Chapter 17
Sunday
“Hey.”
I glance up from where I’m curled on Jason’s comfy armchair, his gruff voice a welcome sound after a morning of dealing with calls to and from Nashville.
And while I’ve been working from Jason’s stunning cabin, he’s been working down in town.
I shut my laptop and get to my feet, immediately smiling when I see what he’s got in his arms.
I pad across the living room and make my way over to him, standing up on my tip-toes so that I can press a little kiss to his cheek.
A thank you kiss for letting me stay at his place last night – for preparing my dinner, and sitting together on his back porch, and talking with me in that deep voice of his about all of the construction projects that he’s been working on these past few years.
He already messaged me this morning to say that he’d checked out the power situation at Casey’s, and he thinks that one of the components needs to be changed, meaning that I’m going to be crashing at his place a little bit longer.
And I can’t deny that I’m totally okay with that.
Jason laughs quietly, his cheekbones flushing red, and he steers me gently toward the kitchen, pulling a vase from one of the cupboards.
He’s got a brown paper bag in one hand, and in the other?
Flowers .
He bought a freaking bouquet of flowers.
“Jason,” I laugh, “tell me that those aren’t for me.”
He glances down at me with sparkling eyes as he cuts the stems and sets them in the water.
“Sweetheart, you know I can’t lie to save my life,” he rumbles, making my heart do a little somersault – partially because of the nickname, and partially because that’s one of the things that I love about him.
That he’s so honourable, and open and honest and true.
I shake my head in awe and my little ponytail swishes gently behind me.
“Jason,” I say, unable to stop myself from beaming up at him, “I’m staying in your house – you’re doing me the favour.” I press my palm against my forehead and laugh, “Why on earth would you buy me flowers?”
He picks up the vase from the counter and then holds it down for me, helping me cradle it so that I can inspect the blooms.
“You staying at my place means that you’re giving me something beautiful to look at when I get home,” he replies. He shrugs and smiles. “I thought I’d return the favour.”
His kind words go straight to my heart, making it pound wildly as I fight back a smile.
“You’re too sweet,” I tell him, cuddling my pretty flowers, and he gives me a little squeeze at the nape of my neck as he drops Casey’s truck keys on the counter.
Jason went to pick up Casey’s car so that I’ll have a vehicle to use if I want to head out, and then one of his buddies is going to stop by and drive Jason back to town, seeing as he left his own truck by the cabin.
I told him that it was unnecessary because I don’t want to be behind the wheel of a car anytime soon but he said he’d grab it just in case, because that’s just the kind of man that he is.
“You sleep okay last night?” he asks as I place the vase beside the car keys, pulling off my sweater because I’m suddenly getting warm.
Maybe it’s the cabin’s log-panel insulation, or maybe it’s the way that Jason glances down at my thighs, but either way I’m feeling flushed and I can’t get out of my top fast enough.
Underneath the sweater I’m wearing my baby blue long-sleeve thermal, and Jason eyes it for a beat before cracking his knuckles and averting his gaze.
“I think it was the best sleep of my life,” I reply honestly, which draws a quiet chuckle from his throat, the sound deep and gravelly.
We didn’t see each other this morning because Jason gets up earlier than a Texan ranch-hand, and I let myself snuggle up in his guest room with the stunning snow-topped landscape for my morning company.
“Yeah, being up the mountains can do that to you,” he rumbles.
And so can being one room away from the strongest man that I’ve ever known.
“You found the internet connection okay up here?” he asks, his eyes flicking momentarily to my laptop on his couch.
I can tell that he’s dying for me to talk to him about Nashville but I don’t feel like I’m ready yet, especially seeing as I don’t know if I’m moving back or not.
But that’s probably exactly what he wants to know – if I’m going back to Nashville or if I’m staying in Phoenix Falls.
“Everything was perfect – I called my mom for a bit, and I got a lot of work stuff done,” I admit, including a little bit of damage control regarding the ridiculous articles still circulating about Riley and me.
I thought that I was taking the high road by graciously not responding to the stupid relationship claims but apparently my absence has been taken as acceptance.
And as a result of that? Let’s just say, it’s gotten way too out of control.
When I saw a headline saying that I was ‘out in hiding, in order to protect my secret baby’ I finally snapped and got in touch with Riley’s manager.
I was freaking livid for me and my secret baby – and I don’t even have one!
I’d expected the time difference between Phoenix Falls and Nashville to have saved me any actual back-and-forth correspondence, but it turns out that his manager is on her shit twenty-four-seven. We had a surprisingly good talk about the media nonsense, so hopefully she’ll help me get it swept under the rug as soon as possible.
Because if I do want to go back to Nashville? It’s not going to be under the label of Riley Dutton’s ‘arm candy’.
Understanding that he’s not about to get a definitive answer just yet, Jason nods and steps closer, hunching down so that he can press a stubbled kiss against my cheek.
He gives my waist a gentle squeeze and my heart pounds with delight.
My perfect, small-town gentleman… with that unfathomable military control.
And I can’t help but wonder whose control will snap first.
“Okay,” he murmurs. “I’ll hit up the grocery store again after I grab my truck. Send me a message if there’s anything special you want me to get for you while I’m down there.”
“You’re going to cook for me?” I ask, smiling as he tucks a stray curl behind my ear.
Last night we ate takeout because he’d ordered a fuck-tonne the night before, but secretly I’m intrigued at the idea of being in Jason’s house as he cooks us dinner.
With a ridiculously handsome smirk, he pulls open a drawer and slaps something on the counter.
I carefully unfold it and then laugh out loud when I realise it’s an apron.
His sexy smile-creases flash as he folds his arms over his chest, his biceps bulging.
“I’ll make anything you want,” he rumbles, that deep voice reverberating in my belly. Then he gives me a once-over and asks, “You eat meat?”
I tug nervously at my neckline, trying not to hear that as a euphemism.
“Uh, sure,” I say huskily. “Maybe once a week or so.”
He pushes off the counter, trying not to smile as he tucks a thumb in the front of his jeans.
“Okay, I’ll head down now,” he says, hesitating as he glances back down at me. He waits a beat and then asks gruffly, “Are you… are you real busy right now?”
His gaze flickers back toward my laptop and he shifts on his boots as if he wants to ask me something.
I can’t imagine what it is that he has in mind and, thinking that maybe it has something to do with Casey’s bar, I decide that our dinner tonight might be the better time to have that discussion. Besides, now that I’ve recovered from the initial surprise about the bar, I’m secretly really happy that Casey’s starting something in Phoenix Falls. Mainly because it makes me think that he’s making post-military plans. And as much as I adore how selfless his career has been, after almost two decades of my brother being in the Army I’m more than ready for him to retire.
I don’t know if Casey intends to leave his position anytime soon, but by making solid roots in our hometown… it gives me a little hope.
Which is why I’m thinking that we should do something special with it, make it up so that it’s ready to open for the time that he comes home.
And as the former owner of the best bar in Nashville, I have a lot of ideas.
“I have a little more work that I want to finish up,” I admit, glancing at my laptop over my shoulder.
And when I turn back to Jason, I’m face-to-face with his heaving chest.
I yelp happily as he pulls me against him for a firm goodbye hug, heat spreading through my body as he chuckles quietly above my head.
“Okay,” he rumbles, “I’ll get out of your way.”
He releases me from his grip and moments later he’s at the front door.
I pad quickly after him, making him smirk when he glances back at me over his shoulder.
“So, what did you decide on?” I call out to him, as he trudges heavily through the settled snow. A huge Ford breaks into the clearing and pulls to a stop where Jason usually parks.
He looks up at me as he rounds his friends’ truck and asks, “What d’you mean?”
“For dinner,” I clarify. “What did you decide on for our dinner?”
He opens the door and winks. “It’s a surprise.”