Page 34 of Gentle Fox

I wasn't ready to buy a house even if I could afford it. That would make the decision to stay in Willow Creek permanent, and if there was one thing I certainly wasn't, it was a permanent kind of woman. I liked the freedom to move around if needed.

Besides, after last night, I wasn’t even sure that was a good idea. I didn’t think it was possible to screw so many things up in such a short time but that was what I did by kissing Owen.

"Don't I know it. Lex waited too long and now he's stuck sharing a place with Easton."

"Wait, I thought Easton moved in with you?" I gave her a confused expression. He spoke just yesterday about going home to Kati.

"It's not official but he spends every night except when I work overnights at the hospital. My best friend, Lyla, wasn't ready to give up her nights with my son, so Easton stays at his place so things aren't weird." Kati lifted her shoulder in defeat. "Lyla and I have both tried to tell him it's fine but Easton is stubborn. Most of his stuff is at my place already."

It was endearing to know he didn't want to mess with what Kati already had in place.

"Speaking of Lex, is it just me or do he and Easton look a little alike?"

Easton was certainly more trimmed and had more silver in his hair while Lex's beard was fully grown and his hair in general was longer, but it was something about their faces.

"Yes! I said the same thing to Easton when I met Lex yesterday but the two of them just shook their heads. I guess they are used to people thinking they are related but they don't see it."

Bizarre. It would be interesting to see pictures of them when they served together. They would've had to have the same haircut and I would bet my next paycheck they looked like brothers at the time.

"Enough about them." Kati leaned her forearms on the desk. "I want to know what's going on with you and Owen?"

I turned around to see if anyone was listening. Not that I would know if they were; according to Owen, the guys in the back could hear all. So I leaned closer, in hopes that it kept things just between us. I didn't realize until Kati asked just how badly I needed to talk to someone about what happened.

"I don't have the slightest idea. We sleep in the same bed at night but only because he doesn't have an extra one and he's toomuch of a gentleman to allow me to sleep on the couch." I bit my lip again. "But last night we kissed. Well, I kissed him and I'm not talking a small peck. It was hands down the best kiss of my life. The soul-sucking kind. I didn't want it to end and it wouldn't have taken much for me to take things all the way but he put the brakes on it."

"Did he say why?"

I looked around again. I didn't have the slightest idea why, other than it made me feel a smidge better. I would hope if Owen was staring at me from the other side of the glass, I would be able to feel it.

"He doesn't want my decision about Willow Creek to be made because of him." Based on Kati's confused expression, I owed her a better explanation than that. I settled in for what was going to be a long discussion. "I had a mini freak-out yesterday while I was at the bookstore. I'm not the type who settles down and I don't just mean with men. Everything in my life has always been about jumping from one thing to another. Living in Baton Rouge made that easy for me. I could bounce from job to job and never get bored. It was a big enough city to fulfill that part of me."

"And Willow Creek is small, so you're scared you will get bored here too quickly."

Kati was smart. I knew it wouldn't take much for her to see where I was going with this.

"Correct. When my father told me to get out of Baton Rouge, I saw it as another adventure. I thought a small town would be a nice change. I didn't think about what would happen when this job no longer held my interest. It's not like there are a ton of employment opportunities here. Hell, finding this one was tough enough."

I thought it was fate when I looked on the town website and saw a new business hiring a receptionist. It never occurred to methat there were no other job listings ever posted. It was the one time my adventurous side failed me.

"And Owen doesn't want you to stay just for him."

I nodded my head to agree with her because really, what else was there to say? She hit the nail on the head. The worst part was I could understand his point. I wouldn't want someone to only stay for me. How long before resentment came into the picture? I would like to think I would never resent Owen for a decision I made, but no one can predict the future.

"Sounds like you have some decisions to make," Kati said.

I let my head fall to the desk with a small thump. Kati was right. I had decisions to make and it was better that I did them before committing myself anywhere long term. Not that the sublet was a year lease or anything. The owner was nice enough to offer month to month. Which, at the time, didn't seem like a big deal because I had no plans of going anywhere else. Willow Creek practically begged me to come here.

But now my head was warring with my heart. I always followed my heart. I let it guide me from adventure to adventure. Rarely did I have to use my head to make decisions. Why, of all times, did now have to be different?

"I wish I knew what spooked my father to change his will and send me that letter," I muttered.

Kati didn't look the least bit surprised by what I said, so I raised my brow in question. Luckily she was quick to fill me in.

"One thing you should know about these guys, they've worked together for years and I don't just mean a few. More like decades. They tell each other everything. And Easton just so happens to tell me everything. I know all about your family and what brought you here."

“Well, that’s oddly comforting.”

There was nothing I hated more than having to talk about my family history, especially my father's death and will. If I couldeliminate my stepfamily out of the equation, I would. I was even tempted to give them the money just so they would leave me alone forever but I knew better. They would never be satisfied. My stepmother and stepbrother knew how to blow through money. It wouldn't be long before they were crawling back for more and it was evident my father knew something I didn't. I refused to go against his final wishes.

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