Series: Fever Falls Series by Riley Hart
Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 92704 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92704 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Obviously, I was becoming quite mushy too.
The door to Fearless opened, and I looked up to see Beau walk in. It was a pretty slow day. There were a couple of people reading in chairs in the back of the store, but other than that, it was only the two of us. It was still early, though, so I figured it would pick up later.
“Hey, man,” I greeted him from behind the coffee counter. “What’s up?” It wasn’t often one of my friends popped into the bookstore. Except for Carter, who’d managed one drag queen story time, but with his schedule, it was difficult for him to do it often.
“Hey,” Beau said as he came over. “I wanted to get a gift card for Kenny’s girlfriend. Her birthday is coming up.”
I smiled at the mention of Beau’s brother, Kenny, who had Down syndrome. He was the most important person in the world to Beau—and to Ash too. It was amazing, seeing Beau and Ash with Kenny. It was one of the things that endeared Ashton to me when he came back to town. Sometimes I felt like Kenny was the heart and soul of Fever Falls. The world would be a better place if more people saw it through his eyes.
“How’s Kenny doing?”
“Good,” Beau replied. “Still taking a college class or two each semester. He’s taking his time, ya know? He wants to help Ash and me with the football camp.”
“That’s fantastic. You want a coffee?”
“Yeah, sure. That’d be great.”
I made Beau a drink and handed it over as he leaned on the counter. “So…you and Carter. It’s good to see you happy.”
I felt this swell of pride in my chest. I was proud to be with Carter James. “Thanks. It’s good to be happy. I don’t know what will come of it, but we’re taking it one day at a time.”
“None of us ever know what will come of a relationship when it first starts.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I know. It’s just, with Carter’s job… I think sometimes we all forget that he doesn’t live in Fever Falls. Sure, he’s been here a lot lately, but that might change.” And it wasn’t as if I could ask Carter to stay, or expect him to remain committed to me if he began spending less time in Fever Falls. But the thought of him with someone else made white-hot anger shoot through me. Made my heart ache and all those familiar insecurities start to swarm inside me.
“But that’s not happening now, ya know? Don’t stress yourself out. Look at Jace and Dax. I’m sure Jace didn’t ever expect Dax to move here.”
“Yeah, but they were in love. That changes shit.”
“Not from the start, though. It takes a while to get there. Don’t put so much pressure on yourself, okay? Just enjoy it. Plus, I’m pretty sure you’re more than halfway there already.”
A smile tugged at my lips, and my pulse skyrocketed, but not in a way that made me feel bad. It was exciting. Fuck. Was I falling in love with Carter? Sure, I’d known I liked him. I’d even told him I was falling for him, but was it really the L word? I thought about the way he made me feel, how he made me laugh. I felt like I was the king of the goddamned world when I was with him, and there was nothing I wouldn’t do for him. Holy motherfucking shit.
Beau laughed. “I feel like a light bulb just went off inside your head.”
“No.” I blew off his comment, and okay, yeah, my own thoughts too. I couldn’t be falling in love with Carter. That would be a recipe for disaster. Plus, I noticed how Beau had said I was halfway in love with Carter, not that we were halfway in love with each other.
“No one’s going to stick around with you, Sawyer. You’re boring, insecure, and a bad lay. What do you expect?”
Fuck. I turned away from Beau, pretending to organize coffee flavoring on the counter until I could get Julian’s voice out of my head. It had been years.
But it wasn’t only Julian’s voice. It was also the kids who used to give me shit when I was younger, and fuck if it wasn’t my own voice too.
“I like him. That much is obvious, but I’m also realistic. We both are.” Deep down, Carter and I knew this was a long shot, and we were enjoying it while it lasted. “So, gift card?” I asked, turning around.
Beau chuckled. “I can take a hint. I’m assuming that’s my cue to mind my own business.”
We chatted for a few more minutes, but then a group of three women came in. I went ahead and sold Beau the gift card, and then he was on his way and I went back to work, trying to ignore the fact that a light bulb had indeed gone off in my head earlier.