Page 35 of Keep My Heart (The Haydon Falls #1)

Lyndsay

We stay at the brewery until closing time, much later than I thought we’d be there, but the time flew by.

I really like Nick’s brothers, and I like watching Nick interact with them.

As the oldest, he’s always looking out for them, like when Brody mentioned hiring some kid to help him mow lawns.

Nick jumped in and warned him of all the liability issues and convinced him to hire someone older.

He also offered to look over his insurance policy to make sure he was properly covered for accidents.

I’m amazed at how much he knows, and I love that he cares about his brothers so much, and his parents.

He’d do anything to help them out. He’s so different from Chris, who only cared about himself.

When his parents needed help moving to Florida, Chris made up some excuse for why he couldn’t do it.

He lied to his own parents and spent the week they moved on the couch with his laptop.

‘Thanks for inviting me out,’ I say as Nick walks me to my door. ‘I had a good time. ’

‘I did too. It was the first time I’ve had to relax since I left here last week.’

When we reach the door, I stop and turn to Nick. ‘What time do you want to go to breakfast?’

‘Is eight too early?’

‘Kind of,’ I say with a laugh. ‘It’s after two. That’s only a few hours away.’

‘Right,’ he says, nodding. ‘So nine?’

‘Sure.’ I look up at him, wishing he would kiss me.

‘I guess I’ll be going,’ he says, but his eyes remain locked on mine.

Moments pass, and I can feel our attraction to each other heating up the air, the tension between us rising and ready to burst. I can’t take this. I need to get inside before I do something stupid like kiss him.

‘Nick, I—’

He cuts me off with a kiss as he grabs me around the waist. The kiss is gentle at first, almost hesitant, but then becomes bolder, more aggressive, his tongue going past my lips. My knees are buckling, my body firing up with those tingles I’ve been longing to feel since he left.

And then, just as suddenly as he kissed me, he ends it. He pulls away, looking at me with what seems like regret.

‘I wasn’t going to do that,’ he says.

‘Then why did you?’

‘Because it’s all I’ve been thinking about since the last time I saw you.’

‘Really?’ I ask, wanting him to tell me more.

He pauses a moment, his gaze moving over my face, then says, ‘I’ll pick you up at nine.’

He’s gone before I can ask him anything more. I go inside the house, even more confused about what’s going on with him. He kisses me and then doesn’t explain why, or what it means? Maybe it didn’t mean anything. Maybe he just wanted to kiss me.

*?*?*

In the morning, Nick arrives five minutes early. I’m still doing my makeup when I hear the doorbell ring and my mom answering the door.

‘How’s the dishwasher working out?’ I hear Nick say as I hurry down the stairs.

‘Wonderful!’ my mom says. ‘It’s so nice not to have to wash them by hand. Nick, while you’re here, would you mind looking at something for me?’

‘Mom, he can’t keep fixing stuff for us,’ I say, laughing, as I meet up with them in the kitchen.

‘I’m not asking him to fix anything,’ she says, looking through a folder.

‘This is about the land I’m trying to sell.

’ She looks up at Nick. ‘It’s only ten acres, but I don’t have a reason to keep it.

It’s in North Dakota and used to belong to my grandfather.

I inherited it when he passed and I’d rather not have to deal with it anymore.

’ She hands Nick a stack of papers. ‘This is the contract for the sale. I wondered if you could just take a look at it, make sure everything’s good before I sign it. ’

‘Sure, I can look it over.’

‘Nick, you don’t have to do that,’ I say. ‘You’re on vacation.’

‘It won’t take long. Most of these contracts are pretty standard. I’ll look through it and have it back to you before I leave.’

‘Oh, thank you, Nick,’ my mom says. ‘It’ll save me the time of having to find a lawyer. Since Benny passed, I haven’t found someone to take his place.’

‘Mr. Graver died?’ Nick asks .

She nods. ‘About a month ago. Anyway, just let me know if you see anything of concern. I’ll pay you for your time.’

‘I won’t accept money,’ he says. ‘But I will accept baked goods.’

Her face lights up. ‘Certainly! Any requests?’

‘Surprise me.’ Nick smiles at her as he walks over to me. ‘I’ll see you later, Mrs. Davis.’

‘You two have fun!’ she says as we leave.

We go outside and get in the truck.

‘That’s nice of you to do that,’ I say as Nick backs out of the driveway.

‘I don’t mind helping her out, especially since she’s letting me borrow her daughter for the day.’

‘The day?’ I ask, surprised.

‘Unless you have plans.’ He glances at me as he drives down the street. ‘Do you?’

‘I was thinking of going to Diane’s house and hanging out with her and the kids,’ I say, not wanting him thinking I reserved the whole day for him, because I didn’t. He only asked me to go out with him this morning.

‘Then I guess I just get you for breakfast.’

I’d like to spend the day with him, but he didn’t say why he wants more time with me and what it means. Until I know that, I don’t think I should agree to it. It’ll just make me want him more, and why would I put myself through that if I can’t have him?

He takes me to Maury’s Chicken Roost, knowing it’s my favorite breakfast place.

We order our food, then I ask Nick about his job and his promotion.

I’m enjoying listening to him and learning more about what he does, but what I really want to talk about is us.

I’m just not sure this is the right time to ask.

The restaurant is crowded and loud. I’d rather talk somewhere that’s quiet and have it just be the two of us .

As we’re waiting for the check, Diane calls.

‘Hey, Diane,’ I answer. ‘I just finished breakfast. What time should I come over?’

‘Leah’s sick, so I think we’ll have to cancel today.’

‘Oh, no. What’s she sick with?’

‘I think it’s just a cold, but I’m going to take her to the clinic just to make sure.’

‘So you aren’t going to the reunion tonight?’

‘We’ll probably still go. My mom will take care of Leah. She’s coming over in a few minutes to stay with Adam while I take Leah to the doctor. Sorry about this. I wanted us to have one last day together before you have to leave.’

‘It’s okay. I understand. Give Leah a kiss for me and tell her I hope she feels better.’

‘I will. I’ll let you know later about tonight.’

‘Okay, bye.’ I look over at Nick. ‘Leah, Diane’s little girl, is sick so I won’t be going over there.’

‘Is it serious?’ Nick asks, setting money on the table for the check.

‘She thinks it’s just a cold, but she’s taking her to the doctor this morning.’

‘Does that mean you’re free today?’

‘Maybe. What do you have in mind?’

His phone rings and he checks it. ‘It’s my dad. I’ll call him later.’

‘Go ahead and answer it.’

‘Hey, Dad, what do you need?’ Nick listens, nodding. ‘Does it have to be done today?’ He listens again. ‘Yeah, I’m with Lyndsay. Give me a minute and I’ll call you back.’ He pauses, then smiles. ‘I don’t think she’d be up for that. Bye, Dad.’

‘Up for what?’ I ask. ‘Were you talking about me?’

‘Dad invited you over while I help him fix the tractor.’ Nick chuckles. ‘ Just what you want to do, watch a guy and his dad fix a tractor.’

I shrug. ‘I wouldn’t mind. I could bring something to read. Or maybe I could do something with your mom while you guys do your work.’

‘Are you serious? You really want to come over?’

‘Sure. I love it there. If I went home, I’d just be there by myself. My mom’s spending the afternoon at the church, getting stuff ready for the rummage sale. That’s why I made plans with Diane, but now I can’t go over there. It’s a beautiful day. It’d be nice to spend it at the orchard.’

‘If you’re really okay with this, I’ll tell my dad. I was going to see if Jason or Brody could help him out, but they’re not good at fixing shit. They can do minor stuff, but I’m better at fixing the equipment. I’ve been helping Dad with repairs for as long as I can remember.’

‘Go ahead and call him. Tell him we’ll be there in a few minutes.’

Nick smiles at me as he makes the call, like I’m doing him a huge favor. But I don’t see it that way. I wasn’t lying when I said I like spending time at the orchard. It’s beautiful and peaceful, and the perfect place to spend a warm summer day.

We get to the orchard and find Carl, Nick’s dad, in the barn, the old one that’s only used to store equipment. It’s what you’d typically think of when you think of a barn. The new one is more like a nice building that just happens to look like a barn on the outside.

‘How much did you have to pay her for this?’ Carl asks when he sees us walking in.

‘She volunteered,’ Nick says. ‘Don’t ask me why.’

‘Wait—I’m not actually helping, am I?’

They both laugh .

‘I was talking about you coming over,’ his dad says. ‘You’re welcome to be here. I just didn’t think you’d want to, especially here, in this old barn.’

‘Is Mom around?’ Nick asks.

‘She went to town to run some errands. She should be back soon.’

‘You could go hang out at the house if you want,’ Nick tells me.

‘I think I’ll just stay here until your mom gets home.’ I go over to a folding chair that’s next to the workbench and take a seat.

Nick looks back at his dad, who’s standing by the tractor. ‘So what do you think is the issue?’

‘I have some ideas, but I wanted to get your opinion first. I can get the engine going, but then it quits on me. I was going to take it in the fields today, but I didn’t want it breaking down on me out there.’

Nick asks him some more questions, then goes over to the engine and checks it out. How does he know this stuff? He’s a lawyer, not a mechanic.