And when we pull away from the festival?
The lights fading behind us, the night stretching out ahead, I realize something.
This doesn’t feel reckless.
It doesn’t feel like a mistake.
It feels like the beginning of something I’m not quite ready to name.
Ten minutes later, he turns down a quiet road.
And there it is.
His place.
And suddenly?
My heart is racing all over again.
Chapter 14
Rob
I’ve been working on my family home since I got back.
After paying Reg his half—yeah, I insisted, even when he told me not to—I started rebuilding the place from the ground up.
Not patching.
Not fixing.
Rebuilding.
Because if I was going to come back here, if I was going to put down roots…
It had to be solid.
It had to be mine.
“Wow,” Hadley whispers beside me.
And my Tiger—he damn near purrs in satisfaction.
I glance at her, catching the way her eyes move over the house, taking it all in.
The fresh wood shingles, the clean lines, the sturdy wraparound porch.
“Thanks,” I say, a little rougher than I mean to. “Just finished sanding the shingles yesterday. Gonna paint and seal them next. Fence too. Then I’ll tackle the yard.”
She turns to me, eyes wide.
“Wait—you did all this?” she asks. “But it looks brand new.”
I shrug one shoulder.
“Practically had to rebuild it,” I admit. “But, um, yeah. I guess I’m good with my hands.”
“I bet you say that to all the girls.”
