Page 17

“Y ou ready to go downstairs for breakfast?” I ask Caleb.

He nods and sets aside the magnetic tiles Julie gave him for making it through his second week of summer camp. Hard to believe it’s already mid-June.

Between his twice-a-week therapy appointments and summer camp, he’s doing much better than I could have anticipated.

Just yesterday, he made space at his table during snack time for one of the other kids at camp and even shared the crayons without being asked.

It may seem minor, but considering he used to avoid interacting with anyone, it’s a big step.

There’s no question Briar has played a big role in the shift.

Caleb always comes back from their afternoons together smiling and more engaged.

She shows him around the ranch, introduces him to the animals, works with him in Julie’s garden, and even takes him on adventures in town.

Thankfully, today is Saturday which means she should be here and not out doing rounds at the cabins.

As Caleb and I enter the kitchen, we’re greeted by the sweet scent of pancakes.

Briar stands at the stove, spatula in hand, dancing along to a country song on the radio.

It’s impossible not to watch her hips sway to the beat, her jeans clinging to her every curve.

Her hair’s pulled into a messy bun, the same as it was the night of the plumbing disaster last week.

Watching her fix that pipe was damn sexy. With grease on her chin and wisps of hair framing her face, I couldn’t take my eyes off her.

I’ve replayed the moment countless times.

The way her breath hitched as my thumb grazed her chin, her body flush with mine, wrapped in the sweet scent of apples and worn leather.

Her doe eyes were soft and brimming with longing, making the urge to kiss her burn in my chest and difficult to resist. If she hadn’t pulled away, I may not have had the sense to stop, which would make our situation more complicated.

Caleb’s face brightens when he sees her and races over to wrap his arms around her legs. I watch, my chest tightening with gratitude for how she shows up for him.

Briar sets the spatula down and smiles, ruffling his hair. “Good morning, little man. You hungry?”

He tips his head, giving her a thumbs-up.

“Great. You boys better be ready to dig in, because I made pancakes. A whole lot of them. It’s my one specialty, so I had to go all out.”

Briar’s normally gone before I wake up, so I stick to easy options like eggs, toast, cereal, or oatmeal. Caleb usually eats whatever I put in front of him, but he’s never been enthusiastic about breakfast. Not like he is now, as he takes in the massive stacks of pancakes on the kitchen table.

Before joining him, I step behind Briar, brushing a hand against the small of her back as I lean in to whisper in her ear. “Morning, sugar. Those pancakes smell amazing. ”

We both blink at the unexpected nickname. It’s totally fitting, though, since everything about her is sweet and leaves me craving more.

Before this summer, I was never big on affection—physical or verbal—but the way Briar is with Caleb, always hugging and praising him, must be rubbing off on me.

Maybe a little too much.

I’ve been on my best behavior this past week, but seeing her barefoot and at ease in her kitchen makes me want things I shouldn’t—like pressing her against the counter and kissing her senseless.

I pull back before I do anything reckless, relieved when she resumes flipping pancakes, pretending I didn’t come close to crossing a line I shouldn’t.

I subtly adjust myself, wanting to hide how being close to her affects me.

I sit next to Caleb at the kitchen table, reminding myself that we came to Bluebell for him, and everything else comes second, including my inexplicable desire to be around Briar.

She’s a novelty. Someone forbidden who plagues my thoughts, but eventually the attraction will fade. Or at least I hope it will.

Caleb is eyeing the platefuls of pancakes. Next to each stack is a slip of paper with the flavor.

I lean forward, reading off the options. “We’ve got classic buttermilk, blueberry, chocolate chip, banana, and apple cinnamon. Want to pick one to start with?” I ask Caleb.

He gestures toward the bear-shaped chocolate chip pancakes with a grin.

“Great choice.”

I slide a pancake onto his plate, top it with banana slices and a drizzle of syrup, then set it in front of him. He immediately digs in and takes a big bite, humming his approval.

I chuckle. “That good, huh?”

He quickly nods, already scooping the next bite into his mouth .

“I still can’t believe you finished fixing the pipe without me,” I say to Briar as I add a stack of blueberry pancakes to my plate.

The morning after the plumbing incident, I headed to the kitchen after my workout ready to help with the permanent repair—only to find Briar had already cut out the damaged joint and installed a new section, all before sunrise.

“If I hadn’t, someone might’ve tried using a non-adjustable wrench again, or worse—duct tape,” she teases, shaking her head.

“I figured a makeshift fix was better than turning the kitchen into a swimming pool,” I reply sheepishly. “I’m usually good at improvising… most of the time.”

She flips the final batch of pancakes and turns off the burner before glancing at me. “Just not the kind that involves tools.” She winks, clearly enjoying this.

I smirk. “Guess I’m better with a hands-on approach.”

“You keep talking like that, and I might start expecting daily maintenance.” She clears her throat, probably realizing how that sounded. It seems we’re both toeing the line between teasing and something more.

“Caleb, what do you say we pay Ziggy a visit after breakfast?” she asks Caleb, changing the subject. “I’m sure he’d love to stretch his legs and play.”

His face lights up, and he nods eagerly.

“Sounds good. Once you finish eating, we’ll head outside.”

Briar opens the shed, and Ziggy bursts out with a happy bleat, hooves skittering as he zigzags across the yard.

He’s grown a lot in the past two weeks but still lacks direction.

When he spots Caleb, he starts running toward him, but the second he sees me, he freezes.

His little legs go stiff, and he collapses to the ground in an overdramatic swoon .

Caleb’s lip quivers with worry as he watches Ziggy collapse. It’s not the first time he’s seen him faint, but it’s been a few days. Briar and Caleb typically visit him in the afternoons when I’m working.

Briar kneels and puts her arm around Caleb. “I think Ziggy’s read too many comic books and is convinced your dad’s a superhero in disguise. He gets starry-eyed and can’t help fainting on sight,” she whispers the last part like it’s a secret.

Caleb peers cautiously at Ziggy, his eyes widening as the goat suddenly springs up and trots toward him—full of energy and pretending I don’t exist.

Briar brushes Caleb’s hair from his face. “See? He just needed a second to regroup from seeing his hero. Now he’s ready to play.”

She releases Caleb and stands as he gently pats Ziggy’s head, laughing when the goat nuzzles into his hand.

I approach Briar, leaning in so only she can hear. “What happened to the goat not being my biggest fan?” I smirk.

She shrugs, raising her hands, palms out. “Guess Ziggy decided you’re not so bad after all.”

Something tells me we’re not talking about goats anymore.

While Caleb and Ziggy chase each other around the yard, Briar grabs the laundry basket she left on the back porch and heads to the clothesline along the side of the house. Several rows of clothes are hung across it, fluttering in the breeze.

The washer’s out of order, and the part Briar needs won’t arrive for another week.

That means doing laundry at Julie’s and hanging it out to dry since the weather is nice.

As much as I’ve come to like the cottage, the constant repairs to the plumbing and appliances are a hassle.

I’ve learned during our time here that Briar has a strong work ethic.

Between helping with Caleb and the repairs on the cabins, not much time is left to make a dent in the cottage renovations.

Caleb and me being around hasn’t exactly lightened her load.

If anything, we’ve added to it, and I’ve been wanting to do something to prove that I can be helpful.

I may not be able to fix a leaky pipe, but I have a black card and a guilty conscience.

It’s time I started contributing around here, especially since I’m not paying rent this summer.

I pull my phone from my pocket to email my assistant a list of tasks, asking her to prioritize them first thing Monday morning. Once I hit send, I slip my phone back into my pocket, deciding to hold off on telling Briar. I’ll handle any fallout with her once it’s too late to undo what I’ve planned.

I join her, watching as she folds clothes straight off the line, stacking them into the basket at her feet.

“Need a hand?”

She glances up, shrugging. “Sure.”

I take down a pair of silk pajama pants from the line, smoothing out the fabric between my hands, and fold them before placing them in the basket.

“It’s been ages since I’ve hung clothes out to dry,” I admit.

The last time was probably helping Julie hang all the bedding out at the ranch house the summer before I left for New York.

“Careful, or I’ll start to think you miss the ranch more than you let on,” Briar teases.

I look over at the pastures in the distance where the cows are grazing beneath a sky so big it swallows the horizon. “I did miss it. More than I realized before coming back.”

I’m halfway down the line when my hand stops mid-air, hovering over a pair of pink lace panties with bows on the sides and the words ‘All You Can Eat’ stitched across the front.

A surge of envy sweeps over me as I imagine another man having the privilege of seeing Briar in these—or, god forbid, acting on what they imply.

It’s an unreasonable reaction, especially since she’s supposed to just be my son’s nanny and my roommate.

But that doesn’t ease the tightness in my throat at the idea of her being with someone else.

“Jensen, did you hear what I—” Briar’s voice falters when she sticks her head around a pair of jeans separating us, and her face turns beet red when she catches me holding her panties. “Oh my god. Give me those.” She snatches the underwear from my hand.

She glances over to make sure Caleb isn’t looking before bending down to shove them into the bottom of the basket.

“I can finish my laundry.” She pulls a shirt from the clothesline, avoiding my gaze as she folds it. “You should go inside and write some code or whatever it is you do.”

I step forward and cover her hand with mine, holding it there until her eyes find mine. “Why are you blushing, sugar?”

“I’m not. Just don’t need you staring at the underwear I got from a bachelorette party I went to last year. Everyone was asked to bring party favors, and Charlie bought a bulk pack of lacy panties with cheeky sayings on them. She gave the bride a pair that said ‘Grab Life by the Buns.’”

The corner of my mouth twitches into a smile. “I prefer ‘All You Can Eat,’ even if it causes heart palpitations just thinking about it.”

All I can picture is those lace panties hugging her creamy hips, begging me to taste her sweet pussy.

And if that weren’t enough, she had to go and mention lacy panties, causing my second hard-on in an hour.

God help me. Fantasies of this woman now live rent-free in my mind, and damn if I know how to stop them.

I draw closer, gently tucking a strand of hair behind Briar’s ear, feeling her shiver beneath my touch. “Most guys would need a roadmap and those panties to spell out what they’re supposed to do,” I say, my voice low.

“You included?” she taunts.

“I’m not one of your country boys , Briar.

I’m a man who doesn’t need hints to know what my woman needs.

” I shoot her a confident grin as she rests her hand on my pec, her chest rises and falls in quick, shallow breaths.

“Every woman deserves to be claimed by a man who’s not afraid to make her beg for more and show her what she’s been missing. ”

Her fingers curl around the collar of my shirt, her gaze locked on my mouth.

When she swipes her tongue across her lips, the flicker of desire inside me turns into something undeniable, pulling me closer.

I’m inches away from claiming a kiss when Caleb’s laughter erupts from the other side of the yard.

Just like that, whatever was building between us vanishes, and we both pull away.

I look around the wall of clothes to check on Caleb and see Ziggy has fainted again.

Caleb is now lying beside him, mimicking the goat’s stiff posture.

My heart swells seeing my son playing without a care in the world.

Now, if only I can figure out how to get a goat in our penthouse, because he will be heartbroken if he has to say goodbye to Ziggy at the end of the summer.

When the goat sits up, it starts licking Caleb’s face, leaving a trail of slobber down his cheek.

“I guess that’s one way to bond with a goat,” Briar laughs.

I wrinkle my nose when Ziggy moves to Caleb’s head, nibbling on his hair. “I’d better go rescue him before the goat decides he’s a walking tasting menu.”

“Good call,” Briar says.

Our eyes meet for a split second before I jog toward Caleb and Ziggy. Damn, she’s incredible, and that near-kiss only makes me crave her lips on mine even more.