Chapter Eight #2
“Every time.” Ethan turned toward the tack room. “I’m going down to the pond. Get some fishing in.”
“Hey, uh.” Kurt shifted his weight. “Where’s Naomi today?”
Ethan stopped and turned to look at him. “She went into town with Serena.” He held Kurt’s gaze for just a beat. “Why?”
“Just wondering.”
Ethan looked at him a moment longer than necessary, then nodded and walked to Vulcan’s stall. The horse’s ears came forward the moment he saw him.
He saddled Vulcan, grabbed his fishing rod and tackle from the tack room, and rode out the back of the barn toward the pond. It sat on the south end of the property, fed by the same creek that ran past the cabin, tucked in a hollow between two gentle rises that kept the wind off it on most days.
He tied Vulcan to a low branch at the edge of the tree line, baited his hook, and settled into the folding chair he kept stashed under a tarp near the bank. He cast his line and watched it settle on the still water.
He liked fishing for the same reason he liked the cabin. It required just enough of his attention to quiet everything else.
Almost everything.
He thought about Kurt asking where Naomi was. The way he’d shifted his weight. The casual tone that wasn’t quite casual enough. It was a joke around the ranch that Kurt fell in love at the drop of a hat, but Ethan would keep an eye on him and if he stepped out of line with Naomi, he’d talk to Kurt.
Ethan wasn’t the jealous type. He’d never had much patience for it in other men. But there was something about the way Kurt had asked that sat wrong with him and he wasn’t going to pretend it didn’t.
He cast his line again and watched the water.
She was a grown woman. She could handle herself. He knew that better than anyone.
Didn’t mean he had to like it.
A fish hit the line, and he sat forward and let the familiar pull of it take over for a while.
****
It was after four by the time Serena pulled up beside the barn. Naomi climbed out, opened the back door, and gathered her packages. She’d spent more than she intended at Paige’s but couldn’t find it in herself to regret a single purchase.
“Do you want to come up for a while?” she asked over the roof of the SUV.
“I’d love to, but I can’t. I’m meeting my mom for dinner, and she will absolutely lose her mind if I’m late.” Serena grinned. “Another time.”
“Definitely.” Naomi shifted her bags to one arm and waved. “I’ll see you Monday.”
“Enjoy the rest of your weekend.” Serena climbed back in and pulled away.
Naomi watched her go, then turned and climbed the stairs, bags in hand, already thinking about which of her new purchases she’d wear tonight.
She set the bags down, dug out her key, and unlocked the door. Before stepping inside she glanced around the yard, but there was no sign of Ethan.
She kicked the door closed behind her, carried the bags to the bedroom, and dropped them on the bed. She toed off her sneakers and started digging through the bags, pulling things out one at a time until she found what she was looking for.
The lavender teddy.
She held it up and smiled. She would wear this tonight.
She wasn’t even sure, yet what they were doing, but she’d make sure he knew what was underneath whatever she had on and let the rest take care of itself.
The man was no slacker, she still hadn’t quite gotten over how good it had been between them, and she had every intention of a repeat.
She just hoped he didn’t break her heart in the process.
She placed the teddy down on the bed and looked at it.
“A little late to worry about that,” she murmured.
With a heavy sigh she put the garments away and headed for the living room. She hadn’t thought to nail down a time with him before they’d parted ways. She dropped onto the sofa, picked up her phone, and sent a text.
Where are you?
She watched the bubbles.
Fishing. Where are you?
At the apartment. Just got home. What time are you coming by?
Around six thirty. That work?
Yes. Are we going out or staying in?
What do you want to do?
Doesn’t matter. I have a surprise for you.
What kind of surprise?
It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you. Let’s just say I bought it at Paige’s.
She waited. The bubbles appeared, then disappeared, then appeared again.
Ethan?
I’m here. Just thinking about you in something from Paige’s.
She grinned.
So, you know the shop?
Every man in Clifton, Spring City, and Hartland knows that shop.
She laughed. I’ll see you later.
See you soon.
She set the phone down and smiled at the ceiling.
Six thirty couldn’t come fast enough.
At six fifteen she sat on the sofa staring at the clock.
She got up. Paced. Sat back down. Got up again.
She was nervous, which was ridiculous. She’d already been with the man.
But this felt different somehow, more loaded than the first time.
The first time had been heat and want and finally giving in to something that had been building for weeks.
This was deliberate. She’d bought something at Paige’s and told him about it and now she was sitting here waiting and her stomach was doing things it had no business doing.
She didn’t want him thinking this was just about sex.
Because it wasn’t. She knew that much. She was so close to falling for him that it scared her a little, and she had no idea where his head was.
Men were complicated when it came to that.
At least in her experience they were. They could want you completely and still keep their feelings at arm’s length, and she’d been burned before by assuming she knew where she stood.
She sat back down and looked at the clock.
Six-twenty.
She told herself to breathe.
She nearly jumped out of her skin when the knock came.
She pushed to her feet, smoothed her dress, and crossed to the door. She stood on her toes and looked through the peephole.
He was standing there in jeans and a dark green T-shirt, hat in hand, looking down at something in his other hand.
She sighed.
The man was just so handsome it was almost inconvenient.
She took a breath and opened the door.
He looked up and his eyes moved over her, taking in the white summer dress with its blue flowers, how it fell soft around her knees, the white sandals. He was quiet for just a second.
He raised his eyes to hers. “You look beautiful.”
“Thank you.” She looked him over. “You look very handsome.”
“I’m just wearing jeans and a T-shirt.” He grinned.
“You still look handsome.”