Page 6 of Waiting to Love You

“How much does he plan on relaxing? I thought he was coming home to help you take care of your dad?”

“He is, but we can’t very well tell my dad that.” Leia huffs as she turns the corner and heads down the covered bridge road towards the hills outside of town. “If it were up to him, he’d have been right back to tending to his bees the moment we pulled into the driveway.”

“Didn’t the doctor tell him it was time to slow down? He’s almost seventy years old, for goodness’ sake. It’s not like he’s the only person who works at the retreat.”

“Yes, he did. I’m just worried that if he doesn’t slow down soon, his next heart attack will be his last.”

I reach over and give her shoulder a squeeze. “Your dad is as stubborn as a goat, but I doubt he’ll do anything to intentionally damage his health.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. If he would keep his behind in the office instead of trying to follow everyone around like he’s still thirty years old, that would be amazing.”

“We both know that won’t happen anytime soon. Not unless he gives up some of his control over the business.”

Leia has been begging her dad to retire since his last health scare a few months ago. The man is almost seventy years old. Any sane person would have retired by now, but Mr. Armstrong just won’t let go. He still wakes up every morning to feed the cattle, check the fields, and do all the daily chores that need to be taken care of. They have plenty of staff with the tourist season being in full swing, so there is no need for him to be out on the grounds as much as he is. Leia has tried a million different things to convince him to take it easy and focus more on the admin side of the business, but he refuses, much to her chagrin.

The only person Mr. Armstrong seems to listen to is Walker, which, to me, makes no sense. He’s the oldest, but he doesn’t live here anymore and has no intention of moving back to town. Walker has a life and career in Rose Hill. I highly doubt he’s going to give that up to come run the family farm, especially when Leia has been taking care of it since her mom passed away after we graduated from college.

“Maybe Walker can help you convince him to finally retire and turn the place over to you. You practically manage the entire operation on your own anyway.”

“From your mouth to the Lord’s ears. But that’s not the reason for the fashion show…”

My eyes narrow as I stare at her, waiting for her to speak before turning and pinching her side.

“Bitch! That fucking hurt!” she whines, the car swerving slightly to the right as she flinches away from me. “You could’ve caused an accident!”

“There’s no one on the road. Now tell me what’s going on.” I cross my arms over my chest before turning my entire body in her direction and waiting for her to answer.

“Walker invited Brady, Seth, and the bane of my existence, also known as Riggs Monroe, tonight.”

“Oh,” I whisper, trying not to let Leia know how much this news affects me. “Aren’t Brady and Seth leaving on deployment again soon?”

“Yeah, they’re shipping out in two weeks. Beckett’s parents are having a huge going away party for them next weekend.”

“That’s great.” I force a smile. “I’m sure everyone is going to miss them.”

“Some more than others, I’m sure,” Leia responds knowingly, causing my head to whip in her direction.

“Don’t start with me.” I huff before turning my entire body toward the door, hopefully ending the conversation.

Seth Williams is the last man I should be interested in, but apparently, my heart didn’t get the memo. I met Seth and Brady before I finished my certification and opened Nurture Space about a month ago. I was working to get my instructor certification, and Walker, being my pseudo-big brother, took it upon himself to invite anyone who was available to help.

Brady, Riggs, and Walker played on the football team together during high school. However, instead of moving on to become a firefighter like Walker and Riggs, Brady joined the military, and that’s where he met Seth. Which, for me, was a huge red flag. I promised myself I’d never date a military man, and until meeting Seth, I never thought about it. However, now I may be having second thoughts.

The moment I laid eyes on Seth, I was a goner. My eyes kept drifting to wherever he was in the room, attempting to commit everything about that moment to memory. The way the sun created a warm glow on his russet brown skin as I strolled through the door. The way his white T-shirt and dark-colored sweatpants hugged every part of his body as if they were painted onto him.

Ever since that day, my dreams have been filled with images of his soulful brown eyes, chiseled jawline covered in black-haired stubble, muscular build, and the most breathtaking smile. I spent nights wondering if there was a difference in texture between the skin on his bald head versus his face and arms. I know those are strange things to think about, but this is where I’m at. Seth Williams makes me think and want strange things. Thankfully, he is leaving town soon on deployment, which will put an end to these delusions.

“I’m not starting anything, Bristol. I just think you should give Seth a chance. He seems to be a nice guy and is completely gone over you.”

“He barely knows me,” I mumble, wanting to end this conversation as quickly as possible.

“That’s easy to fix.” She flashed me a knowing smile.

She isn’t wrong. Every time we are near each other, Seth asks me questions. It’s as if he wants to learn everything there is to know about me as soon as possible. At first, I tried to keep him at arm’s length, letting him know there was no way we were ever going to be anything more than friends, but that’s been almost impossible. The more time we spend together, the stronger the pull I feel to be near him gets, making it almost impossible to stay away from him. But I have to. There is no other choice. I refuse to come second in my significant other’s life. I want to be the center of their universe. The sun to their moon, and there’s no way that will ever be possible with someone who’s in the military.

“I don’t have time to date, let alone start a relationship with someone who’s leaving in a few weeks.”

“Who said anything about a relationship?” Leia quips. “There’s nothing wrong with two grown adults blowing off some steam together. And what better person to choose than someone who is leaving town in a few weeks?”

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