Page 39 of Steal My Heart (Prosperity Ranch 2)

Carson reached the truck a step ahead of her, and he opened the passenger door. He wanted to pull her close as she passed by him, if only to breathe in her sweet scent. Or smooth her hair back from her face, or maybe even kiss the edge of that pretty mouth of hers.

Breathe, Carson. And calm down.

He shut the door and walked around the truck, then keeping his gaze forward, he started the truck and drove off the property. As he drove along Main Street, Evie pointed out the various shops, but Carson was barely listening. What was wrong with him? He’d wanted this tour, but he wasn’t even paying attention. His mind was full of all things Evie. How she was sitting in his truck, where her hand was resting on the bench not far from him, how the breeze coming through the half-open window tugged at her braid, how she wore light pink nail polish . . .

“And this is the school my mom wants me to work at. Apparently, they have a need for a graphic designer.”

Carson shifted his gaze to the brick red school on the other side of the street. The two-story building with its rows of windows was both graceful and stoic. The lawn in front was green and extended to the small parking lot in front. “You went to school here?”

“Yep,” Evie said with a sigh. “It’s so small that everyone knows everyone else. My graduating class was only thirty-nine kids.”

“Wow.” Carson looked over at her. The forlorn expression on her face made him curious. He slowed the truck and stopped in full view of the school. “Was it really that bad?”

Evie shifted her gaze to him, and he marveled at how the blue of her eyes could morph into so many shades. “Define bad. When you have three older brothers who are popular and good at everything, and all the girls want to date, yeah, I had no real friends. And every guy who I liked wouldn’t dare talk to me, let alone ask me out, because Holt and Knox would give them the riot act. Oh, and it was a total double standard, because I think Knox went through a different girlfriend every week.”

“Did you ever talk to your parents about it?”

“Ha,” Evie said. “What teenage girl tattles on her brothers to parents who idolize the boys in the family? I mean, my mom still thinks Knox walks on water even after he cheated on his own wife.”

Carson blinked. This, he hadn’t expected. “Is that why they divorced?”

“Yeah,” Evie said. “Of course, there’s more to it than that, but it’s all in the past now, and my family is trying to move on.”

“That sounds rough.”

She nodded. “So, my mom’s already talked to the principal and everything, and I promised that I’d meet with her tomorrow. Just to make my mom happy, of course.”

“Of course.” Carson didn’t really know what to tell Evie. Well, he knew what he wanted to tell her, but he shouldn’t. She was already getting enough pressure from her mom, and Carson telling her to consider Prosper would be purely for selfish reasons on his part.

Because Evie moving back to Prosper, and living and working here, sounded like the most perfect thing ever.

“What do you want, Evie?” he asked. “I mean, if you could orchestrate the rest of the year, what would it look like?”

She cast a sideways glance at him, and he was surprised to see her cheeks flood with color. “That’s the problem. I’ve applied to several places, as well as my dream job—at the major newspaper office in San Antonio. The places that have gotten back to me are at the bottom of my list as far as what I’m looking for. One’s near Dallas, which feels too far away. Ironic, I know. But it would be nice to be only an hour away from home. It’s a Catch-22, since everyone wants experience, you know?”

“Maybe you need to settle for something before you get the position you really want.”

She nodded. “Maybe.”

“Could you get the experience in Prosper?” he asked, testing the waters.

Her gaze narrowed. “Have you been talking to my mom?”

“Nope.” He hid a smile. “Think about it. You have established relationships here already, and so they’ll likely hire you. Once you have some experience, maybe a year or two, then you’ll have a stronger resume to apply for the newspaper in San Antonio, or somewhere else.”

“A year or two, huh?”

His smile appeared anyway. “Yep.”

She was watching him, and his heart was racing. He reached for her hand, even though he knew it was risking a lot. They were parked in his truck, and he wasn’t leading her anywhere, or at least not technically.

“I think it’s something worth considering,” he said. She hadn’t pulled her hand away, so he decided that was a good thing.

“I don’t know,” she said. “Being home scrambles my brain. My brothers annoy me like crazy, but I love being around my mom. I guess I just appreciate her like I never have before, even if she does ask a lot of questions about you.”

This both surprised and pleased Carson. “About me?”

“Yeah.” Evie glanced down at their linked hands, and yeah, he could pretty much read her mind. What’s happening here? He was wondering the same thing.

“I need to get back home,” she said, “and I’m sure your grandpa needs more mulch burned or something.”

He chuckled. Point taken. He released her hand and turned the truck around, wondering if something between him and Evie Prosper was just starting up, or already ending.

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