Page 71 of Fire in My Heart

“I don’t know why you bother,” Jameson said cheekily.

“You guys are real, and that’s why people enjoy coming here,” I observed, feeling like I was an outsider with these brothers. They had a close relationship, and I was sure it was their mother that had brought them together. Whether they realized it or not.

Wes dipped his chin. “As long as they keep coming.”

“Oh, they will. Everyone’s going to love the changes we’ve made. I’ll come by in the daytime and snap some pictures of this place for the social media pages and the website. Generate excitement. You might just get returning customers who want to see what you’ve done with the place.”

Teddy crossed his arms over his chest. “The problem with all these changes is that we’re just going to get more customers.”

“More customers equal more money,” Jameson said.

“We’re just busier,” Teddy said grimly. “I kind of wanted to start working less, not more.”

CHAPTER 18

TEDDY

Charlotte gasped at my admission.

Wes frowned. “Didn’t realize you wanted to work less.”

I nodded. “Dad gave me shit about it. I work most days on the farm after working my shift.”

Wes nodded. “You do work more hours than the rest of us.”

“You have families now. It makes sense,” I said.

“Are you looking to settle down?” Jameson asked.

I felt Charlotte’s gaze on the side of my face, but we hadn’t discussed talking to my brothers about this tonight. We said we’d let them know on Christmas, and I wouldn’t make a unilateral change without telling her. “I think it’s time for a change. I need some downtime. I’m dealing with the house now too.”

“What’s going on with that?” Wes stretched his long legs out, crossing them at the ankles.

I liked spending time with my brothers, and I had to admit the barn had cleaned up nicely. The lights and the fire added to the cozy feel. I wondered if we should buy some couches and overstuffed chairs for customers to relax in front of the fire.Charlotte’s ideas were starting to rub off on me. “It should be done next week.”

“I bet you’ll be happy to move out of that tiny apartment. I can’t believe I lived there so long myself,” Jameson said.

He lived there until he met Claire. She was slightly older than him and a single mom. He felt the need to grow up and take control of his life. He ran into some hiccups on the way, but everything worked out in the end. Now he lived with Claire and her son, Owen.

“I miss having the space.” But I was going to miss Charlotte more. I resisted looking at her though. I was positive my brothers would see my feelings for her written on my face. We needed to talk to my family soon because I wasn’t sure how much longer I could keep it quiet.

I hadn’t spent any time at the apartment other than to grab a change of clothes. The cottage had kind of become our respite, the place we could hide from everything. I wondered if we’d survive in the real world when I went back to my house and Charlotte moved onto another job.

Did our relationship only work because we lived close to each other? I wanted to think she was special, but it was hard when I didn’t have much experience with relationships. Maybe it was born out of convenience.

“As nice as this is, I have to get back to Sutton. She hasn’t been feeling well lately.”

“I didn’t realize that,” Jameson said. “Is there anything we can do to help?”

“I’m sure she’ll be fine in a few days,” Wes said, meeting my gaze.

I was the only one who knew Sutton was pregnant and most likely suffering from morning sickness.

“When Claire gets sick, she insists on doing all the things she usually does. I think it’s a single mom thing. She’s so used tobeing independent; she can’t accept any help. I have to force her to relax and get some rest.”

“You’re good for her,” Wes said, and Jameson’s chest puffed out with pride.

There was a time when we treated Jameson more like an unruly younger brother. We didn’t think he was serious or responsible. But he’d surprised us because he was the most kindhearted and serious of all of us. Not only was he a firefighter, but he substitute taught at the middle school and coached a local football team.

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