Page 65 of Missing Pieces
Summer jumps up and down, giddy with excitement. “I know. Isn’t it the most gorgeous thing you have ever seen? When Brett and I were looking to buy new land, I took one look at this and said we had to buy it. I knew the house could be updated, but this view…this is where I saw myself raising our children and grandchildren. Luckily Brett was happy with the farmland too, good soil and all. Though I have no idea about any of that.”
“You and me both,” I said as I nudge her shoulder. “You picked the best place out here. And I am going to make sure your house is just as beautiful as this yard.”
She threw her arms around me, thanking me and my car for breaking down so that we could become friends. We ended up eating lunch on the back porch as we discussed her ideas for the outdoor design for the wedding as well as her preferences for the inside of the house.
I couldn’t wait to tackle this project. She had a house others dreamed of. I couldn’t wait to turn her kitchen into a beautiful white farmhouse style and add wooden beams to the vaulted ceiling. A few fresh coats of paint and some new lighting were going to bring new life to the house.
After talking for hours, I glance over toward the barn and see the creepy guy from earlier. “Oh my god Summer, that’s him! The potential ‘I’m going to kidnap and murder you man from earlier.’”
She looks over her shoulder and started cracking up so much, tears formed in her eyes. “You mean Brooks?”
I look at her questioningly.
“That’s Brett’s youngest brother. He is kind of a creep.”
I look over at her, wide-eyed and she laughs even harder.
“Oh my gosh, I’m totally kidding. But he is a bit weird and kind of a player. Honestly, I don’t know why so many girls like him. He says the weirdest shit. But I think the girls are so obsessed with his damn body they don’t care what comes outta that mouth of his. Anyway, he helps out Brett with the farm when he isn’t helping out on their dad’s farm.”
I glance back over at Brooks and stare. He’d taken his shirt off and was loading bales of hay into a truck. His skin was deeply tanned and he looked like a linebacker. I thought Easton was in good shape, this guy looked like he was made of nothing but solid muscle and about two hundred twenty-five pounds of it. I hardly notice I am staring until Summer clears her throat. I blink my eyes and try to refocus on our conversation and just as I do, Brooks winks at me. Fucking player.
“So, how’s Easton?”
I throw a lemon from my lemonade at her. “I can admire from a distance.”
“Well as long as East isn’t here to see you do that. I think he would go all alpha on you and try to out show Brooks.”
“I don’t think I would mind watching that,” I say with a smirk. Summer’s eyes glisten in the sun as she throws her head back in laughter.
“Sweetie, you might be right about that. Hell, let’s just throw Brett and Trace into the mix and see what happens.”
As I leave Summer’s house, I can’t help but feel more of a connection to this place. It’s as if everything in my past was leading me in this direction. I’ve found some true friends here. I am starting to work the job I have always wanted. And I have a man who I am falling in love with.
Shit.
Did I just think that?
Is it true?
Do I love East?
He is funny and smart, caring and genuine. He does things for me because he wants to and he just seems to understand me despite all my faults. My stomach does a weird flip and I nearly lose control of the steering wheel as thoughts cloud my brain.
I am falling in love with Easton Calloway.