Page 73 of The Texas Hero's Homecoming

He entered the house. “It’s fine. Besides, I wanted to see my little sister. Where do you want this?”

“In the bedroom,” she said, leading him down the hall. Garrett had renovated his uncle’s old house, and now every room looked picture perfect. He set the box down in the room and met his sister’s eyes. “How was your honeymoon?”

“Oh, it was really dreamy. Corpus Christi was great, but Garrett says three days wasn’t enough. He didn’t want to leave Cody for longer than that so in the summer he’s going to take the three of us to Lake Tahoe. Cody’s going to love that.”

“Sounds great,” he said. “Seems like married life agrees with you.”

“Married life is dreamy,” she said, a winsome note in her voice. “You should try it sometime.”

He sighed. He was glad his sister found lifedreamynow, but that didn’t mean it was for everyone. Some people didn’t get that lucky. “I’ll go get those other boxes.”

“Well, for heaven’s sakes, I’ll help you. I’m not a helpless female, you know. I can carry a box or two.”

“Well, come on, slow poke. Show me what you got.”

Nicole carried in the smaller boxes that went into the kitchen and he unloaded the rest of them. “You start back to school on Monday?”

“I do. I miss the kids, but I do love living out here with Garrett and Cody. We’re a real family.”

“You deserve your happiness, Nic.”

“So do you, Sam. Whatever happened between you and Autumn? Can it be fixed?”

He shoved his hands in his back pockets of his jeans. “Doubtful. She’s moved on. She sold nine parcels of land so far to some of the men at Veterans Unite. They jumped at the chance and I’m glad for them and for her. She fixed her problem, without any help from me. Now, she doesn’t want me anywhere near her or her property.”

“After all you’ve done to help them.” She shook her head and gestured that notion away with the wave of her hand. “I don’t believe that. I’ve gotten to know Autumn a bit. She isn’t the kind of woman to move on so easily. And I heard it from the grapevine Jared Harmon asked her out on a real date and she turned him down.”

“Did she?” That news gave him hope.

“You better believe it.”

He’d been having trouble figuring out his true feelings for Autumn. Somehow, they’d gotten all jumbled up with his guilt and sense of duty. But he’d missed her these past few days. He wanted so desperately to go to her the day she spoke at Veterans Unite, but she’d made it clear by her last text, she didn’t want to speak to him.

“Thanks for the flowers. They were pretty but it doesn’t change anything.”

The note told it all. She hadn’t accepted his apology.

He’d lost her.

During his time back in Last Stand, they’d become friends. More than friends. He liked her, truly liked her. They could tease and laugh and have fun together. They could put their heads together and work hard too. And slowly, his heart had begun to open up. After Nic’s wedding, he’d been ready to tell Autumn how he felt about her. That he was falling in love with her. But she’d overheard his conversation with Joe, and everything immediately came crashing down. He didn’t have the right words for her. He didn’t know how to explain it to himself, much less to her and that had cost him. He’d never seen Autumn angrier or more hurt. It sorta broke him to see her that way.

“If you don’t, you’ll never know for sure. You have a powerful weapon at your disposal; Autumn cares about you. She always has.”

Sam’s phone rang. He was just about to silence it, when he noticed the caller. “That’s odd. It’s Manny Messina. He never calls.”

“Answer it,” Nic said needlessly. Of course, he would pick it up.

“Hello, Manny?”

“Sam, it’s a good thing I reached you. It’s Autumn. She’s been hurt.”

Sam’s heart pounded hard and a dozen terrifying images pushed into his head. “What happened?”

“She took Gerty out to make some deliveries and that damn truck’s brakes went out. She couldn’t stop and she swerved to avoid hitting a tree. The truck overturned—”

Sam gasped, his knees going weak. “Manny, where is she now?”

“She’s at Jameson Memorial.”

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