Page 10 of No Place Like Home (Orlinda Valley #3)

Rowan

S ure, I wanted to get to know Kai, but . . . damn his timing.

I watched Summer drive away. I would have waved, but she never looked up. If we just had a few more uninterrupted minutes . . . I puffed out a breath, and with it the irritation that filled my gut. I’ve got to do something about this tonight.

Kai gave me a quick tour of the outside as he led the way to the fenced-in area and let the goats back in. “There’s no way to keep these little shits from getting out.” He leaned toward me. “Don’t let Kora know I called them that.”

One of the black-and-brown goats glanced at Kai, bleating a protest, and head-butted him in the thigh. “It seems like you need to worry about the goats more than me,” I said, laughing.

“Percy, quit.” He pushed the goat away and Percy yelled at him again, then bounded after his brothers.

“How can you tell him from the other one?”

Kai shook his head. “I can’t, but from what I can tell, Percy’s the one always causing trouble.” We entered their small barn, where he filled their food trough and gave them fresh hay. “There. Now maybe they’ll stay put—until their mom gets home, at least.”

I followed him outside. There were six chickens pecking at the ground and a rooster not far away, keeping an eye on us. “I met Big Red, the rooster Kora left behind.”

“Yeah, we couldn’t catch that ass, and the injuries we would’ve sustained weren’t worth it. That one,” he gestured toward the one watching us, “was easy to catch, keeps the girls safe, and doesn’t get all into being a cock.”

I laughed. “Next time Summer tells me to stay away from Big Red I think I’ll listen to her. He is an ass, and I have the wounds from the encounter to prove it.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Kai said. “So how are you and Summer dealing with the one bed?”

I thought back to last night, sitting on her bed, eating and joking together—how much I enjoyed being that close to her, even though we were fully dressed. It brought back memories of when she’d stay at my house when we were teenagers, and we’d talk until all hours.

But Kai didn’t need to know all that, so I said, “You know, I’m letting Summer think she’s in charge for now, and that keeps her happy. A happy Summer is much easier to be around than a pissed Summer.”

“I can see that. Summer’s a trip.” We walked past the front of the house and into the backyard. “I thought Kora was a spitfire when I first met her, but Summer has her beat, hands down.”

“No truer words have ever been uttered,” I agreed. “How many acres do you have here?”

The yard was flat and open all the way back to the tree line.

Sod had been laid down, covering the areas they’d finished building on.

Past that, you could barely make out the river behind the trees and the field on the other side of the river.

It had always been an amazing piece of property, but now with a new house and some TLC, it was even better.

“Twenty acres, give or take.” Kai slid open the patio door and I stepped into the kitchen, which opened out to an enormous great room with eight-foot tray ceilings that made it look even larger.

Floor-to-ceiling windows in the kitchen made the outside feel like it was inside.

I followed Kai through the great room to the base of the stairs that welcomed you at the front door.

A convenient coat closet stood to the left of the entry.

“Kai, this is . . . Well, ‘nice’ doesn’t pay it justice. It’s amazing.”

“Thanks.”

We continued through a bedroom on the bottom floor with a large connecting bath, still full of construction supplies. “Will this be yours?”

“Nope. Just an extra room. Eventually, it’ll be an office, or maybe a spare bedroom. Kora’s hoping her dad will come visit occasionally. The master’s upstairs.”

The upstairs hall had windows that let in outside light, and an amazing view of the spacious yard and tree line. Kai led me to the right. “This end has a small room for an office and two spare rooms, eventually to be filled with babies.” He winked and continued his tour.

The office was smaller than the two rooms, but still big enough for a twin bed, if needed. The spare rooms were both spacious with large closets and a Jack and Jill bathroom. Like everywhere else in the house, windows filled the rooms with light.

I followed him back down the hall .

“This is our room,” he said as he opened the door.

The room we entered was huge. I walked to the three large windows that filled the back wall. The view was amazing. “Kai, wow. I’m sure Kora loves this.”

“She does. This is where I proposed to her, back when the house was just a skeleton.”

After spending a little more time admiring the upstairs and the view, we made our way to the kitchen. Kai leaned against the counter. “Water, beer, sweet tea, or coffee?”

“Beer would be great.”

“I was hoping you’d say that.” He grabbed two bottles from the fridge, a High Water IPA and a Summertime Lager. I chose the lager. “Interesting choice,” Kai said, and his mouth ticked up.

“Interesting how?” I asked as we opened our beers and got comfortable at a high-top table out on the patio.

Kai paused a beat, his gray eyes studying me. “No reason.” The smirk that he didn’t care to hide pissed me off.

I glanced at the label of the beer in my hand, which depicted a sun rising behind a lake and the word “Summertime” in bold lettering. I sighed. Yeah, a little too much of a coincidence. “I hate IPAs, just so you know.”

“Gotcha,” Kai said, but this time he hid the smirk behind his beer.

How irritating. “The women all think you’re a saint,” I said. “I’m calling bullshit. What are you insinuating?”

“Fine,” he said, that smirk still on his face.

“Darlene and Kora are always teasing Summer about you and her, because it’s fun to get a rise out of her, but I don’t know .

. .” He took a drink of his beer. “You could have had any drink you wanted, and you chose the Summertime Lager. And, to be honest, you both looked like I interrupted something when I called you at the river. Just observations.”

Did I want to go there? I didn’t even know Kai—not well, anyway. I studied the logo on the bottle some more. Summertime. Brown hair and hazel eyes popped into my mind. Shit .

“Fine, I get it,” Kai conceded. “Discussing you and Summer is off the table. Let’s just talk about you and forget about Summer. How was the Army?”

The tension I had felt building in my chest since Summer drove away eased a bit, and I was thankful that Kai was willing to change the subject. We small-talked about the Army, and I told some stories from when I was deployed. We laughed and had a good time.

“It’s great to have a chance to get to know you in person,” Kai said. “Kora talks about you all the time. Things you did growing up, adventures you had. Trevor’s missed you also.”

“Same here. And, so far, I’m glad I’m home.”

“I can see why. This town’s amazing—I felt welcome right away. And your mother and the ladies . . .” Kai shook his head. “Gotta love them. I don’t get why you didn’t come home more often.”

I chuckled and turned toward him. “No one told you why I left?” I emptied my beer.

“I know from Kora that after high school you chose the military and walked away from a scholarship to play football. I know that you and Bryson had words over it. He thought you were going to waste your life. I also know that you and Bryson always had a rocky relationship, and when he started dating Darlene, who you secretly liked, that made things even worse.” He sat forward.

“I also know that Kora and Summer protect you fiercely, even though Darlene’s in the middle of you and Bryson.

I also know that your mother misses you, and Jamison thinks you hung the moon—if you don’t mind an outdated saying. ”

“You know a lot,” I said. “Most of it on point. Walking away from a scholarship was hard, but staying here and living beneath the shadow of the McKendry brothers was something I didn’t want to do.

And I was more pissed at Bryson for dating my friend than someone I actually liked.

I was never really interested in Darlene.

” I stared out over the yard. The one who had my heart wasn’t easy to deal with, generally swore off relationships, and had become much more distant our senior year.

“Look, one thing I won’t do is judge someone for their past. Trust me, mine has issues I’d rather ignore.” He gestured to my beer. “Want another?”

I nodded, and he left to get two more bottles.

“This is probably my new favorite,” I said when he handed me another Summertime Lager.

“Yep, a new brand from the local craft brewery. Trevor keeps it stocked at the pub. It’s seasonal, so it’ll be gone soon. You need to grab it before it gets away.”

Was he talking about just the beer? “Excuse me?”

“What?” he asked, his smirk back.

My pulse raced. I bit my tongue and looked at the sky. Clear blue today, just a few stray clouds.

“Hey, guys.” Kora’s voice floated in the air as she walked around the back of the house and joined us on the patio. “It’s my favorite cousin.”

She gave me a tight hug. I chuckled. “Kora, it’s not like you have a lot of choices.”

“Not true,” she said. “Bryson could be my favorite. ”

“Not likely,” I answered.

“You’re so rude.” She nudged me in the shoulder with her palm as she turned to hug and kiss Kai.

I’d never felt like a third wheel before—but now . . . Yeah, a little. “Do you need privacy? I can leave.”

Kora got comfortable on Kai’s lap. “Sounds like something Summer would say,” she said as she took a sip of his beer. “Maybe she’s already rubbing off on you.”

“They did spend the afternoon together.” Kai said. “I found them at the river. Well, I called them, making sure it was them, and they showed up looking guilty.”

Kora’s face beamed. “No way.” She turned to me. “Row, are you and Summer finally giving in to the sexual tension that’s always been between you?” She turned to Kai. “They’ve been avoiding the obvious since high school.”

God, here it starts, and I’ve only been home a few days. I took a deep breath. “Kora, stop. You know the deal.”

“What?” she asked, all innocence.

“There’s nothing between me and Summer.”

“Okay, you’re right. But you want there to be.”

I closed my eyes to get a rein on her bullshit. “What? We can’t just be friends?”

“Of course you can, if that’s all there was. But come on, Row. I know you. I know you both. That’s not all there is.”

This was so not the time. I didn’t want to talk about this, so I said, “I thought you had an important wedding job for me. Now’s a great time to fill me in.”

Wedding talk. I knew Kora couldn’t resist, and thankfully I was right. The subject of Summer and me was over—for now.