“Yep,” Evie said with a sigh. “It’s so small that everyone knows everyone else. My graduating class was only thirty-nine kids.”
“Wow.” Carson looked over at her. The forlorn expression on her face made him curious. He slowed the truck and stopped in full view of the school. “Was it really that bad?”
Evie shifted her gaze to him, and he marveled at how the blue of her eyes could morph into so many shades. “Define bad. When you have three older brothers who are popular and good at everything, and all the girls want to date, yeah, I had no real friends. And every guy who I liked wouldn’t dare talk to me, let alone ask me out, because Holt and Knox would give them the riot act. Oh, and it was a total double standard, because I think Knox went through a different girlfriend every week.”
“Did you ever talk to your parents about it?”
“Ha,” Evie said. “What teenage girl tattles on her brothers to parents who idolize the boys in the family? I mean, my mom still thinks Knox walks on water even after he cheated on his own wife.”
Carson blinked. This, he hadn’t expected. “Is that why they divorced?”
“Yeah,” Evie said. “Of course, there’s more to it than that, but it’s all in the past now, and my family is trying to move on.”
“That sounds rough.”
She nodded. “So, my mom’s already talked to the principal and everything, and I promised that I’d meet with her tomorrow. Just to make my mom happy, of course.”
“Of course.” Carson didn’t really know what to tell Evie. Well, he knew what he wanted to tell her, but he shouldn’t. She was already getting enough pressure from her mom, and Carson telling her to consider Prosper would be purely for selfish reasons on his part.
Because Evie moving back to Prosper, and living and working here, sounded like the most perfect thing ever.
“What do you want, Evie?” he asked. “I mean, if you could orchestrate the rest of the year, what would it look like?”
She cast a sideways glance at him, and he was surprised to see her cheeks flood with color. “That’s the problem. I’ve applied to several places, as well as my dream job—at the major newspaper office in San Antonio. The places that have gotten back to me are at the bottom of my list as far as what I’m looking for. One’s near Dallas, which feels too far away. Ironic, I know. But it would be nice to be only an hour away from home. It’s a Catch-22, since everyone wants experience, you know?”
“Maybe you need to settle for something before you get the position you really want.”
She nodded. “Maybe.”
“Could you get the experience in Prosper?” he asked, testing the waters.
Her gaze narrowed. “Have you been talking to my mom?”
“Nope.” He hid a smile. “Think about it. You have established relationships here already, and so they’ll likely hire you. Once you have some experience, maybe a year or two, then you’ll have a stronger resume to apply for the newspaper in San Antonio, or somewhere else.”
“A year or two, huh?”
His smile appeared anyway. “Yep.”
She was watching him, and his heart was racing. He reached for her hand, even though he knew it was risking a lot. They were parked in his truck, and he wasn’t leading her anywhere, or at least not technically.
“I think it’s something worth considering,” he said. She hadn’t pulled her hand away, so he decided that was a good thing.
“I don’t know,” she said. “Being home scrambles my brain. My brothers annoy me like crazy, but I love being around my mom. I guess I just appreciate her like I never have before, even if she does ask a lot of questions about you.”
This both surprised and pleased Carson. “About me?”
“Yeah.” Evie glanced down at their linked hands, and yeah, he could pretty much read her mind. What’s happening here? He was wondering the same thing.
“I need to get back home,” she said, “and I’m sure your grandpa needs more mulch burned or something.”
He chuckled. Point taken. He released her hand and turned the truck around, wondering if something between him and Evie Prosper was just starting up, or already ending.
Evie really shouldn’t be making a habit of slipping over to the Hunt property at midnight. But the moon had been peeking through the clouds for the past hour, reminding her of the stargazing from last night, and so she’d finally climbed out of bed and left the house. One thing led to another, and before she knew it, she was in her mom’s car, driving off the property.
Would Carson be awake? What would he think of her sudden appearance again?
He and his grandpa had come over for dinner again, and the entire conversation had been about Mr. Hunt building some corrals on his land, and Holt boarding more horses there. Everyone seemed to be in favor, and the discussions went long past dinner. Evie had listened, with only partial interest though, since her mind could only focus on how Carson’s gaze kept moving to her.
Was it possible for a man to be better looking with every passing hour? Or was she just letting her crush on Carson get out of control? He’d held her hand in the truck, and he’d suggested she give Prosper a try. Was it because he wanted to be around her more? Was she reading too much into it? Why else would he hold her hand?
Evie was terrible at reading signals, she decided.
So, this was the real reason she was pulling up to the Hunt house so late at night. If Carson did come out of the house, then yeah, she was going to ask him point blank. Do you like me? Why did you hold my hand?
She took a deep breath and climbed out of the car. It was then she realized that she wasn’t exactly wearing normal clothes. Her PJ shorts and oversized sweatshirt were something to lounge in bed with, but not to pay a late-night visit to a very hot male.
And . . . there he was. Sitting on the top step of the porch, as if he’d been . . . waiting for her?
“Hi,” she said as he rose to his feet. “Sorry I didn’t tell you I was coming over. I needed to ask you a couple of things. Away from my family.” She might be talking too fast, but it seemed easier that way.
He hadn’t said a word, but just walked toward her, all hunky and tall in the moonlight. At least he had a shirt on, so that was very, very good. He still had his boots on, but no cowboy hat. The earlier breeze of the day had grown into a stronger wind, and his button-down shirt rippled against his torso.
“I’m glad I didn’t wake you, though,” she said because he still wasn’t talking, but she could feel the intensity of his gaze.
He stopped in front of her, his thumbs hooked into the belt loops of his jeans. “What would you have done if you had?”
Evie bit her lip. What kind of question was that? “Apologize?”
The edge of his mouth lifted, and her heart skipped a beat, or two or three.
“I wouldn’t have minded,” he said.
“If I apologized or woke you up?”
He lifted his shoulders. “Either. Although the clouds are covering the stars tonight, so that sky’s not much to look at.” He was studying her face, as if he wanted to read her thoughts. “What did you need to ask me?”
“Uh,” she started, her earlier gumption fading fast. It was darker than usual tonight with the clouds, and although the moonlight peeked through, they were surrounded by the cool, black night. She was also noticing the scruff on his jaw, and she guessed he hadn’t shaved since spring break started. It made him look more rugged, more cowboy-like—the type she’d sworn off because they stayed in small towns. “I guess I wanted to know why you’re being so nice to me.”
His forehead creased. “What do you mean?”
What did she mean? “Well, I can’t figure out why you’re being so nice to me. Do you like me, or are you just in cahoots with my family and trying to talk me into coming back to Prosper?”
“I barely know your family.”
“I know, but they can be very persuasive.” She set her hands on her hips. “I mean, my dad is the mayor, and my bro
thers are going into business with your grandpa, and my mom has fed you dinner twice.”
Carson was still staring at her, like he wasn’t sure how to answer. Then he smiled.
“What? Are they bribing you or something?”
Carson ran a hand through his hair, then shook his head. “You’re something else, Evie Prosper.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
He stepped closer and lowered his head, his voice quiet when he said, “You really came over here to ask me if your family was bribing me to be nice to you so that you’d want to move back to Prosper?”
Evie swallowed. “Yes?” She inched back because Carson had moved closer again. Her back brushed the side of the car. Any closer, and they’d be touching. She caught his scent of musk and soap.
“Evie,” he said, his voice a low rumble. Had he always said her name like that? “The answer is no, your family isn’t bribing me in any way, shape, or form.” He set his hand on the car, next to her shoulder, nearly trapping her between the car and his body, although he still wasn’t touching her.
“Then why?”
His gaze scanned her face, dipping to her lips. She had an insane urge to fish around for some Chapstick. Why was he looking at her lips?
“I don’t think you want me to answer that,” he said.
Evie’s brows popped up. “Why not?”
He lifted his other hand and ran his thumb along her cheek, then tucked some of her blowing hair behind her ear. Did he realize that his touch was giving her all kinds of thoughts? He didn’t drop his hand, but rested it on her shoulder. So now her heart was pounding, and her legs turning to water.
“I’ll answer your question if you answer mine.”
“Okay,” she said, her voice a mere breath.
“Why haven’t you ever been kissed?”
Evie blinked, then blinked again. His body wasn’t pressed against hers, but she could feel the warmth of his body all the same. “It’s not that guys haven’t tried to kiss me, but we’ve always been interrupted, and then everything fizzled. Every time. Bad luck, I guess.”
That crease between his brows appeared again. “Interrupted, how?”
He really wanted to know this? When she was about to melt on the spot?
“Um, my only date in high school was sort of a disaster from the start,” she said. “I mean, we had fun as a group for senior prom. When Aaron dropped me off at my house, he walked me to the door. I knew he liked me, and I liked him, but my brothers had been cornering him all week at school and lecturing him. I could tell he was getting his courage up, and he grabbed my hands in his super sweaty ones. Just as he leaned in, my brothers opened the front door. Aaron jumped about a mile high and ran back to his truck. He never spoke to or even looked at me again.”
Carson was smiling.
“It’s not funny,” Evie said, slapping his chest.
He caught her hand against his chest. “It’s a little bit funny.”
Evie made a face. “That’s because it didn’t happen to you.”
“What about your next almost-kiss?”
He was still holding her hand against his chest, and she could feel the warmth of his skin coming through his shirt. “My freshman year in college, I went out with a guy in my math class. He was geeky, but in a cute way.”
Carson’s fingers wrapped around her hand, securing her even closer.
“He tried to kiss me in his car, but someone literally ran into us,” she said. “It was just a fender bender, but that kind of ruined the moment, and he never asked me out again.”
Now, Carson was grinning.
“I see that I’m your night’s entertainment,” she said.
“You are,” he said. “Who was your next victim?”
She tried to slap his chest again, but he held her hand firmly.
“Seth and I were on our second date,” she said. “We’d gotten ice cream cones and were walking across campus. He stopped me near a tree, and just before he kissed me, the sky crackled with lightning. Then the rain came, pouring like we were in a tropical storm. We ran for cover, but all he could talk about was that he’d dropped his cell phone somewhere. So we spent the next twenty minutes searching for it in the rain and mud.”
Carson chuckled. “Let me guess, he didn’t call you.”
“Nope,” she said. Carson was so close that she could practically hear his heartbeat. Could he hear hers thumping away?
“Well, the way I see it, sweetness, is that your brothers are nowhere in sight,” Carson drawled. “And we’re not sitting in a car. And it’s overcast, but no pending storm.”
“The way you see it?” she asked. “What are you talking about?”
“I think I need to help you break your no-kissing streak.” He moved his hand to cradle her face.
“Oh, really?” she whispered, her pulse racing like a mad horse.
“Really,” he whispered back. “What do you think, sweetness?”
She swallowed. She inhaled, then exhaled. Her stomach felt like she was on the first turn of a rollercoaster. She only had to say one word, and everything would change. She let her eyelids flutter shut, then she said, “Yes.”
Carson’s hand slipped behind her neck, and his mouth found hers. His mouth was warm, and his lips soft. The scruff of his jaw scraped against her chin, sending tingles through her. Carson was kissing her. She was being kissed! For the first time. Ever. She should have frozen, but her imagination seemed to have dreamt of this moment for a very long time, and her arms wrapped around his neck, her heels lifted up, and her body pressed close.
She moved her mouth against his, mimicking his movements, trying to learn, trying to kiss him like he was kissing her. His hand that was braced against the car moved to her waist, and he drew her even closer as he continued to kiss her slowly. Taking his time. Sending bursts of heat through her.
It was hard to catch a full breath, but she didn’t care. Her every sense was on alert as the curves of her body fit against the planes of his. Her fingers found his hair, and she dragged them through his softness. His hand moved up her back, skimming over her sweatshirt, then anchoring at the nape of her neck.
When he broke off their kiss and lifted his head, she opened her eyes to find him gazing at her.
“I think you’re lying,” he rasped.
Surprise zinged through her. “What?”
His eyes were as dark as the night, and his breathing was as rapid as hers. “You kiss like you know what you’re doing.”
His body was still pressed against hers, and she didn’t want him to stop kissing her. Not for a long time. “Maybe I’m a natural.”
A smiled formed on his face. Then he was kissing her again. This time, it wasn’t slow and gentle and simmering. This time, he trapped her against the car, and tugged her hips against his. She opened her mouth to him, and he took it deeper, as if he’d been waiting for her permission. Well, he had it.
She had to clutch his shirt to hang on, because she was pretty sure her feet weren’t touching the ground. And she was also pretty sure she wouldn’t ever release him. Carson’s mouth on hers was an ambrosia she could have never imagined or dreamed up. Was it him? Or was all kissing like this?
A light blared to her right, and it took her a second to realize that the porch light had turned on. Was Carson’s grandpa . . .
Carson didn’t release her, though. He seemed to be completely oblivious to the screen door creaking open and his grandpa’s voice calling out, “Carson, you out there? You didn’t lock up.”
Evie didn’t know whether to laugh or be mortified. Carson hadn’t moved, hadn’t released her, although now he was resting his forehead against hers. Grinning at her.
“Your grandpa’s on the porch,” she whispered.
“I know,” Carson said. “Give him a minute, he’ll go away.”
“I can hear you, Carson,” his grandpa said. “Where are you?”
Then, a flashlight shone in their faces.
Carson t
urned, holding up his hand against the glare. “Pops! Turn it off!”
“Oh, you are out here,” his grandpa said. “I wasn’t sure.”
“Turn it off,” Carson demanded again, and the flashlight flicked off.
Evie thought she heard a chuckle from the old man.
“Good night, Evie,” Mr. Hunt said before going back inside and letting the screen door snap closed behind him.
“Good night, Mr. Hunt,” Evie said in a tremulous tone.
Carson pulled her close again, his hands sliding over her shoulders.
“Sorry about that,” he rumbled.
“I did warn you that kissing me was a hazard.”
Carson smiled. “You did. But I think we got plenty of kissing in before we were interrupted, so I consider that progress.”
Evie knew what was coming next. He’d release her, and she’d get in the car and drive back home. Then she’d lay awake reliving it all again and again. And tomorrow? What? Would she and Carson hang out? Kiss again? Avoid each other? She was so lost.
“You’re thinking too hard,” he said, his tone teasing. “Stop biting your lip. It just makes me want to kiss you again.”
Evie smirked, and Carson kissed her anyway. It was a soft kiss, a lingering kiss, like he was reluctant to release her.
When he finally did pull away, she had to ask. “Carson . . . ?”
“Hmm?”
“Why did you kiss me?”
His eyes crinkled at the corners. “Are you sure you want to know?”
What kind of question was that? She nodded.
Carson traced a lazy circle along her neck with his thumb. “Because I like you, Evie Prosper,” he said, “and I’ve been thinking about kissing you for a while.”
“My family—”
His fingers covered her mouth. “Stop. This isn’t about your family.” He moved his fingers and kissed the edge of her mouth. Then he kissed lower, just beneath her jaw. “You’re ruining the mood when you talk about your family while I’m trying to kiss you.”
She could feel his smile against her neck.
“Don’t blame my family,” she said. “It was your grandpa who shined a flashlight in our eyes.”
Steal My Heart (Prosperity Ranch Book 2) Page 9