Hometown Hope: A Small Town Romance Anthology

by Zoe York

  Scarlett pulled her purse over her head and let it drop to the floor. She wanted him now, with no more of his drawing it out. After thinking about him for days, all she wanted was him.

  He set her on the edge of his dresser. She pulled the dress off over her head, too eager to wait for him.

  Cole stood back, the light from the hall falling on his face. She reached around behind and undid the catch on her bra.

  “You aren’t fooling around,” he muttered.

  “I thought you knew what I wanted.”

  “Oh, baby, I know it.” He stepped between her legs and ducked his head to her chest, cupping her breasts.

  She leaned back and let her eyes drift shut while he kissed her nipples, his fingers toying with her flesh.

  The man was going to kill her with desire.

  She reached between them and found his belt, making quick work of the catch. The tab nearly slid out of its own accord. She didn’t bother with the zipper, just slid her hand into his underwear and cupped his cock. It was every bit as impressive as she remembered.

  “Fuck,” Cole muttered against her chest.

  “Yes,” she hissed.

  “Condom?”

  “Front pocket of my purse.”

  He pulled away from her. She shimmied out of her panties as he found the condom, ripped it open and rolled it on. She reached for him, but he stood there for a moment, staring at her naked on his dresser. She gripped the edge with her other hand, feeling every imperfection she saw in the mirror in his hesitation.

  “You’re so damn beautiful,” he said.

  And just like that her insecurities shut the hell up.

  He wrapped his arms around her waist and picked her up again as though she weighed nothing at all. She clung to him and kissed his mouth. Cole groaned and stumbled a step. He planted a hand on the wall, then pinned her there with his body.

  “Cole,” she whispered just before she nipped his lower lip.

  He jolted, his fingers digging into her skin, and kissed her back. She felt his teeth, the edge of his need and tasted his passion.

  Cole boosted her up just a little more, then—there—his cock slid along her, guided toward her entrance. She barely had a moment to breathe before he thrust.

  “Oh—Cole.” She whimpered at the intrusion, her sore muscles protesting.

  “You okay?” His voice was rough, raspy.

  “Yes.” She sucked down air and gripped his shoulder. Her internal muscles squeezed him, sending tendrils of pleasure through her. “Fuck. Yes.”

  “Hold on to me, baby.”

  He moved, in and out of her, his pubic bone grinding against her with each thrust. Her breasts rubbed against his chest, the wry hairs tickling her skin as their sweat mingled. She knew her orgasm would come soon, she wanted to hold off as long as possible, lose herself in the feel of him inside of her.

  “Come on, baby,” Cole said into her ear right before he nipped her lobe.

  He canted his hips and thrust up, making her slide against the wall, reaching new depths.

  “Oh—oh—Cole.” She tried to suck in air, but her body was no longer her own. She was a thing of pleasure, climax reaching every part of her body.

  He continued to thrust, but all she could do was hold on, the orgasm stretching on and on. By the time Cole stilled, she was fairly certain she’d forgotten her own name. She lay against his shoulder, arms and legs weak. He kissed her cheek and turned, carrying them the few steps to the bed. He lay her down, easing their bodies apart.

  Cole left her for a moment. She heard water in the bathroom, but she was too sated to care about anything. At least until he crawled in bed and spooned her from behind.

  “You okay?” he whispered.

  “Better now that you’re here.” She wrapped his arm tighter around her. She sighed. “Thank goodness for emergency condoms.”

  “I’ll restock you before you leave.” He kissed her arm and over her shoulder. “In case of future condom emergencies.”

  “You mean you made me use my emergency stash when it wasn’t necessary.”

  “I’d have had to open a box.”

  “Oh. I see.”

  She smiled into the darkness, pleased with the knowledge that even opening a box was too much to do when they were together. Make this a better ending

  Chapter 10

  If Scarlett hadn’t needed to be in the office to handle client calls Tuesday morning she’d have stayed in bed. Cole’s bed to be exact. But she had an afternoon event tomorrow and three weddings for the upcoming weekend. It was a busy time to have a hangover, even a small one.

  It was far earlier than she’d have liked to be awake, but between his alarms and needing a lift to his car she was up at the crack of dawn. She had a few hours to treat her headache so she couldn’t justify canceling her Tuesday in favor of nursing her hangover.

  That glass of midnight wine had been a terrible, awful idea. At least until it led to sharing the shower after she sloshed them both.

  She shifted into park and the front door of the guy’s house swung open.

  Scarlett cringed. So much for sneaking in before they were up and going.

  Garth, followed by Benji, stepped out in their work duds. They’d mentioned tackling the weeds encroaching along the property line from the neighbor’s field. Was that today? Was she supposed to help?

  She squinted at the fence line. She didn’t think they’d mentioned her participating. The guys rarely asked her to pitch in with maintaining the grounds and they never offered to help her with decorating. It balanced out.

  Garth and Benji slowly descended the steps, staring at her. Moments like these she could see the family resemblance. The way they walked, how they carried themselves, and today the curious wrinkle of their brow.

  Were they judging her?

  How many times had Benji swaggered home? He had no shame about his overnight activities. Why should she? Because once she messed up with the wrong guy?

  There was nothing for her to be embarrassed about, and if Garth wanted to tell her otherwise, she’d give him a piece of her mind. She and Cole were in a relationship. There was nothing to hide.

  She grabbed her purse and got out, making sure to smooth her skirt down. The gravel crunched as the brothers made their way toward her. A pang shot through her skull and she winced.

  Even that sound was too much.

  Was it too late to push her meetings back?

  “Morning, sunshine,” Benji said with far too much joy.

  “Are you just now getting home?” Garth’s brows rose.

  “No, I ran out to go do errands while it was quiet.” She shut the Jeep’s door and drew herself up.

  “Scarlett.” Garth frowned.

  “Look, I am in no mood for your judgmental bullshit. Yes, I was out all night. Yes, you’ll probably hear about it from someone, so let me go ahead and tell you. I hung out at The Hole with Cole. We played darts with Trevor, Casey and Liam. Then we walked to his house because we drank too much to drive. I stayed there, and what happened there is none of your business. If you don’t mind, I need something for my head.” Her skull pulsed with each word.

  Benji whistled and held up his hand, far too enthusiastic about her current state.

  She sheepishly slapped her palm to his. At least Benji wasn’t asking questions. She couldn’t take his cheer this early in the morning. She turned her back on Garth and strode toward her house.

  “Shit. Scarlett?” Garth’s feet churned the gravel in her wake.

  Damn it. He couldn’t let her have the last word could he?

  She kept going, wondering if she could get inside and lock him out. That wouldn’t work. He had a key, and she wasn’t going to stand guard to keep him out. She pushed her front door open and hung her purse on the hook, making sure to pull her phone out.

  Garth loomed in the doorway, shadows falling across his face.

  “What?” She sighed and slid her shoes off, ready to shower and lounge while
she nursed her head.

  “I wasn’t… I was worried when you didn’t come home last night,” he said.

  “I’m an adult, Garth. I go out all the time without telling you everything.”

  “I wish you would.”

  “So you can control my whole life?” She wheeled around and scowled at him.

  “No.” His arms hung at his sides, shoulders slumping. “I worry about you because I love you. And before you start, I’ve had it driven home to me that I’ve been an even bigger ass lately.”

  “Tell me something I don’t know. You do remember I told you were being an ass?” She crossed her arms over her chest.

  “Honestly, no.” He steered her toward the kitchen.

  Scarlett was too surprised by his admission to fight it. Garth was the picture of what old school manliness was all about. He rarely admitted weakness, and he was never wrong. At least, that used to be the case.

  What was going on with Garth?

  She let him push her toward a stool. She watched him get her a bottle of water and the Excedrin, then start coffee.

  “I don’t want to fight with you. That’s never been my intent.” He braced his arms on the counter. “All I want to do is take care of you. You’re practically my sister, Scarlett, and I don’t want anything bad to ever happen to you. I take that too far.”

  “Who are you and what have you done with Garth?” She could only blink at him, stunned by his words.

  “On paper, I don’t like Cole.” He held up his hand, staving off her protests. “But during the little time I’ve gotten to know him, I respect him. I won’t interfere so long as you’re happy. But if he hurts you, I’ll fuck him up. Understand?”

  She blinked, caught off guard by Garth’s statement and the sincerity of his words. In the back of her head she always knew he acted out of a place of love toward her. She’d never doubted that. It was his narrow mindset about how things should be that wedged them apart.

  “Don’t cry.” Garth took a horrified step back.

  “You can’t surprise me with mushy stuff when I’m hung over.” She swiped at her cheeks.

  He circled the island and wrapped her in a tight hug. She leaned into him and closed her eyes. He was her cousin, he’d been her brother and then he’d become her parent. Garth had filled so many important roles in her life. He got her in a way Benji never would.

  “I’m going to do better. I promise,” he whispered.

  She chuckled. He’d try and he’d probably fail, but maybe he’d listen when she called him on overstepping his boundaries.

  “I know you care. I know you want to protect me. You can’t keep me in a bubble for the rest of my life.”

  “Watch me.” Garth chuckled and relaxed his hold on her.

  She peered up at him, noting the worry lines that seemed to be ever-present these days. “What’s going on with you?”

  “Nothing. What do you have this morning?” He grasped her by the shoulders and took a step back.

  “Planning meeting.”

  “With?”

  “The Cokers.”

  “Oh. That’s not for…six months?”

  “Yeah.”

  “How about I do the meeting and you take it easy this morning?”

  “Who are you?” She wiped fresh tears away.

  “I’m your brother.”

  She smiled and hugged him once more.

  Benji might have been the shoulder she cried on, but it was Garth who’d been her strength. He was the one who’d cared for her, been strong when she couldn’t and showed her how to keep going. Without his example, she’d have never flourished.

  “I’m never going to stop being the overbearing brother, but I can try to be better. I am going to need you to tell me when to pull my head out of my ass. You’re the only one I can trust to do that.”

  “Deal.”

  They shook on it then Garth poured her a fresh cup of coffee before stealing two to go. She couldn’t begrudge him that after the moment they shared.

  Scarlett drank her water and took her medicine. Though a nap sounded heavenly, she never could fall asleep once it was daylight. Her internal clock was not a fan.

  Her first order of business was coffee and simply sitting in the stillness of her house, existing. Her mind was quiet and with Garth taking over her meeting for the morning, there was no pressure to hurry from one thing to another. By the time she finished her coffee she felt steadier, more human.

  She scooped up her phone and glanced at the notifications.

  There were quite a few, but then she’d let them stack up over night. Now she tapped through them. Garth had texted her twice very late. The rest were from Ingrid, one from Jessica and even a message from Kasima.

  She created a group text with the three girls and fired off her reply.

  * * *

  Too hung over to type. Come over.

  * * *

  That done, Scarlett got in the shower for a proper washing up. When she turned off the shower she heard voices in her bedroom.

  “Did you let yourself in?” Scarlett called out.

  “You told us to come over,” Ingrid replied.

  “How are you not working?” Scarlett wrapped herself in a robe and stepped out into her bedroom.

  Kasima lay on her bed. Ingrid sat perched on the padded bench at the end. And Jessica had Scarlett’s closet open, peering inside.

  “Bunny let me know that all the L.O.L.s were going to visit the mayor today. She had an agenda and everything. Two top items to discuss are the fall festival and Sissy’s buggy. I guess someone complained.” Ingrid waved her hand. “Without them there’s nothing for me to do, so surprise morning off.”

  “Someone had to get upset about something.” Scarlett rolled her eyes.

  “You know how people are.” Kasima shrugged.

  “I hope they sort out the fall festival stuff.” Scarlett dragged a hand over her face.

  “You know, I think there has been something posted on the town message board about doing a Main Street trunk or treat. Sort of unofficial,” Kasima said.

  “Oh, that’s not going to fly.” Ingrid shook her head.

  “I want to live in your closet.” Jessica sighed and pulled out a teal sundress.

  “I think that would fit you.” Scarlett eyed the dress then Jessica’s chest. “Try it.”

  “What’s the point?” Jessica slid the dress back in the closet then gestured at her jean shorts and T-shirt. “There’s no point in me wearing anything different.”

  “You could, you know?” Ingrid shrugged.

  “No, I can’t.” Jessica sighed and flopped on the bed, her head on the small of Kasima’s back. “I don’t want to talk about me. We’re here to talk about Scarlett so I can live vicariously through her.”

  “Yeah, so spill.” Kasima thumbed at Jessica. “This one texted us last night that you and Cole were out. What happened since the last time we talked and you were all, I’m staying away from him? And what the heck are your brothers saying about it?”

  “Cousins,” Ingrid corrected.

  “Whatever.” Kasima shrugged.

  Scarlett wrapped her robe tighter around herself and sat in the arm chair positioned to catch the light coming in one of the dormer windows.

  “I guess Cole and I are together.” No, they were a couple. They’d settled on that in clear terms. They’d rehashed it during pillow talk so they were both on the same page. Exclusivity and the mutual assurance that they were each serious about exploring where the chemistry could take them.

  “You guess?” Jessica snorted.

  “I’ve heard from like four people that he was all over you last night.” Ingrid frowned. “Not in like, a gross way, just that he never left your side. He pulled out your chair, which the L.O.L.s will approve of.”

  “That’s true.” Jessica pushed up to perch on the edge of the bed. She could hardly sit still this morning. “She came to the bar twice, and I thought he’d stare holes in the back of her hea
d watching her.”

  “He did not.” Scarlett darted a look at Jessica. Had he?

  “You had your back to him. How would you know?” Jessica threw her hands up. “I know what a guy looks like when he wants someone.”

  “Did he really…?” Scarlett wasn’t sure what she was asking.

  “Yes, honey, he was.” Jessica nodded so hard her pony tail flipped over her shoulder.

  “Oh, boy.” Scarlett stared at the wooden floor, her stomach knotting up all over again.

  “Earth to Scarlett,” Jessica waved her hand.

  “Talk to us,” Ingrid begged.

  “I like him. A lot.” Even admitting that much was scary for Scarlett. “When he’s around…it’s electric. We both feel it. I’m just…”

  “Scared?” Kasima supplied the word Scarlett couldn’t say.

  “Yeah.” Scarlett nodded.

  “You haven’t dated in a long time. I get why, but maybe that’s part of it?” Ingrid folded her legs under her. A knitting project had appeared in her hands at some point. She always had something to keep busy with.

  “Maybe?” No, that answer didn’t feel right to Scarlett. “No, it’s us. I mean, yeah, some of it has to be that I’ve been alone for two years, but I think it’s him. And it all scares me. I mean, a few months ago he was engaged to Allie-Kate. He says this isn’t a rebound. But, what if it is?”

  “Get what you’re saying, but any guy who looks at you the way Cole looks at you can’t be a totally bad idea,” Jessica said.

  “Maybe, but I don’t know if I can take this not working out.” Scarlett rarely thought about her ex or how wrecked she’d been after moving home. It was a dark chapter and there were better memories to focus on. Still, if she gave a man her heart, she could get hurt just like that again.

  “I think you need someone like Cole.” Ingrid held up her hand, the knitting clutched between her other fingers. “Hear me out. I know you had this whole three-year plan thing, but you’re a different person now. And I think you need to get back out there. From everything you’ve said about him and how he is with the L.O.L.s I think he’s a good test drive kind of guy. Even if you two don’t work out, I think he’d be good for you.”