“Oh, man. I knew it. That man has had eyes for you since the moment he stepped onto the farm.”

“It’s just sex, Alex. He’s still a huge sports star and probably has jobs lined up back in New York or Los Angeles. This is probably a temporary stay for him.” I remembered him mentioning the possibility of a sister and that made it even more clear he was probably not staying in Ashfield. Colton seemed like the kind of guy to move close to his family.

“Plus, I haven’t made any decisions about what I’m doing yet.”

Alex grunted at the last comment, as I knew she would. I didn’t want to tell her that a little part of me wanted to stay so I could get as much time with Colton as I could. I knew it was irrational that my chest tightened when I thought about him leaving, but it was a fact nonetheless.

Walking over to my sister, I wrapped my arms around her waist and rested my head between her shoulder blades. “Would it make you feel better if I told you that Colton is taking me out tonight?”

“Mildly.”

“Knoxville isn’t that far away, Alex. Even if I don’t stay in Ashfield, I won’t be any farther away than Andrew is now.”

“Yeah, but it’s not the same. I’ve missed you these last few years. And you’re my sister.”

“I know,” I said, releasing my hold of her.

“Plus, I can’t talk to Andrew about the guy that stopped in last night and stayed in my apartment.”

“Oh! Is he new to town?”

“No. He said he was just passing through. You know I don’t do commitment anyway.”

Alex had a tough exterior, but the biggest heart of anyone I knew. But she was terrified of relationships and ducked out before she could ever get hurt.

“Any idea what he was here for? Aspen said some developers were sniffing around the property again.”

“Fucking leeches,” she mumbled to herself. “The topic of his occupation didn’t come up while his face was buried between my legs.”

“Alex!”

“What? That man had a hell of a tongue. He does have twin girls, though.”

“Oh, my God. He’s married?” I shouted as I felt my eyebrows shoot up on my forehead in surprise. Alex had always been extremely cautious when it came to the men she took home from the bar, especially since she lived above it. Don’t sleep where you work was her motto.

“He’s not. He’s newly divorced and his kids are little.”

“Thought you said you two didn’t spend a lot of time talking?”

“We didn’t. I overheard him telling the guy seated beside him at the bar.”

“Could he be lying?”

“Nope. And it’s fine, Autumn. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“I’ve spent my entire life worrying about you all.”

“We know,” she said as she turned to reach for the notebook on the floor. “Maybe it’s time you let someone worry about you for a change.”

Thinking of the way Colton took care of me the other night, I couldn’t fight off the idea that maybe I should.

The rest of the morning passed quickly as I helped Alex at the bar and then we went to my favorite Indian restaurant for lunch. They had a killer buffet that I absolutely overindulged in. I opted not to tell her that Max had continued to message me non-stop. I never read the texts, but it was becoming a nuisance.

Back at the ranch, I stood in my childhood room sifting through the closet trying to find something to wear. Colton hadn’t said what time he was picking me up, so I started getting ready around four. I didn’t even have the man’s number to call and ask if he could give me an idea of a more specific time.

The clock was inching toward six and there was still no sign of Colton, which worked in my favor because I had no idea what I was going to wear. Mainly because I had no clue what he had planned for the night.

“Autumn!” my mother’s voice rang clearly through the house. It was clear she was calling from the front door at the bottom of the stairs solely by the way her voice carried. “You have a guest.”

A guest?

It was weird how she worded Colton’s arrival, but I brushed it off as I blindly grabbed a lilac-colored buttoned dress shirt from my closet. I already donned a pair of dark denim bootcut jeans that I favored.

“Coming, Mom.” My voice sounded strange to my own ears, my nervousness raising the pitch a little too high for my liking.

As I secured the last button, I gave myself a pep talk. “Calm down, Autumn. He’s already seen you naked. There is no need to be nervous.”

When I came down the steps, I was surprised to see Aspen standing at the bottom of the stairs wringing her hands.

“Where are they?” I asked curiously. I’d expected them to still be standing by the door.

“Um, they went into the living room,” she explained and I swung my body around the end of the banister as I reached the last step and headed for that direction. “Autumn, it’s not-” but her words trailed off as I found my mother sitting in the single chair by the fireplace across from my guest. My very unwanted guest.

“Max? What are you doing here?”

“Autumn, my love,” he said as he stood and extended his arms out to me as if he hadn’t just crushed my soul and spirit three weeks ago.

Immediately I took a step back out of his reach, only to collide with Aspen, who had just stepped into the room.

“Don’t ‘Autumn, my love,’ me. What the hell are you doing here, Max?”

Max eyed my mother sitting in the chair. He was never one for an audience, but I wasn’t about to tell her to leave. If he thought he could show up at my parents’ home and not have spectators, well, he had another think coming. I heard Aspen’s retreating footsteps, but I didn’t turn around to ask her to come back.

“I came all the way here to ask you to give me another chance. I miss you and I know I made a big mistake. You have to know it won’t happen again.”

The man’s chin barely reached the top of my head as he tried to hug me, but I quickly ducked out of his way.

“I’m not interested in your apology, Max. I’m over it. Over you. And I don’t hear a smidge of sincerity in your voice. So, try again. Why are you actually here? Is it because all of your biggest clients left? Is it because you ran out of all my design ideas that you stole from me? Or is it because what’s her face moved on from you already and you want to save face? Tell me which one it is, Max.”

Max chose that moment to glance over his shoulder once again, eyeing the seat my mother so quietly vacated during my tirade. Now that we were alone, he figuratively pulled off the mask he’d so cleverly worn and the Max I remembered from my last day in New York returned.

He reached out, gripping my arm in his hand and squeezing. It was going to leave a bruise, but I wasn’t about to tell him that.

“Look here, Autumn. You’re coming back with me to New York and that’s that. You can’t possibly be happy in this Podunk little town. You’re probably going to get knocked up by some redneck prick and spend the rest of your days washing dishes and doing laundry. That doesn’t seem like the kind of life you wanted.”

Jerking my arm, I winced as his hold only tightened further. “Max, you couldn’t possibly know what I want in life.”

“I’ll give you half ownership of the business,” the snake teased.