Chapter Nine
“You okay, dear?” she asked, and Autumn realized she was still holding onto Grandma Martha’s hand.
Somewhat embarrassed that she’d let herself zone out now, of all times, she smiled and slid her hand back.
“Yeah. Sorry. Sometimes, the gravity of the situation hits me.” Autumn glanced at Joel and was surprised to see him watching her with an awareness that astonished her. “It’s a big house.”
“Never apologize about life,” Grandma Martha said, knowing Autumn wasn’t pondering the house project.
Autumn smiled and Grandma Martha continued.
“Emotions are what keep us going. They are what warn us of impending doom or signal that great happiness is on the horizon. The worst thing that can happen is when a person becomes numb.” She reached for a couple of plates. “Because that’s essentially checking out, now isn’t it?”
“I never really thought about it that way before.” Autumn smiled. “There have been times when I’ve thought how nice it would be not to feel every single emotion coming my way, but you’re right. The alternative would be awful.”
“Indeed. You can’t feel the highs if you don’t feel the lows.” Grandma Martha took a couple of premade Panini sandwiches from the cooler and put them in the Panini press. “One of my many specialties. It’s all in the pesto sauce with this one.”
“I hope you like tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella,” he whispered.
“I love pizza, don’t I?” she teased. “You saw me last night.”
“Well, I know you love pepperoni. I just wasn’t sure where this might fall on the scale of food orga—”
“Do you like pecan pie?” Grandma Martha interrupted, cutting off her grandson.
It was as if she knew she was about to hear something she’d rather not.
“Love it.” Autumn’s stomach was growling merely thinking of all this amazing food. She was glad Joel had decided to track her down at the hardware store.
Things were so much different here than in California, or at least in the part she lived in. She’d gone to the same grocery store for years, and the checkers never remembered her. She went to her favorite coffee store down the block from her apartment everyday when she was in town, and all she ever got was a dull look back from the barista.
In Silver Ridge, she happens to drive through town, and who does she see? Her hot and sexy neighbor sitting in front of his grandmother’s bakery. It was almost too idyllic for words, and she loved every second of it.
Not to mention the hot and sexy neighbor took a guess and tracked her down at the local hardware store so he could entice her with food. In California, she was lucky to even find her way out of Home Depot alive.
Every second of the day that ticked by seemed to reaffirm her decision to move here.
“How about we sit over there?” He pointed at a table near the window, and she agreed.
As they made their way to the table, a teenage girl bounded into the café, apologizing for being late. She had her blonde hair swooped into a messy bun, and she was wearing a pair of grey shorts and a purple t-shirt.
Grandma Martha shook her head and welcomed her behind the counter by handing her an apron and giving her a kiss on the forehead. “Sometimes, being punctual is of the utmost importance, and other times, when a great-grandma is involved, it’s not as important.”
Autumn glanced at Joel, who waved at the teenager. She seemed genuinely happy to see him, and her gaze hopped right over to Autumn. Her smile widened into a wicked grin, which Autumn thought was somewhat strange until Joel leaned over the table.
“That’s my niece, Abigail. She’s working here this summer.”
“That’s awesome.” Autumn waved at the young girl as she prepared their lunch plates with her great-grandma. It also told her that Joel had probably mentioned her to his family more than she expected.
Joel nodded in agreement and kicked his legs out in front of him. So far, his plan to keep her away from her house was working like a charm.
“Do you think my paint will be safe?” Autumn asked.
“You mean the paint that you haven’t paid for yet?” He smiled and nodded. “I think it will be just fine.”
“Good. Because I could stay here all day.”
“Is that so?” Joel looked extremely pleased with this revelation.
“Mmmhmm.” Autumn drew a deep breath and took in her surroundings.
Outside the window, couples sat and laughed, drinking cold drinks and chatting about the day ahead while the line across the street for ice cream grew. Women were streaming in and out of one of the boutiques that had caught Autumn’s eye, and she knew she’d have to venture in there soon.
Joel’s niece brought over a tray with both of their sandwiches and two slices of pecan pie. She set them on the table next to them and placed the dishes in front of Joel and Autumn.
“Thanks, Abigail.” Joel smiled. “This is Autumn Tucker.”
“Oh, I know that. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too.” Autumn smiled, noticing how much Abigail looked like Grandma Martha. Actually, despite her blonde hair, she looked like a cute female version of the North brothers. Abigail’s piercing blue eyes filled with mischief, and that look combined with the eye color sealed the deal. She was, without a doubt, a North.
“Are you coming to the Fourth of July party at the lake?” she asked, crossing her arms and glancing at her uncle.
“Oh, I don’t know about any party. I was planning on spending it painting and ripping out old carpeting.” Autumn laughed.
“Sounds like a blast.” She smacked her uncle in the shoulder. “Why didn’t you ask her? She’s new in town and would probably enjoy it.”
Autumn kept in a snicker as Joel wrestled his teenage niece into him and held her. “I would have had I had the chance.”
Abigail doubled over in laughter as he let go. “Well, now you have the chance.”
Abigail hummed her way back to the counter while Autumn took in the delicious food.
Joel leaned over the table and touched her chin, sending a spark through her.
“You know, I was going to ask you to the family barbeque later. I hadn’t had the chance.”
Autumn shook her head, realizing Joel had taken her quietness as a sign of disappointment for not being invited to the celebration.
“Actually, I was taking in the beauty of the food.” She smiled widely.
His brows scrunched together, and he glanced down at the plates to notice the panini had somehow been cut out in the shape of a heart, and the pecan pie slice had a heart-shaped piece of crust on top.
“One thing you’ll learn about my family is that they aren’t shy with hints. Subtlety isn’t a thing with any of them.” He shook his head and snatched the heart-shaped topping off his pie and ate it. “Just what every guy hopes for when his grandmother and niece try to scare off the one—” He stopped himself.
“The one what?” Her eyes snapped up to his and he smiled.
“The one woman who fascinates me.”
Autumn giggled, and the sound was nothing short of joy to Joel as he took her in.
“Well, I think you’re pretty fascinating yourself, and I have to say, coming from California, it would take a lot more than heart-shaped food to scare me off.” She smiled and took a bite of the buttery crust heart. “In fact, I think it’s absolutely perfect.”
Autumn snuck a bite of pie and shut her eyes as she let out a moan of pleasure with the flavor soaking into her mouth. She blinked her eyes open and grinned sheepishly.
“Besides, you’ve seen the kind of men I tend to get stuck with.” She grimaced, and Joel laughed, feeling completely at ease with this woman.
“There’ve been others like Ronald?” He looked somewhat surprised, and she picked up her sandwich and took a bite so she wouldn’t have to answer.
“This pesto sauce is amazing.” She put the sandwich back on her plate. “Best sandwich I’ve ever had in my life. Hands down.”
Joel’s brow arched and he chuckled. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
“You do that.” She took another bite and enjoyed every second of spending time with Joel.
She was thoroughly confused with how she could slip right into his world without feeling exposed or frantic for acceptance. Instead, she sat in his grandmother’s bakery eating and laughing as if this was what she did every single day.
“So, what do you say about not picking up the paint until later and letting me take you on a little ride before you go back to your house to work?”
Autumn twisted her lips into a sexy pout. “You’re not very good at keeping me in line.”
“I have a feeling that’s an impossibility with or without my help.” His eyes locked onto hers, and she was suddenly thrown back to the kiss last night.
Autumn saw a flash of desire whip through his blue eyes, and her gaze instinctively fell to his full lips. She remembered how good they felt against hers. How she didn’t want things to stop at just a kiss.
“Where would we go?” she asked.
“It would be a surprise.” He took a bite of his sandwich as she contemplated his offer.
One more day of not painting wouldn’t be all that bad. After all, she had planned on zipping around town and getting to know the place the first few days she was here until Ronald happened.
She polished off her sandwich and glanced at Grandma Martha, who pretended to be busy folding napkins.
“I think a surprise sounds like the perfect thing to energize me for a night of painting.” Autumn let the nervous excitement pulse through her.
Doing something spontaneous would be fun. Painting walls could always wait. It wasn’t like she’d run out of them to do. Maybe it would be better to paint when the daytime temps dropped anyway.
Grandma Martha suddenly appeared with two to-go containers, two forks, and a plastic bag.
“You can take the pie with you.” Grandma Martha winked at Joel, and Autumn chuckled, knowing it didn’t matter what either of them thought about the matter. This was how it was going to go. They would have the pecan pie on the road.
Joel stood after putting the pie in the containers and looked at Autumn as if she might go running away any second.
“You ready?” He held out his hand when he saw she wasn’t going anywhere.
“Absolutely, but this had better be good to take me away from an entire day of painting,” Autumn teased.
“I promise not to disappoint.” He smiled, and her hand slid into his.
Autumn and Joel left the bakery as he led her to his Honcho with many people saying hi to Joel on the way. He opened the passenger door for her to slide in.
“So, where are you taking me?” Autumn asked.
“Not gonna tell you.” He shut her door and walked around the Honcho. The longer he had her away from her home, the better.
“Oh, come on.” She laughed as he climbed into the driver’s seat. “I’m awful with surprises.”
“And I’m amazing at them.” He grinned with a sparkle in his eyes and turned on the ignition.
“Is it far?” she asked, getting giddier with each second.
He could take her to a gravel pit and she’d be thrilled.
“It doesn’t have to be, but I might make it take a little longer.” He drove them onto Main Street and past the hardware store where her cans of paint were waiting.
“And why’s that?” she asked, turning toward him.
He’d gone another day without shaving, and the dark stubble had turned to short whiskers. He looked really sexy, and she couldn’t help that she wondered what it would feel like to be tickled along her neck from his whiskers.
“You’ve suddenly gone quiet.” He smiled, glancing at Autumn as they sat at a red light.
“I was thinking about things.”
“About what Martha said about your family?” he asked.
“No.” She shook her head, feeling the heat run up her cheeks. That was what she should have been thinking about, but those recent revelations weren’t what went buzzing through her system. No, she was busy thinking about a sexy neighbor whom she shouldn’t be dreaming about because if things went wrong—and they inevitably would—she’d still be stuck with him across the street. At least the entire state of Oregon sat between Ronald and her. There’d be no such safety net with Mr. Too Good Looking for Words. A sigh escaped her lips, and she glanced at Joel.
He cocked his head and narrowed his gaze, which only made him look even sexier. Being in confined spaces with Joel North was a dangerous thing.
“Honestly, I’ve been thinking a lot about last night . . .” she began as Joel stepped on the accelerator.
“I have too.”