Page 37 of Catching Sparks

I blow out a long, slow breath, collecting myself. “I’m sorry.”

“Apology accepted. I know how things are between you.”

“I don’t want to talk about my father anymore.”

Not today of all damn days.

“Alright. How long are you home for?”

“I fly back tonight.”

Nathan’s eyes widen. “That’s a short trip.”

“One day was all Wade would allow me.”

“Damn. You’re like a real employee, then. The board will shit their pants if you come back with a country twang.”

Rolling my eyes, I glance out the tinted window and take in the first view of home. I’ve travelled often for most of my life, but Toronto is where I feel the most comfortable, amidst the hustle and bustle of big-city life.

“That won’t be happening.”

“Thank our lucky stars for that.”

“Where are we dropping you off?” I ask him, running my palm over the top of my hair.

“Home. Why? Eager to get rid of me already?” he teases.

“Are you feeling insecure today, Nathan?”

“A bit. I can’t have my best friend replacing me with someone from Cherry Peak.”

“With how little warmth I’ve gotten from most of its residents, you don’t have anything to worry about.”

There’s only one woman in Cherry Peak who’s offered me more than simple warmth. I had to shower twice, opting out of sleeping, before hopping on the plane this morning just to get the scent of her off my skin. It was a reminder that left me rock-hard and aching from the second I stepped out of her house and began my walk to the ranch. The half hour it took to get back was nowhere near long enough to gather my thoughts. Neither was the hour drive to the small airport in Lethbridge or the five-hour flight from Lethbridge to Toronto.

I should consider last night a mistake. It’s the smart thing to do. We had sex, and I can wipe my hands of it now. But I don’t want to. Of course I don’t. Poppy is my sexual equal. The chemistry is there, alarmingly so. And it was good. Far better than good. It was nothing short of phenomenal. Better sex than I remember ever having.

Yet despite all of that, it’s complicated. I’m the enemy in town. Her best friend’s boyfriend’s evil boss. If either Anna or Brody caught a whiff of our sexual relationship, I doubt they’d take well to it. For me, things are different. The stakes are much lower. The Steele family likes my father too much to go back on their word to him, although I can guarantee they would make my life utter hell for the rest of my stay.

“You’ve never minded a bit of bitter hate from anyone,” Nathan says.

“It makes me work harder in a boardroom.”

But Cherry Peak isn’t a boardroom. It’s damn annoying that I’ve been forced to witness such close familial bonds and friendships over my time there already. Instead of their razzing and dirty looks making me work harder, it’s driving me further into the ground. Although I will never admit that anyone.

“You’ve got this, G. Soon, you’ll be back, and this will all have been one big bad memory.”

I clasp a hand on his shoulder and nod appreciatively. “Yeah, I think I did miss you after all.”

Nathan’s laugh fills the vehicle as we drift further through town, and I’m glad to be back, even momentarily. For the next few hours, I’m shoving Cherry Peak and Poppy Huntsly into a box in my mind and throwing the key out of sight.

My childhood home towers over me, the white-stoned chimney, black peaked roofs, and rock siding the same bland picture as always. The curved driveway and three-car garage are more a showpiece than useful. There hasn’t ever been anything inside of the garage besides old music equipment and a hunk-of-junk car that my father bought to fix up but never did.

There are no flowers blooming in what was once my mother’s garden. The bird feeder is empty, no birds in sight. The only reason the lawn is mown is because I paid the landscaping bill last week.

I watch Harvey drive out past the metal gate at the end of the driveway and head for the street. The security camera above the door soothes me when I find the door unlocked.

The grey wood floors gleam with a fresh mopping as I slip out of my shoes in the foyer and lock the door behind me. It’s quiet in the house, but I follow the scent of baking and my mother’s typical lavender and orange essential oils, letting them lead me.

---