18. Dakota
“I don’t know, y’all,” I said, exhaustion lacing my words as I slumped forward, leaning against the cool edge of the kitchen counter. “Of course I’d find the one man who doesn’t think I’m too much, and he’s dead set on leavin’ town the minute his work here is done.”
I hadn’t wanted to have this conversation—not now, not ever, really. But it’d been three days since that kiss in the corn maze, and my mom and sisters had finally had enough of my evasive maneuvers, cornering me like an intervention. They wanted answers, and they wouldn’t let me slip away from it this time.
To be fair, it had also been a busy three days. I’d worked back-to-back twelve-hour shifts, and when I wasn’t clocked in at the hospital, I was hanging out with Tucker, Colton, and Austin. Phoebe had been glued to our side, too, doing her best to charm Austin and make him feel right at home in our little town. And while Tucker might’ve been a grumpy flirt with me, always throwing some sarcastic remark my way, I could tell he still wasn’t thrilled with how attached Austin was getting to this place.
Laney, cradling Cole in her arms, rocked gently as she cast me a sympathetic glance. “What did Tucker have to say about it?”
“About what?” I blinked, trying to sound like I hadn’t been obsessing over this for days.
“I don’t know… the kiss. What it means, I guess.”
“Nothin’,” I admitted, my shoulders sagging a bit. “We just kinda slipped into this boyfriend-girlfriend routine since that’s what’s keepin’ the town off our backs, anyway.”
“Okay,” Aubree chimed in from where she stood next to Momma by the stove, biting her lip. “But you haven’t talked about the fact that the kiss—and all the rest of these boyfriend-girlfriend things—seem a little more intense than they should after such a short time.”
I shrugged, trying to play it off, even though I could still feel the weight of that kiss, the way it had unraveled me. “I don’t think he’s the type to talk that kinda thing out. He seems to be doin’ exactly what he said we should do: explore this uncertain thing between us without worryin’ about what’ll happen in the future.”
Aubree crossed her arms, her expression a mix of concern and frustration. “This sounds an awful lot like Dr. Dummy makin’ you feel like it’s okay to have a secret relationship for ‘your own good.’”
Laney winced, closing her eyes, and Momma hissed through her teeth, turning slightly from the stove. “Aubree, you know I don’t like talkin’ about that man in this house.”
I grimaced, not wanting to go down that road again. “It’s not like that, Aubs.”
Aubree’s arms tightened around herself, her eyes narrowing. “But you’re still doin’ what you always do: goin’ after a man who will only break your heart because he’s emotionally unavailable.” She looked to Momma and then Laney for backup. “Right?”
I glanced at each of them, feeling the tension rising in the room. Momma finally put down the spatula she’d been using on the scrambled eggs, turning to face me fully, her eyes gentle but direct. “Sugar, you do have a knack for fallin’ for men who won’t hurt you.”
I blinked in confusion. “Isn’t that the goal…?” I paused, frowning as her words caught up with me. “Wait, that’s not true. If anythin’, it’s the opposite.”
Momma shook her head, her lips pressing into a sympathetic smile. “I disagree. They might hurt you a little bit, but not the big kind. Not the real pain that comes with a broken heart. You protect yourself from that by pickin’ these poor excuses for men who wouldn’t know real feelings if they bit them on the butt.”
My mind immediately flashed to Tucker’s butt injury, and I almost laughed, imagining him warning me not to make a joke about it if he were here for this talk. The reminder made my stomach flip. What was I going to do when he left town, and all I had were memories?
“Well, what am I supposed to do?” I asked, frustration creeping into my voice. “We’re already knee-deep into this fling, and I’m not gonna lie, the idea of callin’ it off just because he’s emotionally unavailable doesn’t sit right. He’s a really good kisser, y’all.”
“So don’t call it off,” Laney suggested with a big grin, but her words earned her a heavy sigh from our other sister. She turned to Aubree. “Oh, hush, you. What’s got you so doom and gloom this mornin’, anyway? Aren’t you supposed to be the romance-novel-lover who encourages stuff like this?”
“Not when it comes to Kota,” Aubree said, her voice a little softer now as she glanced back at me. “I don’t wanna see her get hurt. And yes, I agree—hurt for real this time, not just puppy love kinda hurt.”
I shifted uncomfortably, heat rising to my cheeks. “Y’all, it’s not that deep, okay? We’re havin’ a fling, and it doesn’t have to be a big deal. Let’s just drop it for now.”
“You’re lyin’ to yourself, Dakota Jolene,” Aubree muttered, narrowing her eyes at me in that older-sister-knows-best way.
Momma swatted Aubree lightly with the spatula, her tone firm but teasing. “Be nice.”
I bit my lip, trying to push down the mix of emotions swirling inside me. Maybe Aubree was right. Maybe I was lying to myself. But after three days of feeling like I was floating between this amazing fling and the very real possibility of Tucker leaving for good, I didn’t know how to stop. How to pull myself back from the edge.
A sharp knock at the door interrupted the conversation, and Laney glanced over, curiosity sparking in her eyes. "I’ll get it." She handed Cole off to Momma, then disappeared into the hallway. Barely a second later, she returned with a mischievous grin on her face. “Kota, you should answer it.”
I raised a brow. “Why me?”
Laney’s grin widened. “Because he’s tall enough that I can see his hair in the window at the top of the door, and I have a feelin’ that means it’s for you.”
My heart did a strange little flip in my chest. Tucker. Of course it was. “Oh, yep! Sounds like it.”
I stood, smoothing my hands down the front of my sweater, trying to calm the nerves suddenly buzzing through my system. It wasn’t like I hadn’t seen him since the kiss—we’d been together almost every day since. But something about the possibility of this being the conversation made my stomach do somersaults.
Momma, sensing my hesitation, called out from the stove with a teasing smile. “Good luck, honey. And remember, don’t do anythin’ on the front porch you wouldn’t want on tomorrow’s front page!”
Her words were followed by a chorus of good-natured laughs from my sisters, all too aware of how quickly news spread in Charlotte Oaks. I shot them a playful glare over my shoulder before heading down the hall, my pulse picking up with each step. I didn’t know whether I hoped Tucker was here because he had an update on the case or to talk about our kiss, but I’d be happy with either.
Well… maybe one more than the other.
I opened the door, and there he stood—tall, broad-shouldered, and wearing that jacket that had been so warm and full of the woodsy, spiced scent of him as I wore it the other night. His bonfire eyes were both sharp and soft as they locked on mine.
“Mornin’,” I said, doing my best to sound casual even though my pulse was doing its best to break the sound barrier.
Without a word, Tucker held out a to-go cup, the familiar logo from the Caffeinated Squirrel stamped across the side. “Seven.”
I blinked, taking the cup from his hand. “Seven bucks for this coffee? What’s in it?”
He let out a gruff laugh, his eyes narrowing slightly in that way they did when he was pretending to be more annoyed than he really was. “Seven people came up to me and asked about that kiss at the scarecrow thing the other night. I thought you said all this would shut people up.”
I stifled a grin, raising the cup to my lips and taking a sip. My shoulders relaxed instantly as the warm, familiar taste of pumpkin chai filled my mouth. Of course he knew my order. He was infuriatingly good at that—remembering the little details, picking up on things I liked without me even having to ask.
“No, sir, I did not,” I said, doing my best to sound innocent as I lowered the cup. “I said it would keep them from matchmakin’. Nothin’ short of muzzlin’ the whole town could shut ’em up.”
Tucker grunted, shifting his weight as he leaned one arm against the doorframe, his broad body taking up the entire space. Even in this casual stance, there was something about him that made my heart race a little faster. He wasn’t just handsome—he was solid. Steady. The kind of man who made you feel like everything was going to be okay, even when you knew he wasn’t planning to stick around for long to make sure it was true.
But I couldn’t let myself get lost in that. This was a fling, remember? No strings, no expectations. If I remembered that, how could I possibly get hurt?
I took another sip of the coffee, using the moment to gather my thoughts, and tried to ignore the way his gaze lingered on me, like he was waiting for me to say something more. Something I wasn’t sure I had the words for yet.
Tucker shifted again, his hand rubbing the back of his neck—a move I’d come to recognize as his tell when he was nervous or uncomfortable. It wasn’t obvious—nothing ever was with him—but after spending these last few days together, I was starting to pick up on the little things.
And right now? He was definitely nervous.
I bit back a sigh, already guessing why. He probably thought I was about to pull some stage-5 clinger nonsense, trying to lock him down because of that kiss.
A kiss that was… okay, yeah, it was earth-shattering, but I wasn’t about to go full-on swan dive into the deep end because of one perfect kiss.
To protect him—and myself—I decided to throw him a lifeline. No need to let this thing get too serious or complicated.
“So, speakin’ of that kiss…” I started, trying to keep my tone light as I glanced up at him from under my lashes.
Tucker’s eyes flicked to mine, his jaw tightening ever so slightly. His nerves were barely masked by that stoic expression he always wore, but I could see the tension around his eyes, the way he was bracing for whatever was coming next.
I kept going, hoping to put him at ease. “I just wanted to say, don’t worry about it. It was good, really good,” I said, offering a casual smile that I hoped came across as cool and unaffected. “But I know what this is. It’s a fling, and that’s all it’s gonna be.”
I watched for his reaction, expecting him to relax, to maybe even look relieved. After all, I was practically giving him a get-out-of-jail-free card. No pressure, no expectations.
Instead, I caught the briefest flicker of something on his face—disappointment, maybe? Surprise? Whatever it was, it vanished just as quickly as it appeared, masked by that signature calm of his.
He gave a short nod, his lips pressing into a thin line. “Right. A fling.”
I shifted on my feet, the weight of his gaze making me second-guess myself for a split second. Was that really disappointment I’d seen? Did he expect me to push for more?
No, that didn’t make sense. This was Tucker—Mr. Emotionally Detached. I was probably just imagining it.
Clearing my throat, I pushed forward, determined not to overthink it. “I mean, I already promised not to strangle you with my small-town roots,” I added with a half-hearted laugh. “I’m not one of those girls who’s gonna cling to you just because we had one incredible kiss.”
There. That should do it. Lay it all out, make it clear that I wasn’t about to be that girl.
But even as I said the words, my mind flickered back to that kiss—the way it made me feel like the whole world had melted away. But it was the first and only time Tucker had kissed me. Since then? Nothing.
Oh, sure, we’d been acting like boyfriend and girlfriend in public, playing our parts flawlessly for the town gossips. He’d been sweet, flirtatious even, with his arm casually around my shoulders, teasing me here and there like it was the most natural thing in the world. But there hadn’t been another kiss since that night in the maze.
Not a single one.
It wasn’t like I’d expected him to sweep me off my feet in front of half the town or anything, but a part of me had wondered if maybe... just maybe... that kiss had affected him the way it had me. But apparently, it hadn’t. Not enough to want to do it again, anyway.
Tucker nodded, but his eyes were hard to read—guarded, like he was processing everything I’d just said. “Right. Of course,” he murmured. “Just a fling.”
The silence stretched between us, and for a moment, I wondered if I’d said the wrong thing. Maybe I’d misjudged him, but then again, maybe he was just playing it safe, keeping his distance like he always did. That was part of the deal, right? No strings, no promises.
Still, I couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that I’d missed something. The way his gaze lingered just a second too long, the subtle tension in his posture—was he disappointed? Or was that just wishful thinking on my part?
Get it together, Dakota.
I forced a smile back onto my face. “Anyway, just wanted to make sure we were on the same page.”
Tucker’s lips twitched slightly—almost like he wanted to smile but couldn’t quite manage it. “Yeah. We’re on the same page.”
I nodded, feeling the awkwardness settle between us. But before I could figure out how to move the conversation forward, Tucker shifted, his gaze darting away from mine for a second before he cleared his throat. I could tell there was something else he wanted to talk about, something other than the kiss or whatever awkward tension still lingered between us. And as much as I wanted to stay in the bubble of denial I’d just created, part of me wanted to know what was on his mind.
Gesturing to the porch swing, I eased the door closed behind me and led him over there. We took a seat, and the nearness of him threatened to make me forget all about whatever it was I’d been curious about seconds before.
“I wanted to give you a heads-up,” he said, bringing me back as his voice took on that serious, business-like tone I’d gotten used to when he was switching gears into investigator mode. “The case... It’s going to take longer than I thought.”
“Oh?” I raised an eyebrow, wrapping my hands around the coffee cup like it could somehow keep me grounded. “Why? Did something new come up?”
He nodded, his eyes narrowing slightly as he stared down at the ground. “Yeah. Hope let Colt and me check out the upstairs at her place, and we did another run-through of the basement. We still haven’t found the treasure, and with no way to know what that key unlocks or where whatever it is might be hidden, that part of the investigation is at a standstill.”
“So... what’s the plan now?” I asked, my voice careful.
Tucker glanced down at me, his jaw tightening. “We’ve been looking into Syd Wharton’s disappearance. So far, we’re coming up empty, but if we can figure out what happened to him, it might give us a lead on the treasure.”
I blinked, surprised by the shift in focus. Syd Wharton... the treasure... the disappearance. It all felt like one tangled mystery, and now we were diving even deeper into it. But there was something else Tucker wasn’t saying, something that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
“And there’s something else,” he added, confirming my suspicions in such a perfectly timed way I almost yelled, “I knew it!”
But I didn’t. I bit my tongue, keeping my cool, and nodded for him to go on.
“My client... the one who hired us back in Colorado and sent us out here in the first place… he came to town.”
I froze. “Wait... what? When?”
“I saw him right after the town square incident. The truck backfiring.”
“Your client was here that day? You didn’t tell me that.”
“To be fair, I’m not sure why you think I would,” Tucker said, then quickly lifted a hand in a placating gesture. “If you’ll remember, I didn’t want you anywhere near this case from the start. It took you a minute to wear me down, Wildcard.”
I snorted, rising from the swing and pacing a few steps away. “Just what I’ve always wanted… the ability to wear a man down.”
He bristled at that, but remained calmly seated. “I didn’t mean that the way I think you’re taking it.”
“’Kay. So, what did he want?”
“He was just checking in, trying to rush the process along. I told him right away that wasn’t how I liked to conduct business, and I was pretty proud of myself for not sticking my boot up his—” He cleared his throat, shaking his head. “Not the point. I hate being micromanaged.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “I’m shocked.”
There was a moment of lightness between us, but then I simply stared at him, trying to process everything he’d just shared. His client. The man who’d hired him to find this treasure. The man who stood to gain a lot from this, whether or not it was tied to Syd Wharton’s disappearance.
“Wait...” I frowned, the pieces clicking into place in my head. I lowered my voice to a near-whisper. “Could he have been the one who shot you?”
Tucker’s lips twitched, amusement flickering in his eyes despite the seriousness of the situation. “You’re starting to get good at this PI thing, Wildcard.”
But I wasn’t laughing. “I’m serious, Tucker. Not only could he be the one who shot you, but could he have been the partner who tried to kill Syd? Maybe he’s the one who made Syd disappear, and now he’s tryin’ to get his hands on the treasure by hirin’ you to do the dirty work. Then, maybe he changed his mind and figured he’d make sure the only other people who knew about the situation wouldn’t be able to talk about it if they were six feet under.”
The smirk faded from Tucker’s face, and it was more obvious than clouds in the sky on a rainy day that he’d already considered the possibility. He let out a low sigh and shook his head. “I don’t know. If he’s the partner, he’s already tried to kill Syd once before so he could get his hands on the treasure. If he’d finally succeeded, why would he even think to hire me to recover it? Roy’s already dead, and I wouldn’t put it past a treasure-stealing murderer to break into Hope’s basement and take it back himself, you know?”
That made sense, I guessed, but something still didn’t sit right with me. The idea of this client lurking around town, pushing Tucker to get answers—it felt too convenient. Too... dangerous.
“Are you sure?” I pressed, narrowing my eyes. “Because you didn’t tell me about him before, and now I’m wonderin’ what else you’re not sayin’.”
Tucker gave me a look that was a mix of exasperation and admiration, like he couldn’t believe how far I’d taken the theory but was also impressed by how sharp I was.
“I’m sure,” he said, his voice firm. “Colt and I sent him home this morning. We told him we were working on some stuff and that it would take longer than we thought. He didn’t need to stick around.”
Relief washed over me at that. At least the guy wasn’t hanging around town anymore, lurking in the shadows like some kind of villain.
“Don’t worry about my client, okay?” Tucker added, finally rising from the swing and stepping closer, dropping his voice into a low, reassuring tone. “He’s out of the picture for now. We’re focusing on finding Syd, which might take a while, and that’s where the real answers are going to come from.”
I nodded slowly, feeling the weight of everything pressing down on me. The case, the treasure, Tucker... It was all so tangled.
But even as the logical part of my brain urged me to focus on the case, my heart couldn’t help but drift back to Tucker—the way he stood so close to me, the way his voice sent shivers down my spine despite the seriousness of the conversation.
It was hard to separate the two—the case and him. The lines were blurring. My heart raced with all the implications of the mystery—and everything Tucker wasn’t saying—and I caught a glimpse of something different in his eyes. His lips were set in that serious line I’d come to associate with “investigation mode,” but there was something else lurking beneath the surface. Something softer. Warmer.
And I didn’t miss the way his gaze flicked down to my mouth.
Okay, maybe we weren’t done talking about that kiss after all.
“I’m impressed, you know,” he said, stepping a little closer. His voice was low, almost teasing, but there was a sincerity behind it that tugged at my heart. “You’re a better PI than I gave you credit for.”
I smirked, trying to ignore the flutter of nerves in my chest. “Well, don’t get too used to me helpin’ you out. I’m not lookin’ for a new career or anythin’. Besides, datin’ guys I work with isn’t my strong suit.”
His lips curved into that slow, devastating grin—the one that made my knees feel a little weak. “Shame. You’d make a great partner.”
I laughed softly, shaking my head. “Don’t let Colt hear you tryin’ to replace him with me.”
“Good point. Don’t wanna hurt the guy’s feelings,” he admitted, his voice dipping as he shifted forward, closing the gap between us.
“Besides, you’re only sayin’ that because I might be right about your client.”
He shrugged, his gaze flicking up to my hairline as he tapped my temple ever-so-gently. “Or maybe I just like the way you think.”
There it was again—that spark of something more. The playful banter, the subtle teasing, the way he was looking at me like he couldn’t decide whether to finish this conversation or kiss me senseless.
My breath hitched, and I fought the urge to bite my lip as I stared up at him.
For a split second, the world seemed to narrow down to just the two of us—Tucker and me standing on my porch, the cool morning air swirling around us, and the tension crackling like electricity in the space between us.
And then, before I could say anything, Tucker closed the distance, his hand sliding around my waist as he pulled me in for a kiss.
It wasn’t like the kiss in the corn maze, which started out so soft and tentative while we were testing the waters, only to build into a blaze one sigh at a time.
This one was different.
This one was fire and heat right from the get, an undeniable, hurricane-force pull that had me welding myself to him before I even had a chance to catch my breath.
His lips were firm, commanding, like he’d been holding back and couldn’t any longer. And I kissed him back just as fiercely, the coffee cup forgotten in my hand as I reached up with the other to grip the collar of his jacket, pulling him even closer.
All I could think about was the way Tucker felt against me—his warmth, his strength, the way his lips moved against mine like he was acting purely on instinct.
My heart pounded against my ribcage, my mind spun out of control, and I knew at that moment that this—whatever it was—was a whole lot more than just a fling.
But as much as I wanted to stay wrapped up in this moment, reality came crashing back down when I remembered where we were, what my momma had said about the front page, and that I was due at work soon.
With a soft groan, I forced myself to pull back, my chest heaving as I tried to catch my breath. “Tuck...”
His forehead rested against mine just like he’d done in the corn maze, and just like that night, the gesture was so sweet and simple it had my heart squeezing. His breath came just as fast as mine, and when he opened his eyes, the intensity in them sent another shiver down my spine.
“Yeah?” His voice was low, rough around more than just the edges.
I swallowed hard. “I, uh... I have to get to work.”
He exhaled, a slow, almost reluctant smile spreading across his face as he straightened up, his hand still lingering on my waist. “Of course you do. Scrubs. Right.”
Grinning, I brushed his hand away and straightened my work uniform. “Just now noticed them, huh?”
“I’ve been distracted.” He chuckled, finally stepping back, though the way his eyes lingered on me made it clear that his words from the corn maze were true once again: this wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.
I sipped my coffee, trying to collect myself.
“While you’re saving lives,” he said as he backed toward the porch steps, “Colt and I will keep digging into Syd.”
“Good plan,” I said, still trying to shake off the fog of that kiss. “I’ll catch up with y’all at the B&B later?”
“Actually...” Tucker hesitated for a second, running a hand through his hair. “Austin wants to go to the haunted house tonight. The one they set up at the old elementary school?”
I wrinkled my nose, the thought of a haunted house sending a shiver down my spine—but not the good kind. “Yeah, no thanks. Haunted houses are not my thing.”
“You know it’s not actually haunted, right?”
“If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck…”
Tucker grinned, that mischievous glint back in his eyes as he stepped toward me again, just close enough that I could feel the warmth radiating off him. “What’d I tell you? You’re safe with me, remember?”
His voice was low, teasing, but there was something else there, too—something like a promise, and it made my heart skip a beat all over again. And as he winked at me, flashing that grin that made it impossible to say no, I felt a familiar flutter in my chest.
Haunted houses really weren’t my thing... but if Tucker was there with me? Maybe they could be.
Oh, who was I kidding? This was a terrible idea.