Going Au Naturale at Hallow’s Cove (Hallow’s Cove)

25. Sydney

Chapter twenty-five

Sydney

Once we were showered, dressed, and checked out, we drove separately down the mountain back to the main farmhouse, where we were sure Matilda would be by now. Brooks opened my car door and held his hand out to me, and I couldn’t help but kiss him.

When we entered, it was quiet. There were no kids running around; just Brooks’s mom on the couch, watching daytime television, and Matilda and his grandfather at the table playing mahjong.

“I was wonderin’ where you kids got off to,” his grandfather said.

“Sorry I’m late,” I said to Matilda. “We got a bit… distracted. But everything’s sorted, and we should be able to head back today if you want. I can drive you there and come—”

Matilda let out a hearty laugh. “Oh, dear, I’m not going back.”

Brooks and I looked at each other with matching confusion. “What?”

“I’m only six months away from retirement, and I think I’ve found where I belong. From what I can see—and what I’ve been told—I think I can say the same for you, hm?”

I blushed. “I suppose, but don’t you have to work those months?”

She shrugged. “No money is worth giving Richard up.” She gave Brooks’s grandfather a loving smile that he returned.

Her words sat heavily with me as I drove back to Brooks’s house, one I’d become so acquainted with over the past couple of weeks. One that had begun to feel a bit like mine as well.

When we got inside, I climbed up on the couch, Brooks following close behind. He snuggled up behind me, his hand trailing through my hair. I had washed it, so it wasn’t as silky smooth as it had been earlier, but for the first time in a long time, I wasn’t bothered.

“So… What do you want to do now?” Brooks asked.

I blew out a long breath. The thought of going back to the city gave me the same dread it had before, but I couldn’t avoid it forever.

“I do have a few vacation days saved up,” I said.

“Really?”

I nodded. “And I think I need to take some time to see what I really want. I mean, I know I can’t just quit my job—”

“Why not?”

I turned to face him. “What do you mean, why not ? How would I live?”

Brooks looked a little sheepish. “Well, you’re definitely good enough at photography to live off that.”

“I don’t think so. But even if I were, my camera is busted, and it takes money to start a photography business.”

“Listen.” He shifted so we were now face-to-face. “I love you, and though we’re not Preston-fuckhead rich, I have some money. We can get a new camera and all the things you need. I want to support you and your dreams. And with this new certification, I’m sure the farm will be more profitable than ever.”

I could feel the pressure of tears at the back of my eyes. “I couldn’t ask that of you.”

The idea of being a financial burden for him weighed heavily on me.

“You aren’t asking; I’m giving. And you can say no. If you want to keep your job, we will make it work. I know you’re the one, and no matter what, we’ll figure it out.”

I grabbed him by the cheeks and pulled him in, planting a kiss to his lips. One I hoped conveyed everything I felt, all the things I could never begin to express with words.

“Thank you. I would love to figure it out with you. But for now, I can email them, take two weeks of vacation, and we can do whatever we please.”

He hummed happily. “I think I like the sound of that.”

I climbed on top of him and started kissing him hard, our tongues tangling in the most delightful way. But I jumped as someone knocked on the door so hard I thought they might break it down.

Brooks groaned as he stood to answer it. Bridget was there, wearing her dark eyeliner, with her hair in two very intricate braids.

“What’s up?” Brooks asked, sounding snippy. I guess he didn’t like us getting interrupted, and that made me smile.

Bridget just rolled her eyes. “Calm down, cowboy; I just came to return this.”

My camera was dangling from her finger on its strap. “We got lucky. Jake had the piece I needed to fix it in his infinite amounts of stuff. It wasn’t that hard.”

I walked forward and took it in my hands. The lens didn’t look as cloudy, and as I opened the shutter, the screen turned on like normal. “Oh my God! You fixed it!”

She shrugged. “Of course I did; I’m the family genius after all.”

I rushed her, pulling her in for a hug. She seemed shocked but eventually hugged me back. I wasn’t really a hugger either, but I was just so happy.

“Wow, you really are cute,” she said in that sultry voice.

“Quit it,” Brooks warned, but I just laughed.

“What do I owe you?” I asked.

“Not a thing. You, on the other hand…” she started, looking at Brooks. “Where’s my board?”

“Ugh, not this again.”

“What?” I asked, confused.

“When I was sixteen, I got a skateboard, and Mom wouldn’t give Brooks one because he was too young. It suddenly went missing, and I know you have it.”

“I do not!”

“I know you do. Return it or the camera gets it.”

I took a step back to keep it—and me—out of the line of fire. Their staring contest felt like it could set something ablaze.

“Gods… Fine!” Brooks finally said. “It’s in the south barn. I couldn’t even ride the stupid thing.”

“Then why didn’t you give it back?”

“At that point, on principle.”

“You little—”

“Okay,” I interjected. “So now we know where it is.” I turned to Bridget. “Thank you again. I really appreciate this.”

Her angry resolve depleted easily. “No problem. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a board to recover.”

With that, she left, and Brooks shut the door.

“You hid her skateboard for that long?” I asked.

He shrugged. “It just didn’t make sense to give it to her after a while.”

I rubbed his arm. “Well, I appreciate you giving it up for me.”

Brooks leaned down and kissed me. “I would give up a lot for you.” He smirked and gave me a sexy look. “Now, why don’t you get naked so we can test if the camera is just as good as before?”

I smiled. “I would like that.”