He chuckled, then continued his exploration of her neck.
Evie was on fire, absolutely going up in flames. She slipped her hands into his hair and closed her eyes as waves of sensation crashed through her. When his lips grazed her collarbone, she knew she had to tell him good night, or her brain would be completely scrambled.
“Carson, I should go.”
His arms tightened about her for a moment as he inhaled, then he lifted his head.
She met his gaze with a half-smile. “Thanks for breaking my no-kissing record.”
His brows quirked. “Really? Is that what’s happening?”
“You said so yourself.”
“Yeah, well . . .” his voice trailed off as he ran his fingers along her braid. “This is not a one-time thing, so you’d better not ghost me.”
Evie’s heart might have fluttered. “You know where to find me. Or my brothers.”
“Hmm.” His gaze was on her, his eyes half-slitted. “What time do you get up? Maybe we can get breakfast at that diner.”
She stared at him. Going out in public with Carson, especially if he did any sort of PDA, would pretty much announce to the entire world that they were . . . together. Did one kiss—okay, a lot of kissing in one night—make them a couple? Were they a couple? Would it be lame to ask? To show how clueless she felt?
“You can say no,” Carson said, his brow wrinkling as he stepped away, leaving a gap of cool air between them. “I mean, if it takes you this long to decide, then I think I know the answer.”
“Wait,” she said, grasping his arm. “I mean, yes, I’ll go to breakfast with you. Is this like a date?”
His gaze searched hers for a moment. “Yes, ma’am. That is, if it’s okay with you.”
“Seven-thirty, then. After the ranch hands get their breakfast, so it’s not too crowded.”
Carson tipped an imaginary hat. “All right, then. I’ll be the guy on your front porch at 7:30 in the morning.”
Her heart was about to burst at the sight of this beautiful man in the moonlight, telling her he’d be picking her up for breakfast in a handful of hours. “Okay.”
“Okay?”
She nodded, a smile spreading on her face.
“Good.” He reached around her and opened her door.
But before she could slide past him, he lifted his hand to her jaw to anchor her in place. He kissed her again, chastely, but he lingered, and her eyes floated shut.
“Good night,” he whispered.
“Good night,” she whispered back.
Carson Hunt was in trouble. His grandad stood in his bedroom doorway before the crack of dawn. Hands on his skinny hips, cowboy boots caked in mud, and his shirt sopping wet. It had rained during the night, but Carson hadn’t minded. In fact, he liked the patter of rain while he thought about the delicious kiss, or multiple kisses, with Evie.
She’d been perfect. Too perfect. And that’s why he was in trouble.
Whatever Grandad wanted could be fixed, Carson was sure of it.
But, Evie? That was much more complicated.
“What’s going on?” Carson asked, sitting up in bed and scrubbing at his hair.
“The garden’s completely flooded, and everything we planted yesterday is washed out.”
“That’s not good.” Carson reached for a shirt and slipped it on. Then he snatched his jeans. Next came on his boots. “Can anything be salvaged?”
“I don’t know,” Grandad said.
It wasn’t like Grandad to be so dejected by a few washed-out plants. Yeah, the work would have to be redone, but as Carson passed by him, he slowed.
“Everything okay, Pops?” he asked.
Grandad folded his arms. “What are your intentions with Evie Prosper?”
This stopped Carson cold. He eyed his grandad. “We’re spending a little time together.”
“I got that,” Grandad said. “Seeing the two of you lip-locked last night made that loud and clear. But that woman isn’t someone you can date, then drop later. She’s pure-blood around here, and if I know any of the Prosper men, they’ll have your hide for ‘spending a little time’ with her.”
Carson frowned. “She’s twenty-two, and we didn’t do anything more than—”
Grandad raised a hand. “You don’t need to explain to me, son; I’m just telling you how it is.”
With a sigh, Carson folded his arms and leaned against the wall in the hallway. “She told me about her brothers and how they’d grill guys who were interested in her. She didn’t even really date until she went to college because of that.” He wasn’t going to tell his grandad that last night had been her first kiss ever. That might make this all into a bigger deal.
“I’m not surprised,” Grandad said. “Those men are protective of their own. They aren’t going to stand by while some dude takes advantage of their sister.”
Carson’s stomach clenched. “I’m not taking advantage of her. She’s an amazing woman, and I think she likes me, too.” Well, he knew she liked him, even if she didn’t want to fully admit she might like a small-town cowboy.
“I know you’d never take advantage of a woman,” Grandad said. “You haven’t even dated since Stacee, and I’m glad you’re starting to live beyond school and work now. Seeing that there’s a life out there to be had. And Evie Prosper seems like a good woman all the way around. She’s young, in my opinion, but everyone seems young to me nowadays.”
Carson waited for his grandad to drop the bomb, and here it came . . .
“But unless you are dating Evie Prosper for keeps, you’d better steer clear of her,” Grandad said. “I plan on retiring here and living out the rest of my life. I don’t want a neighborly feud because my grandson messed around with the mayor’s daughter.”
Carson’s mouth opened, then shut. He shook his head, hardly believing his grandad was basically giving him two choices. He felt like he’d just met Evie, yet also felt like he knew her better than anyone he’d ever dated, including Stacee. Evie wore her heart on her sleeve, she was vulnerable, she was sweet, she was adorable, and Carson wanted to see her every minute of the day.
He didn’t know the future, especially with Evie not interested in living in Prosper. Unless . . . he had some power to convince her. But right now, he couldn’t make any promises, and his grandad had to know that.
“I won’t do anything to embarrass you or piss off the Prosper family,” Carson said, clasping a hand on his shoulder. “Now, let me see what the damage is. I’ve got a breakfast appointment in an hour, and when the ground is dry enough, I’ll put the garden to rights.”
His grandad grumbled, but there was a lighter step to his stride as Carson followed him down the hallway.
“Am I invited to this breakfast appointment?” Grandad asked over his shoulder.
“I’ll bring you back a box of food, how does that sound?”
Grandad chuckled. “You’re a stubborn boy, you know that?”
They’d reached the back door, and Carson looked over at his grandad, the man who’d sacrificed so much to provide for his two grandsons. “I’m not going to be breaking anyone’s heart,” Carson said. “I’ve had enough of that in my life already.”
Grandad lifted his chin. “I trust you, son, always have.”
With a lump in his throat, Carson opened the back door and walked out onto the patio. Yep, Pops had been right. The garden was completely washed out. He walked to the edge of the scrubby grass, not getting into the mud just yet. There would be time for that later.
“I’ll stop by the feed store and pick out more starters,” Carson told his grandad, who’d come to join him. “Maybe we should set up a tarp? Are we expecting more downpours like this?”
“Nah,” Grandad said, rubbing the back of his sunburned neck. Then he lit a cigarette. “This, from what I hear, doesn’t happen too often. And when you get back, we’ve got to sketch out where we want the corrals.”
“You’ve decided to accept Holt Prosper’s offer?”
“I have.”<
br />
So the two families would be in business together. As Carson washed up before going over to Prosperity Ranch, he wished he didn’t feel like time was running out. Both he and Evie graduated next month, and both would be making lifelong decisions.
Though he’d been here only a few days, Carson already knew he’d be moving to Prosper. For how long, he didn’t know. But at least initially. Grandad needed help, and Carson would never be able to pay back what Grandad had done for him, but he could at least try. Whether that meant staying beyond the few months it would take to get the house in decent shape and help with building the corrals, he didn’t know.
By the time he reached Prosperity Ranch and walked up the steps of the front porch, the sun had already cleared the horizon, and the cool morning air felt good on Carson’s perspiring neck. Yeah, he was nervous for some reason. Probably because he wasn’t sure how Evie would react to him. They’d crossed a pretty major line last night, and if Carson had his way, their relationship would keep progressing. But what did Evie think?
He was about to knock softly when the door opened, and Evie stepped out. She wasn’t wearing the baggy sweatshirt and shorts of last night, or the jeans of earlier in that day—she wore a pretty sundress. It reminded him of the first night he saw her. Her hair was down in long waves, and the patterned green sundress skimmed the tops of her knees.
She turned and shut the door behind her, then tugged on a denim jacket over her bare shoulders. Carson stepped close to help her slide into it.
“Thank you,” she said, glancing up at him.
He saw the vulnerability and wariness in her blue eyes.
“Good morning,” he said.
Her lips curved. “Good morning.”
Then, he leaned down and kissed her. A soft, brief, totally unplanned kiss. He didn’t know if she was surprised, but he was stunned himself. It seemed the moment he saw her, something inside of him had caved.
He lifted his head and found her eyes on him.
“Well, Carson Hunt, you’re definitely not a shy man.”
“Never have been.”
She turned, a half-smile on her face, and walked down the steps.
Carson watched her for a moment, then caught up and opened the passenger door. He placed his hand on her elbow as she climbed into the truck. She didn’t say anything, but clipped on her seatbelt. So he shut the door and walked around the front of the truck. When he climbed in and started it, he glanced over at her. “You look beautiful this morning.”
“So do you,” she said, her cheeks flushing a pretty pink. “I mean, handsome or whatever you want to call it.”
He smiled as he pulled out of the driveway, then reached for her hand, and her fingers slipped easily through his. Warm and smooth. It was nice—very nice. “You can call me whatever you want, sweetness.”
“Are you always like this with the ladies?”
He glanced over at her before pulling onto the main road. Her gaze was teasing, but he knew the question was leading. “You’re the only lady I’m with.”
She raised a brow. “Is that also what you tell all the ladies?”
He ran his thumb over her knuckles. “I haven’t dated since I broke up with my girlfriend two years ago.”
He felt the shift in the air from her surprise, and her curiosity. He should probably explain, because he needed to tell her some things. Things that the woman he was dating should know, and he sure hoped they were dating. But they were nearly to the diner. He pulled into the angled parking spot in front of the restaurant and shut off the engine. Instead of letting go of her hand, he said, “Two years ago, my older brother, Rhett, was killed in a motorcycle accident. A lot of things changed after that, including my relationship with my girlfriend, Stacee.”
Evie stayed silent, gazing at their clasped hands.
“I went through a rough patch,” he said. “Didn’t really talk to anyone for a while. Maybe it was depression or something, or long-term grief. Basically, my friends stopped coming around eventually. Stacee gave up. My grandad was virtually the only one I talked to for months. Him and my coaches, if only absolutely necessary. Otherwise, I kept my head down, did my workouts on the team, played the games, went to classes, and avoided all social interaction.”
Evie shifted in her seat and faced him. She placed her other hand on his forearm. “I’m sorry about your brother,” she said. “I don’t even know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything,” Carson said. “No one knows what to say. That’s just it. I’m working through this on my own time. Yeah, it’s taking a while, but I can’t go at anyone else’s pace.”
Evie moved her hand up his arm, slowly caressing his skin. “Don’t worry about anyone else, then. You do what you have to do.”
He nodded. “I have been. That’s why I decided to continue with my education at another school. I couldn’t face all the guys on my team anymore. I needed a fresh start, but I wasn’t ready to face the real world, either. Grandad’s offer is a major blessing in my life, like he’s always been.”
Evie was watching him closely, and yes, there was compassion and sympathy in her eyes. Something he’d seen dozens of times in his former friends’ eyes. But with Evie, it didn’t bother him. It didn’t weigh him down with more responsibility to get over the death of his brother and be back to his old self again.
“What was he like?”
“Rhett?”
She nodded.
Carson exhaled. “He was good at everything, A showman, or a showoff, I guess. But I had more discipline, so I ended up getting the athletic scholarship. He came to all my games. Both he and Grandad. They were both my number-one support.”
“And your parents?”
“My mom took off soon after I was born. I haven’t seen my dad since I was thirteen.”
Her fingers tightened on his. “Your grandad’s a good man.”
“The best.”
She looked up at him then, and in her eyes, he saw a spark of something. More than compassion. Understanding? “I think you’ll grow to love Prosper, Carson. You can find a home here. People who you can care about and not have to try to be someone you aren’t.”
“I don’t know about Prosper ever being a true home,” he said in a soft voice.
One of her eyebrows arched. “Give it time.”
He lifted his other hand to cup her cheek. “I’m trying to, but without you in Prosper, I can’t make any guarantees.”
Her eyes widened, and maybe he’d been too bold and open, but when he leaned down and gently kissed her, she still kissed him back. So he decided he’d take that small victory. When he reluctantly drew away, she said, “Carson, you know what I’ve already decided.”
He brushed his fingers along her neck, then drew one of her wavy locks forward. “I know, but can you blame a man for trying?”
Carson Hunt was mesmerizing. That was the only way Evie could explain it. The fact that he hadn’t dated for the past two years had astounded her. And the fact that he’d lost his older brother in a tragic accident was heartbreaking.
This man had past sorrows that she couldn’t even begin to comprehend, yet, here he was in a tiny town in Texas, helping out his grandad. Even though Carson would soon earn a prestigious master’s degree, he was set on helping his grandad with his business of restoring rodeo grounds, which amounted to a lot of paperwork and tons of manual labor.
As they ate at the diner—Evie having chosen the two-scrambled-egg plate, and Carson the same thing, but adding on a stack of hot cakes—she barely noticed anyone else in the restaurant. Oh, she’d said hi to folks, but she’d been anxious to return her focus to Carson. Because he was practically all she could think about anyway, and this was their first official date, right?
“Tell me why you decided to go into graphic design,” Carson asked, after finishing off his orange juice.
Evie shrugged. Normally, she told people it was because graphic design was less risky than other types of art. One could always
make a living at it. But after Carson had bared his soul to her, she didn’t want to give him her generic answer. “When I was a kid, I used to spend hours at the library going through news websites. I was fascinated by news, but mostly I was fascinated by the website layouts. I know, it’s totally geeky.”
Carson’s eyes were warm as he listened. “It’s not geeky. I’d love to see your stuff.”
Evie shrugged. “Well, maybe you’ll get lucky, because they’re amazing.”
He chuckled, and she was glad he knew she was kidding.
“I just wish I could figure out something that will set me above the other interviewees.”
Carson nodded. “What if you bring graphic design samples, you know, of your ideas to improve the newspaper’s website.”
Evie blinked. “That’s a really good idea.”
“Unless it would take too much time.”
“I could just do one or two samples,” she said. “It would give them an idea of what I can do that’s directly related to them.”
“Exactly.” Carson smiled, and she smiled back.
“I thought that was you,” a woman said, her voice sing-songing above Evie.
She looked up to see Barb. They’d never been friends because the two-year age gap had seemed too great back in school. Plus, Evie was hardly the popular girl in school. More like the person everyone avoided, unless they were trying to get to one of her brothers. Barb was dressed to the nines, as usual. Her blonde hair was pulled into a high ponytail, and she looked like she could step into an arena and take first place in barrel-racing by appearance alone. Her white jeans were studded with sequins on the seams, and her orange and white shirt reminded Evie of a Creamsicle ice cream bar.
Her silver earrings bobbed, and her silver bracelets jangled as she propped a hand on her hip. “Evie Prosper, it’s been a day and a year since I saw you. Now, look at you, you’re all grown up.”
Evie smiled, although she only felt annoyed at the interruption. She rose from her chair and gave Barb a quick hug. A cloud of perfume seemed to hover around the woman.
When Evie pulled away, Barb’s gaze had already lasered to Carson.
Steal My Heart (Prosperity Ranch Book 2) Page 10