Page 54 of Raised On It

“How?”

“It’s the crackle. There’s no denying it.”

“The crackle?”

“You heard me right. You know that thing that fills the air when we’re both in the same room. You might call it a buzz or some sort of an energy, but there’s no way you can deny it. In my head, I’ve been calling it the crackle.”

“You’ve named it?”

“Don’t feel bad that I named it before you had a chance to. Now eat and later, we’ll take a little field trip. I have one last thing to share with you.”

CHAPTER 17

Miles

This morning has been a cluster.

I’m off my game and all spun up for some reason.

I spent breakfast stammering over myself and talking a mile a minute like a virginal teenager asking a girl to go steady for the first time.

What was I thinking telling her about the crackle?

I’ve gone mad.

Now I’m sitting in my truck outside her place bracing myself for what? I have no idea.

One thing I do know is I’m scared shitless of the impact Mason has on me without even trying. Does she have any clue she holds my future in her hands?

I left her a little over an hour ago so she could get ready for the day, and I could switch trucks, feed Lou, and take a shower. Enduring a night under the sheets with Mason but not actually sealing the deal left me no option but to take care of myself in theshower. I’d had a semi since she kissed me at The Jumps, and even after yanking my own chain in the shower, nothing has changed. I have a permanent semi, and my heart feels like it’s going to beat out of my damn chest.

This damn woman is something else.

Never known anyone like her.

And she wants me.

A simple farm boy from Oregon.

It’s stupid to be stressed about today. To most women, it would be the piece of me that attracts them to begin with. It’s something I’m proud of, but to some, it becomes all they see.

I’ve purposely waited as long as I could for today. Not because I’m playing games, but because I needed to know she saw me. For me. And I’d say she made it perfectly clear last night that this local farm boy was more than enough for her.

I’m making this a bigger deal than it needs to be. I know this. But when it comes to my city mouse, every single thing matters. I mean, she got out of bed last night slipped on my shirt and snuck into the kitchen to put out a bowl of water for Lou and then shared half her breakfast with him this morning. She’s special.

All week long, I’ve done my best to act casual like I’m simply showing her around town. But on the inside, I’ve been holding what breath she hasn’t completely stolen from me already and hoping if she saw my relationships with the people in town, it would show her I’m more than the local man-whore. More than my family business. I want her to see how much this community and the farm mean to me and need her to love Eastlyn as much as I do. Praying she might just love me too.

Finally manning up, I leave the security of my truck, but before I’m close enough to knock, the door swings open, and there is an angel standing in front of me.

If I ever doubted there was a higher power out there, she would be proof of their existence.

It’s as if God sent her straight from heaven, right to me.

“You are fucking beautiful.”

“You like?” she asks, lifting one of her sun-kissed shoulders while acting coy because she knows she looks good.

“Babe, you know I do. What do you call this? A onesie?”

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