Protecting You: A Small Town Romance Origin Story (The Bailey Brothers Book 1)

by Claire Kingsley

  “Hey, Harvey,” Grace said, trying to get his attention. “How are you today?”

  He looked at her and his eyes finally seemed to focus. “Damn squirrels keep taking my walnuts.”

  “They do?”

  “They’re organized.” He wagged a finger at her. “Organized, I tell you. Next thing ya know, they’ll be goin’ for my treasure too. Find it ’fore I do.”

  “I’m not sure if squirrels would be interested in treasure,” she said. “They can’t eat it.”

  His brow furrowed and he tapped his bearded chin. “True. Came into town for supplies. Me, not the squirrels. But I can’t seem to—” He turned in a circle, then changed directions. “Where’d the store go?”

  I grabbed his shoulders so he’d stop turning and pointed him in the right direction. “Straight that way, then take a left.”

  “A left? Yes, left. Good, good.” He started shuffling up the street, still muttering.

  “Think he’ll get there okay?” Grace asked.

  “Yeah, he’ll find it.”

  We started walking again and I glanced behind me just in time to see Harvey take a left.

  “I wonder if he’ll ever find that treasure he’s always talking about,” she said.

  “Not likely.”

  “You never know.”

  I glanced at her. “You think someone really buried treasure out there?”

  “I’m just saying it wouldn’t surprise me if crazy old Harvey Johnston was actually onto something. Seems fitting for this town.”

  “Yeah, I suppose so.”

  Wrapped up in all the old stories about the origins of the town feud was the notion that someone had hidden something of value out in the mountains. People liked to call it buried treasure, but Gram had always brushed off the idea that it was a chest full of gold—although she didn’t admit to knowing what it really was, or if anything was even out there. It was all a bunch of nonsense as far as I was concerned. The feud, the stories about buried treasure, all of it.

  We turned down the next street, following the slope of the hill toward the river. I stopped in front of an old house that had been converted into two apartments, one upstairs, one down.

  “Come on.” I nodded toward the building and pulled the key out of my pocket. Herbert Bailey owned it and he’d let me borrow the key, even though I hadn’t officially rented it yet. We were related, although I wasn’t quite sure how. There were a lot of Baileys in Tilikum, so it was hard to keep track.

  I unlocked the door and led Grace up the narrow wooden staircase to the second floor.

  It was spacious for an apartment, with a living room, dining area, and a kitchen with maple cabinets. A short hallway led to two bedrooms and a bathroom. The walls were freshly painted and the carpet was new. Herbert had offered me a great deal—he’d called it the Bailey discount—which I appreciated.

  She wandered to the center of the living room and turned in a slow circle. “Asher, is this…”

  “I haven’t signed a lease yet, but yeah. I’m getting my own place.”

  “Wow.”

  She kept looking around and I wasn’t sure what that wow meant. Was she surprised? She couldn’t think I’d live with Gram forever. Did she think it was a good idea? Was she imagining herself living here with me?

  Probably not that last one, but I was working on it.

  I followed her back to one of the bedrooms.

  “This is big,” she said.

  “Yeah, but I can afford it.”

  “What made you decide to move out of Gram’s house?”

  I leaned against the door frame. “I just feel like it’s time. I need my own space.”

  “I can understand that. Living with my mom after being away at school always feels like stepping back into childhood again.” She gestured toward the other room. “Why two bedrooms? Are you going to get a roommate?”

  Not if I can get you to move in with me sooner rather than later. “Not necessarily.”

  “Careful, or you’ll end up with the twins as roommates.”

  “They’re not invited.”

  She laughed and we went back to the living room. She wandered over to look out the large front window.

  “So what do you think?” I asked.

  “I like it. It’s really nice.”

  “Yeah? I kind of wanted to see what you thought before I signed the lease.”

  Her smile faded and she fiddled with a strand of hair. She did that when she was nervous. “Oh. Well, yeah, it’s cute.”

  Keeping my posture casual, I leaned against the half-wall in front of the stairs. It was hard not to blurt out that I was glad she liked it because I wanted to date her and hoped she’d eventually move in. That even though we were still young, I kind of wanted to fast-track things with her because I already knew she was it for me.

  But what was I supposed to say? Hey Grace, I’m pretty sure you’re my soulmate, so what do you think about skipping ahead and just getting married?

  Yeah, no. That would be about as smart as kissing her in the middle of Gram’s kitchen on her first day back would have been. And was I really thinking I’d marry her?

  Yes. Yes, I was.

  I knew she wasn’t ready for that. But it was time to take the next step.

  “So Grace, I was wondering—”

  Her phone rang. “Sorry. Let me just check in case it’s… Yeah, it’s Mom. Hang on.”

  Damn it. “Yeah, sure.”

  She wandered toward the kitchen while she answered. “Hi, Mom… Yeah, I can pick him up… Of course… Don’t feel bad, it’s fine. I’ll get us dinner. When do you think you’ll be home?” She paused, listening. “Okay, see you then. Love you, too.” She ended the call and dropped her phone back in her purse. “Sorry about that. Mom has to work late, so she needs me to pick up Elijah from the babysitter.”

  “Now?”

  “Yeah. She was supposed to pick him up already, so I need to hurry.”

  “Do you need a ride?”

  “No, I left my car over by the coffee shop. And I think I’ll take him out for a cheeseburger on the way home.”

  I followed her down the stairs. “He’ll love that.”

  “Yeah, he gets a little upset when she has to work late, so hopefully that’ll help.”

  I locked the door behind us and fell in step with her as we walked back up the hill. I still wanted to ask her out, but now she seemed preoccupied. Worrying about her brother, probably. Naomi usually called Gram when she had to work late. It figured that she’d call Grace this time, right when I was about to ask her out on a date. Shitty timing.

  She was parked in a small lot behind the coffee shop. We stopped next to her car.

  “Thanks for showing me the apartment,” she said. “It’s exciting.”

  “Yeah, I think it’ll be good. And I haven’t told anyone else yet, so it would be great if you could keep it quiet for now.”

  She opened her car door and smiled. “No problem. It’ll be our secret. I’ll see you later.”

  “Bye, Grace.”

  Fingering the key in my pocket, I stepped back onto the sidewalk and watched her get in and drive away. I’d have other chances to ask her out. She lived right next door; it wasn’t like it would be hard to see her. But I felt a little defeated. I’d built up that moment in my mind—imagined standing in that empty apartment and asking her out on our first date. Maybe getting bold and kissing her. It would have been cool to do it there.

  But I wasn’t about to give up.

  7

  Grace

  Something was going on with Asher, and I wasn’t sure what it was.

  I stood outside in Gram’s backyard with Logan and Levi’s graduation party in full swing. The sun had already disappeared behind the mountain peaks, easing the heat of the day, and music from someone’s stereo filled the air. It was crowded with family, friends, and neighbors. People balancing plates of food and drinks. Chatting and laughing. A bunch of people had even started dancing.


  Levi and Gavin were testing the boundaries of the fire pit, building a blaze so high I was surprised Chief Stanley hadn’t stopped them yet. Logan was walking around wearing his graduation cap, a Tilikum College t-shirt with the sleeves cut off, a pair of boxers instead of shorts, and white socks pulled up to his shins. Why? Who knew. It was Logan. He cracked jokes and ate up all the attention he was getting tonight.

  If I had to guess, Levi was using bonfire-building as an excuse to avoid socializing with everyone, although I caught a few rare smiles from him as he and Gavin tossed more wood on the growing blaze.

  Asher stood with Evan a few feet from the fire, a beer in his hand. His eyes flicked to me and his lips twitched with a hint of a smile.

  He’d been giving me that look all day. I’d come over early to help set up, and no matter what we’d been doing—stringing lights around the porch, bringing out chairs, helping Gram in the kitchen—he’d been looking at me like that.

  It was making me jumpy. He’d been touching me, too. Little nudges, or brushes of his arm against mine. Light touches on my lower back. He’d tugged my ponytail and when I’d smacked his arm for it, he’d winked at me.

  If I hadn’t known better, I’d have thought Asher had been flirting with me.

  But this was Asher. He didn’t flirt with me.

  However, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was different. Gram would say the winds were changing, and that’s exactly how it felt. Ever since Asher had come over to invite us for pie on my first day home, the feeling that things were different kept growing. Now, the air practically vibrated with it.

  Elijah ran by with a cookie he’d probably swiped without asking. Or maybe Gram had slipped it to him. Either way, he wore a look of mischievous glee as he shoved it in his mouth. Gram herself sat in the old rocking chair on her porch, a contented smile on her face as she watched the party.

  I walked up the porch steps and scooted a chair closer. She tipped slowly back and forth, her gentle cadence soothing as I sat next to her.

  “Hi there, Gracie Bear.” She reached over to squeeze my hand. “Thanks for the help earlier.”

  “Of course. It’s a great party.”

  “The boys are happy. That’s all I could ask for.”

  “I can’t believe they graduated. It seems like the last few years have gone by so fast. First Asher, then me and Evan, now the twins. Next thing you know, it’s going to be Gavin.”

  “Don’t I know it. It won’t be too long and I’ll be living in this big old house all by myself.”

  I wondered if Asher had told her about the apartment yet.

  And why had he told me first?

  “Does that bother you? The idea of living here alone?”

  She took a deep breath, still rocking gently. “Life is a series of seasons. Summer fades into autumn, but when the air gets cold and the leaves start turning, you always know summer will come around again. And you also know the next one won’t be exactly like the last. It’ll get hot, just like it does every year, but other things will have changed. I’ve had a long season of raising those boys and I’ll miss it when it’s over.” She glanced at me. “But the next season of life will have its own blessings, and I look forward to those too.”

  I gazed at her for a long moment. “How did you get to be so wise?”

  She chuckled. “A lot of years of living with my eyes open.”

  “As opposed to what, living with them closed?”

  “Oh sure. Plenty of people go through life with their eyes squeezed shut. Most of ’em don’t know any better. But they miss all the good stuff.”

  Asher glanced at me and his mouth turned up in that little grin again. Why did he keep doing that? There was heat in his eyes that sent a tingle down my spine.

  I liked it.

  And it was starting to scare me.

  Because what if he was flirting with me?

  There had been a moment in that empty apartment when a crazy thought had gone through my mind. That he was showing me because he thought we might live there together.

  An unexpected spark of hope had flared to life. And then my mom had called, drawing me swiftly back to reality.

  Now? I had no idea what to think.

  A part of me clung to that bit of hope, refusing to let it fade away. Every smile, every wink, every touch from Asher fed it, keeping it alive.

  But that hope was terrifying, because it meant rethinking everything. I was going back to school in the fall. Keeping my options for the future open, waiting to see where life would take me.

  Was it leading me right back here?

  A breeze picked up, making the sparks from the fire dance in a tiny whirlwind. The fresh night air brushed against my face.

  Gram stopped rocking and leaned forward. She took a deep breath through her nose. “The winds are changing.”

  My eyes widened. “What?”

  “That’s the other thing about life and its seasons.” She sat back and resumed her rocking, gently pushing the chair with her toes. “They don’t always change when we think they should. Just when we’re settling in to enjoy the crispness of autumn after the summer heat, we get an early snow.”

  My forehead creased and I looked over at her. She had her hands clasped in her lap and her long braid draped over one shoulder. Gram often said things that almost made sense, but left me wondering if I truly understood.

  The noise in the spacious backyard grew. Logan had a girl hanging on him while he made a group of his friends laugh hysterically. Someone had started an ax-throwing contest in an open area down closer to the creek. Elijah was beelining for it, but Evan grabbed him, scooping him up onto his shoulders before he could get too close.

  Even my mom looked like she was relaxed and having fun. She sat near the fire, chatting with Doris Tilburn. Her hair was down and she had a drink in a red plastic cup, a smile on her face. The number of people dancing grew, some pairing off as couples, others moving to the music in small groups around the fire.

  Asher walked up the porch steps. He smiled, and the summer breeze stirred my hair.

  “Hi, Bear,” Gram said.

  He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “How are you doing tonight, Gram?”

  “My heart’s full. It’s good to have all my cubs in one place.” She stopped rocking and pushed herself up out of the chair. “I think it’s about time I made Logan dance with his Gram. He’s lookin’ a little big for his britches out there.” She smoothed down her dress and glanced at me. “Keep your eyes open, Gracie Bear.”

  “I will.” I wasn’t sure what else to say.

  I watched her make her way down to Logan. He said something into the girl’s ear—she lived over on the other side of town, but I couldn’t remember her name—then held out his arms for Gram. He led her closer to the fire and they started dancing.

  Asher leaned against the porch railing. He wasn’t watching the party, or his brother dancing with Gram. He was watching me. “Hey, you.”

  A tingle of excitement made my heart flutter. “Hey.”

  “Wanna take a walk?”

  “Sure.”

  He held out one of his strong, calloused hands to help me up, and the feel of his skin sent a buzz of electricity through me. Instead of moving back so I could go down the steps, he stayed where he was, just inches from me, his eyes intent on my face. He was so big. Asher’s size was both imposing and captivating.

  He was safe.

  For the space of a heartbeat, I thought he might kiss me. But he just smiled—a slow, sexy grin that made my legs feel weak.

  “Let’s go.”

  He took my hand in his, clasping our fingers together. This time, he didn’t tug me around the side of the house, joking that we had to sneak away. He held it like he meant it. Like this was important. Like I was important.

  We walked down the porch steps and cut across Gram’s land, heading for the road. The farther we got from the din of the party, the harder my heart beat. The moon was nearly full and
the stars twinkled in their full glory away from the fire. We didn’t need light to find our way. We’d grown up on this land. Getting lost would have been impossible.

  Asher didn’t say anything. Just held my hand while we walked. He didn’t seem to be in any hurry, and I wondered if he had a destination in mind. Eventually we came to the road that led into town. He turned up it and we kept going, following the same route we’d taken to and from school countless times as kids.

  The houses were closer together here. Some were dark save for porch lights, their residents probably at Gram’s house for the graduation party. Others had lights in the windows or the flicker of a TV peeking through the curtains.

  Despite the way my heart raced with anticipation, being with Asher like this felt surprisingly natural. Our fingers fit together comfortably, like we’d done this a thousand times. Like we’d started dating back in high school instead of spending the last several years growing apart.

  Something deep inside me ached for that version of reality. For a world where Asher and I were together. Because anything else felt so wrong.

  That was an overwhelming thought to have while I walked hand in hand with him in the moonlight. To acknowledge how much my heart grieved for something I’d never had.

  How could a few short weeks back home make me question everything?

  It was Asher. He was making me question everything.

  He stopped walking and I looked around in surprise. I hadn’t been paying attention to where we were going. We stood in front of the old abandoned house on Evergreen Street. It was a ranch-style home, its big front window overgrown with blackberry bushes and ivy. A chimney hinted at a fireplace inside, but no one had lived here in years. The grass was waist high, and most of the property was choked with vines and thorny blackberries.

  When Asher and I were kids, we’d often stopped in front of this old house on the way home from school. We’d made up stories about it being haunted, or played a version of “house,” where he was the dad and I was the mom, and we were coming home from work. Once we’d even tried to break in, but everything had been locked up tight.