by Liz Isaacson
So when Jana said they should go to lunch sometime, and Gavin couldn’t go today, Navy had texted Jana. As the stylist talked, and talked, and talked, Navy regretted her decision. Thankfully, Jana moved past Gavin at the same rate she spoke, which only had one speed: fast.
Navy heard about the owner of Beaned, the specialty coffee shop down the street. The florist who’d been engaged twice and couldn’t seem to get anyone all the way to the altar. Who had what dogs, and who let them run wild, and who’d switched to cats.
She’d never eaten so fast. A twinge of guilt pulled through her when her phone chimed and she seized onto an excuse that wasn’t entirely true. “I’m sorry. It’s my mother.” It wasn’t, and Navy kept the phone tilted away from Jana, who was looking. The woman didn’t miss much, Navy would give her that much credit. “Thanks for meeting me for lunch.” Navy smiled as widely as she could and slid out of the booth.
She paid while examining her phone as if she’d just received Very Bad News and left without glancing at Jana. She sighed as she ducked around the side of the diner and pressed her back into the gray brick.
The text wasn’t from her mother. Or Gavin. But Lynn back in Dallas. How are things in Three Rivers? We miss you here! She’d sent a picture of the pediatric nurses pulling faces, and Navy’s chest hitched.
She thumbed out a generic message about how everything was great and how much she missed her friends.
At least she didn’t have to lie about that. She hadn’t even been in Three Rivers for two weeks yet, and the sudden urge to return to her hometown and get back to work felt strange. Maybe she’d made a mistake by planning to stay for so long.
Then an image of Gavin’s handsome face filled her mind, and she thought, You’ll probably need longer than six months to crack him.
He was a bit aloof, but Navy had read up on Aquarius’s, and they often were, especially at the beginning of relationships. So she’d determined that she simply had to be persistent. Not let him walk away from her with statements like, “I’m not interested.”
She wandered around the bark park before heading over to a huge fountain and statue. Several tourists lingered in the same space, reading the historical markers and taking pictures. Navy did too, as if she didn’t know about the myths of the matchmaker who lived here.
Her heart squeezed when she thought of the women who’d hurt Gavin. She understood why he didn’t like the legends, but she couldn’t simply rid herself of her fantasies either. For so long, she’d listened to the romantic stories Aunt Izzie told, saw how much she and Uncle Marvin loved each other.
She trailed her fingers along the bottom of the statue, the desire to have that kind of love with someone as strong as ever. So what if she’d believed in a silly tradition? She’d tried everything else, and Nancy had only helped her hone her focus from one type of man to another.
A more mature man, which admittedly Navy hadn’t naturally looked for. Someone willing to listen to her, which most Aquarius men were really good at. That was when Nancy had said, “You should be looking for an Aquarius,” and continued with why such a man would fit with Navy’s personality.
As if a light from heaven had beamed straight onto her, a realization hit Navy. Nancy’s words were advice, not law. She’d told Navy about herself, and what kind of man would mesh with her the best.
The matchmaking reading wasn’t about who Navy’s match was. It was a resource for knowing herself and then using that information to find a more compatible date—one that could turn into a husband.
She started laughing, and she snorted the way she did when she really got going. She was usually embarrassed by that; didn’t let herself laugh full-out for fear the men she dated would find her snorting unattractive. The tourists looked at her, but she just kept laughing.
“I’ve got to go talk to Gavin,” she said to the statue of the woman, who just kept gazing out at the prairie. Navy would not be this nameless woman—she would go to Gavin and see if he would listen to her.
But first, she fished a quarter from her purse and tossed it into the fountain with the thought, I wish to sort through things with Gavin Redd.
By the time she returned home, she was equally frustrated and relieved. She entered the cottage to find Gavin wearing a mask and wielding a long roller as he swept gray paint onto her walls.
“You are a hard man to find,” she said. She went to set her purse on the table, only to see that he’d covered everything. The fridge, the stove, all the furniture. It was all taped under a layer of plastic.
He paused and turned toward her. He didn’t wear his cowboy hat, and she could only see his eyes, but still her heartbeat pulsed through her body. She wanted to talk to him, hold his hand, walk with him, maybe even kiss him. Today.
“And you have paint on your face,” she said with a smile. She glanced around. “This looks like a war zone.”
“I’m painting,” he said through the mask.
“When can you take a break?”
He tilted his head slightly, a confused look in those gorgeous eyes. “A break?”
Foolishness raced through Navy. Of course the Man of Iron, Gavin Redd, didn’t take breaks. “I’ll be reading out back,” she said. She stepped back out of the cottage, half-hoping he’d call for her to stay with him the way she had last week. He didn’t, and she didn’t want to throw herself at him. Besides, there was nowhere for her to sit and talk to him anyway.
Only ten minutes later, Gavin came around the back of the house, maskless and without the drips of paint on his forehead. He’d pushed his cowboy hat back into place, and he sat in the other chair at the table in the shade.
“You took a break?” Navy didn’t look fully at him.
“You seemed like you wanted me to.”
Navy put her e-reader down. “Let’s go for a walk.” She stood up, but he didn’t.
“It’s the middle of the afternoon,” he said. “It’s hot.”
“You sound tired.”
“I am tired.”
“How’s your granddad?”
“He’s okay.” He told her about a mild case of bronchitis and some acid reflux, and he didn’t seem too concerned.
Navy reached across the table and covered his hands with hers anyway. Mostly because she wanted to touch him, see if that flame still roared between them. “I’m sorry.”
He looked up and their gazes locked. The fire and desire between them was definitely still there, and very very hot. Navy smiled. “I like you, Gavin Redd.”
He got to his feet, tugging on her hand to come with him. “Let’s go for a walk.”
Heat dove through Navy, and it wasn’t all from the Texas sun when they stepped out of the shade. “I just want to say a few things,” she said.
“All right.”
She launched into what had brought her to Three Rivers, why she felt the magic of this place, why she’d thought seeing a matchmaker would help her. “I’ve just dated so much,” she said. “I don’t even think you know how much.”
“How much?” he asked.
She let their hands swing between them for a couple of steps. “I quit dating two weeks before I came here. But the week before that, I went out with five different guys on five different nights. It was getting to the point of one-and-done. I couldn’t find anyone.”
Navy exhaled, her memories of those winter months in Dallas, meeting a man for coffee, or rushing home from the hospital so she could shower before a man picked her up for dinner. She even went straight from work to a breakfast date several times when she worked the night shift.
“And Aunt Izzie had told me all about Three Rivers, how much she loved this town, all about your grandmother. And it felt right.” Navy shrugged one shoulder. “It felt right to come here.”
He squeezed her hand. “Thanks for telling me all that.” Gavin took a deep breath. “Are you planning on goin’ out with a new man every night while you’re here?”
Navy slowed her steps and stopped. She turned and lo
oked right at him. “I wasn’t planning on going out with anyone while I was here.”
“Seems smart,” he murmured, his eyes dropping to her mouth.
She giggled and swept up onto her toes to she could place a kiss on his cheek. “Yeah, I don’t always do the smart thing. You should probably know that before things go too far.” She settled back onto her feet and started walking again. Tingles raced through her body, and the message from her lips was that they wanted to touch his. Sure, his cheek was exciting, but only because it was so close to that mouth.
She ducked her head as if Gavin would be able to read her thoughts. They walked in silence for a block, and then Navy said, “And I don’t know if you’ve ever sat in on a matchmaking reading with your grandmother, but it isn’t about the man at all. You should know that. It’s about the woman. My reading was about me. Helping me to know how to make smarter dating decisions.”
“Mm,” he said.
“It was,” she insisted.
He chuckled and released her hand so he could put his arm around her shoulders. He pulled her flush against him. “I believe you, Navy.”
He sounded sincere, and Navy wanted him to say her name in his bass voice again. And again. Preferably just before he kissed her.
She glanced up and realized they’d walked from her cottage to his house. “Hey, that’s the Old Main Hill Bed and Breakfast.” She glanced at Gavin, who wore a distasteful expression. “Oh, come on,” she said, pulling him across the street. “Be a little spontaneous.”
“I’m spontaneous,” he said.
“Prove it. Just walk around here with me. Let’s look at it.”
“You do realize I don’t cook, right?”
“Did you even look at the link I sent you?”
“Of course I did. It doesn’t look anything like this.”
Navy took in the land before her. It was wild and unkept; the grass needed mowing and watering as it was already starting to yellow; the buildings seemed without spirit. “It just needs a little love,” she said.
“And a chef,” he muttered.
“I can cook,” she said, moving toward a cabin that boasted a Texas star on the exterior.
Gavin stopped her by slipping his hand from her shoulder to hers and pulling. “Navy.”
She turned back to him. “What?”
“Do you realize what you just said?”
She peered up at him, noting the seriousness, the concern. “I said I know how to cook.”
“So…what? You’re going to teach me? Or you’re going to stay here in Three Rivers and be my cook?” He exhaled, his frustration evident. “You’re a pediatric nurse from Dallas. You have a job and a family and a life there.” He shook his head and released her hand. “I’m not—”
“If you say you’re not interested, Gavin Redd, I’ll…I’ll…I don’t know what I’ll do, but it will be really bad.”
He met her eye with passion and panic in his. “I am interested,” he said in a low, husky voice. “That’s the whole problem.”
Navy edged a little closer to him and took both of his hands in hers. “Why is that a problem?”
“You’re a pediatric nurse from Dallas. You have a job and a family and a life there. I don’t date women who don’t live in Three Rivers. I don’t date women who’ve gone to see my grandmother. I don’t date women who believe a coin in a wishing well will bring them the man of their dreams. I don’t date, period.”
Though some of his words jabbed into the fleshy parts of her heart, she smiled. Laughed—complete with the snort. “You’ve gotten crotchety in your old age.”
“Old age?” His eyebrows went as high as his voice.
Navy sobered, a chilling thought occurring to her. “Do you really want to be alone for the rest of your life?”
His jaw worked and his eyes stormed. “No,” he finally clipped out.
“Good,” Navy said, stretching up again. “Me either.” She put her hands on his shoulders to balance herself, a million watts of excitement and energy popping from her to him and back again. “I’ve kissed cowboys before,” she whispered. “The hat is always in the way.”
He removed it with one hand and steadied her with the other around her waist. But he didn’t lean down the four inches he needed to in order to touch her lips with his.
“Are you going to kiss me or what?” she asked.
It seemed that those words finally broke down whatever barrier he’d put between them. Because he dropped his beloved cowboy hat, wrapped both arms around her, and kissed her like she’d never been kissed before.
His mouth was cool and he tasted like chocolate and mint. Navy couldn’t get enough of him, and thankfully he seemed to feel the same about her as he prolonged the kiss.
14
Gavin knew the moment his lips touched Navy’s that he’d never kissed a woman like her. So full of spunk, and intelligence, and spirit. He held her tightly against him, never wanting her more than a few inches from him again.
He stroked his mouth over hers, glad when she responded eagerly. He moved his lips to her throat, which caused her to arch into him. His pulse raced and his breath came so quick, so quick.
After several seconds, he managed to calm himself and really enjoy the apple-y taste of her mouth, the swell of her hips against his palms, the presence of her so near him. When he finally pulled away and rested his forehead against hers, it was because he’d realized he was making out with her in a very public place.
“Wow,” she whispered. “I’d really like to know how you show a woman you’re interested in her, if that’s how you kiss someone you’re not interested in.”
Humiliation threaded through him. “Sometimes a person lies to themselves,” he whispered back. “It’s a defense mechanism you might be familiar with.”
She trilled out a little laugh that drove him wild. “So you are interested.”
He kissed her again. Kissed her until he felt sure his lips would bruise. Kissed her until she pulled away first. Then he said, “I like you, Navy Richards,” in a voice that sounded like he’d gargled with glass.
Gavin enjoyed her smile, liked the way she deliberately put her hand in his, even went along with her when she said, “Let’s look at this one first.”
“You know,” he said. “I don’t think you can just look around here. We probably need to call a realtor.”
“Probably,” she said as she reached the porch where his granddad had rested last week. Navy gave Gavin a flirty smile and twisted the doorknob. Cooler air beckoned him inside, so Gavin followed, though he very much felt like he was trespassing.
“This one has a little kitchen. And look.” She picked up a dust-covered piece of paper. “This is the Texas Railroad room.”
Gavin took in the railroad crossing posts on either side of the stripped down bed. The whole place smelled musty, and old—a lot like his grandparents’ house in the winter when they never opened the windows. He couldn’t help the way his nose scrunched up.
“I can’t imagine anyone would want to stay here,” he said.
“Well, you’d clean it up, obviously.” Navy put the laminated paper back on the kitchen counter. “I like it. It’s nice. This is all cosmetic stuff, like what you’re doing to my cabin.” She walked over to a door and discovered a bathroom.
Gavin thought if he poured time, money, and energy into the bed and breakfast, it would probably match the pictures in the real estate listing Navy had sent over.
But just because there were cabins didn’t make this place a ranch. Gavin wanted horses, and stables, and cows, and cowboys. He wanted wide open space and rustling prairie grasses. The Old Main Hill B&B had the wild grass part down, but it was literally one block away from downtown Three Rivers. Not exactly the kind of open space Gavin craved.
Still, he allowed Navy to lead him on an expedition through all eight cabins, as well as the main house. “You’d live here,” she said with this perma-grin on her face that was starting to rub Gavin the wrong way.
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“This is a bed and breakfast,” he said for the umpteenth time.
She ignored him, just as she had been for the past hour. They eventually went back to her house, but Gavin didn’t pick up with the painting. He lounged in the shade with her fingers held loosely in his, wondering if this might finally be the relationship that worked. Despite the fact that Navy had gone to see his grandmother and believed in the myths of Three Rivers.
No matter what, a sense of contentment had infected him. A feeling a peace he hadn’t experienced in quite a long time. So he held on to that and wasted the afternoon talking with Navy and kissing Navy and hoping Navy wouldn’t leave him high and dry the way everyone else had.
Gavin pulled the nail from between his lips and hammered it into the windowsill. How that had gotten broken was a mystery to him. Whoever had lived in this cabin before him must’ve had some really rowdy parties.
Probably why Squire suddenly needed a new cowhand.
The cabin out at Three Rivers Ranch wasn’t anything spectacular, but it served as a place of refuge and rest for the cowboys who worked the ranch.
Gavin wondered if Navy could ever picture herself out here with him. The idea couldn’t grow legs, because Gavin knew only the foreman got a larger cabin and was allowed a family.
He finished piecing the molding together for the windowsill, and he switched to sanding so he could paint next. The repairs on the cabin were almost finished, and then he could move in.
There were so many loose ends still in town, and he wondered again if this ranch was the right place for him to be.
He loved his time out here. It seemed like it was a patch of earth that was closer to the Lord than anywhere else on the planet. It was just so far away from his house, his grandparents…and Navy.
He’d been spending days fixing up this cabin and nights working at hers. She was great company, and he left a little bit drunk off her kisses every evening.
The door behind him opened, and he turned to see Squire walking in. “Hey, boss.”