“It’ll be pretty interesting,” Joel said, smiling at his grandma.
Autumn watched Joel with his grandma in amazement. He obviously respected her and looked up to her. It was nice to see. There weren’t very many men in the world—or at least that she had seen—who cherished loved ones quite like he did. Maybe it was being in Silver Ridge, or maybe it was just his family.
A twinge of sadness surfaced as she thought about how her parents would never get to meet their grandchildren. When both of her parents died, there were a couple of thoughts that came crashing into her mind along with all the sorrow and grief and searching for answers. One was that there was no one to walk her down the aisle, and the other was about her children not getting to know what amazing parents she’d had.
Some might call those two issues petty in the whole scheme of things, but with grief, there is no such thing as pettiness or selfishness. Anyone who experienced loss was entitled to feel how they felt when they felt it. They’ve earned that right to experience sorrow how they please, and anyone who wanted to critique that needed to do some serious soul-searching.
Autumn still never quite got over how many people had opinions on the subject of grieving until her parents’ memorial service. Regardless, now she was left here to try to piece together a history that was part of who she was, and she hoped she was up for the task.
Grandma Martha reached across the counter and held Autumn’s hand as she speculated about what had been hidden from her all these years. What could have been so bad that it would have made her father shun his family? She glanced up at Grandma Martha and Joel and wondered if they somehow knew more than they were letting on. Something told her they did, and she wasn’t sure she was ready to hear the answers.
Chapter Nine
“You okay, dear?” she asked, and Autumn realized she was still holding onto Grandma Martha’s hand.
Somewhat embarrassed that she’d let herself zone out now, of all times, she smiled and slid her hand back.
“Yeah. Sorry. Sometimes, the gravity of the situation hits me.” Autumn glanced at Joel and was surprised to see him watching her with an awareness that astonished her. “It’s a big house.”
“Never apologize about life,” Grandma Martha said, knowing Autumn wasn’t pondering the house project.
Autumn smiled and Grandma Martha continued.
“Emotions are what keep us going. They are what warn us of impending doom or signal that great happiness is on the horizon. The worst thing that can happen is when a person becomes numb.” She reached for a couple of plates. “Because that’s essentially checking out, now isn’t it?”
“I never really thought about it that way before.” Autumn smiled. “There have been times when I’ve thought how nice it would be not to feel every single emotion coming my way, but you’re right. The alternative would be awful.”
“Indeed. You can’t feel the highs if you don’t feel the lows.” Grandma Martha took a couple of premade Panini sandwiches from the cooler and put them in the Panini press. “One of my many specialties. It’s all in the pesto sauce with this one.”
“I hope you like tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella,” he whispered.
“I love pizza, don’t I?” she teased. “You saw me last night.”
“Well, I know you love pepperoni. I just wasn’t sure where this might fall on the scale of food orga—”
“Do you like pecan pie?” Grandma Martha interrupted, cutting off her grandson.
It was as if she knew she was about to hear something she’d rather not.
“Love it.” Autumn’s stomach was growling merely thinking of all this amazing food. She was glad Joel had decided to track her down at the hardware store.
Things were so much different here than in California, or at least in the part she lived in. She’d gone to the same grocery store for years, and the checkers never remembered her. She went to her favorite coffee store down the block from her apartment everyday when she was in town, and all she ever got was a dull look back from the barista.
In Silver Ridge, she happens to drive through town, and who does she see? Her hot and sexy neighbor sitting in front of his grandmother’s bakery. It was almost too idyllic for words, and she loved every second of it.
Not to mention the hot and sexy neighbor took a guess and tracked her down at the local hardware store so he could entice her with food. In California, she was lucky to even find her way out of Home Depot alive.
Every second of the day that ticked by seemed to reaffirm her decision to move here.
“How about we sit over there?” He pointed at a table near the window, and she agreed.
As they made their way to the table, a teenage girl bounded into the café, apologizing for being late. She had her blonde hair swooped into a messy bun, and she was wearing a pair of grey shorts and a purple t-shirt.
Grandma Martha shook her head and welcomed her behind the counter by handing her an apron and giving her a kiss on the forehead. “Sometimes, being punctual is of the utmost importance, and other times, when a great-grandma is involved, it’s not as important.”
Autumn glanced at Joel, who waved at the teenager. She seemed genuinely happy to see him, and her gaze hopped right over to Autumn. Her smile widened into a wicked grin, which Autumn thought was somewhat strange until Joel leaned over the table.
“That’s my niece, Abigail. She’s working here this summer.”
“That’s awesome.” Autumn waved at the young girl as she prepared their lunch plates with her great-grandma. It also told her that Joel had probably mentioned her to his family more than she expected.
Joel nodded in agreement and kicked his legs out in front of him. So far, his plan to keep her away from her house was working like a charm.
“Do you think my paint will be safe?” Autumn asked.
“You mean the paint that you haven’t paid for yet?” He smiled and nodded. “I think it will be just fine.”
“Good. Because I could stay here all day.”
“Is that so?” Joel looked extremely pleased with this revelation.
“Mmmhmm.” Autumn drew a deep breath and took in her surroundings.
Outside the window, couples sat and laughed, drinking cold drinks and chatting about the day ahead while the line across the street for ice cream grew. Women were streaming in and out of one of the boutiques that had caught Autumn’s eye, and she knew she’d have to venture in there soon.
Joel’s niece brought over a tray with both of their sandwiches and two slices of pecan pie. She set them on the table next to them and placed the dishes in front of Joel and Autumn.
“Thanks, Abigail.” Joel smiled. “This is Autumn Tucker.”
“Oh, I know that. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too.” Autumn smiled, noticing how much Abigail looked like Grandma Martha. Actually, despite her blonde hair, she looked like a cute female version of the North brothers. Abigail’s piercing blue eyes filled with mischief, and that look combined with the eye color sealed the deal. She was, without a doubt, a North.
“Are you coming to the Fourth of July party at the lake?” she asked, crossing her arms and glancing at her uncle.
“Oh, I don’t know about any party. I was planning on spending it painting and ripping out old carpeting.” Autumn laughed.
“Sounds like a blast.” She smacked her uncle in the shoulder. “Why didn’t you ask her? She’s new in town and would probably enjoy it.”
Autumn kept in a snicker as Joel wrestled his teenage niece into him and held her. “I would have had I had the chance.”
Abigail doubled over in laughter as he let go. “Well, now you have the chance.”
Abigail hummed her way back to the counter while Autumn took in the delicious food.
Joel leaned over the table and touched her chin, sending a spark through her.
“You know, I was going to ask you to the family barbeque later. I hadn’t had the chance.”
Autumn shoo
k her head, realizing Joel had taken her quietness as a sign of disappointment for not being invited to the celebration.
“Actually, I was taking in the beauty of the food.” She smiled widely.
His brows scrunched together, and he glanced down at the plates to notice the panini had somehow been cut out in the shape of a heart, and the pecan pie slice had a heart-shaped piece of crust on top.
“One thing you’ll learn about my family is that they aren’t shy with hints. Subtlety isn’t a thing with any of them.” He shook his head and snatched the heart-shaped topping off his pie and ate it. “Just what every guy hopes for when his grandmother and niece try to scare off the one—” He stopped himself.
“The one what?” Her eyes snapped up to his and he smiled.
“The one woman who fascinates me.”
Autumn giggled, and the sound was nothing short of joy to Joel as he took her in.
“Well, I think you’re pretty fascinating yourself, and I have to say, coming from California, it would take a lot more than heart-shaped food to scare me off.” She smiled and took a bite of the buttery crust heart. “In fact, I think it’s absolutely perfect.”
Autumn snuck a bite of pie and shut her eyes as she let out a moan of pleasure with the flavor soaking into her mouth. She blinked her eyes open and grinned sheepishly.
“Besides, you’ve seen the kind of men I tend to get stuck with.” She grimaced, and Joel laughed, feeling completely at ease with this woman.
“There’ve been others like Ronald?” He looked somewhat surprised, and she picked up her sandwich and took a bite so she wouldn’t have to answer.
“This pesto sauce is amazing.” She put the sandwich back on her plate. “Best sandwich I’ve ever had in my life. Hands down.”
Joel’s brow arched and he chuckled. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
“You do that.” She took another bite and enjoyed every second of spending time with Joel.
She was thoroughly confused with how she could slip right into his world without feeling exposed or frantic for acceptance. Instead, she sat in his grandmother’s bakery eating and laughing as if this was what she did every single day.
“So, what do you say about not picking up the paint until later and letting me take you on a little ride before you go back to your house to work?”
Autumn twisted her lips into a sexy pout. “You’re not very good at keeping me in line.”
“I have a feeling that’s an impossibility with or without my help.” His eyes locked onto hers, and she was suddenly thrown back to the kiss last night.
Autumn saw a flash of desire whip through his blue eyes, and her gaze instinctively fell to his full lips. She remembered how good they felt against hers. How she didn’t want things to stop at just a kiss.
“Where would we go?” she asked.
“It would be a surprise.” He took a bite of his sandwich as she contemplated his offer.
One more day of not painting wouldn’t be all that bad. After all, she had planned on zipping around town and getting to know the place the first few days she was here until Ronald happened.
She polished off her sandwich and glanced at Grandma Martha, who pretended to be busy folding napkins.
“I think a surprise sounds like the perfect thing to energize me for a night of painting.” Autumn let the nervous excitement pulse through her.
Doing something spontaneous would be fun. Painting walls could always wait. It wasn’t like she’d run out of them to do. Maybe it would be better to paint when the daytime temps dropped anyway.
Grandma Martha suddenly appeared with two to-go containers, two forks, and a plastic bag.
“You can take the pie with you.” Grandma Martha winked at Joel, and Autumn chuckled, knowing it didn’t matter what either of them thought about the matter. This was how it was going to go. They would have the pecan pie on the road.
Joel stood after putting the pie in the containers and looked at Autumn as if she might go running away any second.
“You ready?” He held out his hand when he saw she wasn’t going anywhere.
“Absolutely, but this had better be good to take me away from an entire day of painting,” Autumn teased.
“I promise not to disappoint.” He smiled, and her hand slid into his.
Autumn and Joel left the bakery as he led her to his Honcho with many people saying hi to Joel on the way. He opened the passenger door for her to slide in.
“So, where are you taking me?” Autumn asked.
“Not gonna tell you.” He shut her door and walked around the Honcho. The longer he had her away from her home, the better.
“Oh, come on.” She laughed as he climbed into the driver’s seat. “I’m awful with surprises.”
“And I’m amazing at them.” He grinned with a sparkle in his eyes and turned on the ignition.
“Is it far?” she asked, getting giddier with each second.
He could take her to a gravel pit and she’d be thrilled.
“It doesn’t have to be, but I might make it take a little longer.” He drove them onto Main Street and past the hardware store where her cans of paint were waiting.
“And why’s that?” she asked, turning toward him.
He’d gone another day without shaving, and the dark stubble had turned to short whiskers. He looked really sexy, and she couldn’t help that she wondered what it would feel like to be tickled along her neck from his whiskers.
“You’ve suddenly gone quiet.” He smiled, glancing at Autumn as they sat at a red light.
“I was thinking about things.”
“About what Martha said about your family?” he asked.
“No.” She shook her head, feeling the heat run up her cheeks. That was what she should have been thinking about, but those recent revelations weren’t what went buzzing through her system. No, she was busy thinking about a sexy neighbor whom she shouldn’t be dreaming about because if things went wrong—and they inevitably would—she’d still be stuck with him across the street. At least the entire state of Oregon sat between Ronald and her. There’d be no such safety net with Mr. Too Good Looking for Words. A sigh escaped her lips, and she glanced at Joel.
He cocked his head and narrowed his gaze, which only made him look even sexier. Being in confined spaces with Joel North was a dangerous thing.
“Honestly, I’ve been thinking a lot about last night . . .” she began as Joel stepped on the accelerator.
“I have too.”
Chapter Ten
Joel put on the blinker and turned left down a residential street, slowing at the first home on the right. He’d wanted to continue the conversation that had barely begun, but he knew this was about to blow it right out of the water, which was probably good.
He hadn’t expected her to come right out about last night.
From the moment they’d shared that kiss, he couldn’t get Autumn out of his mind—and he’d tried. If she lived across town or maybe across the country, it would be a lot easier, but having her so close was almost painful. After they’d shared dinner and explored a couple more rooms, he wanted nothing more than to take her into his arms and taste her all over.
The kiss had only made him hungrier for her. It took everything he had to drag himself away from her last night. Ending that kiss was for the best, but he still wished he hadn’t.
From the moment Joel met her, he’d dreamed of what it would be like to kiss her, and when he finally did, it rocked his world. She tasted so sweet, and the way her body melded into his . . .
Joel stopped right in front of an old Victorian home and Autumn let out a whistle of appreciation.
The estate was exactly as Autumn had imagined the one she was living in would be someday. It was like a fairy tale.
“What a gorgeous home,” she said, taking in the gingerbread trim and wraparound porch.
Vivid periwinkle coated the cedar shakes, and subdued ivory covered the rest of the home. It wasn’t a color combination
she would have thought about, but it looked whimsical and quite lovely. There were large lilac bushes with purple blooms on each corner of the house. Wisteria vines draped along the wrought-iron fence, and fruit trees dotted the lawn on the side of the home.
“This was built by the Tuckers back in 1883.”
With wide eyes, she turned to look at Joel. “Really? Tuckers, as in my family owned this home?”
“One of many residences,” he added, biting his bottom lip. “Everyone knows about the California and Alaska gold rushes, but this little mountain town had one of its own in silver. Of course, gold was found too. I think the boom was from eighteen seventy to eighteen ninety or something like that. The Tuckers were some of the original settlers and were the most successful miners . . . behind the Norths, that is.” He grinned coyly, and she laughed. “The Tuckers did very well.”
“Oh, I see how it is.” She chuckled, turning back to take in the home.
She felt a sense of pride knowing that she had ancestors who’d helped settle a town. Never before had anything like that crossed her mind about her family history, but now that she was getting a glimpse of her past, she was intrigued. For someone who’d spent so long feeling like she didn’t have any roots beyond those of her immediate family, this news was mind-blowing.
“Who lives there now?” she asked.
“Not sure, but it wouldn’t be hard to find out.” He didn’t particularly want to elaborate as to why it would be so easy to find out. Those were some of the details he preferred to keep to himself, at least until Autumn knew him better.
“It would be kind of fun to see inside.”
“Maybe we can arrange that.” He drove a little farther down the road and stopped at another home similar to the first, but the home was less whimsical and far more dramatic.
Gargoyles sat on a brick fence surrounding the home, and turrets spiraled from the corners of the home. The colors were far more ominous in browns, blacks, and greys.
Happy Truth About Love: Island County Spinoff Series (Silver Ridge Series Book 1) Page 9