Page 102 of Hometown Hottie

50

CARSON

Ilooked through the rundown farmhouse on the outskirts of town with Vance. Having officially fired Frank for a second time, my new realtor turned to face me, smiling but seeming nervous as he tried to assess my feelings about the place.

“It’s a real fixer-upper,” he said. “Like I mentioned on the phone, I do other, newer listings, but nothing with this kind of acreage. I know this is a lot of work, though. Maybe more than you’re willing to take on?”

I shrugged. “Let me take a look around. I’ll let you know.”

The guy literally bowed as he left us, hurrying back to his car outside.

Vance arched an eyebrow at me. “You’re seriously considering this place? It’s a dump, and it’s only two bedrooms. Why don’t you just buy something new, or go back to your original plan and build? Or is that why you’re looking at this? Are you going to tear it down and build here?”

“No,” I said, my head shaking. “I don’t know actually. I might eventually tear it down or do something else with it, but it’s fine for now.”

He made a confused face at me. “It is?” Pointing up, he tilted his head back. “That’s a hole, Carson. In the ceiling. Right through the roof. I don’t really see how that’s going to be fine.”

“I’ll get someone to fix it,” I said, really not able to bring myself to care.

I started heading toward the tiny kitchen and he fell into step beside me. “Okay, that’s enough. What happened? I know you didn’t get into it with Ryan again. There are no new bruises on your face. Is it his parents? Did they turn you down?”

“Nah. They’re taking the money. You’re officially looking at the guy who’s investing in the dawn of a whole new era at Red Stone Ranch.”

“Wow, that’s awesome.” He grinned. “Congratulations. Is that it, though? Are you sad because it’s going to cost you more than you thought it would or is there something else going on?”

I shrugged, my gaze roaming around the kitchenette and living area. I finally told him about the other possibility I had on the horizon. “I’m rethinking my retirement.”

“Whoa. What the fuck?”

“I’m done on the field, but there are a few opportunities for me to become a broadcaster, which is something I think I could be good at.”

“Wow, that’s huge.” Disbelief shone from his eyes and his jaw went slack. “Just the other day, we were talking about how good it was to be home. What the fuck happened?”

“This will still be home. Even if I do take one of the jobs I’ve been offered, I’ll always come back here. It would just mean being gone for a while at a time, which means that, for now, I’ll only need a place to land. Nothing fancy. Besides, a two-bedroom place is right up my alley if I’m going to be a bachelor forever.”

Vance groaned and sank to his haunches before he darted a glare up at me. “I can’t believe this is happening, man. Nova broke up with you. Is that it?”

“Nope.”

“What then?”

I sighed, trying to ignore the pain that radiated from my very blood when I told him the truth. “I broke up with her.”

His face went ashen. He straightened back up and clasped my shoulder. “I’m sorry, man. I wouldn’t have suggested that you keep your distance if I thought you were going to take it as having to break up with her.”

“That’s not why I did it.” God, why does this hurt so much? “It just wasn’t meant to be right now. I told you how upset she was after the fight the other day, right?”

He nodded. I blew out a heavy breath, feeling like my lungs had grown too small to keep it in there anymore. “If I didn’t end it, she just would’ve kept on getting upset. Every time Ryan and I saw each other, he would’ve come at me. Ultimately, she’s the one who would pay the price for it. I just realized that I couldn’t do that to her.”

“I’m sorry, bud. That sucks,” he said sympathetically. “It doesn’t mean you have to be a bachelor forever, though. There are plenty of other women out there without surly older brothers. Many of those women even live in this town. You don’t have to leave.”

“I’m not leaving. At worst, I’ll be commuting,” I reasoned. “I’m happy to be back. I really am. I just need to reassess some things.”

“Broadcasting?” he asked, cocking his head at me. “Funny. I’ve never heard you talking about it before.”

I shrugged. “I wasn’t thinking about doing it before, but now?”

He sighed. “I could ask Jessie to set you up with one of her friends? Another friend. Not Nova, obviously. I know you’re not ready to start seeing someone else, but maybe you just need to be reminded there are other fish in the sea.”