Chapter 26
CHAPTER
TWENTY-SIX
H arry changed and prepared to leave the beach condo, completely self-conscious about walking out to the umbrella where Belle lay in her cute swimsuit, without wearing a shirt. But he didn’t wear a shirt at the beach, and he told himself over and over that he’d be there for the next five days with this woman, and he better get over any body issues he had if he wanted to have a real relationship with her.
So he exited, the screen door slamming closed behind him, and he cringed at the resulting smack of metal on metal. He kept going, his towel draped over his arm and a bottle of sunscreen in his hand, as he approached the empty lounger on the other half of the shade where Belle lay.
“Will you help me with my back?” he asked.
Belle looked up at him, her sunglasses covering a large portion of her face and concealing her eyes from him. “ Sure,” she said, as if she regularly rubbed down men as they sat together on the beach. Harry knew she didn’t, and while his heart throbbed in his throat, he told himself that hers probably was too.
“Oh, you have the cream kind,” she said as she took the bottle from him. Harry sat on the end of her lounger, and she pulled her legs back to make room for him. He swallowed as she squeezed some of the white cream into her hands and then handed him the bottle again.
He did the same and said, “Yeah, my mom thinks this works way better than the spray.” He got his own healthy dose of snowy white cream, rubbed his hands together, and started spreading it down his arms and across his chest. “I gotta say, I don’t spend much time outside, so I need all the protection I can get.”
“You’re at least tan,” she said, and her hands landed on his shoulders, sending pure male desire down his spine. “You look like you’ve been working out a lot, too.”
He smiled to himself as he nodded. “Yeah, I guess it’s become part of my routine.”
“Do you still go at night?” Her hands moved steadily down his lats and toward the waistband of his swim trunks. She reached for the bottle again, and he passed it to her.
“Yeah,” he said. “Feels like I do everything in the afternoon and evening. I’m up till two in the morning. I sleep till nine or ten. I get a real slow start in the morning, catch up on everything going on with Adam. Admin work is what I call it.”
And he sighed like he didn’t like it. “Then, I’m ready to play the guitar, do my lessons, work on songs, work out, and record in the afternoon and evening.”
“So that hasn’t changed.”
“Nope.” He took the sunscreen back to get more. “Tell me something about you that hasn’t changed.”
“Oh, uh, let’s see,” Belle said. “I had to rehome my cats, and I haven’t gotten any new ones.” She sighed as she rubbed up his sides. Harry spread sunscreen across his abs and then moved his hand to cover hers. He twined his fingers with hers right against his ribcage and squeezed before letting go.
“And I want to get another cat,” she said as she removed her hands from his body. “So that hasn’t changed.”
“I think you’ll get one,” he said.
“Yeah, the apartment I’m in right now doesn’t allow pets,” she said. “So when I get a new place….”
So many questions streamed through his mind, and he wanted to let them all out at once—a tornado of words that he could just throw at her and hope that she could put them all in order and give him the answers he wanted.
“Are you going to buy somewhere in Jackson?” he asked, trying to make his voice casual—and failing.
“Someone’s interested in where I live?” Belle teased.
He squirted more sunscreen on his hands and rubbed up into his ears and hair, across his forehead, and down his nose. He didn’t have to say he was interested in where Belle lived for her to know he was interested in where she lived.
So he just asked, “Well? ”
“I don’t know,” Belle said. “There are a lot of balls up in the air right now.”
“Is that so?” he asked. “Tell me which ones.”
She finished with his back, and Harry moved over to his own lounger, so he could do his legs and feet. He met her eyes, and Belle pushed her sunglasses into place before he could see her expression.
He’d seen this tactic before, actually, and he’d worked hard to break down the barriers Belle tried to put up. He knew if he simply waited, the more she would tell him. The more he got to know her, the more comfortable she would be with him. He reminded himself that they hadn’t spoken in ten months, and a person could change a lot in that amount of time. His attraction to her hadn’t, and he sure was glad of that.
“Where I’m going to live for one,” she said. “What I’m going to do for a job, for another.” She looked away, studying the undulating water in the Gulf of Mexico in front of them.
Harry waited a few seconds, finished up his calf, and asked, “You don’t like your job?”
“I do.” She let out a long breath. “But I feel like I need to change. There’s something you should probably know about me, Mister Young.” He liked that her voice had gone back to teasing.
“Well, you better tell me then, Miss Belle.” Two could play her game, and Harry found flirting with her extremely easy and exceptionally rewarding at the same time.
“I kind of have a gypsy soul,” she said. “I’m really passionate about something for a little while until it…well, un til it isn’t all that exciting anymore. I kind of outgrow it, I guess, and then I move on to something else. And I’m starting to feel like I might be at the end of my law enforcement career.”
Harry wasn’t sure he liked that explanation, but he nodded. “How long have you been doing it?”
“Nine years,” she said.
“And you were in country music before that, right?”
“Yep,” she said. “Just for a few years right out of high school.”
“Do you have a gypsy soul when it comes to your boyfriends?” he asked, keeping his head down. He cursed himself for leaving his cowboy hat inside, as Belle wore a cute sun hat that shielded her face, plus those sunglasses so he couldn’t see anything telling anyway.
“I don’t know,” Belle said. “Haven’t had a lot of boyfriends, remember?”
“Yes, I do remember that,” Harry said. “Made me really happy inside.” He kicked a grin over to her, and Belle rewarded him with a laugh.
“So you’re moving back to Coral Canyon?” she asked.
“Yeah. In two weeks,” he said. “My daddy and a couple of my uncles are coming, as well as my cousin Bryce. Adam, of course, will be there to help me. We’re going to get my apartment all cleaned out, loaded up on the truck, and I’ll be off.”
“You driving back?” she asked. “Or are you having one of those big trucking companies come move you?”
“I’m doing it myself,” he said .
“You have the money to pay for someone else to do it.”
“Yeah, I sure do,” he said. “Well, kind of. I just bought a house in Coral Canyon.”
“Yes, I know,” Belle said as he reached over and took her hand in his. “You sent me the link, remember?”
“Oh right,” Harry said. “You never did say what you thought of it.”
Belle looked over to him, and he wanted to lean across the distance and kiss her. He couldn’t see her eyes, but he sure liked the way her lips tipped up into a smile and revealed her white teeth and that sunny personality she tried to keep hidden from others. She hadn’t succeeded with him, another thing he was exceptionally glad about.
“You really want to know what I think of the house you bought in Coral Canyon?”
“Yes, absolutely I do.” Harry took his turn to watch the waves because he wasn’t sure he could kiss Belle right now, and he didn’t want to move too fast with her.
They’d exchanged a lot of texts and phone calls over the past few days. She hadn’t protested to any of those.
When he told her he’d meet her here on Thursday afternoon at check-in and he’d fly back to Nashville when she went back to Jackson Hole on Tuesday morning, she hadn’t argued with him about that either.
She’d been out on the beach when he’d arrived here at the condo, and that had given him a few moments to take in the space and how they would be separated. He had his own bathroom. She had hers. He had his own bedroom. She had hers. They’d share the living room, dining room. And Harry really wanted to hold her on that couch tonight while they watched a movie, the beautiful Gulf Coast sun sinking into the water beyond the screened-in porch.
“I think, Mister Young,” Belle said as she too faced the water. “That you bought that house with a future in mind. That’s what it looked like to me.”
Harry couldn’t argue with her, so he said nothing.
“Seemed to be enough for a wife and family,” she continued. “Somewhere you could be long term. Somewhere where you’re around all your aunts and uncles and cousins. Just like you want to be.”
His voice scratched on the way out as he said, “Yep, that’s why I bought it.” Harry had tried leaving Coral Canyon for a dream that he’d thought he wanted. He’d worked hard. He’d achieved it. And it turned out that that was not the lifestyle he wanted long term. And now he was fighting for a different reality, a different future, a different way of living that was still great and still amazing and still worthy.
His thoughts ran rampant through his head, and Harry decided maybe he could just get a couple of them out. “I just want to ask you something,” he said. “You can pass on answering if you want.”
“You have always been gracious with allowing me to pass if there’s something I don’t want to answer.” She ran her thumb along the side of his, and Harry told himself that this woman liked him as much as he liked her.
“If you don’t have a house in Jackson Hole,” he said slowly, trying to get his thoughts to line up and make sense. “ And you’re thinking about a career change, and now there’s me—us—I guess….” He stuttered over the words. “Would you consider coming to Coral Canyon and maybe finding somewhere there to live?”
He looked at her, but it took her several long seconds before she returned the favor. “Can you take off your sunglasses so I can see your beautiful eyes?” He gave her a smile, but he really wanted to judge her reaction to his question.
“It’s really bright out here,” Belle said. “I’m surprised you can see without sunglasses.”
“I have them inside,” he said. “I just forgot to grab them.” Part of him wanted to run away right now, go get his sunglasses, and then come back. So he released her hand and started to stand.
“Where are you going?” she asked, seemingly surprised.
“To get my sunglasses,” he said. “Give you a minute to think about what I just said, what I just asked. And again, you can pass if you want.” He couldn’t stand to be there for another second, his overeagerness choking him as he walked away.
The moment he slid the door closed behind him, he muttered, “Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, Harry. Why did you ask her that?” He continued through the living room, up the step, and past the kitchen into his bedroom.
He sat down on the double bed, pure frustration boiling through him. Maybe he could just text her that he wanted her to pass. He quickly pulled his phone out of his pocket and sent her a quick message. I don’t want you to answer that question I just asked, okay? I’m going to pull a pass card for you.
Then he threw his phone on the bed and stared toward the ceiling. “Lord,” he whispered, taking a page out of Bryce’s book and uttering his prayer aloud. “I like this woman a lot. I’ve always known I’ve liked her a lot. And now, with so many doors open in front of me, it seems cruel that we wouldn’t be able to walk through one of them together. What do You think?”
Harry’s pulse slowed, but he pushed all other distractions out of his life and out of his mind and tried to listen to God. He wasn’t always successful, and God wasn’t always so loud. Sometimes He took His sweet time answering Harry’s prayers. And today, his phone chimed again. Not with Belle’s assigned sound, so he picked it up and saw that Bryce had texted.
Hey, brother , he’d said. Codi and I want to make the trip to Nashville together. Is it okay if she comes?
Of course , Harry tapped out without even thinking about it. What are you guys going to do with your ranch while you’re gone?
Oh, Kassie and Reggie are going to take care of it , Bryce said. Uncle Jem and Uncle Blaze come out too when I’m gone. Uncle Luke sometimes stays at the house with his little boys. It’ll be fine.
Harry’s throat narrowed at how many uncles Bryce had just named to come help him on his ranch whenever he and Codi wanted to leave. Harry wanted that kind of support too. He wanted all the aunts and uncles surrounding him, and he knew they would. They already had.
Hilde had sent him picture after picture of the furniture he’d picked out for his new house as it had been arriving, and she staged it for him. He wanted to be with all the younger cousins and all of his older ones too, as Joey had just moved back to Coral Canyon as well. Cash had just turned pro, and Harry told himself he needed to text Boston and find out what the young man was doing as well.
Harry: I can’t wait to be in Coral Canyon with everybody.
Bryce: How’s it going in Destin? Are you there yet? Wait, is that tomorrow?
I just got here , Harry sent back to him. And I’ve already made a fool of myself with Belle.
And because Bryce was Bryce, and Harry was Harry, he expected his phone to ring and his cousin to be on the other end of the line. And exactly that happened.
“What do you mean you made a fool of yourself already?” Bryce asked when Harry answered, without even saying hello.
“Well.” Harry sighed. “I asked her if she would consider moving to Coral Canyon. She doesn’t have a permanent place in Jackson Hole, you know? She’s just living in an apartment that doesn’t even allow pets. And she wants a cat. And she’s thinking about changing jobs. And it just spewed out of my mouth that she should move to Coral Canyon.”
“And this.” Harry stood up and paced away from the door and toward the window. “Is after she told me that I bought a house thinking of the future with a wife and children. It’s just all a mess.” He sighed again, and he was eternally grateful to Bryce who didn’t jump right in and say something immediately to reassure Harry that he hadn’t messed up.
“There’s a lot to unpack there,” Bryce said with a chuckle.
“Yeah, no joke,” Harry said.
“I don’t think you’ve messed up with her though,” Bryce said. “Who wouldn’t want to be asked by a famous country music star to move closer to them so that he can date them?” Bryce laughed and added, “Codi just raised her eyebrows and said, ‘If he asked me to move to Coral Canyon to be closer to him, I’d pack my bags right now.’”
Harry laughed too because he knew Codi loved Bryce unconditionally and would never leave him.
“Oh, she’s taking the phone,” Bryce yelled as scuffling came through the line.
Codi said, “Harry.”
“Yeah,” he said. He did like Codi a lot. She was very, very good for Bryce, a hard worker, and one of the kindest people Harry had ever met.
“I don’t think you can mess up with Belle too badly,” she said.
“You don’t think so?” Harry said. “She’s a strong-willed woman, Codi. She’s smart. She’s beautiful. She’s talented, and I’m rushing her only weeks after she’s finished her undercover assignment. That’s the very definition of messing up with Belle Graves.”
“Well, here’s what I know,” Codi said. “She doesn’t have my number anymore, and she doesn’t have Bryce’s, and she doesn’t have Kassie’s. And do you know why?”
He looked out the window at the branches of the palm trees waving in the breeze. “No,” he muttered. “I don’t know why.”
“Because she gave up everything to go undercover,” Codi said. “She gave up her phone, her devices, and all of her contacts. But do you know whose number she kept? And I suspect that it’s the only number she kept.”
Harry swallowed, seeing where Codi was driving. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Did she ask you for your number when you ran into her in the airport a few days ago?” Codi asked, her voice even—not accusatory and not teasing.
“No,” he said.
“No,” Codi agreed. “And she texted you within five minutes of you walking away and getting on your plane. She had your number in her new phone , Harry. She kept your number. You’re the one thing she kept from her life before she went undercover. She didn’t keep her cats. She didn’t keep her home. She had a brand new job, and she knew no one. But she kept your number.”
Harry ducked his head, realizing the weight of what Codi had said. “You’re right,” he said. “Maybe I haven’t messed up too badly.”
“What did she say?”
“I ran away like a fool,” he said. “Told her I needed to come get my sunglasses. And then I just texted her and told her I didn’t want her to answer the question.”
Codi hummed. “What do you think, Bryce? What should he do?”
“Well, he should get his sunglasses and get his butt back out on the beach,” Bryce said. “He’s not there for a five-day vacation to get a suntan. He’s there to make Belle fall in love with him.”
Harry grinned because that wasn’t the sole reason he’d come to Florida. But it’s definitely one of them , his mind whispered at him.
And Codi said, “One-hundred percent,” which caused all three of them to laugh.
“All right,” Harry said. “Let me get back out there and see if I’ve messed up too badly. Love you guys.”
Bryce and Codi both chorused they loved him, and Harry tapped to end the call. He took a big breath, lifted his thoroughly sunscreened shoulders, and blew it out before he turned and…found Belle standing in the doorway.
She held up her phone, her dark eyes free from sunglasses and burning dark liquid fire in his direction. “You haven’t messed up too badly. And I don’t want to be a liar and say that I haven’t thought about moving to Coral Canyon. I have.”
Harry’s heart grew wings of hope, and he took quick steps toward her. “You have?” He wasn’t sure he could just gather her up in his arms, but he did anyway, and she eased right into his chest, her breath wafting softly against his bare skin .
“Yes, of course I have.”
He wasn’t sure why she’d included “of course” in there, but he sure liked hearing it. He pulled back a little bit, which drew her away from him too. As he looked at her, he decided that his sole goal for coming to Destin for the next five days maybe should be to make Belle fall in love with him.
And to do that, he better tell the truth.
So he said, “Belle, I have missed you beyond measure every day for the past ten months, two weeks, and two days. Any day I can’t hear your voice is a bad day for me. So I apologize if I’m coming on too strong. Or if you’re not ready for everything you get when you get me. I can be patient. I can wait. But I really like you, and I want to be close to you. And I want to see you every day and hold you and fall in love with you.”
He swallowed, the lyrics to a new song emerging in his mind as he waited for Belle to say something or do something. Several seconds ticked by, and then she finally said, “I can’t get my words to line up the way you do. But I can do this.”
And she stretched up and kissed him.
Harry had not been anticipating that, but he was here for it. He wrapped her in his arms and pulled her closer and kissed her back, and kissed her back, and kissed her back.