Page 101 of Hometown Hottie

Slowly moving his gaze away from mine, he looked around the property like he was sizing it up. “By fall, you could have a few new income streams. Hopefully, you’ll be ready for the winter wedding and event season. It’s kind of hard to imagine this place teeming with people all dressed up, but it’s going to be good for you.”

I lifted my arms to hug him, but he took a deft step away and shook his head. That worry within me suddenly got so heavy that it felt like my chest was about to be crushed. “Carson?”

He hesitated, his eyes filled with remorse and regret when he finally brought them back to mine. “Maybe us getting together wasn’t such a good idea after all, Nova. I understand your hesitation now. I, uh, I won’t bother you anymore.”

“What?” I took a step closer to him, feeling like his words were slicing me open. “You’re not bothering me, Carson. You could never bother me and I wasn’t hesitant.”

He gave his head a slight shake. “No, you were hesitant, and I really do get it now. You were right all along. Ryan is never going to accept this and he’s going to keep getting between us. You need to focus on your family. They’re going to need you, and if all these businesses are going to work, you’re going to need them. That can’t happen if you and Ryan are constantly fighting, and if I stick around, you will be.”

“No. That’s not⁠—”

“It’s okay, Nova.” For the first time today, he managed a small smile when he looked at me. “I don’t want you getting hurt. Not because of me.” He pulled in a big breath of air, filling his lungs with oxygen before he started toward his truck again. “I’ll see you around, Nova. Good luck.”

He climbed into his truck and I watched him drive away, knowing that he wasn’t coming back anytime soon. My heart shattered, and pain seared through me, hurting me in places I hadn’t even known could hurt.

Tears spilled down my cheeks, and I wrapped my arms around my torso to hold myself together. I kept praying he would come back. That he would suddenly turn around and hear me out, but when his truck disappeared around the far bend, I knew it really was over.

My mouth dropped open and a soft sob spilled out of me, but the sound triggered a much more primal response. Anger.

Ryanwas responsible for this. It was his fault that Carson thought we didn’t have a chance. If it hadn’t been for my boneheaded brother, my heart would still be in one piece.

Heartbroken and pissed off wasn’t a good combination for me, and I spun on my heels, this time intent on not stopping until I’d found the asshole. As it turned out, he was done with the herd and I found him in one of the barns.

I walked in, and the jerk had the nerve to narrow his eyes at me when he saw who it was. “Nova? You here to apologize?”

“No, I’m here to talk, and for once in our fucking lives, you’re going to listen to me.” I stopped a few feet away from him. When he realized I was crying, he looked shocked, then worried, but before he could say a single word or ask a single question, I lit into him. “You had no right to storm into my house yesterday or to pick a fight with Carson for being with me. It’s not cute anymore, Ryan. It was uncalled for even when I was in high school, but now? Now it’s just plain unacceptable.”

He scoffed, standing his ground now that he knew what it was about. “Date whoever you want, Nova, but stay away from my friends. No doubt he’s the one who made you cry anyway, so I guess I don’t have to be worried about that anymore. There’s a whole world of people out there for you. It’s not my fault you went after the one guy who was always going to hurt you, so don’t take your anger at him out on me.”

“It’s not him I’m angry at,” I yelled, feeling my cheeks heat and my heart race. “I’m twenty-seven years old and I get to decide who I want to be with. I don’t need your input or your permission, and I sure as hell don’t need you barging in on private moments and trying to break the guy’s damn nose. He hasn’t hurt me. You have.”

Ryan shook his head at me. “I haven’t even seen you today, little sister.”

“No, but you have ruined any kind of friendship you might’ve had with Carson and whatever relationship you could’ve had with Cassidy, for that matter. Oh, and you also ended my relationship with Carson, so I guess we’ve got that in common. We’ve both lost him.”

“Don’t bring Cassidy into this,” he snapped, but he looked struck by my words.

I huffed out a breath through my nose. “She’s already in this, big brother. You might not have realized it before now, but she doesn’t take kindly to this kind of shit. Unlike you, Cassidy believes in love. Believes in respect, and integrity, and even when she doesn’t believe that someone’s doing the right thing, she’ll fight like hell for their right to do it. In this case, though, she believes that Carson is right for me because she’s not blind and she doesn’t insist on sticking her head in the sand. The way you’ve been acting is revolting and she knows it.”

As he opened his mouth to respond, I started backing away, my heart still in pieces and my insides feeling strangely empty now that I’d told him everything I’d been holding back for so long. I spun to leave, but before I stormed out, I gave him one last look. “Carson is investing in the ranch. You should thank him for saving this place. Just, you know, be sure to show some fucking gratitude. As of about twenty minutes ago, you and I owe him everything we’re about to have.”