Steal My Heart (Prosperity Ranch Book 2)

by Heather B. Moore

  “Who’s this, sugar?” Barb extended her hand, her fake nails gleaming in the diner’s overhead light.

  “Carson, this is Barbie, our neighbor on the opposite side,” Evie said, not missing how Barb was thoroughly checking him out. “Barb, this is Carson Hunt.”

  “Oh!” Barb said, her mouth making a comical O. “You’re Mr. Hunt’s grandson! He told me y’all were coming this week. I’d planned to bring over a cherry pie. Do you like cherries, sugar?”

  Evie was more than annoyed now. The words Barb was speaking were friendly, even neighborly, but her tone of voice was full of all kinds of insinuations.

  “I like cherries just fine,” Carson said. “I’m sure my grandad would enjoy a pie.”

  Barb rested a hand on Carson’s shoulder. “You don’t like pie?”

  His voice was more stiff when he said, “I’m never opposed to pie, ma’am.”

  “Oh, don’t ma’am me,” she said. “If I’m older than you, it’s not by much. Besides, we’re practically neighbors. I’m only a short hop past Prosperity Ranch.” Her eyes fluttered as she moved close to Carson. “Y’all coming to the battle of the bands tonight at Racoons?”

  Carson actually looked interested, but Evie held back a groan. The name ‘battle of the bands’ was a huge exaggeration. A couple of cowboys strumming their guitars at the town bar. It wasn’t much of a battle, and there weren’t any actual bands.

  And . . . Barb’s hand was still on Carson’s shoulder.

  He looked directly at Evie. “I don’t know. I’ll have to ask Evie. What are our plans, sweetness?”

  Carson had called her sweetness from day one, and Evie knew enough to not get hot and bothered over it. But when he said it this time, the meaning was clear. Barb stepped away from them. “Are y’all dating? Oh, how adorable! That’s just precious.” Her smile broadened. “I know your mamma has wanted you to settle in Prosper. Oh, this is just perfect!”

  Evie cringed, because if Barb said anything to her mother . . . which she would in about five hot minutes.

  “Don’t get ahead of yourself, Barbie,” she shot out, maybe too firmly. “I haven’t made any decisions yet. So please don’t get my mom’s hopes up.”

  Barb’s eyebrows skyrocketed. “Oh, I see. You’re gonna surprise her. I don’t blame you. This man of yours is yummy. Um-hm.” She winked at Carson, then said to Evie, “I’ll be as silent as a water skeeter. No one will hear a word from me. I won’t even tell Patsy and Jana. They’ll be at Racoons, too, but they won’t hear it from me!”

  Then she was gone.

  Sashaying out the door, leaving an open-mouthed Evie in her wake, and probably a confused Carson. Patsy and Jana? Patsy was older than Evie, but Jana was one of those girls her age who made Cruella Deville look nice. The last thing she wanted to do was run into Jana—even if she’d matured or somehow grown a heart.

  “I’ve got to get home,” Evie said, jumping to her feet. “Barb is probably going to have my mom cornered in two seconds flat.”

  She was nearly to the door when Carson caught up with her. “Easy, I still need to pay.”

  Evie stopped. “Okay. You pay, and I’ll wait in the truck.”

  Carson looked like he was about to argue, but then he opened the door for her. She hurried out of the diner, pulling out her phone. Then she saw the time. It was only 8:30 a.m. Would Barb knock on the door this early?

  It wasn’t that Evie couldn’t clear up the misconception, but now she and Carson would be completely exposed, and she didn’t know if she wanted that. This was new territory for her. They’d kissed, and flirted, and kissed some more. And they were on a date.

  Well, Evie would be answering questions from her family, and they’d just have to live with it. Plus, it wasn’t like she was falling in love with Carson Hunt or anything. She wasn’t going to get her heart broken, and she wasn’t going to move back to Prosper for anyone.

  The driver’s door popped open, and Carson climbed in.

  “Sorry about that,” Evie said. “Barb gets under my skin.” She didn’t bother to get into the whole thing about Jana and Patsy. Barb was enough of an explanation.

  He didn’t look exactly convinced, but he started the truck and pulled onto Main Street.

  “She used to obsess over Holt. Well, both Knox and Holt,” Evie clarified. “Barb’s like a gnat that won’t go away.” She eyed Carson, his eyes forward on the road, the easy way he maneuvered his truck. “Did you think she was pretty?”

  Carson shot her a look, then said, “She seems like an entertaining person, and yeah, she’s pretty.”

  Evie’s gut squeezed. She could see it now. Carson would come back to Prosper after graduation, and Barb would forget all about her previous crushes, and zero in on him. Otherwise, Carson would have his pick of women in the town. Evie looked out her window, her eyes stinging. Just because she’d finally had her first kiss didn’t mean she owned the man, or that he had to be loyal to her.

  “What are you doing?” she asked as the truck slowed and stopped on the side of the road.

  “Come here.”

  She turned to look at him. His left arm was draped over the steering wheel, and he’d extended his right hand.

  “What for?”

  “You’re too far away.” Carson tugged her hand toward him, and she scooted closer.

  “That’s better,” he whispered. Then he leaned down, and his mouth covered hers, slow and sweet. She’d kissed him more than once by now, but this kiss . . . this one left no doubt that she was the only woman on his mind. He pulled her close as he continued to explore her mouth, and yep, she melted. She wrapped her arms about his neck, and his hands settled at her waist.

  Kissing Carson made it hard to remember why she was in such a hurry to get back home. She was fine right here, in his arms, her skin buzzing at his touch.

  “Carson,” she whispered as she drew away so she could catch her breath. “Are you trying to distract me?”

  “Mmm,” he rumbled, his dark eyes a slit as he studied her. “Is it working?”

  “Yes,” she said.

  The edge of his mouth lifted. “You’re a beautiful woman, Evie Prosper. Don’t ever think that Barb holds a candle to you. I don’t like fake, never have.”

  Evie moved her hands over his shoulder, then down his chest, appreciating the hard planes of his muscles. “I don’t like fake, either.”

  “Good, then we’re on the same page.” His lips found her neck, and like last night, her pulse skyrocketed. The scruff of his chin tickled, and she couldn’t help but laugh.

  “Someone’s gonna pull over and see if we need help,” she said.

  “Then you can introduce me.” He lifted his head to gaze at her with amusement. “As your date.”

  This sobered her. “You know my family, they’re going to make a big deal out of this.”

  Carson seemed to sober, too, but he didn’t pull away, didn’t release her. “Yeah, my grandad warned me.”

  Evie frowned. “Really?”

  Carson released a sigh as his fingers trailed along her arm, then linked with her hand. He brought her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss there. “He doesn’t want anything that happens between us to affect the relationship between our families. Reminded me that your dad is the mayor, and—”

  Evie put two fingers to his lips. “Stop. I know it all. I’ve grown up with it. My great-grandparents settled this town. My dad’s the mayor. My brother Knox a rodeo legend.” Her eyes burned, and her voice trembled. “And apparently, I can’t have a life, date anyone, or have a boyfriend without everyone putting in their two bits and telling me what to do.”

  “Hey,” Carson said in a whisper, pulling her close.

  “I’m twenty-two, Carson,” Evie said. “I had my first kiss last night. And I can’t be under everyone’s thumb all the time.” She drew away from him, even though it was the last thing she wanted to do. “You’re amazing, and you listen to me, and I have a huge crush on you, but maybe . . . maybe we need
to end this now before it gets farther down the road. Dating you is just going to bring out the panic in everyone, for whatever reason, starting with your grandad. He’s a great guy, and I have nothing against him, but if he’s already worried—”

  “Evie,” Carson said, running a thumb over her cheek because her tears had started. “Ignore them all. I’m going to. We can date if we want to. Casually. No expectations. No promises. You can call things off whenever you want. No hard feelings. It will be good for your family to see you making your own decisions about a guy. We don’t even have to talk about your family if you don’t want to.”

  “We’re in Prosper.”

  His smile was slow. “Yeah, but not for long.”

  “True.”

  His fingers moved to her jawline, still caressing, still warm.

  Evie closed her eyes at his touch. “What happens when we get back to San Antonio?”

  “I don’t know,” he said. “We’ll take it a day at a time, okay?”

  She opened her eyes to find his dark ones on her. “Okay.”

  “And I wouldn’t mind if you want to keep kissing me,” he said, smiling now.

  She moved closer again, and leaned her head against his shoulder. She wrapped her arms tightly about him, and he wrapped her up in warmth and steadiness. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt Carson, or use him, and she couldn’t make any promises. But if he didn’t need any, then she’d be happy to take things one day at a time.

  Carson had lied—maybe not to Evie, but to himself. He did have hope for something more. Desired it. With his whole heart, in fact. He wanted her to move back to Prosper. Maybe she just needed to live somewhere other than her family ranch? Were there apartments or rooms for rent in town? He hadn’t seen any apartment or condo complexes.

  He also knew that he was moving way too fast in his head. Who would have thought a couple of weeks ago that he’d meet a woman and feel so strongly about her? It was like his heart had been waiting for the right woman. Was it possible that he already knew she was the right one? Problem was, she was struggling with the whole Prosper thing.

  It was one thing to declare she wasn’t moving back home to her small town, but it was another to see how upset she was around her family, even though she loved them dearly. Carson knew it wasn’t his place to confront her brothers, or even her father, about what she was feeling and going through. Plus, Evie would probably resent him for interfering.

  He did stand by what he told her. She needed to own her decisions about who she dated and when. Which happened to be him, but in general, it seemed that Evie hadn’t really stood up for herself in the past. That day when she’d come flying out of the house to chew out her brothers was probably the first time.

  “You got the supplies?” Grandad’s voice rang out from the front porch, where he was stubbing out a cigarette. “Or are you just woolgathering?”

  Carson climbed out of the truck. “Both.” He’d taken Evie home, then driven back to the feed store to replenish the washed-out starter plants for the garden.

  Grandad walked toward the truck, and Carson met him at the back. He lowered the door to the bed of the truck.

  “What in the Sam is all this?” Grandad pointed at the paving stones.

  “I’m going to surround the garden with them,” Carson said. “Give it more shape. I looked up a few ideas online.”

  “We don’t need to be fancy.”

  Carson smiled. “Not intending to be fancy. Just trying to prevent another complete loss if it rains before these new plants take root.”

  “All right, then,” Grandad said, picking up one of the flats of small potted plants.

  Carson lifted four paving stones and walked with Grandad around the house to the garden. The sun was starting to dry out the land, but it would be hours yet.

  He began situating the paving stones while his grandad finished bringing the plants.

  “How was your date with Evie Prosper?” Grandad asked after a moment, setting his hands on his hips as he watched.

  Carson looked over at him. “She’s an amazing woman, and we’re dating. If I have to answer to the Prosper family, I will.”

  Grandad’s jaw tightened. “You’ve made up your mind?”

  Carson straightened and met his grandad’s gaze full on. “I have.”

  His grandad held his gaze for a moment, then he nodded. “I’ll be inside making a few phone calls to builders about getting a quote for the corrals. Let me know if you need anything.”

  Carson nodded. Once his grandad had disappeared into the house, Carson brushed off his hands and pulled his phone from his pocket. He sent Evie a text, but when she didn’t reply soon, he pocketed his phone again. He wondered how talking to her mom or even her family was going. She’d told him that she’d have to preempt any gossip that Barb would spread.

  Two hours later, Carson finished up with replanting the garden. The midday sun was great for the ground, but he was half-drenched in both mud and sweat.

  “Got a visitor,” Grandad said after pushing open the back door.

  Carson turned and shielded his eyes from the sun, hoping that it might be Evie. Although, she probably would have walked around the house. Nope. Holt Prosper’s tall form stepped out of the house behind Grandad.

  “How are you doing, Holt?” Carson said as the guy approached.

  Holt had his cowboy hat pushed back on his head, and the dirt on his pants told Carson that he’d been hard at work on something.

  “I’ve been better,” Holt said, his brows drawn together.

  Carson brushed dirt from his hands, but it didn’t do much good. He glanced at his grandad, who was wearing his poker face.

  “Is there something I can help you with?” Carson continued, ignoring the knot tightening in his stomach. This had to be about Evie . . .

  “There is.” Holt nodded at Grandad, who turned and headed back to the house.

  “Wanna sit down?” Carson motioned toward the chairs on the back patio.

  “This’ll take but a minute,” Holt said. “Evie told us that the two of you are dating.”

  Carson lifted his chin. “We are.”

  “When you arrived, giving our sister a lift to Prosper, we were told that things were platonic between the two of you.”

  “Also correct,” Carson said.

  Holt folded his arms, and for a long moment, he said nothing, but eyed Carson. “Evie’s not the typical girl. She doesn’t always make the smartest decisions. She’s naïve about a lot of things.”

  Carson waited, not sure where Holt was going with all of this. What did any of it have to do with dating him?

  “As the mayor’s daughter, she’s gotten a lot of attention over the years from guys,” Holt continued. “Their intentions haven’t been upstanding. They think an in with the mayor’s daughter is an in with the mayor himself.”

  “So that they could get permission to expand a store on Main Street or something?” Carson asked.

  Holt frowned. “No—”

  “Are men trying to date Evie so they can get a sure bid into the rodeo? Or maybe they want to bribe her to ask her daddy if they can get funding for a Fourth of July parade float?”

  “Now, see here—”

  “No, you see here.” Carson took a step forward. “Prosper is a small town, and I understand that to the Prosper family, it’s everything. The sun rises and sets with the Prosper family around here. But about five miles away from here is another town, and beyond that another town, then an entire state, then an entire country. Do you really think that your sister of all people doesn’t know that there is an entirely different world out there?”

  Holt’s eyes were narrowed, but he was listening.

  “You say that your sister isn’t the typical girl. But I disagree. She’s a grown woman, and you need to stop treating her like a kid.” He held up a hand to stop whatever Holt was about to say. “You say she doesn’t make smart decisions, but that’s not true. You don’t allow her to make any dec
isions, so how is she supposed to learn to make smart ones? And she’s not naïve about anything. She’s hurt. By her own family’s lack of trust and faith in her.”

  Holt’s jaw clenched as he narrowed his blue eyes at Carson. “You finished?”

  Carson took another step. “Not quite. Evie is a woman with her own mind. She’s nearly a college graduate, and she’s done most things in life to make you and your family happy. What about what makes her happy? Have you ever considered that?”

  Holt chuckled, but it wasn’t a friendly chuckle. “Are you implying that you now meet that criteria?”

  Carson scoffed. “Not at all. I’m just happy to spend time with her, if she wants to, but it’s all her decision. It will always be her decision. She’ll figure out what she wants in life soon enough—where she wants to live, and who she wants to be with. She doesn’t need interference and loud opinions from her family.”

  “What does she need?” Holt asked in a skeptical tone.

  “Faith and support,” Carson said. “A little trust goes a long way, too.”

  Holt rubbed his neck, his gaze still steady on him. “I can’t disagree with that.”

  Carson nodded. He counted this as progress.

  “But what I want to know,” Holt continued, “is what are your intentions with my sister?”

  Carson had no problem answering that. “My intentions are to take things one day at a time. She’s in the saddle, and she’s holding the reins. I’m not going to put any of my ambitions ahead of hers. She knows that if I relocate to Prosper after graduation, that will probably be a deal-breaker. So, you could say right now, that things are casual between us. Neither of us is looking at things permanently.”

  Holt was still frowning. “You playing her?”

  “No, sir,” Carson said. “She’s an amazing woman who I hope to all that is holy will change her mind about this small town your family worships so much. But I’ll never force her into a decision, or make her feel guilty about what she chooses for herself.”

  Holt looked away for a moment and sighed. “What about you?”

  “Me?”

  Holt met his gaze again. “Yeah, you. Your grandad told us about your brother, and some of the stuff you went through. Do you think you’re setting yourself up for more heartbreak?”