“The ball’s in your court, Autumn. I’m working on sanding down some of the original woodwork this week if you’re interested. Just stop by the house. You know where to find me.”
It took all my strength to leave her standing there beside my truck with a look on her face of confusion and hurt.
I was too old for games and knew what I wanted. I didn’t need a relationship, but I wasn’t opposed to having her warm my bed at night. And I did enjoy her company. When she spoke of the things she was passionate about, her entire body lit up and it was hard not to want to be surrounded by that desire.
I could only hope that Autumn’s body craved mine the same way I yearned for hers because I wasn’t sure I could be around her and not want to put my hands on her. Autumn left me with an unquenchable appetite and I worried she was the only woman that could feed that hunger.
Chapter Twelve – Autumn
I wasn’t sure how I had managed to go three days without seeing Colton, but I knew it had taken every ounce of willpower I possessed to not drive to his house.
To keep my mind off of him, I’d spent Sunday with Alex at the bar and helped her run inventory. She gave me hell for running Colton off. Monday, I volunteered to help in Rory’s classroom, admiring the way she interacted with the first graders. I was so proud of my sister for the way she knew exactly what to do and say with the kids. And Tuesday Aspen caught me sulking in the living room and asked if I wanted to help her get supplies for the farm at the store. It hadn’t taken long, but it was nice to take my mind off the intrusive thoughts swirling in my mind.
What if I stayed and failed? What if I left and something happened to someone in the family? What if Colton met someone?
The latter plagued my mind for hours before dawn had risen.
But here I was now, standing beside my car, watching as fifteen or so men worked around the house I’d once imagined myself raising a family in. I hadn’t been back over since Friday when Dad had tricked me into staying and it surprised me to see how far along it had come.
They cleaned the bricks and put fresh mortar in the spots that had begun to crumble. New windows were in the process of being installed, and the foundation looked as if it had been re-leveled.
Things that I was sure took weeks or months to accomplish only took days when you had millions of dollars to throw around.
I gave myself a mental pep talk as the sound of a jackhammer echoed across the land.
“Can I help you?” a voice with a hint of a drawl said from behind me.
“Hi, I’m looking for Colton Crawford?”
The man looked at me skeptically, and I wondered if he was worried that I was a fan or reporter. Leave it to Colton to have security on site.
“I’m his neighbor. Autumn Easterly. And I brought him a pie.”
After a moment, the man chuckled and advised me that Colton was in the house in the library.
“Thanks.”
Grabbing the small duffle bag from the back seat, I made my way toward the house, inhaling the scent of fresh wood as I went.
Plaster had been removed in many of the rooms revealing the framing behind the walls. I had thought I’d be upset to witness the changes like the taking down of walls or ripping up the floors, but instead I felt a sense of delight. Colton wasn’t doing any of those things to destroy the home’s bones. It was to better her. New electrical wiring was being installed and better fixtures for the plumbing. It was all for a reason.
“Colton?” I called out when there was a break in the construction noise. When there was no response, I made my way back toward the wing of the house where he had pointed out the library on Friday.
“Colton?” I said again as I stepped into the room, only to find the space filled with dirty sheets and tools.
“Shoot,” I murmured as I adjusted my hold of the duffle bag in my hand and rested the glass baking dish against my hip.
Inspecting the space, I could imagine the wood with a glorious walnut hue filled to the brim with books and knickknacks, a desk in the center, and lush reading chairs beneath the window. The room screamed dark academia and the need to get my hands on the room was powerful.
“Autumn?”
Abruptly, I spun on my heel to face Colton, nearly losing my balance in the midst. He reached out and gripped my arm to steady me.
“Colton, hi.”
“Hi,” he said with a hesitant smile.
He was busy wiping his hands on a rag, but my focus was solely on the fact that the man wore no shirt. I’d imagined all the ways his chest and abdomen would look uncovered. I’d even seen a few pictures online from magazine shoots Colton had taken part in. But none of that did justice to the absolute Greek god standing before me. My tongue itched to taste the skin and I wanted to trace the ridges and valleys of his eight-pack.
“Can I help you, Autumn?” he said as he moved around me, heading toward the tools in the center of the room.
“Oh. The um. . .man outside said I could find you in here.”
“Well, you found me,” he said flippantly as he tossed the rag over his shoulder.
“I, er, wanted to apologize for how I acted the other night.”
“Really?” he said, peering at me from over his shoulder.
“I baked you an apple pie. My mother’s recipe.”
“You bake?” he said in surprise.
Wordlessly, I held out my peace offering, then added, “I also came to help.”
“Well, I won’t turn down either. I’ll run the pie over to the trailer and then you can help me sand these shelves down.”
“Sure.”
