Page 44 of True North

Her face looks like she was the one who just got slapped. Her eyes are wide, her mouth agape.

“You—” she starts and snaps her eyes to the ground, now turning muddy from the rain falling around us. Her hair wet and dangling over her now soaked top has my breaths quickening.

“If you’d asked me, I would have gone with you.”

“But your ma?”

“I was never thinkin’ straight around you, Louisa May. Reality probably would have sunk in a few weeks later, and I woulda come home. So, I guess the end result would have been the same. Least this way, we might be granted a second chance.”

The hope rising when her breath stalls out is agonizing. The overwhelming need to kiss her pushes me forward. I take her face in my hands, moving in until our breath mingles. She swallows, opening her mouth to say something.

I hover, waiting for her.

It has to be her choice.

This time, she comes to me.

I’m hard, straining against my jeans, blood bounding through my veins, thundering out any rational thought. I press into her, nudging her nose with mine. A small whimper leaves her lips. The sound alone almost brings me to my knees.

“Harry,” she breathes.

“Yeah, Lou.”

“I should go home.”

The stone forming in my throat chokes out any response I might have thought of, and I put distance between us.

“Right.” I run a hand through my soaked hair, letting fresh air burn into the depths of my lungs. I step back and wave a hand toward the truck. She turns awkwardly and walks for the vehicle. I follow, holding back. Her wet clothes cling to her elegant curves. Not helping my aching cock any.

Dammit, Louisa.

She climbs into the seat, and I release a low growl at my own stupidity. Too fast. I moved too fast. I don’t have a thing to give this woman right now. And she’s sending me crazy. Her words sayin’ one thing; her body, her eyes, her actions sayin’ something else entirely.

We drive into town in silence. After the few minutes it takes to park and kill the engine, she shifts her bag to one hand, the other on the door handle.

“Thanks for the lift.”

We both notice Brad at the same time, hovering by the restaurant doors. Hell, this guy’s got it bad. Almost as bad as me. The fact Mama Mancini hasn’t let him up means something. It’s almost as if she’s not on board with the whole Brad situation.

Smart woman.

“I should go,” Louisa says.

“Yep.” I start the pickup and nod toward Brad. I swear she cringes as she pushes the door open and steps out.

Fuck me.

We were so close.

******

The last thing I should be thinkin’ about right now is Louisa damn Masters. The auctioneer rattles off the redeeming features of this old ranch. I’ve been here since before the crowd arrived. Walking the lots, inspecting the structures. Met the owners—well, I guess sellers, now.

She’s a fixer-upper, but for what I’m tryin’ to build, the exact ranch I want. The old couple gave me a brief rundown of the seasons they’ve had, like the rest of us here in Montana haven’t lived through them also. Bill, the old cowboy, showed me over the yards, his system, and pointed out the water points and such.

Despite their age, they’ve kept this place runnin’. It’s admirable, especially since they had no kids to take the helm when old age caught up with them. I swore right there and then, that won’t be me. Which brings me to glance at the long table under one of the old trees by the house.

Mama Mancini and Louisa are catering for the auction today. She surprised me, walkin’ in with an armful, makin’ her way to set up. Guess it’s right she’s here. I’ve kept this under my hat, so to speak, from Ma. Don’t want to get her hopes up. But having Lou here has me determined. No matter what happens between us, she makes me want to be a better man. Always has.

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