26. Chapter 25

CHAPTER 25

JUSTIN

S omething was wrong with Riley. Well not wrong with her but clearly something was on her mind. She had seemed a little distracted last night but she asked me get her out of her head and seemed to have slept well. But this morning she was sitting at the kitchen table while Colton made breakfast staring into her coffee cup like it held the secrets to the universe.

Her phone vibrated on the table next to her cup, startling her before she snatched it up off the table and read the text. She frowned and her eyebrows furrowed at whatever she read. She glanced up and caught me watching her. She smiled at me but it was thin and went back to whatever was on the phone screen. Was it Ryan? Was she having second thoughts after Vicky's bullshit?

I wanted to fire Vicky after that stunt she pulled with her cousin's gossip page but Colton's levelhead had prevented us from being sued for wrongful termination because in reality we couldn't prove it was Vicky who fed that information to her cousin. But while we couldn't fire her now, she was gone as soon as we could find cause. She wasn't a very good receptionist anyway and before it hadn't bothered us as much because she answered the calls when we weren't there but now after she did this to Riley? Well now she was going to get written up for everything.

And the fucked up part about it was that even though it was all three of us in the relationship, the article targeted Riley as the ‘problem.' I saw the way she tensed up everytime we encountered someone in town over the last few weeks. It was like she was waiting for someone to judge her and say something. I wanted to fix it and Momma A had done a good job by taking her under her wing but was it enough? We would constantly face judgment for our relationship. I didn't care. I was willing to fight for it regardless. But was Riley willing to? I didn't know and the question was eating me alive.

Colton bumped my hip softly, his hazel eyes soft and knowing. "It'll be okay," he whispered in my ear. Colton could always read me so well. I spent years secretly in love with him and waiting for the day he found someone else and left me. Now, I couldn't imagine life without him. But I also couldn't imagine it without Riley. But did she feel the same? All I could do was let her know.

Colton handed me a plate and the pitcher of orange juice and I set the plate down in front of Riley. She placed her phone down and murmured her thanks as she dug into her breakfast. We ate quickly, Agnes and Forrest were going to be stopping by shortly to finish the final touches for the parade tomorrow before we headed to the football game. Agnes and Riley were driving to Somerset to pick up some last minute items for the float.

When Riley stood up to put her plate in the sink I made my move. I tugged her onto my lap catching her plate with my hand and sliding it back on the table. She arched an eyebrow at me but went willingly, allowing me to tilt her chin up so I could see her face.

"We love you, you know that right?" I whispered softly. "I didn't know what living felt like till I met you. I never in a million years imagined I would be here right now but I am and it's all thanks to you."

Riley swallowed hard and her glassy blue eyes shone like sapphires as she nodded softly. I let her bury her face in my neck as I rubbed her back. I looked at Colton sitting across the table. We had been talking about asking Riley to move in with us after the Harvest Festival. Whatever was bothering her this morning, would it be eased by asking her to move in with us? She could just be stressed from the preparations for the Harvest Festival. She had been working hard all week and she was still on a deadline for her book. Still, I arched my eyebrow at Colton, silently asking him if we should ask her now. He smiled softly at me but shook his head. He was right. One thing at a time.

So instead I tilted her head back again and kissed her. Her lips were soft under mine and she parted them on a breathy exhale, sinking into me sweetly. I pulled back and she blinked up at me. I tried to burn this moment into my memory. Riley bit her lip, looking like she wanted to say something but there was a knock at the door before Agnes and Forrest entered. I loved my adoptive parents but right now I wanted to yell. I was sure she was about to tell me what was bothering her but instead she pasted a smile on her face and greeted them warmly.

Colton stood and filled two travel mugs with coffee, doctoring it how Riley and Agnes liked it before handing them both to them. "Be careful driving to Somerset." He told her softly, pressing a kiss to Riley's forehead.

"We will," Riley said, squeezing his waist with one arm before walking to me.

"Be safe," I murmured, "I love you."

"I love you too," Riley said, her eyes soft as she pressed a sweet kiss to my lips. I wanted to yank her back onto my lap and demand she tell me what was wrong but I had to trust that she would come to us when she was ready .

"Go," I said softly when she lingered. "We'll pick you up for the game at 6."

I watched as Riley and Agnes headed out the door, chatting about which store they were going to hit first. Maybe Momma A could fix whatever was troubling her today.

"Ready, boys?" Forrest asked, dumping the contents of his mug in the sink. "Johnson is expecting us."

Colton and I looked at each other. A grin spread across Colton's face and I was sure it mirrored mine. "Ready."

The drive to Old Man Johnson's place wasn't long, maybe twenty minutes outside of town. When we pulled in, the older man was leaning against his old beat up pickup truck, a faded John Deere cap on his head and blue jean overalls hanging off his frail shoulders.

"Forrest, boys," he greeted them. "How are ya today?"

"We're doing great," Forrest greeted him. "How are you?"

"These old bones are still kicking." Johnson said. "Well, this is it. You can practically see it all from here." He gestured to the land behind him. Johnson was a local farmer who had been farming for decades. His granddaughter was going to medical school and he was trying to raise money to help her pay for it. He had over a hundred acres but was selling off this five acre plot. Colton and I had driven by it on a job a few weeks ago and on a whim I had suggested we buy it and build a house where we could all live. Colton's house in town was bursting at the seams right now and I could see the three of us swinging on a front porch swing while the dogs played in the front yard. And possibly a few mini-Riley's as well. Colton had originally looked at me like I was crazy but the more he thought about it the more he was all for it. When Forrest came to town, we asked him to help us talk to Johnson about buying it as they were old poker buddies. This was the final walk through before we signed the paperwork.

The front part of the land was nice and flat and it would be easy to build a house that sat back from the road a fair bit. We had already checked on the utilities and everything ran along the county road and could easily be diverted into the property. The back half of the land sloped down gently until it hit a creek that bordered the back of the property. Plenty of room for whatever else we wanted to do with the property. Jake and Jessica were only a few miles down the road which I knew Riley would love. The property even qualified for high speed internet due to an upgrade the local cable company had made in the area. It was perfect and Riley had no idea.

"Are you sure she's going to like it?" Colton questioned as Forrest and Johnson walked ahead. His jaw was clenched and his brow furrowed as a thread of uncertainty wove into his voice. I was usually the one who questioned things but this decision had felt right since the moment I laid eyes on the property.

"She's going to love it," I said confidently, clapping a hand on his shoulder. "And if for some reason she doesn't, we can always sell it as an investment property but I have no doubt she's going to love it."

Colton nodded but he bit his lip. I stepped closer to him and he looked at me. I threaded our fingers together and his eyes widened as he glanced toward Forrest and Johnson's direction. I didn't blame him. I wasn't one for PDA even if we weren't really in public. "We're going to build a life here. I fought it for years but we were always inevitable. And Riley is like the missing piece to the puzzle we've been searching for. We're going to build a life here on this land."

His eyes softened and he placed a hand on my hip, pulling me closer. "You're right,"

"Of course I am."

He laughed. "And always so humble. Okay. Let's go make it official and then go get our girl."

"That sounds perfect." And it did. And it got even more perfect hours later after everything was finalized and we swung by the house to pick up Riley.

She was sitting on the front porch wearing one of my old high school jerseys and jean shorts with her hair pulled back in a high ponytail that I immediately wanted to wrap around my fingers. When she stood and shooed the dogs back into the house, I groaned. The sight of my name branded across her back had my cock stirring in my pants. Colton chuckled but there was heat in his eyes as well. It was all coming together. I had my best friend, my boyfriend, and my beautiful girlfriend and the deed to five acres in my pocket. It didn't get much better than this.