On the morning of Valentine’s Day, Cole hustled to complete the ranch chores, along with Levi, Myles, Brant, Ryan’s hired stand-in, Blake, and the long-time hired hand, Hank, as well as Owen Lancaster, the newcomer. By the time the jobs were done, he still had an hour before Jackie was scheduled to arrive.
“Hey, you need help with that?” Cole asked Levi, hustling to lend a hand as his brother struggled to carry several long boards out of the riding stable to the ring. Apparently he wanted to get one more thing done before heading inside for breakfast. Or more likely he’d eaten before everyone, up well before dawn, as usual.
Owen came around the corner, saying, “I’ve got it.” He took the back end of Levi’s load before Cole could, instantly balancing the stack.
“Nah, I can step in,” Cole replied. “You’ve got to help Clara over at Derkson’s, don’t you?”
Owen hesitated, no doubt doing the mental math on how long it would take him to eat, then get over to the other ranch to help his auction winner for the day. He stumbled as Levi continued on with the load.
“I’ve got it,” Cole said, elbowing Owen out of the way and taking his end of the boards. “Jackie’s meeting me here. Plenty of time for me to help and still get breakfast. You go.”
“All right.”
“And remember, no hanky-panky.” He winked at Owen. At last night’s auction, the twenty-something man had been bid on by an older widow. It had been sweet how kind he’d been about spending Valentine’s Day with a woman nearing retirement. Owen had always been quiet, and he’d recently revealed a tender side that Cole figured the women of Sweetheart Creek would soon be swooning over.
“Funny,” Owen muttered.
“I still can’t believe Laura convinced you two to auction yourselves off like pieces of meat,” Levi said with a laugh.
“It was for charity—the library,” Cole said pointedly, as Owen jogged off toward his truck. The man lived on his family ranch, but for whatever reason no longer worked there.
“Drop ‘em here,” Levi said, as they reached a section of the ring’s wooden fence where a few boards were rotting. Several aging planks had been replaced already, the new wood not yet protected against the elements with a coat of stain. “You and Jackie can take care of this.”
“We’re actually slated to do something else,” Cole said carefully. When he’d first signed up for the auction, he’d floated the idea of himself and his winner helping around the ranch. Since Levi hadn’t seemed delighted by the prospect, he’d found another way for them to be helpful. Basically, taking the charity event and spreading the goodwill even further.
“Cleaning saddles for the riding program?” Levi suggested, an edge to his voice as if he expected Cole to skip out for the day. “Helping Mom with the garden? Changing the oil in the tractor? Fixing fences?”
“I’ll add those to my mental to-do list, but actually, we’re working on something in town this afternoon.”
“There’s plenty to do around here.”
“It’s not like you’d let me.”
“You own a fifth of this business.”
“And you let me lend a hand with about point-five percent of it.” Cole’s voice was rising and he caught himself.
“Because who knows how long you’re going to stick around.”
“You’d think that would give you license to work me all the harder.”
“I don’t want to depend on you and have you up and leave in the middle of the night.”
So him leaving without a goodbye was still bugging Levi. Noted.
“I left because y’all told me to.” Cole placed his hands on his hips, daring his brother to argue that point. “You had some mighty bright ideas on the things I ought to do, and made a point of letting me know anything I thought might help my ex-girlfriend wasn’t good enough. You didn’t want to hear any other plans than your own.” Levi had thought Cole should marry April, even though the baby wasn’t his and April didn’t want him any longer.
It had become clear to him that the only way to give April what she wanted—and needed—was to leave town.
Levi opened his mouth as if to shout at him, then clamped it shut, pinching the bridge of his nose. He was breathing like a bull preparing to charge.
Cole widened his stance, unsure what to expect. Levi was the bossy, know-it-all eldest, and not much of a fighter, but when he set his mind to something, that was it. No turning back. No changes.
“No, you’re right,” he finally said. “I had my own ideas on how you should resolve things and help April.” He lowered his hand and met Cole’s eye. “I’m sorry I didn’t listen.”
Cole exhaled, absorbing the apology in surprise. His anger faded, and his arms dropped to his sides.
Levi held out his hand, a spark of wariness in his eyes. Cole sighed and shook it, accepting the apology.
“Seriously, Levi. Make use of me around here.”
“Overwork you, and drive you away?” Levi scoffed, dusting his hands together as he started toward the house, back straight and head held high with the assurance that he was right. “We just got you back. I’m not driving you away again.”
“It wasn’t you,” Cole called after him. Fighting with Levi had been just one of the many pieces of straw that had sent this overburdened camel running.
“And if you ignore me, you’ll drive me away again,” Cole muttered quietly, following his brother. He had a feeling convincing Levi he could rely on him wasn’t going to be as simple as a handshake and an apology.
* * *
Wearing a pair of red, heart-shaped earrings to celebrate Valentine’s Day, Jackie turned down the gravel driveway to the Sweet Meadows Ranch. Nerves were battling excitement in the pit of her stomach and she muttered, “What am I getting myself into?” as she parked in front of the main house, her eyes scanning for Cole.
She was tempting herself. They had already agreed that the two of them were bad news, and suddenly she’d won spending today—Valentine’s Day!—with him. Not that the occasion meant much to either of them, but still…
Him. Her. The most romantic day of the year. Working elbow to elbow for hours.
And last night, after she’d won him in the auction? She could have baked a pound cake in the heat pouring off them as they’d stood there, trying to act like two reasonable adults who weren’t thinking about kissing each other.
Or maybe that had just been her.
Although Cole had had that smoldering look that seared her every time. The man was too hot for his own good.
She needed to have a word with Karen. Maybe even Daisy-Mae and Laura. Because as a proven matchmaker with a sizeable bag of tricks, she knew her friends had somehow rigged the auction.
Jackie parked her car and climbed out, promising herself she would not kiss Cole today.
Cole’s grandfather was sitting on the front porch swing as though waiting for her. “Hi, Carmichael,” she called cheerfully as she climbed the steps. A trio of dogs came around the corner of the patio, racing up to say hello. She bent to pet them all. Levi’s Australian shepard, Lupe, Maria’s new rescue, Bingo, and Myles’s black-lab-and-Rottweiler mix, Buckey. Brant, now living with April, had his dog Dodge there, along with their new puppy.
“So? You and Cole,” Carmichael stated, taking a sip of coffee.
“He’s fixing my bumper today.”
“Is that what the kids are calling it now?”
Jackie choked, and a twinkle appeared in the old man’s blue eyes. “Have you been talking with Daisy-Mae?” she asked, thinking of how that same joke had played well at the auction last night.
“Most of those parts are plastic these days.”
“I’m pretty sure all of Daisy-Mae is still what God gave her.”
“I was talking about your car. You got a new bumper?” He eyed her vehicle as though judging whether she’d crammed the large replacement part inside the little sportster.
“No.”
“Well, maybe the wrecker’s open.” He set the swing moving with a push from his scuffed cowboy boots. “There used to be a kid zipping around these parts. Same car. Same color, too. With any kind of luck he ran into issues with it, and it’s sitting there waitin’ for you with a good front end.”
“That would be nice,” Jackie admitted, moving toward the door. “Is Cole inside?”
“I reckon he’s here somewhere.” Carmichael was silent for a beat. “You know, if anyone can reach that boy, it would be a sweetheart like you.”
Jackie backtracked from the door. “Sorry?”
The seventy-nine-year-old gave her a look, bushy white eyebrows raised. “Maybe there’s a reason the two of you have been dragging your heels.”
“Dragging our heels?”
“You’ll be good for him. He needs some healing from a good woman.” He peered at her with those startling clear blue Wylder eyes. “And you could use some healing, too, I reckon.”
“Um, but we’re not—”
“Don’t look so surprised. Everyone thinks the world of you, JackieLynn. And Cole isn’t half as bad as the rumors say.”
“I know.” She blinked back unexpected tears that had dampened her eyes at hearing her full name. There was something endearing in the old man’s tone, and a sense of loss hit her hard. Her father used to call her JackieLynn when she needed encouraging. He’d bolster her with a few quick words, and had always possessed a sixth sense about when she needed them.
But these days she felt lucky if he recalled who she was when she visited. Every day she was thankful he hadn’t turned aggressive with his Alzheimer’s, as she was certain she’d be unable to bear it if he did. And even though it could be worse, it still wasn’t easy.
“If I was the hugging type, I’d give you one,” Carmichael muttered gruffly. His chin tipped upward, a display of stubbornness as he gazed out over the yard’s expanse of dry grass.
“And if I was the type to take sympathy, I would accept it,” she said, dishing it back.
Carmichael let out a grunt, the corners of his mouth twitching as though fighting a smile. She opened the front door, expecting it to stick despite Levi having repaired it several months ago.
“Get in there, and give that man a run for his money,” Carmichael called after her.
That’s what she was hoping to not do today.
She wiped her boots on the front mat and called out, “Knock, knock! Anybody home?”
“In here,” Cole’s mother called.
Jackie followed her voice to the kitchen, where Maria was at the counter, rolling out dough. The room smelled like pancakes and some delicious Italian dish like lasagna or spaghetti. The patio door near the large dining table opened and Cole entered, his cheeks rosy from the cool morning. He stomped his boots on the mat as though expecting mud to fall from them, then closed the door, his gaze on Jackie.
“Good morning. Need a coffee?” he asked, his voice rich and warm. He moved past her to the coffeepot after saying hello to his mom.
“We have a bumper to fix,” Jackie said, checking the cow-shaped clock on the wall. “We’re not going to sit here and sip coffee all morning until it’s time to work on your to-do list.”
“Taskmaster,” Maria said with an approving laugh.
Cole shot them each a look.
“I like it,” Maria said to Jackie. She jerked her chin in Cole’s direction. “This one isn’t like Ryan when it comes to skirting chores, but you may still want to keep an eye on him.”
He threw his arms in the air as though indignant. “Hey! I’ve shown I’m someone to count on, have I not? I’ve been doing chores every morning since Christmas and helping Levi out as much as he’ll allow.”
“I thought he was eager for help from all the brothers?” Jackie said, accepting the cup of coffee Cole had poured for her. “At least Ryan sure complains about it a lot.”
Cole, jaw set, filled his own cup. “He seems to believe I’m going to run off and leave him high and dry.”
“You’ve still got that hint of a wild side,” Maria said gently.
Cole set down his coffee and crossed his arms, then leaned against the counter facing his mom. “Have you seen it since I’ve come home?”
There was an edge in his voice, and Jackie watched the exchange over the rim of her cup.
“No, you’re right,” Maria said carefully, her fingers slowing as she formed a pie crust. She studied her son for a long moment, and Jackie sensed her concern. “You’ve changed. Five years is a long time.”
“I’m sorry they slipped away,” Cole said, his voice low with regret.
“Don’t worry, Maria, I’ll bring back Cole’s fun side,” Jackie said with a wink. “We’ve all missed it.”
“I’m trying to turn over a new leaf,” Cole growled. “I don’t need an enabler. I’m not that guy any longer.”
“Don’t take yourself so seriously,” Jackie teased. She was fairly certain that any new leaf Cole might turn over wouldn’t have her on the other side. And that would be a good thing. “I’m not suggesting anything bad.”
“I don’t want you getting into trouble or starting rumors,” Maria said, her moves brisk and efficient again as she finished with the crust and started adding sliced apples to her pie. “I just want to see you have some fun. You’ve barely smiled since you came home.”
Cole gave an exaggerated grin that bordered on grotesque.
“A real smile.” Maria’s gaze bored into him. She looked as though she wanted to hug him and fix all his problems. “A mother wants to see her son happy.”
“I’m working on it, Mom.”
Cole and Maria locked gazes, silently communicating in a way that Jackie and her father used to. She focused on her cup, swirling the coffee around, waiting for their private moment to pass.
“Well,” Maria said, a moment later, “I’m glad Jackie’s here for the day. She’ll help brighten you up.”
Jackie’s eyes met Cole’s once again, a current passing between them, and causing her to look away.
* * *
“You doing all right?” Cole asked Jackie, after she parked her car in the equipment shed out near the barns. She was cute, wearing small heart earrings, jeans, boots and a teal top under a spring jacket. She looked beautiful, but also ready to work.
“I’m fine,” she said, her tone light, an obvious lie.
“You seem quiet.”
“Just thinking.”
“About how you’re supposed to cheer me up and fix me?”
“Ha.” The furrow between her eyes deepened.
“My mom means well.”
“I know.”
Cole focused on studying Jackie’s bumper, the idea that something was bugging her growing rather than waning. He didn’t think it was just about his mother’s hopes that Jackie be bubbly and fun, and somehow fix him.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked casually, as they squatted beside each other and started picking at the duct tape holding the bumper in place. He got his fingernail under an edge and pulled off a long strip, leaving a trail of gooey residue behind.
“You know. The usual,” she chirped.
“And what’s that?”
She gave him a wry look as though he should know the answer. “How to achieve world peace, of course.”
He elbowed her and snorted in disbelief. She tumbled over, landing on the dirt floor. “Really? Was that necessary?”
“Entirely. You were lying to me.” He dropped a knee to the ground to brace himself and took her hand, surprisingly warm and soft in the unheated building, pulling her upright as he stood. She straightened, dusting off the seat of her jeans.
“Need a hand with that?” he asked, tracking her movements.
“There’s the Cole your mother missed. Can’t think why she’d want him back.” Jackie gave him a playful shove like she had when they were teens. He balanced himself with a quick shuffle. He liked it when she put her hands on him, and wondered if the push had been an invitation for him to reciprocate.
He returned his focus to her bumper, bending over rather than squatting. A few minutes later, he asked, “So what were you really thinking about?”
“I missed the memo that we’re sharing our deepest thoughts and feelings with each other now,” she retorted lightly.
“Why wouldn’t we?” While his mom had been giving him a tough time there’d been a moment when Jackie seemed lost and sad. It was another small piece of the puzzle he was working on. Jackie was more than the well-known, larger-than-life-itself woman with the perennial smile, who’d never be knocked down by anything.
She faced him, hands on her hips, a satisfied smirk in place. “Great. Then tell me about this ‘new leaf’ business?”
Internally, Cole cringed. He supposed he had it coming, but that didn’t mean he wanted to talk about it. There was too much left to sort out, too much shame over how everyone viewed him for his absence. He’d let many people down and built a reputation he didn’t want to stand behind.
“I’d like people to see me differently than they currently do,” he admitted when she stayed stubbornly quiet, waiting him out.
“Why?” Her surprise was clear.
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“So you don’t want people to think you’re a fun-loving man?”
“Trouble.” That’s what they thought of his fun side. Someone whose fun had hurtful consequences, and that he didn’t care.
“Or that you get things done, as promised?”
“And left my family holding the bag with the ranch? Or that I might be the father of Kurt?”
“Are you?”
“No.”
“How about this image of you?” She twisted her lips playfully—pure Jackie—and he braced himself against the blow to his resolve not to kiss her again. “You don’t want people thinking you’re strong and handsome?”
“You think I’m handsome?” He waggled his eyebrows.
“You’re missing the point.”
“And you’re missing the big picture. What kind of man has a whole town wondering if a four-year-old boy is his son?”
“Everyone knows Kurt isn’t yours.”
“He looks enough like a Wylder that people think he could be mine. And the way I left, folks think I ran out on April.”
“Not everyone.”
“And those people think I’ve come home to reclaim her.” She’d eloped with Brant to prove to the world it wasn’t going to happen. How crazy was that? Cole knew there were other reasons for the elopement, but he was certain that one had been pretty high on the list.
Jackie’s eyes were dark, her expression serious as she asked, “And did you?”
“No,” he said sharply. “You were there. You know Clint called me because my mom wanted me home.”
“She does.” Jackie’s eyes softened. “We all do.”
“My brothers sure have a weird way of showing it.”
“They’re afraid you’re going to leave again.”
“Well, if they keep shutting me out of the decisions about the ranch, I just might.”
“So prove you plan to stay.”
“How am I going to do that?”
“Buy a house? Marry a gal, or get serious with someone long enough that they’ll think you’re staying? Get them to relax, and voilà! It’ll happen.”
“Manipulate them?”
“Earn their trust.”
He tore another strip of tape off the bumper, crushing it into a tight ball and tossing it at the tractor across the building. He stood and drew a deep breath. Winning back his brothers would be easier than rebuilding his relationship with his father.
Cole hadn’t gone to his dad and Sophia’s place the day after Christmas with his brothers, instead remaining home with their mom. His father hadn’t reached out to him, and so far, Cole hadn’t either. Roy had said some unforgivable things to him the night before he’d left. It had been a rough night. He’d then gotten in a fight with April, then with Levi. Then Brant.
There was a lot of trust to rebuild, a lot of forgiveness to spread around, and he was realizing time hadn’t been his helpful friend in the ways he’d hoped.
“I think you’re being too hard on yourself,” Jackie said. “We all love you for who you’ve always been.”
“Do you?” He turned to her, his anger with himself flaring. “Because maybe you should love someone better. What kind of son leaves his family and doesn’t contact them for almost five years?”
He stalked over to the tractor, picked up the ball of tape and dropped it into a nearby trash barrel. He kept his back to Jackie, trying to move past his self-loathing.
“A man who believes he’s doing the right thing,” Jackie said, placing a hand on his arm. He hadn’t heard her approach, with the dirt floor dampening the sound. “I know April asked you for some time and space to figure things out. Only a big man would’ve had the courage to step away from everything he’d ever known—his family, his legacy, his community and friends—to do that for someone he was no longer involved with. A man with a lot of love in his heart.”
Cole felt the tension in his shoulders unravel before cranking up again. “She wasn’t the only one who asked me to leave.”
“Heath did?”
Cole shook his head. It hadn’t been April’s boyfriend, the father of her unborn son who’d asked him to leave.
“My family.”
He closed his eyes, bracing himself. He hadn’t admitted that to anyone. It was something he hadn’t wanted to say out loud. It hurt too much. His father had said some truly awful things about his character, and that had hurt more than anything his brothers or April could ever say to him, or had. And it sure didn’t help that his dad was acting as though Cole hadn’t returned to town, to the ranch.
Jackie’s jaw slackened. “I thought April…”
“I disappointed everyone,” he said. “Let’s leave it at that.”
“Disappointed? Why?” Jackie asked. Her indignation took him off guard.
“For ruining April’s life.”
“And how did you do that?” She was rivaling his mother with her demanding tone. Clearly Jackie felt she could straighten him out. She might think differently if she had the full story.
“For breaking up with her,” he said, watching for a reaction.
“You two were always breaking up.”
“That time it was final.”
“Because you were a poor match! It was just small-town proximity and convenience shoving you two back together again. Do you know how many people around here have gotten married because they couldn’t find anyone better suited? Because they didn’t have the patience to stay alone and wait for someone new to come to town?”
“Is that why you’re single? You’re patient?”
“We’re talking about you, not me. But yes. I’m not settling for anything less than love. But you—” She poked him in the chest. “Breaking up with April was what she wanted.”
“I know.” He caught Jackie’s finger so she wouldn’t jab him again. “But my family felt I should’ve tried harder to make her happy. Held on to her. Given her a good life.” He waited for Jackie’s reaction to reveal what she believed.
“Yeah, and how did that obligation and effort work out for your parents? As I recall, they’re divorced?”
Cole swallowed his surprise at Jackie’s blunt, well-made point.
He lifted his hat and dragged a hand through his hair. “Well…”
Honestly, he’d been shocked when Brant had called him to say their parents had separated. And yet, somehow, he hadn’t been surprised when his father moved on with Sophia a few months later. In retrospect, his folks had been more like partners than a couple. And sometimes you needed more than a partner.
And if you were April, you needed to throw yourself into something completely different in order to escape a man who had an unhealthy gravitational pull on you. Such as himself.
“April hooked up with Heath to make sure she didn’t come back to me again,” he said, hating that she’d felt the need to do so. Hating the judgment he would surely see in Jackie’s steady gaze.
But when he looked, it wasn’t there. Just fiery determination.
“It’s called a rebound relationship.”
“She got pregnant.” He let out a shaky breath, remembering the night she’d told him. He’d felt as though he’d failed her somehow.
“So you’re responsible for her proper use of birth control?”
Cole huffed impatiently. “You don’t understand. She needed me to leave town so she could put her head on straight about what to do. What kind of man muddles up someone’s brain and life like that?”
“She loved you. Like you love her.”
“Loved.”
Jackie blinked.
“Past tense. We’re over each other.”
Jackie licked her lips, then said, “What I’m saying is that she grew up with you. She didn’t know anything other than Cole Wylder. Of course it was scary letting go. You were part of her family—her only family. Her life was your life, and what if your family took sides, and it wasn’t hers?”
“She has parents.”
“Yeah, but this ranch…” Jackie grew quiet, that sorrowful look in her gaze again.
“I appreciate you trying to make me feel better, but I do damage.”
“So does she.”
Cole blinked. “Don’t speak ill of her just to make me feel better.”
“Oh, shush,” Jackie snapped, her eyes flashing. “It takes two and you know it. You and April are like bleach and ammonia. You’re fine on your own, but when you’re together too long, you make a toxic gas that kills people. How many lives did you destroy in your years away?”
When he didn’t answer, she stated, “None.” She did so with surprising authority, and all he could do was nod. He hadn’t let anyone close to him, that’s why.
But the way Jackie described what it had been like with April felt true. They were strong and capable on their own, but somehow when they were together everything went wrong.
Still, if he’d been a better man, he could have prevented sending her life off the rails like that.
“Together, y’all were just never quite right. Why do you think you were always breaking up? It was unreasonable of your family to expect you to be together forever. I certainly wasn’t expected to stay with my first boyfriend. Or even my second. Or third.”
Cole crossed his arms, leaning against the tractor, studying Jackie.
“Well?” she asked, her tone imperious.
“You’re wrong.”
She gave a long, exaggerated sigh. “So you’re going to carry this around forever?”
He tried glowering at her.
“Fine, go ahead and give me that I-was-a-properly-raised-Texan-and-can-fix-and-prevent-everything excuse. You may have been raised right, but you’re still human, and so is April. In fact, she was raised pretty much by the same people you were, so you can take your excuse and eat it.”
Cole let out a snort of laughter, appreciating Jackie’s feisty efforts on his behalf. The way she believed in him almost made him want to believe, too.
Without thinking, he closed the space between them, his cowboy boots bracketing hers as he pulled her in for a long-overdue kiss that sent searing heat all the way down to his toes.
* * *
Jackie rocked back on her heels as Cole broke the kiss. She looked at him for a long moment before throwing herself back into his arms, letting her lips do all the talking.
When they came up for air again, they stared at each other for another half beat before diving in for more. Jackie stumbled backward, propping herself against the tractor for support. Cole’s body was pressed tight to hers and she snaked a leg around his hip, their kisses desperate. There was a need that thrummed and grew between them. A hole that could only be filled by the other.
Their lips were bruised, their breathing unsteady when they finally broke apart.
“We seem to be kissing again,” Jackie gasped.
Cole watched her, his clear, bright eyes moving over her face as though he was wondering what to do next.
She had ideas.
She pulled his face toward hers, giving him a tender, sweet kiss.
The earlier desperation had waned, and the moment felt quiet, poignant. Something was changing between them, and Jackie wasn’t sure what it was. It was scary and left her feeling vulnerable.
“You weren’t just saying all of that to get me to kiss you, were you?” His tone was light, but a muscle in his jaw flexed, proving how serious his question was.
She placed her hands on his cheeks, trying to steady herself. “You’ve made sacrifices most men couldn’t, or wouldn’t. And I know you carry the burden of it.”
He shook his head, as though not wanting her words to be true.
“There’s no way you could have found the right path out of the situation with April, because there wasn’t one.”
“No. I could have found a gentle way to—”
Jackie covered his mouth with a finger, receiving an irritated look. “You have a lot of love,” she whispered. “You have a strong desire to do right by the people you love.” She tapped his chest above his heart. “I know you’re not wild and flighty.” She felt emotion welling inside her as she thought about all that Cole had sacrificed, the judgment he’d faced, both from himself and his family over trying to do the right thing.
They were quiet for a moment, and she smoothed a hand over the front of his jacket.
“You didn’t leave because you didn’t care.” She pressed her hand into his chest. “You left because you did care.”
Cole closed his eyes and lowered his forehead to rest against hers. When he opened them again, they seemed a paler shade of blue. “I want to believe you. You know how dangerous that is?”
“Then believe.”
“Why do you know everything?”
“I don’t.”
“You seem to.”
“I’m pretty good at sifting through the gossip, filling in gaps and figuring out the truth. There’s not a lot of fun in a story about an honorable man leaving town. Those giggling geese prefer a tale about betrayal and shame. That’s much more interesting than what really happened.”
“And that is exactly why I’m trying to rebuild my reputation.” He had straightened again, fire and determination returning to his eyes, strengthening the line of his jaw. “I hate that people think that of me.”
“So how are you going to rebuild things?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“Yes, you do.”
He relented. “I had plans. Show the town and my family I’m here to stay, that I’m calmer now and someone to rely on.” He let out a soft, derisive huff. “But it only took me a week to get into a fight.”
“The one with Heath on New Year’s Eve? That wasn’t a fight. You threw no punches. That was you standing up for your brother, and for April. Two people you care about, because you’re an honorable, kind man. And it was pretty darn sexy, FYI.” She dragged a finger down his shirt. It felt like every defense she made to try to convince him not to beat himself up was an argument on why she should love this man.
He grasped her finger, his breathing shaky. “Don’t.”
She met his burning gaze with one of her own. “Your grandfather thinks we can help each other,” she whispered.
“How?”
“I’m not sure yet, but I’m pretty certain we’ll know by the end of the day.”