Page 30 of Agent of the Heart (Hearts in Hawthorne #3)
He insisted Eli drive them home, just to give Eli a chance to sit behind the wheel of a Porsche.
Yet he recalled how Eli was eager to start a family, and a sports car would be impractical.
His brother’s enthusiasm for marriage and family life bubbled over, and it got Jace to thinking about what Darby might want.
He resolved to call her on his way home from Hawthorne tomorrow.
He’d been radio silent long enough with her.
If he didn’t call soon, she might think he was ghosting her, which was the last thing he wanted her to believe.
There was a fine line, however, in giving her space and not keeping the lines of communication between them flowing.
Eli took the long way home, wanting to drive Jace by everything in Hawthorne. He saw shops on the square. The post office and city hall. A gas station, hair salon, and donut place. Then they drove by Hawthorne High School, where Darby would be teaching soon, and the adjacent football field.
“How are you liking being the team physician for the Hawks?” he asked.
“I enjoy it a lot. It’s allowed me to get to know West better. His staff and players. I feel a real part of the town as I watch the game from the sidelines.”
They returned to Eli’s house and went inside. Autumn was busy in the kitchen, and so they retreated to the media room, tuning in to a football game between Ohio State and Michigan.
“I didn’t know squat about football when I came to Hawthorne,” Eli admitted.
“I’d never seen a game before. Autumn’s family is crazy in love with sports, though, especially football.
West played for the Dallas Cowboys.” He paused.
“Oh, you know that. You were his agent. It’s hard for me to think that West is the one degree of separation between us. ”
“West is my best client. Friendly. Easy to work with. Knows what he wants going into any kind of negotiation, but he’s also willing to compromise. I still rep him, despite the fact that he retired from the NFL. He still does product endorsements.”
“Autumn has taught me a lot about football. We’ve also been to a Rangers baseball game. She’s promising me we’ll drive down and see the Mavs and Stars play once their seasons start.”
“Let me know. I have clients on both teams. I’d be happy to get tickets for you.” He chuckled. “And a parking pass. That’s almost worth as much as a ticket to the game.”
“Maybe we could all go together,” Eli suggested.
He could see Darby rounding out their party once she returned to Hawthorne. The thought of being with her, along with Eli and Autumn, seemed perfect.
Autumn stuck her head in the room. “It’s almost time to head over to West and Kelby’s.” She looked at Jace. “We’re having dinner with them. Hope that’s okay.”
“Sure. I’m the one crashing on your weekend. Whatever you have planned is fine with me,” he said.
In the kitchen, Eli pulled two six-packs of beer from the fridge. Autumn also had a pan covered with foil in her hands.
“Cornbread,” she said. “First time I’ve made this, so I hope it turned out right.”
“I could always sample it for you,” Eli said, waggling his eyebrows at his wife.
“You will stay out of it,” she told him. “Because I’m sure it’s so good that you wouldn’t be able to stop with one square.”
Jace laughed, enjoying being around these two. He thought ahead to holidays and other celebrations, and he knew that he wanted Eli and Autumn to be a part of whatever he did.
“West and Kelby built the house,” Autumn informed him on the drive over. “They looked around town, but they decided they wanted a little land. The house sits on five acres. They worked with an architect on the design and then had it built to their specifications. They’ve only moved in recently.”
“I look forward to seeing it,” Jace said, happy that his client had settled in to life in Hawthorne and his marriage.
They pulled up in the circular drive in front of the house, where two trucks already sat.
“Can I take the cornbread for you?” Jace asked, helping Autumn out of the vehicle.
“I trust you as much as I trust your brother. Which is not much at all when it comes to food,” she teased. “Thanks, but no thanks.”
“I doubt I could eat that much cornbread between here and the door,” he said. “In fact, I can tell you that I’ve never eaten cornbread.”
“What?” she asked. “You’re joking, right?”
“Nope, not at all. And today was the first time I’ve eaten meatloaf.”
“Were you raised by wolves?” Eli asked. “Maybe it’s a good thing you were the adopted one and not me.”
“My parents were what you’d call snobs. They liked upscale things. Country food simply wasn’t on their radar.”
They reached the door, and Jace rang the doorbell.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Eli said. “I guess we’ll have to help you discover all you missed out on.”
West opened the door. “Greetings to the Carsons and to my wonderful agent.” West shook hands with both men and kissed his sister’s cheek. “You’ve got a birthday coming up, Fall. The big three-oh. We need to figure out what we’re going to do for it.” He ushered them into the foyer.
Autumn looked to Jace. “My sister was born a few minutes before midnight on the last day of summer. I arrived a few minutes after midnight. Hence our names, Summer and Autumn.” She sighed. “I wish Summer could be here to celebrate with us. I’d do anything to get her back to Hawthorne.”
“We’re in the kitchen,” a voice called out.
“That’s Kelby, reminding me to be a better host and not keep you standing in the foyer,” West said, biting back a smile. “Hope you like chili, Jace, because we’ve got two big pots of it. Sawyer is our resident chili master.”
They followed West through the great room and into the kitchen.
That’s when Jace spied Darby, laughing at something a tall, dark-haired man with gray eyes had just said. She put her hand on his arm familiarly.
And Jace saw red.