Chapter 2

TWO

Huxley

“She knows,” I blurt as soon as Kip answers my call.

“Hello to you too,” he says sarcastically, and I grit my teeth.

“She knows,” I repeat.

“Who knows what?”

“Cora! She knows that I sabotaged her house and called the city to have it condemned.”

“You did what?” He asks, alarmed.

“Her house was terrible. It wasn’t safe.”

“So… you made it even more unsafe?”

“I did what I had to do to keep her safe.”

“That’s why you were by her house the other day.”

“Yeah, I needed to be close by in case she needed me.”

“Needed you because you cut a floorboard in her living room and made her fall through.”

“You’ve seen her house,” I argue. “If it hadn’t been that, it would have been the roof falling in on her. I made sure that the dirt was piled up so that she wouldn’t fall far or get hurt. She was never in any real danger,” I argue, and he sighs.

“You’re crazy,” he groans.

“Like you wouldn’t have done the same for Ginger. You were sneaking around fixing her car for her for months,” I remind him.

“Speaking of cars,” he starts, and I cut him off.

“I know. Her car is going next.”

My eyes cut back to my rearview mirror to check on my girl and make sure that her dumpster fire of a car is still behind me.

“How are you going to manage that? Cut her brake lines?” he asks me sarcastically, and I roll my eyes.

“No. I haven’t figured that part out yet. Maybe I’ll tell her that she won a prize or something.”

Kip sighs, but doesn’t say anything. It’s not like he could. He would do the same thing for his girl, and we both know it.

“So, what’s the plan then?” He asks me.

“Well, she’s moving in so I’m already one step closer to making her mine.”

“I don’t think so,” he mumbles, and I frown.

“Why? What have you heard?”

“Ginger told me that Cora’s plan is to save up money and move out fast. She said since you’re not charging her rent, she thinks she can be out in two or three months. Maybe less if she picks up more shifts or holiday hours.”

“Dammit,” I curse under my breath.

“Should have charged her rent,” he says unhelpfully.

“I don’t need or want her money. I thought by not charging her rent, I would be showing her that I could be a good provider.”

Kip hums on the other end of the line, and I groan.

“What the hell do I do?” I ask him, and he’s silent. “Kip!”

“Dude, I don’t know! I’m still not a hundred percent sure how I managed to get Ginger so I’m not going to be any help with your lady problems.”

“I need to figure it out.”

“Maybe just start by asking her out?” He suggests, and I mull over his idea as I turn down my street.

I’ve been obsessed with Cora since she moved to town, and who wouldn’t be? I mean, she’s gorgeous—the most beautiful woman that I’ve ever seen. It was her pale blonde hair that had first caught my attention, but then she had smiled at me, and her pretty hazel eyes had sparkled with so much joy. Her optimism and happiness were addicting.

I couldn’t stay away from her, but I’ve never managed to have much of a conversation with her. I get so nervous and end up mumbling some nonsense or clamming up every single time that I’ve tried. Maybe being around her so much now that we’re living together will fix that, though, and I can ask her out.

“Or I can make her dinner at home and secretly date her that way,” I say.

“Yeah, I think that you might be secretly dating her while she has no idea then,” he points out. “Just ask her out. You were always encouraging me to go for it with Ginger. Now you need to take your own advice.”

“And if she says no and then is uncomfortable around me, and we have to live together?” I ask him.

“Then she moves in with me, I guess.”

I growl, and he laughs.

“I wouldn’t be that happy about it either, but we both know that Ginger would ask, and I can’t tell my girl no.”

I can’t let Cora go. Not now when I finally have her close to me. This is my chance to finally show her how good we could be together. I just need to not mess it up.

“Are you going into work today?” He asks me as I turn into my driveway.

“Yeah, I’ll be there in a bit. I need to get Cora settled here first.”

Kip and I got out of the Marines last year after he almost died. I think that it shook both of us up, and since we’ve been best friends since like birth, I decided to get out too and follow him here to Wolf Valley. We opened up our own helicopter tourism business here called Semper Fly, and we run it together. We’ve even hired a fellow Marine, Ansel, to help us out starting in January.

“Alright, I’ll see you in a bit then. We can show Ansel around the place, finish up his paperwork, and then we can brainstorm ideas while we finish up work.”

“Thanks, man. I’ll see you soon.”

I end the call as I park in my driveway and climb out. Cora is looking around and I watch her. I hope that she likes the place.

Would it be too much to tell her that I’m obsessed with her, and that I would do anything for her, including remodeling this entire house or buying her a different place here in town?

Probably, I decide as I start to unload boxes from my truck.

We head up to the front door and I unlock it, motioning for her to go in ahead of me.

“Welcome home,” I tell her

I send up a silent prayer that it really is her home, her permanent one, as I start to bring in boxes.