Ride Like You've Never Fallen (Summer Lake Book 11)

by SJ McCoy

  Lily was so thrilled she couldn’t sit still while they sat in Austin’s office to write up the offer. He smiled at her. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m more than okay! I just want you to hurry up and draw up all the paperwork, so it’s ours before anyone else jumps on it.”

  Nate laughed. “Don’t worry, Lil. It’s ours.”

  “She’s right that we need to be quick about it,” said Austin. “I wasn’t joking that there’s not much still available. There was an offer in on this place, but it fell through. That’s the only reason it’s on the market. All the other waterfront units sold straight away.”

  Nate nodded. There had been more demand than they’d anticipated for everything about Four Mile. The lots and houses were selling fast. The plaza had a waitlist of retailers hoping to rent space. The lodge was booked solid for the limited availability it had released for the winter months.

  Austin smiled at him. “I know Phoenix is renowned for building developments that meet a community’s needs perfectly, but I’d say you guys underestimated demand on this one.”

  Lily looked at Nate, and he nodded. “I’d have to say you’re right, and it’s a shame.”

  “Maybe you guys should come up with a phase two,” said Austin. “I know I can sell whatever you build.”

  Lily watched Nate’s face. It seemed he liked the idea, but he merely nodded. “Yeah. All that matters today is getting this offer in and making that house ours. The rest can wait.”

  Austin smiled and turned back to his computer. “I hear you. You’re getting one of the very best houses and the best deal going. Let’s get you locked in.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Once they were finished with Austin, they drove back into town. “Do you want to get some lunch at the Boathouse?” asked Nate.

  “Sure. I’m starving.”

  Ben greeted them with a smile. “Hey, you two, how are things?”

  “Couldn’t be better,” said Nate with a grin. He looked at Lily. Would she want to tell Ben about the house? She smiled back and gave him the slightest nod.

  “It looks like you’ve got some news to share? What have the two of you been up to?”

  “Buying a house!”

  “Wow! Congratulations. What house?”

  “Over at Four Mile,” said Lily. “The last one down on the water.”

  “That place is gorgeous,” said Ben. “That’s awesome. I wondered who was going to buy it. I almost thought about it myself.”

  Nate raised an eyebrow. “I thought you had to be here on site?”

  Ben shrugged. “So did I, but you know what? I really don’t. I think I’ve earned myself the right to go home from work at the end of the day and forget about this place.”

  Nate nodded vigorously. “You sure as hell have, but everyone’s been telling you that for as long as I’ve known you and it never made any difference before. What changed?”

  Ben brought both hands up and rubbed them over his face. “I don’t know. I feel as though everything’s changing lately and it’s time for me to roll with it.”

  Lily gave him an odd look. Nate thought she’d be happier for him than that. If Ben was finally going to loosen up on his workaholic ways, then Nate was more than happy for him.

  “Come on,” Ben picked up a couple of menus and led them out onto the deck. “I’m guessing you’re here for lunch and not just to catch up with me.”

  Once they were seated, Lily watched Ben return to the servers’ station. Her eyes narrowed when she saw Angel go over to him and put a hand on his arm. The two of them talked for a moment and then Ben smiled as he watched her walk away again. Lily turned to Nate. “Do you think she’s the reason things are changing for Ben?”

  Nate shrugged. He knew it was a touchy subject. All the girls seemed to think that Ben was spoken for already—by Charlotte. But as far as Nate was concerned, Ben was free to do whatever would make him happy. He knew more of Ben’s pain and heartbreak than most of the girls did; he was sure of that after the number of nights the two of them had sat up drinking whiskey. It’d surprise him if another woman—no matter how hot she might be—was enough to make Ben finally give up on Charlotte, especially when it seemed that the two of them might finally get to be together. But it was Ben’s choice. Nate wanted to see him find his happiness—with whoever was going to make him happiest. “I don’t know, Lil. But if she is, we need to be happy for him.”

  Lily nodded. “I will be. I just wish it was Charlotte.”

  “Charlotte was his past; it seems he and everyone else always believed that she’d be his future, too. But maybe she won’t.” Nate shrugged. “I and everyone else used to believe that my future was going to be a certain way, too. I was wrong. I met you, and everything changed. I’m happier than I’ve ever been because of you, Lil. I can’t help wondering if maybe it’s the same for Ben. Maybe he met that girl and something clicked like it did for us?”

  Lily stared at him for a long moment. “I never thought about it like that.”

  “I know, but I can’t help thinking about it like that.”

  Lily nodded slowly. “I guess I just have to keep an open mind then.”

  “I think we all should.”

  “Anyway, enough about Ben. I want to talk about us. We just bought a house, Mr. Evans!”

  Nate grinned. “We did.” He was very tempted to call her Mrs. Evans, just to see how she might react, but that was maybe a step too far, for now. He groaned when he saw Pete and Holly come out onto the deck. “I don’t mind telling them about the house, but I don’t want to get stuck talking about work with Pete. We only get the weekends because of him, I don’t want him hogging our time.”

  Lily looked so pleased at that Nate decided he wouldn’t even mention the house. He’d just make it clear that they were having a private lunch and Pete could leave them alone.

  “S’up, you two?” Pete smiled when he and Holly reached the table.

  “Hey, Pete. Holly.” Nate smiled at them.

  Holly seemed to get the picture straight away. “It’s good to see you both,” she said with a smile. “We’re here for a quiet lunch, aren’t we, Pete?” She took hold of his arm and started to lead him away.

  Pete frowned. “But we …”

  Holly tugged on his arm. “Maybe you could learn a thing or two from Nate about how to take your lady out for a romantic lunch—alone!”

  Nate chuckled at the way Pete’s eyebrows came down. “I thought I was doing a good job at being romantic lately? I …”

  Holly smiled as she led him away. “You are. I just don’t want you blowing it now.” She looked back over her shoulder and rolled her eyes at Nate and Lily.

  They laughed as they watched them go. “Pete hasn’t changed since we were all kids,” said Lily.

  “Yeah. He is the way he is. He gets things done, though.”

  Lily nodded. “As far as I’m concerned, he can get as much done as he likes Monday to Friday. But when it comes to the weekend, he can’t have you. He gets five days of your time. He’s not muscling in on the only two days I get.”

  Nate reached across the table and squeezed her hand. He felt the same way. He was hoping that maybe soon, he’d get to spend more than just the weekends here with her. Pete had agreed to let Todd take on more responsibility in Seattle, but he wasn’t convinced about letting him take the lead. Nate hoped that as Todd proved himself, Pete would understand that Nate was more useful splitting his time between the lake and Seattle. He hadn’t mentioned it to Lily yet. He didn’t want to get her hopes up and then let her down. “We can ignore him. The weekend is ours.”

  Lily smiled. “It is. And that house is going to be ours, too, Nate! I’m so excited!”

  ~ ~ ~

  The house purchase went through smoothly and much quicker than they’d even hoped. Lily wanted to get moved in just as soon as they could. It wasn’t as though either of them had a whole load of things to move. Nate had spent most of his life as a nomad, it seemed. He traveled light. Th
e house he lived in was a furnished rental, so there was no furniture to move, just a few personal belongings and his clothes. She was the same. When she’d lived in LA with Martin, they had acquired a huge amount of stuff in a short time. When they’d broken up, Lily had determined that she didn’t like to clutter her life or her home with belongings and had pared down to the bare necessities. She was in the same boat as Nate. She had no furniture, very few belongings, and not many clothes. It’d take her barely more than one truckload, and she’d be done.

  She finished making the rounds in the barn, taking care of the evening feeds. She’d go back into the camper and take her shower soon. It felt empty in there. What few belongings she had were all packed up and ready to go. She hated having to wait for the weekend for Nate to be back. He’d told her she could go ahead and move in while he was away if she wanted. But that didn’t seem right. She wanted them to move in together. The last few weeks had fallen into a routine that she wasn’t too fond of. They spent their weekends together doing fun things, to make up for the fact that they didn’t see each other all week. Fun was all well and good; it was, well, fun. But it didn’t leave room for anything real. She wanted them to work together to move their things into the house. They’d bought it partly furnished, so they wouldn’t be sitting on boxes or sleeping on the floor, but there were still lots of things they needed to buy. She wasn’t much of a shopper, but she was looking forward to going with Nate and picking out the furniture that would become a part of their home. Even if it did mean they’d have to use up most of their weekend at the mall.

  She looked up at the sound of a car pulling up in the parking lot. She wasn’t expecting anyone out here this evening. The lessons were done for the day. Maybe Alison had forgotten something?

  She was surprised to see Ben’s new friend, Angel, getting out of an old station wagon and looking around. For a moment, Lily considered hiding. She didn’t want to get to know this woman. It felt disloyal to Charlotte somehow, but then she remembered what Nate had said about Ben maybe finding his happiness in a way no one expected him to do. She straightened up and made her way out of the barn.

  “Hi, can I help you?”

  Angel smiled. “Hi, you’re Lily, aren’t you?”

  Lily nodded.

  Angel came forward and offered her hand. “I’m Angel Devine; we met at the party up at the plaza a few weeks ago.”

  Lily shook her hand, wondering as she did what kind of parents would name their daughter Angel with a surname like that. She smiled, realizing that she hadn’t yet replied and didn’t know what to say. “Can I help you?” she asked again.

  “I hope so. I’d like to start taking riding lessons.”

  Lily nodded. “Let me get you Alison’s card. I know she has some room in her schedule at the moment.”

  “Oh. I was hoping you might teach me? Ben said you give lessons yourself.”

  Lily held her gaze for a moment. She didn’t want to spend time with Angel. She had a feeling she would like her—she seemed nice. And then they’d get to being friends, and that just wasn’t right. “I’m kind of busy at the moment.”

  “Ben said you just bought the house down by the water at Four Mile.” Angel smiled. “It’s a gorgeous house. I envy you. And it means we’ll kind of be neighbors out there since I’m going to be managing the lodge.”

  “You are?” Lily had assumed that Angel must’ve gotten the job since she was still here, but the lodge wasn’t even open yet.

  “Yes, I’m so excited about it. I’ve been busy getting everything ready. We open in a couple of weeks.”

  Lily nodded.

  “So, what do you think? Will you teach me to ride? I’m not a total beginner, I did ride as a kid, but I’m sure I’ll have forgotten everything I knew.”

  Lily nodded. There was no point in refusing. It looked as though she wasn’t going to be able to avoid Angel anyway. “Let me check the book.” She led Angel into the office where she kept the big diary with all her appointments.

  “Can I ask you something?”

  Lily wondered what was coming. “Mmm,” she didn’t even want to commit to having to answer.

  “I feel as though everyone has taken an instant dislike to me, and I have no idea why.”

  Lily looked up.

  Angel looked genuinely upset. “I feel as though I’m some kind of social leper, and I don’t know what I could have done to cause it.”

  Lily smiled. “You haven’t done a thing. It’s a small town; that’s all. It can take us a while to warm to new people.”

  Angel nodded, but she didn’t look convinced. “It feels as though everyone is so friendly around here—except when it comes to me.”

  Lily felt bad. It was a very welcoming town. The reception Angel was receiving was the exception, not the norm. She nodded slowly. “It’s nothing personal.”

  “Is it because I’m not Charlotte?”

  That took Lily by surprise. Ben must have told her about Charlotte and about his past.

  She nodded reluctantly. “Probably.”

  “I thought it must be. Ben and I aren’t together, you know.”

  Lily raised an eyebrow.

  Angel sighed. “I’m not going to deny I’d like us to be. He is the most wonderful, caring, compassionate man I have ever met. He’s been so good to me. I … I’ve been through a lot the last couple of years. He’s been helping me. He’s been through a lot, too, and I’d like to help him.”

  “How?”

  Angel shrugged, “Help him get over his past and make a new future.”

  “With you?”

  Angel shrugged again. “A girl can dream, right?”

  “You can, but I think it’s only a dream. Ben’s waited for Charlotte his whole life. They’re almost at the point they can get back together.”

  “They could have gotten back together any time she chose. Maybe she’s left it too long?”

  Lily stared at her for a long time. Charlotte was her friend. She shouldn’t be talking to Angel about her, but she couldn’t help thinking that maybe Angel had a point. “That’s for Ben to decide.”

  Angel nodded. “It is. And I’m sorry I’ve been so forthright. It’s just been driving me nuts. I came to this place believing that it’s a wonderful, friendly little town, and yet all I’ve gotten is the cold shoulder. I’ve met a wonderful man who I think likes me, but it seems his past and his friends aren’t allowing him to move on.”

  “No, that’s not fair. None of his friends would ever hold him back. We all want to see him happy.”

  “But only on your terms? Only if it’s with Charlotte?”

  Lily remembered what Nate had said—that maybe Ben had met Angel and things had just clicked like they had for the two of them. She blew out a sigh. “It’s hard to imagine him not getting together with her, but if you or someone else are going to make him happy, then we’ll all be right behind you.”

  “You will?”

  “We will.”

  The way Angel smiled made Lily feel uncomfortable, but she was probably just being too suspicious. She needed to relax and be open to the possibility that this was Ben’s future girlfriend. She opened the book. “So, when would you like to start your lessons?”

  Lily was relieved to get back to the camper and put her feet up. Her chat with Angel had left her confused. Was it her place, or anyone else’s to think they knew who Ben should be with? It was up to him and him alone. No one would have put her and Nate together not so long ago. Even she had thought that it was a bad idea. She smiled. She knew now that it was the best idea in the world. She picked up her phone. She tried not to call him first most evenings. She knew he worked hard and long hours, so she tried to wait for him to call her, but tonight she needed to hear his voice.

  “Hey, Lily-Bean.”

  She smiled, it was a dumb nickname, but she loved it. “Hi.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah. Just missing you.”

  “I miss you, too, baby. I’ll be h
ome tomorrow night, and this weekend we get to start making our home together.”

  “Our forever home.” She still loved the sound of that.

  “It will be. Have you had a good day?”

  “Yeah. I had a visit from Angel just now.”

  “And?”

  “And I don’t know, Nate. Maybe you’re right, maybe she’s the one for him.”

  “Maybe. He’s gone a long time without Charlotte. Maybe he got used to that fact she’s not in his life and it’s time someone else was.”

  Lily laughed. “Well if you follow that logic, then you need to be careful.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “I’ve gone a long time without you in my life. Maybe I’ll get used to it and find someone else.”

  “No, you won’t.”

  She laughed. He sounded so confident. He didn’t doubt her one bit. “Oh, no? And what makes you think that?”

  “You love me too much, and I love you too much, and besides …” he stopped short.

  “Besides what?”

  “I’m not telling you. You’ll have to wait and see.”

  “Okay. I can wait.”

  “Not too long.”

  “I hope not. I’m going to go get in the shower for now. Call me later when you’re all done?”

  “Will do. Love you.”

  “I love you too, Nate. Bye.”

  Chapter Twenty

  By eight o’clock on Saturday morning they had Lily’s truck loaded up with most of her belongings. Nate put the rest in the back of his truck, and they were ready to go.

  He smiled to himself as he drove through town behind her. The day had finally come; they were really doing this! When they got to Four Mile, he pulled into the driveway and followed Lily down it. This was awesome. He’d never thought he wanted to own a house before, but this was the perfect place, and he was going to share it with the perfect little lady. He’d been doing a lot of thinking and a lot of planning and organizing over the last few weeks. He’d almost blown it and told her a part of it on the phone last night when she’d said she might get tired of waiting for him. He was so glad he hadn’t. This weekend was going to be amazing.