaving would do that. Should do that.

  I cleared my throat and silenced my phone while also locking its screen, then set it on the counter again before heading back to where I’d left Nathan—slowly eating and staring off at the massive bay windows in an odd mixture of contemplation and determination.

  I would figure out what to say to Jack, what to do about him . . . later.

  Right then, I needed to be mentally present for someone who had heard me out when I’d been nothing more than an opinionated stranger.

  “I’m sorry about that,” I said as I settled onto the chair again, legs crossed on the seat and bowl of deliciousness tucked close to my chest.

  He waved his spoon through the air as if to wave off my apology, before scooping up more of his dessert.

  “So, do you still plan to meet with Hunter again?” When Nathan began nodding, I added, “Even though you already know what he’ll most likely say?”

  He swallowed what had been in his mouth and gave a little shrug. “He’s never had a meeting with me.” Even though his tone lacked the confidence it’d had the morning I met him, there was no mistaking the fierce want in his eyes.

  I’d never even seen this ranch, and I was terrified for its future.

  I’d never met Hunter, and I wanted to find him and beg him not to sell it.

  While I’d only seen glimpses of anger between two of the brothers and heard fragments of the pain as a result of that anger . . . I couldn’t imagine how much worse it would all be if Nathan got what he wanted.

  “Guess we’ll see how everything plays out tomorrow,” he said offhandedly.

  Tomorrow.

  The knowledge was like a hit to the stomach.

  I forced the air escaping my lungs to release steadily instead of on a rush, and ended on a small, disappointed laugh. “Yeah, I guess the way everyone has treated you would have an opposite effect than what I’d hoped for.”

  Nathan’s hand paused with his spoon halfway to his mouth. After a few moments, he blew out a weighted breath and dropped the spoon in the bowl. “Actually, no.”

  One of my eyebrows lifted in question, but I didn’t speak as I waited for him to explain.

  “It was obvious from what you said that first day that they hadn’t reacted the same to you, that what I got was personal. So, for a town to have that strong of a reaction at the possibility of losing a piece of land that only a few people in this town should have any real attachment to, it says something.”

  “Just imagine what the family would do.” My voice was soft, unable to offer anything more as hope bloomed for the first time in this conversation.

  “Can’t,” he said on a sigh. “I would’ve expected the Dixon’s to give the harsh welcome, not wait silently like they’re plotting my death. When you think about it . . . their reaction has been fucking terrifying.”

  I covered my mouth and frantically tried to swallow the bite I’d taken as I choked back laughter. “And I thought I was the dramatic one.”

  “Did you see the way your Dixon was looking at me the day I got into town and every time I’ve bumped into the two of you here?”

  My lips had been lifting into a smile but fell at the words your Dixon. “He isn’t, um . . . he isn’t mine. We aren’t together, or anything like that. We’re friends,” I managed to say, stumbling over nearly every word.

  Sawyer wasn’t my anything. He couldn’t be. So why did he feel like everything?

  A knowing smile lit up Nathan’s face. “Yeah. Sure as hell looks like you’re just friends.”

  “What did you think of the town?” I hurried to ask, trying to get the conversation away from Sawyer and me. “The buildings and businesses and the charm.”

  For a while, Nathan just sat there. With a deep inhale, he said, “I went everywhere—literally. Into every shop, every store, every restaurant. Even got kicked out of a couple.”

  “You didn’t,” I said with equal amounts of shock and sadness, but he just brushed the encounters off as if they hadn’t bothered him.

  “You warned me they were mad, so I wasn’t surprised when anything happened. But I still looked at places—the new ones and ones that have been here forever. Looked at their storefronts and watched the way people seem to linger places instead of rushing off somewhere.”

  “It’s nice,” I murmured, acknowledging the slower pace of the town. “Not what I’m used to, but it’s nice.”

  He made a confirming sound in his throat, but his head shook faintly, almost as if in disbelief. “The way every single person knows each other . . . it’s like a goddamn movie here.”

  “Right?”

  “Mayberry,” he said, agreeing with the title I’d shared with him the other day. “And the way they’ve taken care of the buildings, keeping the town updated while maintaining the original structures and old-time feel?”

  “Careful,” I said teasingly. “Someone might hear you and worry you’re going to try to buy up the town next.”

  The corners of his mouth twitched, but his head listed to the side in denial. “I see it . . . what you wanted me to. The people, the shops, how all of it combined creates the feel of this town. I see it.” His attention drifted for a moment before snapping to me. “But I want that land, Rae.”

  My head moved in a subtle nod, only because I’d already known. I’d just hoped his wants would change.

  I moved my spoon through my dessert as I thought through what he’d told me
, and hesitantly asked, “Then can’t you see how what you want to build would ruin it?”

  “You can’t know that it would,” he said immediately as if he’d been expecting my question . . . waiting for it. “It could enhance it.”

  A stunned breath left me. “Enhance it? Nathan, you know that isn’t true.” I searched his determined expression before gesturing to the windows as if the main street of the town could be seen from them. “You build that center and that highway, you and I both know what comes next.”

  His jaw tensed and twitched, but he didn’t offer anything.

  “More neighborhoods in Amber to satisfy the people who will inevitably move here, growing farther and farther away from downtown, closer to that center that you’ll have built. And this incredibly charming town won’t be as charming because they’ll start neglecting it. Funds will go other places. Shops will go out of business because of what’s available in the center.”

  Nathan didn’t try to deny it, just watched me for a while before lifting his hands, only to let them fall. “What do you want me to say, Rae? That’s how this works. Cities are growing, towns are growing—even ones of this size. We have to make room, we have to anticipate needs and wants. And these kinds of centers are in high demand.” He leaned back, arms spread wide. “Think about the dining, retail, living, and work spaces that will be available for the surrounding cities. They’ll be able to grow into it.”

  I slowly pulled my spoon from my mouth, waiting for him to finish. Once I was sure he had, I said, “Amber isn’t.”

  A crease formed between his brows. “What?”

  “I’ve been researching the town since you got here,” I said shamelessly. “Town meetings, openings and closings of businesses, things like that.”

  Nathan scooped up his bowl from the table and leaned forward in his chair, curiosity practically dripping from him as he nodded for me to continue. “And?”

  “Businesses don’t really close here. If anything, they expand. The only two businesses to close in the last eight years were both because their owners opened up new businesses in the same locations.”

  “Those are low numbers,” he murmured dryly, making me snort.

  “Understatement. As for town meetings, those records are public and pretty fascinating. There has never been anything negative in the eight years’ worth that I went through. It was always about keeping the town looking the way it does . . . festivals . . . excitement over new businesses. Basically, the way the town feels bottled up in a meeting.”

  At that, Nathan smiled. But that drive in his eyes was still there, more so than ever. “Why eight years?”

  “That’s how far back I’ve made it.” When he made a sound of understanding, I said, “However, I did a scan of the population of Amber. It hasn’t really changed in the last thirty years.” Nathan’s stare snapped from his bowl to me. “About three thousand then . . . just over three thousand now.”

  His expression fell and face looked etched from stone as he sat there, staring seemingly at nothing as he digested what I’d told him.

  I gave him a minute before gently informing him, “Your towns are growing reasoning is flawed here.”

  “Doesn’t mean it won’t.”

  “Doesn’t mean it won’t,” I agreed, though my tone clearly stated that I doubted it would. “How did you not know any of this?”

  He breathed out in defeat, head shaking as he did. “Our only goal has ever been the Dixon ranch. I could tell you everything about that ranch. Everything.”

  “Except what it means to this town.”

  He offered me a sad smile. “Except that.”

  “Tell me why you want that land so badly.”

  Nathan stared at me, wide-eyed, as if waiting for me to realize something obvious. “That location is something we could only dream of. What we could build—”

  “No. No, that isn’t what I meant. I already heard your pitch the other day.” Setting my bowl on the table, I rested my elbows on my knees and met his stare. “Why do you want the land? You, Nathan. Not the developer who strolled into town in a suit with a pocket full of business cards.”

  Nearly a minute passed before he hung his head and ran his hands through his hair again and again until he heaved out an exhausted sigh and sat back to look at me. “Because I’ve gotten every land or property I’ve gone after—I’ve never been turned down in this business.”

  “‘No’ is a good word to hear sometimes,” I murmured, earning a soft laugh from him.

  “I’ve heard about this ranch since I started working at the company. It’s turned into this revered unicorn of a place at our firm because no one has ever come close to touching it. All any of us want is to buy and build on this land. We have meetings that run late into the night because we get lost in developing the center we would put there, perfecting it.”

  “You’re serious.”

  His mouth formed a tight line, brows raised. “Think of it as customizing your dream car online, only we’re customizing our dream property. Over and over again.”

  “But that’s someone’s ranch. That’s someone’s home. And what you’re doing involves destroying it.”

  “It’s what I came into when I started there,” he explained. “The older partners were already fixated on this land. It’s hard not to get consumed in a place so perfect that no one else has been able to secure.”

  I kept my lips pressed firmly together so I wouldn’t respond.

  This was Nathan’s job, and I didn’t understand what all that entailed. I couldn’t judge it based on this one encounter just because I was attached to it. Same as I wouldn’t want anyone to judge what I did.

  “Anyway,” he continued, “you have to have seniority to take a shot at the Dixon ranch, something I don’t have over some of the partners. But one of them wanted so badly to see it bought before he retired that they decided to send me, sure I would be the one to close the deal.”

  “I see,” I said softly.

  Their passion had become his. He was so good at what he did, that he wanted to continue proving himself by securing the unattainable ranch.

  And it made my chest ache because I could see the conflict in him that a couple days of roaming around Amber had given him, but that didn’t change the look in his eyes.

  The need to accomplish what he’d set out to do.

  “The other developers who have come here . . . have they ever said anything about the town?” At the faintest shake of Nathan’s head, I asked, “Even though one of them clearly made a list of where to go?”

  “That list was only for appearances. Just as you thought it was.” With a slow exhale, he folded his hands behind his neck and relaxed in the seat. “Goal is that ranch. They never saw anything else—I wouldn’t have seen anything else if you hadn’t told me to look.”

  “There are plenty of small towns in the country that need to be saved by what you want to do, Nathan. Doing that here would destroy this town. You know it would.”

  I studied his eyes, breath trapped in my lungs as I waited for his response. And nearly thanked God out loud when that fierceness faded from them, leaving acceptance and defeat.

  “I know, Rae.” Those telling eyes shifted to me. “I know.”

  Chapter 26

  Sawyer

  I grabbed my phone from the cupholder and checked its screen as I shut off my truck, wondering what had kept Rae from responding to my messages. She could have been doing any number of things, including working, but I needed her to be ready so we could leave.

  Tonight was a tradition . . . and I didn’t want to do it without her.

  I hurried up the rest of the driveway and porch, then let myself into the main door of Blossom without bothering to knock.

  I didn’t have time to wait for anyone to answer. I needed to get Rae and get out of there.

  Really, I just needed to get to Rae.

  It’d only been a few days since she’d stopped fighting her own feelings at every turn, but, God, t
hese days had been unlike anything I’d ever experienced.

  I craved her as soon as I walked away from her.

  Every moment with her was like a shot of pure adrenaline to my veins that would never be enough.

  And yet, I knew I needed to give her space so I wouldn’t push her away faster than I could pull her into my arms.

  The moment I hit the first step on the stairs leading to the second floor, I caught sight of my brother and his wife, hovering close together, peering into the kitchen.

  With a longing glance at the top of the stairs, I started toward them. “The hell are you two—”

  Beau threw his hand out behind him, silently telling me to stop. The hard glare he sent only further asserted that. When I lifted my hands in mock surrender, he beckoned me closer.

  What the hell?

  I crept silently until I was nearly pressed to them. Before I could ask why Savannah had her hands to her mouth, excited eyes watering, I saw what they were looking at.

  “What the—”

  Beau slammed a hand against my chest, effectively cutting off my demand.

  What the fuck was Rae doing, sitting alone in the kitchen with the developer, eating ice cream?

  Beau leaned close to whisper, “Listen.”

  “. . . was always about keeping the town looking the way it does . . . festivals . . . excitement over new businesses,” Rae told the developer, her tone soft, but firm. “Basically, the way the town feels bottled up in a meeting.”

  The developer smiled at her, and I had the deepest urge to punch it off his face.

  Didn’t matter if he had a girlfriend or not.

  He was here. Eating ice cream in a kitchen with Rae. Alone. Smiling at her.

  “Why eight years?” he asked.

  “That’s how far back I’ve made it,” Rae responded easily, but her next words had my body tensing. “However, I did a scan of the population of Amber. It hasn’t really changed in the last thirty years. About three thousand then . . . just over three thousand now.”