Page 16 of No Place Like Home (Orlinda Valley #3)

Rowan

“ W here you going?” I asked Summer, groggy and a bit hoarse from our long, amazing night. I pushed up in bed and let the sheets fall low, barely covering the evidence of what I wanted to start my morning with—but, instead, I watched her slip on her shoes.

“I have to work, and I’ll be at the salon till six. We’re closed on Saturday, so I have a full calendar all week.” She never made eye contact as she put on her earrings.

I jumped from the bed, wrapped my arms around her from behind, and kissed her neck.

There was no way I’d let her ignore me this time.

Not after last night. Not after she proved to every nerve ending in my body that wanting her for years was so worth the wait.

“Damn, you smell good—and taste even better.”

She froze in my arms. I could feel her body go rigid.

I bit down on my cheek and pressed my forehead against the back of her head.

I had to keep my irritation contained. Damn her father and all her past relationships.

She always shut down when things became more than—well, platonic.

I couldn’t let her do that to us. “ Don’t shut me out, Summer.

” I brushed her hair over her shoulder and placed a soft kiss on her cheek.

Her body leaned against mine before she turned and placed her hands on my chest. My bare chest. Her warmth soaked right into my skin, and a smile ticked up the corners of my mouth. “Morning,” I said.

“You’re naked.”

“You’re beautiful.” I placed a kiss on her lips, and she finally kissed me back—short, but sweet.

“I’ve gotta go, Rowan.”

When our eyes met, I raised my brow.

A glimmer appeared in her hazel eyes, and she pressed her lips to mine, another quick kiss which left me wanting more—but she relaxed this time, became less rigid. My lips curled up against her mouth.

When we broke apart, she walked to her closet. “What are you going to do today?”

I shrugged and picked up my sweats from the floor, pulling them as I thought. “Look more into my plans. Visit Trevor at Jerry’s Pub. Maybe go see Kai and Kora. Maybe wait for you to come home so we can continue last night’s activities.”

“Yeah, well, I won’t be home tonight until late.

” She walked out to the kitchen, and I followed.

“After work, we have a last-minute wedding to-do list Kora has us going over at Darlene’s.

Just a little more than a week till the big day, and lots to do.

” She grabbed her purse. “So, I’ll see you later.

Maybe you should wait up.” She raised her brows, gave me a wicked grin, and walked out.

I leaned against the counter and ran my hands through my hair. “What the hell am I gonna do to get her to relax and realize she’s worth it?” I didn’t know, but I sure as hell needed a cup of coffee. At least that was something I could take charge of.

My phone pinged as I poured half-and-half in my cup. My mouth watered as I read the text from mom inviting me to breakfast. Mom’s breakfast usually included something like homemade biscuits and gravy or maybe pancakes and bacon. There was no way I was saying no.

I took very little time showering and getting dressed, then headed down the path to Mom’s.

I passed Big Red, perched on the old wood fence that was used to prop up the blackberry bushes.

“Morning, Red,” I greeted the ornery rooster.

He flapped his wings and let out a loud crow. “See. We’re becoming friends.”

I laughed as he crowed again and jumped off the fence in the other direction.

I walked across my mother’s patio and into the kitchen. The smell of bacon and maple syrup filled the air.

“Uncle Rowan, you’re here.” Jamison’s daughter, Darcie, red curls bouncing, jumped from her chair and into my arms.

“Hey there, princess.” I hugged her tightly. “Look at you.” Her large, hazel-green eyes and head of red curls made her look like a tiny version of her mother, who had passed away about three years ago. “You are so much bigger in person, but shouldn’t you be in school?”

“And you are more handsome in person, Uncle Rowan.” She sniffed. “I have a cold, so I stayed home today.” She coughed as she hugged my neck again.

Emotions clogged my throat. Darcie was five, and this was only the third time I’d seen her, the second being the time two years ago when Jamison and my mother came to see me at the base for a weekend. If it hadn’t been for our weekly FaceTime calls, Darcie would be like a stranger to me.

I cleared my throat and willed the emotions to disappear. “You better not get me sick,” I said as I put her down in her chair. “How’s school going this year?”

“Hold that thought, sweet girl,” my mom said as she placed a plate of pancakes and a plate of bacon on the table. “Sit and we can talk. She has so much to say about school, but we need to get eating first. She will talk our ears off.”

“School’s fun, but I forgot I’m not supposed to be talking to you. I’m mad at you, Uncle Rowan.”

I froze as I reached for the syrup. “Why?”

“My daddy said you were home, but you haven’t come by and said hi to us yet. Uncle Bryson said it’s because you were ashamed of your family and didn’t want to be around us, but I don’t think that’s true. Is it true? Did you not want to see me?”

Bryson, seriously? I sat up tall, anger bubbling up in my gut, but my mother’s glare calmed me down.

“Sweet girl,” my mother said, “Uncle Bryson did not mean that. Uncle Rowan loves us and had a very important job. That’s why he couldn’t come home.”

“Yeah, I know he was in the Army and keeping us safe from enemies foreign and domesticate.”

I laughed and almost blew some pancake crumbs across the table. How could I not? Darcie was five years old going on fifteen and talked a mile a minute, but domesticate ?

“Darce, who told you that?” I asked as I poured syrup on my pancakes.

“Lance. He said that’s what you did. You took an oaf. ”

Mom and I laughed. “I took an oa th ,” I corrected her, enunciating the th . “And part of my oath was to protect us from enemies foreign and domestic . Do you know what that means?”

She shook her head as she shoved pancakes into her mouth.

“ Foreign means people from other countries, and domestic means people here.” Should I even explain to her that we had enemies here in our own country? Would that scare her? I had no clue what to tell kids and what not to.

“Oh.” She looked past me for a beat, like she was deep in thought. Then she shrugged. “Okay. That makes more sense than what James told me and Madeline.”

“What did James tell you?” asked mom.

“He said that domestic was like stray dogs and cats. They got dangerous so we had to have people make sure they didn’t hurt anyone.”

I chuckled. “What?” Wow, this conversation was off the rails. I had to change the subject. “Okay, well, Mom,” I said, turning to her, “what are the plans today?”

“Uncle Rowan, I want to hang out with you today. We can go somewhere fun, go out for lunch, then you can come to my house and see my daddy.”

“You’re sick,” I told her. “You shouldn’t go out when you can’t go to school.”

She whispered and put her hand to her mouth, “I’m not really sick. I just have a bad cough and contesten.”

I narrowed my eyes and glanced at my mother for translation.

“Congestion, honey,” Mom corrected her. “She didn’t sleep well because of her cough. She’s been on antibiotics for twenty-four hours, so she technically isn’t contagious anymore. Your call.”

“Yay. A day of fun with Uncle Rowan.”

“I’d say your day’s planned,” my mother said to me with a cackle.

I chuckled and took a sip of my orange juice. “Okay, as long as you don’t get me in trouble. Where do you want to go that’s fun?” I asked.

“To Shear Perfection and get our nails done.”

I choked on my orange juice and my mother’s cackle rang out. That damn laugh.

“Sweety, your uncle doesn’t get his nails done.”

“Why not? It’ll make his hands look nice and we can talk with Summer. Daddy said you and Summer are friends from high school.”

Summer. It wouldn’t be so bad getting to see her. I finished the pancake that was on my plate before I said, “How about I take you to get your nails done, and we see if Summer wants to go to lunch with us?”

“Yes.” Her eyes got wide, and her face lit up. “Summer is so much fun, and I bet she can tell me a lot about you, Uncle Rowan.”

I bet she can.

“Well, I’m going to go see what Ruth’s up to.

We have our book club meeting tonight.” My mom gave us both kisses on the head.

“You two have fun, but make sure to rest, little girl.” She had almost left the room when she turned around again.

“Oh, before you leave, Rowan, please clean the kitchen. See you later!”

I watched my mother leave, then glanced around the kitchen. There were bowls and pans everywhere. “What did you two do when you made breakfast?”

Darcie shrugged. “I did all the mixing. Grandma did the cooking. ”

Yeah, I could see that. “Help me clear off the table, princess, and I’ll get this cleaned while you find your shoes. Is that good?”

“Yep.” She hopped up, helped me clear the table, and skipped off through the house while I cleaned up the mess.

It was a short drive to Shear Perfection Salon, which kept me from thinking too hard about my first meeting with Summer since our rocking night together.

From how she acted this morning, I was sure she going to blow things off. Act like it was just sex and put her shields in place, which were more like iron-clad curtains erected to keep out the enemy—the enemy being me, a man who has feelings for her.

Unfortunately for her, I knew her too well and was familiar with how she shuts and locks tight that gate to her heart.

“Uncle Rowan, are you listening to me?” Darcie asked from the back seat.

I glanced in the rearview mirror and had to chuckle. The look she gave was a try-me glare. So much like Jamison’s. I’d seen that look many times growing up. “Of course I was listening, princess.”

“Then do you?”