Her Bucking Bronc
Dylan wasn’t one to talk about his past. To anyone, but if he were to find out if this relationship was going to go anywhere, he had to take a chance.
    “Don’t really have family to speak of, intimidating or not. I never knew my father. No brothers or sisters. My mother died when I was sixteen. I’ve been on my own since.” He fiddled with the condensation ring on the table. “I wouldn’t go into foster care, so I lied about my age and started working construction. I was big enough they didn’t care.”
    “I’m sorry.” She put her hand over his. “And my family is louder and more overwhelming than an army.”
    “True.” He took a bite of his sandwich, but he wasn’t tasting it any longer.
    “Since you don’t have a family, do you want to share mine with me?”
    He stopped and stared, his pulse picking up while his stomach did that funny flip again. “What are you saying?”
    She met his gaze with those beautiful brown doe eyes of hers. “I’m saying I want you to stick around for a while. With me. And my crazy family.”
    Dylan could barely swallow the bite in his throat. She just asked him to stay in Tanger. With her.
    Holy shit.
    Hannah’s heart thumped madly. The fire at the coffee house had reminded her that life is short. Too short to play games when she felt strongly about a man she could love. When Phillip had died, she’d wanted to die too.
    Now she wanted to live. She wanted to taste every day with every cell of her being. That included stepping out of the safety net and learning to fly again.
    “I’ll be here building the restaurant.” He kept his gaze on his plate, and her heart sank.
    “That’s not what I meant.”
    “I know.”
    “Then say something that is a reasonable response to my invitation.”
    The silence was only broken by the sound of the air conditioner cutting on and the ticks of the cool air hitting the metal ducts.
    “I don’t know how.” His voice was quiet, nearly a whisper.
    Hannah scooted her chair closer and took his hand. “I’m scared too. But more than that, I know what I’m feeling for you is more than attraction. Asking you to stay is making me want to run around pulling my hair out.” She leaned in and put her head on his shoulder. “But if we don’t take that leap, how will we know what we could have?”
    “I’ll probably piss you off.”
    “Same here.”
    “You might want to shoot me.”
    “Same here.”
    He finally looked up, meeting her gaze. In it she saw fear, hope, and something softer. “Do you think we really have a chance?”
    “We won’t know if we try.”
    “I reckon that’s true.” He kissed her forehead. “We’re gonna fight like cats and dogs.”
    “Then we can make up.”
    He snorted. “You’re crazy.”
    “Probably, but I think I’m your kind of crazy.”
    “You’d be right.”
    Hannah hugged him, her heart light and her throat tight.
    “Ah, pardon me.”
    Hannah started at her cousin Kyle’s voice. She grinned at Dylan, who was scowling at her. “Test number one.”
    “Shit.”
    “Am I interrupting?” Kyle’s voice had hardened.
    “No, not at all. I normally hug and kiss my general contractor.” Hannah turned, loping her arm around Dylan’s neck. “Tell me you found the cause of the fire.”
    Kyle looked terrible. He had a few burns on his cheek, one eyebrow was half singed and he still had soot on his uniform and arms. “Sophie is down there checking it on behalf of the fire department. She said her preliminary findings indicate it was arson. Same method as the fire at Cindy’s and the old jail.” His jaw tightened. “Son of a bitch could have killed her.”
    Hannah didn’t point out she could have been killed too. It seemed like her cousin had taken the fire at the coffee shop personally. Perhaps there was something between him and Amber.
    “Are you going to assist in the investigation?” Hannah asked.
    “As much as I can. Whoever he or she is, they crossed the line. I won’t let this happen

Similar Books

Brewster

Mark Slouka

The Expelled

Mois Benarroch

Slipperless

Sloan Storm

The Long Way Home

Karen McQuestion

City of Heretics

Heath Lowrance

Perfect Harmony

Sarah P. Lodge