I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like this before.
The colors are vibrant oranges, reds, yellows, and even purples. My phone buzzes on the little table beside me, but I ignore it, unable to tear my gaze away from the setting sun. I watch it until it’s gone, and only then, when the sky is dark, do I reach for my phone.
MAISIE: We’re meeting at Bluebonnet’s. It’s a bar in town. The only bar, but they have live music tonight. Feel free to join us!
I start to respond to her when I hear a noise at the barn. Turning my head, I stay still as I try to see what’s made the noise. It doesn’t take my eyes long to adjust.
It’s him.
Harlan.
He is leaning against the side of the barn. I watch as he brings something to his lips. I hear a soft thud echo in the otherwise silent night air as his head falls back against the side of the barn.
I shouldn’t be watching him like this without his knowledge, but I can’t look away. I don’t know what it is about Harlan Blackmoore, but I want to know more. I want to know every single part of him… inside and out.
I’ve never been attracted to someone like I am to this man before. He’s grumpy and stoic. When he stares at me, I swear my entire body is ready to ignite. Sliding my tongue along my bottom lip, I stare at him unabashedly when my phone buzzes again and causes my spine to straighten.
Ripping my focus from him, I look down at my screen. It’s another message from Maisie.
MAISIE: I’ll consider it a personal insult if you don’t hang out with me tonight! I can’t let you be alone on your first weekend in town.
Her words make me smile. When I flick my gaze up to the barn again, I am disappointed to see that Harlan is gone. Shifting my attention back to the screen, I decide to respond. I throw caution to the wind, although I’m not sure what kind of caution is needed when I’m going to a public place, taking my own car, and meeting a group of women.
But I guess you never know in this day and age.
HARLAN
I could feel her eyes on me, as if her attention was an actual touch from across the road. The moment her phone buzzed and she tore her eyes from me, it was as if ice was poured into my veins
I don’t understand it.
I walk back to my house, step inside, and head straight for the fridge. Grabbing a six-pack, I make my way out to the front porch. If I sit on the back porch, I’m going to want to watch her, stare at her, and probably freak her the fuck out, so I don’t do that.
The chair is hard but comfortable. It’s probably as old as the deed on this place—over a hundred years, maybe closer to two these days. My great-granddaddy built it himself, probably one of the only things to have survived so long.
I can’t even count how many times I’ve rocked in this old chair. I know my granny and mother rocked me in it as a baby, along with any other kid who happened to be part of our family. All of which have either died or moved away.
I’m the only one who has stayed. I don’t know if that makes me smart or stupid. Probably a mix of both. When I lost my mom six months ago, I promised her I wouldn’t stay holed up here, alone.
It was a lie.
At least at the time it was, but now I’m not so sure. Maybe I’ll get out there, at least a few feet down the road…
I’m three beers in when I hear the crunch of tires and watch her headlights shine down the road. She’s leaving, though I have no idea where she’d be going this time of night. Instinctually, I want to follow her. Thankfully, the brain three feet above my ass prevails over the one in my pants, and I don’t.
I’ve had four beers tonight, and while I could drive these roads with my eyes closed, I will never drive them drunk. That is a hard fucking line of mine, one that I will never cross. Not fucking ever.
So I stay on my porch and finish the six-pack. Alone on a Saturday night, watching and waiting like a creeper for Lola-Mae to come home. I don’t know how much longer I can have her this close to me before I completely lose my mind.
Chapter Six
HARLAN
I watchher pull into the driveway at two in the morning. Alone. I don’t know what I would have done had she brought someone home with her. I didn’t think about that. I should have thought about that.
I should have thought a lot about that, because it will happen. And what will my reaction be? Because odds are whoever she does bring home is going to be someone I know, and that shit is going to do nothing besides piss me off.
Once she is out of the car and safely nestled inside the house, I decide to take myself to bed. Sitting around stewing over something that I have no control over doesn’t do anyone any good, especially me.
