Page 35 of Will Bark for Pizza (Bluebell Springs #1)

TWENTY-FIVE

BECKETT

“That the bookstore?” Nana asked, nodding out the passenger window as we drove through town.

“Yeah,” I said through a yawn, fighting the exhaustion that resonated in my bones. My own damn fault for kissing Kira last night and expecting I could get a fucking ounce of sleep before I had to head to Denver this morning to pick up Nana.

“It’s not open.”

“No, it’s not.”

“Funny thing about going-out-of-business sales. You have to be open to sell things.”

“Joe doesn’t have the staff.”

“What’s Joe doing?”

“Running the hardware store.”

I slowed to take the turn past the bank, and headed toward the farm. When I told Connie where I was headed this morning, she sent me off with a to-go cup of coffee, a breakfast sandwich, and a request to bring Nana there for a family meal.

“What’s he doing with a bookstore?”

“It belonged to his late wife.”

“Brenda.” Not a question. An easy observation.

“It’s been a staple in this town for thirty years.”

“Who’s the redhead?” Nana asked as I turned off pavement and onto a dirt road.

“Kira Mason. She’s Luke and Connor’s younger sister. You’ll meet her soon.” Unless she went into hiding—or ran back to Omaha since I left this morning—there was a good chance that meeting was about to take place.

“Brenda’s daughter?”

“Yes.”

“I sure as hell hope you listened to me,” Nana mumbled.

“She lives in Nebraska,” I explained. “She’s just here visiting.”

Except, after last night, I wasn’t so sure. She might stay. She might buy Karl’s cabin, and move home. I didn’t know how to feel about any of that yet. Did I want her to stay, or would that overcomplicate things?

“Good. Keep it in your pants until she’s gone.”

Christ, this conversation was too much for how fucking tired I was.

I scrubbed a hand over my face to hide a yawn.

How Nana, who’d been flying since late last night, was wide awake, was beyond me.

I was still wiped from the drive to Denver to pick her up.

But there was no nap in my future today.

Nana wasn’t the type of woman to take it easy, even if jetlagged. Which, I suspected, she wasn’t.

All I did on the drive to the airport was think about that kiss. That fucking axis-tilting kiss that had me all messed up in the head.

Kira Mason wasn’t mine.

She could never be mine.

I had no fucking business kissing her.

Or wanting to do it again.

Even if she kissed me first.

It no longer mattered who initiated our kiss. We were both headed on the same collision course. If Luke had arrived a minute earlier, we’d have been caught. That alone should knock some fucking sense into me.

One kiss shouldn’t have me so jumbled.

And yet, within only a few days of meeting her, I felt compelled to be around her every chance I got. To hear that beautiful laughter. Tease that heart-stopping smile from her lips. To cause that sexy barely audible whimper to escape her throat. To give her . . . everything .

Maybe it was a good thing Nana was here.

If this was a bad idea—and yeah, it fucking was—Nana would straighten me out before I ruined what I’d established in Bluebell Springs over a woman. She wouldn’t let me fall victim to another redheaded curse. At least, I hoped not.

“Cute farm,” Nana said, squinting and leaning forward. Before I could explain why they called it the farm , Nana kept right on talking. “Where are all the animals?”

“Connor has chickens,” I offered.

“ Hmm .”

“And there’s a rescue cow named Millie.”

As I parked the truck, I caught a blur of white shoot across the yard. Husker was on the loose, and Red was running after him.

“And a dog, I see,” Nana added as Kira caught the leash, much to Husker’s dismay. He was clearly on a quest to chase down his chipmunk nemesis.

“That’s Husker, Kira’s dog.”

“Oh, Beckett,” she said with exasperation, patting my leg. “Looks like I got here just in time.”

“Nana—”

“Hurry up, now,” she said, pushing open her door. “I want to meet everyone.”

I pulled Nana’s second suitcase from the back of my truck, and closed the door. It was heavy, as though she’d stowed away a body or two. She’d be the first to tell you she wasn’t known for traveling light. But this seemed excessive, even for her.

She hadn’t mentioned a return flight, and now I understood why. Nana was planning to stick around for a while—as a welcome guest of the Westons.

I shouldn’t be surprised at how easily she melded into the Mason-Weston clan.

She came bearing thoughtful gifts for people I’d mentioned only a handful of times.

She and Connie were swapping recipes within an hour of meeting, Dale was puffing on a specialty cigar near the firepit, and Opal listened in rapture as she shared stories of her world travels over lunch.

The two spoke of Italy as if they’d both been there before, though Connor assured us all Opal had never traveled out of the country, and they had no idea where this sudden fascination came from.

Currently, Nana was in a full-scale conversation with Connor about his plans for rental cabins he considered adding to the farm.

Nana fit right in, as though she’d always known this family. As though she were a long lost member, finally returned home after years away.

It was all I could do to sit back and watch in awe.

“I like her,” Kira said, picking up the smaller carry-on bag and looping the strap over her shoulder. “But I don’t know how well she likes me.”

“She likes you.”

“You don’t have to lie to spare my feelings, Beck.”

Dammit, I liked the way she called me Beck .

“You don’t have to help,” I said to her.

“I know.”

We hadn’t talked since she left Ghost Lake last night.

I stayed to appease Luke, and ward off any suspicion he might be harboring about me and his little sister, however warranted it may be.

That was a battle I’d save for a future time, down the road.

Her door was closed when I finally made it back, though.

And I left this morning, before anyone other than Connie was awake.

Kira and I’d been stealing glances at one another since I arrived with Nana, the pull undeniably strong. I wanted nothing more than to tug her into my arms and kiss her again. To feel her body perfectly molded against mine as our tongues danced and the world around us disappeared.

I was in over my fucking head.

“Beckett, about last night?— ”

“Yeah, we should probably talk about that.”

“I shouldn’t have done that.”

“You shouldn’t have kissed me?”

Her eyes went wide. “Do you want to say that a little louder?”

“Relax, Red. Everyone’s over there,” I said, nodding toward the patio area with the firepit.

“Except, I have ninjas for brothers, and they tend to sneak up when you least expect them.”

“I have eyes on both of them.” I nodded toward the patio where Connor was immersed in conversation with Nana, and Luke was taking a phone call and looking a little pissed off about it.

“I’m sorry I kissed you,” she said.

“Are you?”

We locked eyes for several beats, so much lingering in the silence between us.

We both knew this was a bad fucking idea.

That if things didn’t work out, so much could go wrong.

Aspen’s threat alone should be enough for me to back off.

And that didn’t take into account that Nana’s room was right next door to mine.

Not that I’d ever disrespect the Westons by sneaking around under their roof.

If I had an ounce of sense, I’d simply agree with Kira and let this go.

“I’ve made a lot of mistakes,” she said, glancing at Luke.

“Kissing me was a mistake, then?”

“Would you stop saying that like it’s a challenge?” she said, huffing out a breath. If I had to guess, she wanted to be annoyed. But the twinkle dancing in her eyes revealed the truth. My teasing was getting to her. “I’m a hot mess, Beckett.”

“And?”

“And I don’t want you to get tangled up in it.”

She spun on her heel and headed toward the house with Nana’s smaller bags, leaving me no choice but to grab the heavier suitcases, and follow. Kira was quick on her feet, but I caught up to her on the second-floor landing.

“I meant what I said last night,” I said, following her down the hall to the guest room beside mine that Nana would be calling home for an undetermined number of days.

“The part about the cabin or the catch?”

“Both.”

Kira set the floral-patterned carry-on bag on a sitting chair beside the bed and looked back at me.

“I appreciate that. I really do. But we both know that anything more than friends is a really bad idea. Especially if I decide to move home.”

What Kira said made total sense on its own, but it was the fear lingering in her eyes that made me back all the way off. I prayed I never met the asshole who hurt her. I wouldn’t trust myself around him.

“Friends, then,” I said, holding out a hand to shake.

She stared at my outstretched hand. “Not friends with benefits,” she clarified.

“Define benefits.”

Kira rolled her eyes, but my teasing earned the intended response. A smile broke across her lips. “Friends. No benefits.”

“Friends. Platonic benefits.”

“Fine. But only because Husker has dubbed you his new favorite person.”

And finally, after several beats of hesitation, she placed her hand in mine. Neither of us admitted to the jolt of electricity at the contact, though I spotted the flare of surprise in her eyes as clearly as I felt the current in my own body.

Being just friends with Kira Mason might very well be the death of me.