“Is this your dream mansion on the edge of a cliff once you become rich and famous?” I smiled at him, knowing he wasn’t that type of guy at all. He didn’t have a flashy or show-off bone in his body—I liked that about him. Instead, he had that down-to-earth charm that warmed up my insides like hot cocoa on a snowy winter day.
He shook his head and glanced over his drawing. “No, this one’s for fun.”
“You could give Frank Lloyd Wright a run for his money.” I studied the image again, loving the high roofs, the glass features, the beautiful angles. It might only be a sketch, but in my mind’s eye, I could imagine the absolute modern palace the finished building would be.
He lit up. “What makes you say that?”
I inhaled, trying to put my thoughts into words. “Well, Frank Lloyd Wright was a visionary, an incredible architect, and he changed the way we live and build. And this,” I touched the edge of his tablet, “is world’s better than anything of his I’ve ever seen.”
Ethan’s eyes danced with pleasure, and a smile tugged his lips. All the shadows in his expression faded, and his eyes crinkled at the corners with pleasure. “Thank you,” he said in a soft voice.
“You’re very welcome… but I meant every word. So how have you been?” I wanted to know more, and having his undivided attention like that was intoxicating.
“Good, good. My brothers are all busy now that they’ve found love.” He chuckled, but I sensed some shred of honest bitterness. Maybe he was upset he hadn’t found anyone yet.
I wished I could talk about my family. It was a distant dream, however; my mother and I weren’t on speaking terms since she—
My eyes stung, and I blinked quickly. I wasn’t going to think about that. “You’ll meet someone… if you haven’t already.” I couldn’t think about that, either. I liked Ethan—a lot. Still, I wasn’t here to find love, and I needed to keep my head on straight. I needed answers, and I couldn’t slow down for love until I knew the truth.
With that, I stood up and headed toward the counter once more. No need to upset Roy and get myself into trouble. The second I locked eyes with Roy, I knew I needn’t have worried; Roy’s huge smile told me he was thrilled.
I liked the man, but did I really want to find out I was his daughter? All the information I’d gleaned seemed to point to him as the most likely suspect.
The thought made my heart heavy, and I smiled back at him. I’d spent so much time building relationships with everyone in town that I could. I’d been doing everything possible to dig into people’s pasts without drawing too much suspicion. Somehow, I still had no answers. The things I’d uncovered seemed to point to Roy, though, and I’d been wrestling with that possibility since I’d discovered it.
As I hesitated, Roy gestured for me to go back to Ethan’s table.
Why not? I turned back and the young man from Benji’s table appeared at my elbow. “Hey,” he said in a low voice.
“Hello,” I said, friendly as always. My mind wasn’t on this stranger; it was on the heavy topic that had been pushing to the front of my mind for months. I needed to figure out who my father was. I needed to know who I was and where I came from.
“Can we get a couple more beers?” He glanced back at Benji, who was still hunched forward, head down, looking beaten by the world.
“Sure.” I turned back to Roy as the guy grabbed my arm right above the elbow. Offering a friendly and confused smile, I turned to face him once more. “Did you need something else?”
“What’s a girl like you doing working in a dump like this?” His serious expression told me this was an honest attempt to hit on me using the weakest pickup like I’d heard in a long time.
“I happen to like this dump,” I said with a soft laugh. Part of me felt bad for the guy; clearly, flirting wasn’t his strongest suit. Since I wasn’t the type of girl to bring anyone down, I decided to be nice instead. “But thanks.” I understood his sentiment, even if I didn’t agree. To someone who didn’t know the town, this place might look like a total dive. I wasn’t going to excuse his rudeness, but I could understand his error.
“Well, if you’re ever in Silver Springs, hit me up.” He offered me his number on a napkin, and I took it, stunned.
“I didn’t know people still wrote numbers down,” I blurted out, then covered my awkward omission by taking out my phone. “I’ll put your number in now; what’s your name?”
“Clark.”
I keyed in his name and number, then thanked him. “It’s great meeting you, Clark. Thanks.” I gestured with my phone to indicate I was thanking him for his number, then headed back to the bar to grab him and his friend a drink. Hurrying to drop them off at the table, I made polite small talk without thinking about it. In my mind, I was back to thinking about how my mother had lied to me about everything.
She’d told me that my father died in the war, that he was Native American, that I was tribe royalty… so many lies stacked on mistruths and covered with misdeeds. I didn’t hate my mom, but she’d made my life more difficult with her dishonesty. I’d only discovered the truth when I took a DNA test to trace my heritage and found I was not Native American at all. And as usual, she stuck to her lies when I questioned her. She’d told me the test was wrong, that they’d swapped the results, or the people who sent the results had lied.
“Call me,” Clark said as I left the table. I nodded, knowing full well I had no intention to call the guy, and headed back toward Ethan’s table.
That wasn’t even the worst of my mother’s lies… but it was all I was prepared to deal with.
Ethan was back on his tablet. “You know, you work an awful lot. Would it kill you to take some time off?” I smiled at him.
He seemed oddly upset as his gaze met mine.
“Uh-oh, I know that look. What’s on your mind?” I sat back down, but he shifted, moving his body away from me in an obvious gesture that stung.
“First my brother, now someone else?” He nodded at Clark, who seemed to be watching us.
“What?” I didn’t understand what he was getting at. My head seemed to be filling with cotton fluff, as if the stress of the last few months was catching up with me.
He took a deep drink of his beer, then set the empty glass down with a thud. “I’m tired of being chosen last.”
What he was saying clicked. He was upset I’d gotten Clark’s number. How could I tell him I was just being nice? That I had no intention of ever calling the guy? That I wasn’t interested in the person who’d used the worst pickup line in history on me? Then again, why did I have to explain myself anyway? It’s not like Ethan had ever asked me out. We weren’t dating; I was free and clear to see whomever I damn well pleased.
The emotions of the last several months overflowed, and I lashed out. “I’ve always chosen you first, Ethan. Maybe your head’s been too buried in your tablet to notice.”
“Why did you come to Cross Creek?” His serious gaze and the gravity of the question stopped me up short.
I wasn’t going to be my mother and lie, but I needed to be careful how I answered. “I came here looking for something.” No way I’d tell him the whole truth. Not yet. I wasn’t ready.
Click here to read more.
Thank you for reading.
Reviews help readers find books.
If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving an honest review on the site where you purchased it.
Do you love talking books with other readers?
Join Kelly Collins’ Book Nook for prizes, books, and live chats.
Kelly Collins’ Book Nook
About the Author
International bestselling author of more than thirty novels, Kelly Collins writes with the intention of keeping the love alive. Always a romantic, she blends real-life events with her vivid imagination to create characters and stories that lovers of contemporary romance, new adult, and romantic suspense will return to again and again.
Sign up for my reader’s club and never miss a
thing.
Click Here
For More Information
www.authorkellycollins.com
[email protected]
Fearless Hart (A Cross Creek Small Town Novel Book 2) Page 16