Chapter 31
Ash
“ H ey, little man, can you grab the sleeve of cups over there?”
“Yeah!” Tucker runs across the kitchen, stopping at the counter before looking back at me. “Both?”
“Yup, both.” With a nod, I grab the two pitchers. “We’ll bring these out to the table we set up in the yard, then come back in to get the goodies. Sound good?”
“Heck yeah!”
I can’t help but chuckle at how excited he is about this. It’s a crisp Saturday morning, and what started out as a plan for Finn, Hollis, and Gentry to work on the barn turned into so much more. According to what little I heard from Finn this morning, Sheriff Campbell’s wife heard about the fire, and rallied the whole town together for a barn raising. Dozens of people showed up bright and early this morning, with their tool belts on and their various levels of expertise, and they’ve been helping where they can since.
The plan was for me to hang with Tucker today so Finn can focus his attention wholly on the barn, but as soon as we saw everybody showing up, I adjusted the plan. Tuck and I made a quick run to the store, grabbing a cart full of supplies using daddy’s card, then we brought everything back to the ranch. With the windows open, the breeze blowing in, and music blaring, Tucker and I—mostly me—whipped up a huge pancake breakfast for everyone, setting it up buffet style, along with some coffee and tea, on a couple of long folding tables I found in Gentry’s garage.
After I finished cleaning up the breakfast mess in the kitchen, we promptly switched gears and dove headfirst into baking mode. Various cookies, cupcakes, muffins—you name it, we probably baked it today.
Setting the lemonades on the table, I help Tucker untie the sleeves of Solo cups before placing them beside the pitchers for people to grab as they please. I scan the yard, seeing people of all ages hustling around, doing different things to help. I must admit, having the whole town come together for something like this, to give up their entire Saturday to help out the Moore’s without any expectation, is heartwarming. There are plenty of things I don’t love about living in such a small town, but this is one of the good parts about it.
This kind of thing doesn’t happen in big cities. Or if it does, it’s rare. The people of Wolf Creek truly care about one another, and this—everybody here today—just proves it. The look on Gentry’s face when cars started showing up this morning was one I wish could’ve been photographed. It gave me chills. Gentry doesn’t strike me as the type of man to ask for help very often, or accept it when it’s offered. In fact, he insisted that nobody needed to waste their weekend morning helping with this, but the town persisted. They wouldn’t take no for an answer. I’ve never seen him look so choked up.
“Alright, T.” I clap my hands together, looking down at my favorite little dude. “Let’s bring the treats out.”
We start toward the house, but he peers up at me. “Okay, but…can I have one?”
I snort. The seriousness on his face is adorable. Like I’d really make him help me bake all of these and not let him eat them. “How about this? You can have more than one if you’d like.”
Tucker’s eyes go as wide as saucers. “Really?”
Nodding, I tussle the hair atop his head. “Yup. Take one of each if you want. That’s the best part of being the baker, my guy.”
“Cool!” With that, he takes off running up to the steps, then into the house.
A smile spreads across my face as I watch him go, my chest squeezing. It’s wild when I think about how apprehensive I was to move back to Wolf Creek, how I wasn’t sure if I’d end up hating it, yet watching that little boy zip past through the front door, I’m so glad I made the move, even if I had doubts. The genuine love I have for Tucker is unlike anything I expected to find in this town.
Then there’s his dad. Memories of everything he said to me while he fucked me on the porch come rushing back to me. Actually, let’s be real…none of it has left my mind since it happened. The way Finn claimed me and reassured me all in the same breath still makes me uncomfortably emotional, even days later. We haven’t talked about it yet, but every night after Tucker goes to bed, we lose ourselves to one another, and not just with sex. Last night, I curled up on his lap while we listened to music, and he held me while we soaked in each other’s closeness.
Sure, I’d love to talk about everything he declared the other night because I want to know what his plans are. Like, are we going to tell people? Tell Tucker? What about my sister? But at the same time, I’m more than okay with staying in this bubble of bliss we’ve wrapped ourselves in, at least for now.
Back in the house, Tucker plops down at the table with a plate of dessert in front of him. He requested I turn on some Eric Church—he is his father’s son, after all—before I start cleaning the kitchen. The sink overlooks the side of the house that faces the barn. I find myself gazing out as I scrub the pans, watching everybody work.
I haven’t been inside the barn yet, but I’d imagine they’ve made good progress. They’ve been at it for hours, and I don’t think the barn suffered a whole lot of damage, thankfully. From what Finn told me, it was mostly the office area.
My gaze snags on Hollis, who’s walking along the side of the barn, a tool belt wrapped around his waist and a baseball cap on his head instead of his usual Stetson. The fact that I even know the type of cowboy hats these men wear is wild. From the side, but especially from behind, Hollis looks a lot like his brother. There’s a deep resemblance in their faces too, except Hollis has a slightly longer beard than Finn does, and he’s at least a couple of inches taller too. There’re a couple of kids running around, chasing each other, and I chuckle to myself as I watch Hollis flip his hat around, crouch down, and run after the kids, making them all squeal and giggle.
Finishing loading the dishwasher, I drop a detergent pod in before pressing start. As I’m wiping down the counters, movement catches my attention, and when I glance out the window, my stomach drops as my gaze lands on my sister. She must’ve just arrived because I haven’t seen her around today.
But why the hell would she be here?
As far as I know, she hasn’t remained in contact with any of the guys, and she’s not exactly the lending-a-helping-hand type of person. I’m frozen at the sink, watching her walk up to Finn, who looks sweaty and sexy as hell right now. He’s standing at the table, snacking on one of the cookies, and his black t-shirt is hanging out of his back pocket. My mouth waters, looking at all the exposed flesh and muscle.
Turning his head toward Violet as she comes to a stop beside him at the table, I can see his lips move, like he’s saying hello, but he doesn’t smile or anything. From the outside, if you don’t know Finn, he is rather unwelcoming. My sister rests her hip against the table as she says something to him that I can’t make out from here, but based on the way they both look around the yard and the way she reaches up, touching her hand to his arm, I’d say she’s probably telling him how sorry she is to hear about the fire. Probably trying to cozy back up to him.
I’ve hardly talked to her since they broke up, and part of me feels like shit about it. She very clearly was upset, and what did I do? Happily fell into bed with him. Hell, I’m not convinced that’s the only type of falling I’ve done either, because if I were being honest with myself, I’d admit that I think I’m falling in love with the guy. And I don’t know if me distancing myself from Violet is the guilt I’m feeling about that or the fact that even knowing she would be pissed, it’s not enough to make me walk away.
The way Finn looks at me, the way he kisses me and touches me, it makes me feel special. It helps heal something deep inside of me. Why should I have to give that up? And for what, a relationship that wasn’t ever going to go anywhere to begin with? No, I won’t do that. Not after everything he said the other night.
I hate the jealousy that fills me from watching her talk to him. It’s bitter and all-consuming. Would she still be talking to him if she knew the way he rubbed my back last night as I laid in his lap? Would she still be fluttering her eyelashes up at him flirtatiously if she knew the way he kissed me so deeply and tenderly before we fell asleep together in his bed?
Fuck. Tossing the wet rag into the sink, I shake my head, disgusted with where my mind is going. I need to do something other than spy on my sister and my boss from the window like a fucking creep.
“Hey, T,” I call out as I stroll into the dining room. “You think your grandpa has any good movies we can watch?”
Tucker jumps up from the chair. “He’s got The Lion King !”
I breathe out a laugh, loving this kid’s obsession with that movie. “Okay, I’ll go put it on while you clean up your mess. Deal?”
“Deal!”
There. Now I can keep my mind off my sister. Or at least try.