Page 45 of Gentle Fox

“You better go assure her you’re alright and tell her the news. I’m going to grab that drink and then head back to bed with my headphones on. I don’t want to know how you plan to reassure her things are okay.”

I chuckled at the shiver my sister gave me right before she pulled away. She was such a good sport despite the situation she was thrust into.

“I’ll see you in a few hours.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Gracie waved me off as she made her way to the kitchen. “I don’t want to know, remember?”

And I didn’t want to share. Although I doubted that was where things were headed. Not after I told Annalee about Nolen’s call.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Annalee

I woke up no longer wrapped in Owen’s arms and it made my heart beat faster. I sat up and looked around the dark bedroom but still I couldn’t find him.

“Owen?” There was so much panic in my voice despite trying to push it down. He could’ve simply gotten up to pee or to get a drink of water. Nothing nefarious had to be happening, and yet I couldn’t convince myself of that.

“Coming.”

A rush of relief flowed through every part of my body and I sagged back against the pillow.

What did I really think was going to happen in Owen’s house? It wasn’t like my stepfamily was in Texas. They were back in Baton Rouge or wherever they were vacationing at the moment. Most likely a long way from Willow Creek. Neither Dennis nor Seraphina would be caught dead in a small town that didn’t have a single designer store.

“Sorry, I woke up alone and freaked out a bit,” I apologized as soon as Owen came back into the room.

He walked straight over to the bed, but instead of crawling back under the covers, he took a seat next to me. I scrambled so that my back was propped up against the headboard and I was able to look him in the eyes. Something told me I wasn’t about to like the conversation we were going to have.

“Spit it out. Whatever bad news you have, just tell me and get it over with.”

I could see the smallest smirk in the moonlight shining through the bedroom window. It cast a glow right across where he was sitting and allowed me to see every one of his facial expressions. It was how I knew something was wrong. His eyes gave him away.

“Not a very good poker player, am I?”

“I mean, maybe with others but I feel like I’m starting to know you pretty well.”

I didn’t need a mirror to know my cheeks were now pink. I could feel their warmth. Thankfully I was cast in shadow, but I doubt that kept Owen from seeing though. He seemed like the kind of guy who had vision like an owl.

He reached out and caressed my cheek. “Yes, you’re going to know me very well if I have any say in it.”

Suddenly I didn’t care about my job prospects. I didn’t care that in a few months I would need to find something new to do. Owen was right, there was plenty of options if I just put my mind to it. I never shied away from a challenge, and I wasn’t about to start.

“I want to stay in Willow Creek,” I blurted out. No finesse. No buildup. Just put the words out there into the universe without a single thought about the discussion we were having just seconds before.

Owen blinked, then furrowed his brow. “What changed your mind?”

“Baton Rouge isn’t for me anymore. Moving back there just for more job opportunities isn’t a good enough reason. Staying here with you is a better reason.”

I don’t know how I could forget why I moved in the first place. I needed out of Baton Rouge. I stayed for my father and that was no longer a reason. Going back there was counterproductive to what I wanted. But for a few days I let fear push away all rational thought. I couldn’t do that anymore.

“It doesn’t have to be one or the other. We could find someplace else if that’s what you wanted.”

There was no maybe about it. I was head over heels in love with this man.

“I appreciate you giving that to me, but no. Willow Creek is it for me. I came here for a reason. It brought me to you. I’m not throwing that away because I’m too afraid of what the future holds. I’ll jump off that bridge when I come to it.”

“We.”

I tilted my head to the side because I didn’t understand what he meant by that. “Excuse me?”

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