Chapter 3 #2
I’ve heard the term sun-kissed before, but up until this moment, I’m not sure I ever knew what it meant.
His brown skin sparkles even in the shade, flecks of gold winking at me as if the sun poured down from the sky and deemed him—and him alone—the recipient of all its beauty.
Smile lines crease at the corners of honey eyes framed by the thickest lashes I’ve ever seen.
I clench my fists in order to not reach out and trace them with my fingertips and bite my tongue to stop myself from asking about the stories behind every line on his gorgeous face.
Have I died and gone to heaven? Because for such a small town, Celestial sure does seem to have an abundance of fine-ass men. And to think, up until this very moment, the only luck I thought I had was the bad kind.
“I didn’t bring coffee, but I did bring gifts.” He holds up a glass bottle of milk and a canvas bag filled with what looks like a cornucopia of fruits and vegetables. “If you want a coffee, though, I’m sure I can make that happen.”
“I’m so sorry!” My face heats, but I can’t be sure if it’s from embarrassment, the rush of hot air as I opened the door, or, and let’s be honest here, lust. “I thought you were someone else.”
“Damn, and here I was hoping I’d be the first one showing up at your doorstep.” The deep timbre of his voice pulls my attention away from the fabric straining against his impressive arms and back to his even more impressive face. “Though, seeing you, it makes sense that I’m not.”
Oh…wow.
“The movers! I thought you were the movers,” I rush out, and the flush that covers my face this time is definitely not weather related. “You’re the first person to come by.”
His full lips curve into a kind, unassuming smile. If he notices how flustered he’s making me, he’s polite enough to pretend not to notice. It only makes me like him more.
“Lucky me, then.” He stretches out his empty hand and introduces himself. “I’m Silas Jacobs. Nice to meet you.”
Other than Nolan and Tate from last night, the only other name I know in Celestial is Patricia, the Realtor who helped me with my move. But for some reason the name triggers recognition in the recesses of my brain.
“Of course, Jacobs! My neighbor!” I shout the answer to a question that hasn’t been asked. “I’m Luna. It’s so nice to finally meet you. Patricia told me all about you.”
“Oh no.” A grimace chases away his smile. It makes me want to weep. “Patricia has a way with words. I hope she didn’t say anything too bad.”
“Not at all.” I tell him the god’s honest truth. “She was trying to sell me a house, so everything was quite complimentary.”
As soon as I told Patricia I was hoping to find a house out of the city and on a little bit of land, she started regaling me with tales about the family who owned the legendary Starlight Ridge Ranch that bordered what would become my very own slice of heaven.
She told me how the Jacobs family has been a staple of the Celestial community since their family first landed there in the late 1800s.
She regaled me about their history and how what began as a modest working farm exploded into the nearly ten-thousand-acre cattle ranch it is today, thanks to generations of determined and hardworking Jacobses.
She went on and on about the longhorn cattle that roam the land and the fresh produce from their gigantic garden that keeps the farmers market stocked.
She told me everything about Starlight Ridge Ranch, it seems, except for the fact that Silas Jacobs is hot. Really hot. Like a nineties-fine, stars-in-a-Janet-Jackson-video kind of hot.
And now he’s living next door.
Just like the start of every cowboy romance I’ve ever read.
“I was worried she might’ve filled you in on the wild tractor tales of my younger years.” Quiet laughter spurred on by the memories of stories I’m already desperate to hear falls from his mouth. “You never know the stories you’ll get around here.”
“I can’t tell you what she’s telling the people she’s not making a commission off of, but she gave me a glowing review.” I open the screen door a little wider. “Do you want to come in?”
I probably should have led with that, but it’s easy to forget things when a tall, dark, and handsome man with huge biceps and broad shoulders appears on your foot porch.
“You know what?” He glances at the very expensive-looking watch on his wrist. “I have a few minutes to spare, so sure. Why not?”
Before he steps inside, he pulls off his cowboy hat and holds it to his chest. It’s like he’s unwrapping a gift and each reveal is more wonderful than the one before.
His fresh fade is lined so sharp, it’s only outdone by the sharp cut of his jaw.
Once he’s inside, he toes off the well-loved cowboy boots it’s clear he wears out of necessity, not fashion.
There is something so familiar and comfortable about seeing this man standing in my living room in his socks.
His presence fills every single nook and cranny.
“Welcome to my humble abode.” The gentle hum of the air conditioner buzzes over the sound of my pulse in my ears. “I’d offer you a place to sit, but like I said, you beat the movers.”
“Wow.” He looks around the space with wide-eyed wonder. “The last time I was here, Mrs. Monroe had every inch of this place filled with tchotchkes and floral lace. It doesn’t even look like the same place.”
“I bet.” Patricia told me the former owners lived here for over fifty years.
If the amount of junk I acquired over the last two years is any indicator, I can only imagine all the things they packed in this house.
“It’s wild to see how what makes a home has less to do with the house itself than the people living in it. ”
It’s the reason I sold my house in Colorado. I knew I could keep it and not change a thing, but at the end of the day, without my mom or grandma there, it would never feel the same again. I’d rather live in a town of strangers than a house filled with ghosts.
“Truly.” He smirks and mischief swirls like whiskey in his hypnotic eyes. “Though I have a feeling the cats they had over the years will make it harder than not to forget about them.”
So that’s what that smell is!
“Patricia forgot to mention the cats when sending me information about the house.”
“I’m sure she did.” His raspy laughter winds through the room like tendrils of smoke. “This was a packed house. The Monroes had as many cats as they had dogs and kids.”
The veins in his arms pull my attention when he readjusts his grip on the bag he’s holding, and I remember my manners in my pitiful attempt not to stare.
“Let me take that.” I don’t wait for an answer, and my eyes go wide when I take it from him. Judging by how heavy it is, he must’ve given me enough to feed a family of four. “This is unbelievably thoughtful of you. I don’t know how I’m going to be able to go through it all.”
He avoids my gaze almost as if he’s embarrassed…which can’t be right.
“I may have gone a little overboard.” He shoves his hand in his pocket and shifts on his feet. “It’s just some produce from our garden and milk from our cows. And don’t worry, it’s pasteurized.”
“Thank you,” I say. “I’m excited to get in touch with the simple, natural things in life, but I’d prefer to skip the salmonella and listeria part. I haven’t made it to the grocery store yet, so it will be put to very good use.”
“Happy to hear it.” His warm smile turns shy. “We haven’t had a new neighbor around here in a while. My sister had to tell me what to bring to make a good impression. She’ll be happy to hear I listened to her…and happier that she was right.”
My cold, only-child heart warms hearing the obvious fondness in his voice when he mentions his sister. A man this gorgeous shouldn’t be allowed to be sweet too.
“This is the best first impression.” Although, he could’ve just shown up and smiled at me and I would’ve felt the same way. “Now I’ll have to figure out a way to return the favor. I don’t want to be all take and no give.”
“No.” He shakes his head, and a devilish glint lights his gorgeous eyes. “We wouldn’t want that.”
In a blink, I’m twelve again, running away after the cutest boy in school looked my way. I spin on bare feet and hurry to the kitchen, the blush I’m beginning to think might be a permanent fixture burning my face.
“I’m going to put these away,” I call over my shoulder, unable to look back as the sound of his heavy footsteps follow behind me. “I wish I could get you something, but I don’t even have cups to offer you a glass of water.”
I pull open the old white refrigerator NeNe Leakes would think was dreadful and busy myself with unloading the groceries he brought. I only get the milk in before strong hands take the bag from me and Silas takes over.
“No need,” he says, like he has no idea of the effect he has over me. “Meeting you was more than enough. I’m just glad to know you’re right next door.”
“If by ‘right next door,’ you mean miles away,” I try to joke, but it falls flat. It’s hard to land a punch line when you can barely speak.
“Practically nothing,” he says, and I don’t have to wonder if that lazy grin works on all the girls. I know it does. “So, what brought you to Celestial?”
The truth dances on the tip of my tongue, but I catch myself before I let it slip. Trauma dumping would be no way to thank him for his kindness.
“I was just ready for a change.” The palatable, socially acceptable answer is an easy lie.
“I lived in Denver my entire life, and as much as I loved it, I wanted to get out of the city. Try my luck at something new. I could never have afforded a house on this much land there, and even though I love an occasional snowstorm, I was tired of the snow.”
He visibly recoils at the word snow, and I bite back my smile, realizing that anything cold-related is probably akin to a curse word to these warm-blooded Texans.
“You had me at ‘snow.’ I hope you’re ready for the heat though. These summer months get a little…” He pauses, searching for the right word. “Intense.”
“So I’ve been told.” Gabby emailed me every single heat record in Celestial going back to 1987. “But I heard there’s a lake close by that sounds nice, and if it doesn’t do the trick, I figure I can always rely on air-conditioning to get me to the other side.”
“Sounding like a true Texan already,” he says, and for a reason I don’t understand, I bask in his easy acceptance. “Lucky for you, if the worst happens and something goes wrong with your AC, I have an in with the best handyman in town.”
“Oh really?” I bite back my laughter. Having an in with the local handyman feels about as small-town as you can get. “What’s the in?”
“He’s my brother. Sometimes that makes him harder to deal with though.”
The room swims as my mind runs rampant trying to imagine two Silas Jacobses wrecking havoc and breaking hearts throughout Celestial. “You have a brother?”
“Yeah.” He nods once before adding on what could very well be my ending. “Twin brother. And before you ask, no, we’re not identical.”
I was going to ask.
My mouth opens and shuts while my brain misfires as I try to comprehend what a trio of Jacobs siblings could look like.
Could they all be as hot as Silas? What if they’re hotter?
No! I cut off that line of thinking before I can even dream it.
That can’t be true. If that were the case, the town would have to issue a public service warning or something.
It definitely would’ve had to be disclosed in the paperwork before I closed on the house.
Warning: Hot neighbors abound. In rare cases, deaths related to unsatisfied horniness may occur.
Thankfully, before I can do something stupid like asking to see a family picture or requesting an invitation to their next family dinner, Silas’s phone buzzes.
He sighs as he reads whatever’s written on his phone before returning it to his back pocket. Lucky phone.
A rueful smile at odds with the hesitation in his eyes twists across his handsome face as he takes a step away from me. “Business calls.”
“I meant what I said earlier. You’ll have to come over once I’ve settled in a little bit.” I walk with him back to the front door, watching with abject fascination as he slips his well-worn boots back on. “Maybe I can make you dinner…use some of the goods you brought me.”
“I’d like that. My number is in the bag and you know where I live.” His eyes warm when he looks me over. My stomach twists into knots. “You’re more than welcome to stop by whenever you want. I’d love to get you on a horse and show you Starlight Ridge.”
“That’d be good.” It’s almost impossible to choke the understatement of the century out over the excitement clogging my throat.
“Can’t wait.” His gaze lingers on me for a moment longer, and the scorching air feels like a cool breeze compared to the intensity of it. It’s almost like he’s going to lean in at any—
Buzzzzzz
His phone sounds again, breaking the moment with startling effectiveness.
“Gotta go,” he says, and I don’t think I’m imagining the disappointment in his voice.
He puts his cowboy hat on and jogs down my wobbly front steps and uneven pathway to his red pickup truck that’s so big, it makes my poor Honda look like a toy car.
If I had even a little decorum or at least a modicum of self-respect, I’d close the door. I’d walk away and hope I’d have the chance to watch him another day.
But why wait for tomorrow when it’s happening today?
I lean against the rickety doorframe, ignoring the bite of splinters pushing into my bare shoulder. I watch intently, seeing the way his Levi’s tighten around his thighs as he climbs into his truck with the ease only someone over six feet tall could accomplish.
His engine rumbles to life, and just as I begin to straighten, disappointment that the show’s over weighing down my limbs, he rolls down his window and sends my mundane world into a tailspin.
“Welcome to Celestial, Luna.” His Southern drawl turns my name into a song, and I sway on my feet. “Try to take it easy on us, will you? I don’t know what it is, but I have a feeling you’re going to turn this town upside down.”
Then, not even giving me a chance to respond, he hits the gas and sends his tires spinning. He waves his hand out the window as kicked-up rocks and a cloud of dirt chase him down my driveway until he’s long gone…but his words remain.
If he knew anything about me, he’d know that I’ve never turned anything upside down in my entire life, and there’s no way he could be right.
Unless he is.
And while I try my hardest to never agree with a man, for Silas Jacobs? I might make an exception.
After all, I did come to Celestial for a fresh start, and maybe, just maybe, that means shaking things up a little bit.