Page 68 of The Aster Valley Collection, Vol. 1

SAM

After breakfast and a few errands in town, the three of us drove toward the far side of the ski mountain. One of the ski resort equipment sheds was located on that side of the slopes, and we hoped to find an extension ladder I could use to inspect the roofs of the A-frame cabins.

“Son of a bitch!” I blurted when I saw Truman Sweet on the side of the highway again. “What the fuck is he doing?”

The answer was obvious. His little pert ass stuck up in the air while he bent over with a hand trowel to dig in the dirt. A small bag sat next to him, and I would have bet my bike it held wildflower seeds.

“Pretty sure he’s planting something,” Tiller said dryly. Mikey stifled a laugh.

“Stop the car,” I demanded. “Let me out.”

Tiller’s eyes met mine in the mirror, and I glared at him.

Mikey turned to stare at me. “We’re not bothering my friend while he’s doing something he loves.

Why do you care? The man plants flowers for a living.

If he wants to beautify the highway, let him.

The poor guy needs a little happiness in his life. ”

That was all Tiller needed to hear to keep driving. I felt my back teeth grind together. “He won’t be happy if that bully shows up again. He’s going to get his ass kicked over a damned dirt patch,” I said. “The kid has the self-preservation sense of a gnat near a bug zapper.”

But Mikey was right. It wasn’t any of my business. I’d already sworn off giving a shit about Truman’s well-being. He was an adult. I was only passing through.

I let out a breath and rubbed my hands down my thighs. “Whatever,” I muttered. “Stupid fucking idiot.”

Mikey faced forward again and spoke to Tiller. “Did you catch how weird he smelled? What was that?”

Tiller glanced over. “Who? Truman? Why were you smelling him?”

“Yeah. I walked past him on the way to the men’s room. He smelled like… I can’t put my finger on it.”

My teeth hurt, so I stretched my jaw open. And words popped out. “Cherries. He smells sweet like ripe cherries. Not weird. Just unique.”

As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I saw the trap for what it had been. Mikey’s face brightened in victory. “Ah- ha ! I knew it. You like him.”

“Wanting to lick him is hardly the same as liking him,” I muttered.

Mikey’s laughter made me happy, even if it was at my expense.

He danced in his seat and singsonged. “You like him. You want to lick him and fuck him and keep him safe in your arms for- ever .”

I closed my eyes and drew in a breath of fresh mountain air.

At some point Tiller had put the windows down in the SUV, and the warm spring day blew in and washed over me.

Despite the hell my friends were giving me, I liked it here.

There was something about Aster Valley that eased my soul.

I could see why Mikey and Tiller had fallen in love with the place.

Part of me wished I could stay longer than a few days.

“It doesn’t matter,” I said after a minute. “I’m only passing through, then I’m headed to the coast, remember? As soon as my bike is ready.”

“We’ll see about that,” Mikey said. “My plan is to find a way to convince you to stay here with us. My only hesitation in leaving Texas was leaving you behind. If I can get you to move here with us, it will be perfect. All the people I love the most will be with me all the time.”

He didn’t realize the effect his words had on me.

Or maybe he did. But I hadn’t had a life full of people who cared.

I hadn’t had anyone looking out for me the way he had.

Mikey may have been very different from his dad and brothers, but he’d still had them in his corner.

No, they weren’t perfect, and in fact, sometimes I wanted to kick their asses, but they’d still been there.

The only person who’d been there for me was Mikey himself, and I would never ever forget it.

“I’m not making any promises,” I said roughly. “Not sure I can leave my business and Mom and the girls.”

Mikey’s expression turned serious. “No, I know. And I wouldn’t want you to do something you didn’t want to do. I just mean we love you. Whatever makes you happiest will make us happy, too.”

Tiller nodded and met my eye again in the mirror. He was a good man. I was grateful beyond measure Mikey had found him.

“Well,” I said, clearing my voice. “It will make me happiest to find a damned good ladder in the storage shed. How much longer till we get there?”

After finding the ladder we needed—at the local hardware store rather than the dusty old equipment shed—we made our way back to the lodge property where I spent a happy few hours inspecting the chalets.

Tiller accompanied me and helped make a punch list of tasks, repairs, and upgrades the little cabins needed, but overall they were in fairly good shape.

I could even knock out some of the work while I waited for my bike to be fixed.

Once I’d stuffed myself with Mikey’s lunch spread that included custom turkey sandwiches on thick slabs of homemade bread, I borrowed the SUV and set off to town to check in with the Chop Shop. Jim Browning assured me that he could fix it in the next few days.

“Are you sure? A couple of days seems quick for a bent fork and?—”

“Never been more sure of anything in my life. Take my word for it. You’re gonna be good to go in a jiffy.

” He beamed at me. “And if you need a loaner in the meantime, we have a good deal on a Kawasaki rental.” He tilted his head toward a bike in the lot.

I expected a cheap, banged-up piece of shit, so I was surprised to see a Versys in decent shape.

“Run well?” I asked, thinking it was too good to be true to get my own wheels in this tiny town without much fuss.

He nodded. “’Course.”

“How much?” I asked Jim.

We settled on a rental agreement, but when I asked for the keys, he looked at me like I had two heads.

“Key’s in the bike. This is a small town, Mr. Rigby.

If anyone else is caught driving that bike, I’ll know who took it.

Same goes with all our local customers’ vehicles.

They leave the keys in ’em, and we don’t have to stick around for a late drop-off. ”

I laughed at the reminder I wasn’t in Houston anymore.

When I finally walked out with an estimate for the repairs, I breathed a sigh of relief. At least I would be less of a burden to my friends while I was here. I’d be able to roam the mountains without feeling stuck in one place.

I left the bike in the Chop Shop lot for now and tossed my saddlebags into the SUV before continuing to the address I had for Truman’s farm.

My phone rang with calls from my mom, but I ignored them.

Most likely my she was calling to beg legal help for Kira, and if it wasn’t for that, she was calling to ask for money.

I didn’t even want to speculate as to why Kira wasn’t calling, too.

She probably knew I wouldn’t answer and had asked Mom to call instead.

The first thing I noticed when I pulled onto the narrow road leading to Truman’s place was a dilapidated sign that read, “Berry Sweet Farm.” The second thing I noticed was half of a gate hanging drunkenly off to the side of the farm’s driveway.

I wondered if someone had crashed into it with their car.

Maybe even the aunt who’d owned the property before Truman.

As I pulled down the drive, I passed open fields with row after row of various types of little green shoots sprouting through the tilled earth.

A giant arc of water from a sprinkler shot through the air over the plants, casting vague rainbow apparitions in the afternoon sun.

Motion off to the left caught my attention, and I saw the same tight little Truman ass I’d seen earlier sticking up from where he bent over a wheelbarrow.

He’d changed out of his jeans and hoodie.

Now that the sun was blazing warm in the sky, he wore a faded T-shirt and old cutoff shorts that had once been khaki pants but were now just a collection of wash-worn threads being held together with a hope and a prayer.

I almost crashed the SUV trying to catch glimpses of his bare upper thigh through the holes in them.

After parking, I made my way over to him and noticed he had earbuds in his ears and had begun wiggling his butt to a tune only he could hear.

My dick urged me forward, and I could just imagine the way that gentle grind would feel if I grasped his hips and pulled him against me.

I wasn’t sure why my libido had formed such a quick and strong attachment to this man, but it clearly had.

I wanted him naked underneath me, on top of me, any way I could get him.

I wanted to run my hands over all of that sweet skin and then trace it with my tongue.

“Ahhh!” Truman screeched when he saw me out of the corner of his eye. Dirt and a hand trowel went flying through the air as he put up his arms in a defensive gesture.

We stared at each other.

Truman’s chest heaved with labored breaths. He finally remembered to pull out his earbuds. “Holy crap, you… you…” His breathing seemed to make him light-headed because his eyes rolled back a little. I stepped forward and grabbed his arm as gently as I could in case he decided to tip over.

“Slow down,” I murmured. “It’s just me. You’re okay.”

“You scared me to death,” he finally finished, pulling out of my grip. “You should… warn… a guy, or something.”

I tilted my chin and lifted an eyebrow. How exactly was I supposed to warn him when he’d been listening to music at top volume?

“Maybe you should fix your driveway gate so no one can sneak up on you like this?” I suggested instead.

His eyebrows pinched. “That’s easy for you to say when you have the muscles and know-how to do something like that.”

Oh. The sweet little man had a backbone. I grinned at him. “Touché. Why don’t I fix it for you while I’m in town?”

Truman’s mouth opened, but nothing came out.