Chapter 7
Thane – POV ?
Sitting next to her was a special kind of torture. I wanted to be as close as possible, yet I didn’t want to scare her.
I’m surprised and delighted that she let me touch her earlier.
It wasn’t conscious on my part. It was instinctual, something that drove me to reach out and touch her petal soft skin, to wipe away the tears that she didn’t even know she was shedding, to smell the strawberry, jasmine perfume that was just her.
When she handed me her book and our fingers touched, I felt a spark shoot up my hand and down my spine, creating a slow burn in my gut.
I knew that she felt something too. It was there in the way her breath caught in her throat or the rising pinkness in her cheeks or the glimmering shine in those deep chocolate eyes that told me she was aware of what was happening.
But I didn’t want to push her. I didn’t want to put her in a place that made her uncomfortable, so I bit back my urge to scoop her up in my arms and carry her away and settled for opening her sketchbook.
“You drew this?” I asked incredulously.
As an architect, I drew for a living. I got paid an absurd amount of money for it. Simple drawings of lines and measurements, blueprints that were used to build a structure, but her drawings were something else.
Her illustrations brought to life the home she wanted to create, the home that she could see when she walked through the halls of the empty house.
The drawings were striking in their detail; in the color she used to highlight aspects of each room and how she was able to capture the nature of the outside environment and bring it into the home.
And that’s exactly what it was. She had drawn a home.
Nothing like what I had done in the past, I realized after staring at each sketch. These were beautiful.
“I know that they are not very good,” she shrugged and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. “I don’t think you could call them sketches really, more like doodles, I guess.”
Sean had stepped up behind me and gave a low, appreciative whistle. “No, sweetheart, those are way more than doodles. Damn, I’d have those framed when you get the house renovated.”
A part of me agreed. I could imagine walking down a hallway and seeing the illustrations preserved in frames, showcasing the vision that she had from the beginning.
Another part of me, a large part of me, wanted to strangle my brother for daring to call her sweetheart.
“That good, huh?” My father smirked, holding his hand out, while keeping the other around my mother. “Can I see it?”
“Oh, sure, of course,” Courtney mumbled as Sean grabbed up the book and took it over to my parents. “I also have some other doodles of what I want the outside to like too,” she said, her cheeks turning a bright shade of pink.
Megan perked up in her seat. “I’d love to see those. I don’t really remember the place, but I know he had a massive yard.”
“Oh, God, it’s huge! I have no idea what I’m going to do about the grass. It’s literally to my waist, but there are so many beautiful trees surrounding the property,” she said, digging in the bag for another sketch book.
“There is one in the back yard where I want to build a playhouse, or maybe a treehouse, for Ava.”
Before she could hand off the book, Megan had bounced out of her seat and squeezed herself between the two of us, taking the book and flipping it open to the first page and froze.
“Don’t you dare call this a doodle!” Megan gasped out.
“Courtney, this is beautiful.” Her finger slowly moved over the intricate drawings of flowers that were surrounded by a stone wall, cobbled pathway that lead up to the main house and around the back to another building that could have been a barn.
“Flowers are amazing, and the stone wall,” Megan murmured, “is that a well?”
“It is,” Courtney nodded, “or at least I hope it is. I was looking over the property details and it said that there was a well, but I’m not sure where it is.”
“Because of the grass?” I assumed.
“Yes. I need to find it and get it fixed up or at the very least covered, so I don’t have to worry about Ava falling in.”
“Dev! Come look,” Megan squealed. “Can you imagine doing something like this? It’s all so gorgeous.”
My brother dutifully obeyed and made his way behind Megan as she traced over the colored flowers with her finger.
“You know, I am in the landscaping business, so I do have the equipment needed to take care of the grass and such. I could come with you tomorrow while you take your pictures and get the yard cut.”
“I…” she looked from Devin to my mother and father, then locked her eyes on mine. “Really?”
I don’t know if she meant to question him or me, but I answered for Devin anyways. “Of course he can. In fact, why don’t we all go.”
She was already shaking her head in denial. “I couldn’t ask you…”
“Good thing you don’t have to ask then,” I said, interrupting her. “Like I said, dad and Sean are in construction so they can look at the house and give you some professional insight while Dev works on the yard.”
“I’m coming too,” Megan chimes in, “I want to know all about your plans for the inside! Just to let you know, I helped mom decorate the Inn, so I am a fabulous person to go shopping with or just to bounce ideas off of in case you need a sounding board.”
My mother stood up and carefully set Courtney’s sketch on the table. “Now, Megan, we can’t go jumping in and …”
“No, please!” Courtney gasped, “no, I’d love the help. I might have an idea about what I want but I’m a terrible shopper and I don’t know where to even begin in a store.”
She looked so embarrassed, her hands twisting the fingers of the other hand. I hated that Megan was sitting between us, but perhaps it was for the best as the only thing I wanted was to pick her up and put her in my lap.
“Well, looks like we got the day planned,” my dad stood up and wrapped his arm around my mother’s waist. “We will leave early in the morning to help Dev with the lawn equipment and tackle the grass first thing. You ladies can come later to give us some time to get it done.”
Courtney stood from her seat, chewing on her plump lower lip. “Oh, thank you, but I should probably go with you. I parked my trailer in the only available spot, so that will probably need to be moved. There’s really not a lot of space to work with up there.”
Sean moved towards the doorway, “don’t worry about it sweetheart. We’ve all got trucks, so one of us can move if it we have too.”
“Oh, of course, yeah, that makes sense.”
“Alright, boys, get going and get some rest,” my mother said, coming around and giving us all a kiss on the cheek. “Megan, are you going to stay the night here?”
“Yeah, I thought it would be easier to ride up with Courtney and Ava.” She looked at Courtney with a bright smile, “all girls!”
“I can swing by and pick up Sean in the morning since he’s on the way,” Devin offered, and Sean nodded.
“Then I’ll come by and pick dad up. Mom, you can ride with the girls when everyone is up and moving.”
After we made our plans for the morning, everyone headed their separate ways. Sean and Devin left, while my parents and sister moved to the back of the house where mom had private rooms for us when we stayed over at the Inn after she took care of the trolley and drinks.
I walked Courtney up the stairs to her room.
“I’m sorry about the door,” I mumbled quietly, not wanting to wake up Ava who was sleeping peacefully, like the earlier episode had never happened.
“No, don’t,” she paused just inside the room, her hand reaching out to touch my arm.
“I’m … I’m glad that you were here.” She licked her lips, and I felt my entire body tense at her innocent action, “if something had been wrong, it was nice to know that people were around to help. I’m grateful for you … even if I don’t know your name.”
I stepped closer, my hand sliding around her waist and lowered my head until I could place my forehead against hers. I couldn’t begin to describe how thrilled I was that she allowed the simple touch. She didn’t flinch or move away, but instead, she leaned into it, leaned into me.
God, please tell me that she feels this too. This connection.
“Thane,” I whispered, feeling the nails of her hand dig in then relax. “My name is Thane.”
I watched her eyes dilate, her full lips sighed my name, before she gives me the most beautiful smile I have ever seen. “Nope, I’m calling you Bear,” she laughed as she moved away.
For the first time in two years, since moving back to Once Again, I feel a weight lifted off my chest and a lightness took its place.
I smiled at her, “you can call me whatever you want, honey.”
“Pfft, spoken like a true bear.”
I tried to keep the chuckle quiet as I moved back towards the broken door. “I’m going to take the door with me,” I told her, “I don’t want it to fall over and startle either of you while sleeping. No one else is on this floor, so you two have privacy, alright.”
“Thank you, Thane.”
I stilled at her words; a rush of pleasure flooded my body with the sound of my name leaving her lips. I didn’t dare turn around, knowing if I did, I wouldn’t leave, so I simply nodded and forced my body to move through the doorway with the broken piece of wood in my hands.
I carefully laid the door in another room to be taken care of tomorrow and quickly headed for the exit.
“Be careful, son,” my father spoke up at the end of the hallway, casually leaning against the wall. “Something is broken there, and she may not be ready for your pursuit.”
“Jesus, am I that obvious?”
Dad chuckled as he walked up to me, putting a heavy hand on my shoulder and steered me out the door onto the wide porch. “You couldn’t take your eyes off her and if I’m not mistaken, you were ready to knock Sean’s teeth down his throat earlier.”
“He sure as hell didn’t get the memo,” I growled, digging into my pocket for my keys.
Dad clapped me hard on the back, “oh, I believe he did, which is why he kept at it.” He stood back as I got in the truck, “not that she noticed.”
He had my full attention. “What do you mean?”
“Son, I know I didn’t raise an idiot. You saw how she looked to you for assurance, for help. Like I said, something is broken and not just with her but also the little one. No one reacts like they did tonight without a terrible reason.” He huffs, running his hand down his face.
“If you pursue her, it has to be both of them, and you have to be all in. She moved here for a fresh start, and now she has to worry about getting the house turned into a home, she doesn’t need another obstacle. She will need a helping hand,” he said as he shut the door,
“decide which one you will be and if you’re not sure, then back off until you know.”
He tapped the door a few times in farewell, “see you tomorrow, son.”
I sat in silence, as I watched my father move up the stairs into the house. He was right. If I couldn’t give my all to her and Ava then I should step aside and let them get settled, find their rhythm here in Once Again.
But the mere thought that someone else could step in and be what they needed caused my stomach to clench in pain.
I sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly.
I was all in, hundred percent.