Page 29 of Trusting Fate (Hope Falls: Brewed Awakenings 2)

When he started down the road, he noticed that the fire station was across the street on the corner. Since two of his brothers and his cousin worked there, he figured the odds for him to run into one of them were pretty good. And he’d been right. He hadn’t even made it halfway up the driveway when he heard his name being called.

When he’d looked up, he saw his baby brother looking down from the window.

“Easton! Holy shit!”

He waved and within seconds his brother was walking out of the bay door. He threw his arms around him. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m coming home.”

“Home here or home Sacramento?” Eli asked as he stepped back.

“Home here.”

“Holy shit! Does Evan know you’re here?”

“No. No one does.”

Eli’s eyes widened. “Not even Mom?”

Easton shook his head. “I went to surprise her last night, but the house was locked and—”

“She’s in Palm Springs with Dad,” his brother interrupted.

“Yeah, I found that out after I called.”

“So, is she heading back?”

“No. I didn’t tell her. I didn’t want to ruin her vacation.”

“She’s gonna be pissed if you don’t tell her.”

“She’ll be fine. I’m moving back. I’ll have plenty of time to see her,” Easton wasn’t sure if he was trying to convince himself or his brother. Their mom was going to be pissed. But that was a risk he’d take so that he didn’t cut her vacation short. His parents had dedicated their lives to raising their boys, they deserved to enjoy themselves and not have vacations interrupted.

“Holy shit!” Eli said again, as if he couldn’t believe Easton was standing in front of him.

He understood his brother’s reaction. He’d barely been back to the States at all in the past ten years.

“Hey, I know you’re working, but can you give me a ride to the B&B?” Everything was in walking distance, but he’d barely gotten any sleep the past three days and he was exhausted. He and Grace had stayed up talking almost until the sun rose, which is why he hadn’t heard the knock on the window this morning. It had taken him a second just to get his bearings.

“The B&B?” Eli’s forehead scrunched.

“Yeah, I’m going to be staying there.” He’d seen the B&B when he’d been at Evan’s wedding, and it looked like the perfect place to write a book. It reminded him of a cottage right out of a fairytale, or a movie.

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay with us? I know Kenzie would love to see you.”

“Thanks, I appreciate that.” Easton knew that both Deanna and Evan would also extend their houses as places he could stay, but as much as he wanted to be around family, he didn’t want to be the third wheel. The three couples might not all be in the honeymoon stage, technically, but from what his mom said they were all in the honeymoon phase. The last thing he wanted to do was be a cock blocker. “I’m going to be writing a lot, so I think it’s probably best to stay somewhere quiet.”

Eli nodded in understanding. “Got it. Yeah, let me just go grab my keys.”

As the brothers rode through town Eli filled him in on what had been going on with the family, but he was only half listening really, he was just taking in their surroundings. The downtown was exactly how he’d remembered it. There were mom and pop shops on each side of Main Street which was lined with wooden plank sidewalks. A river ran beside it and there was a walking bridge that went over it. The mountains were the backdrop, and the view was majestic.

Hope Falls looked like it was taken right out of a postcard or a painting. The air was fresh. The people were friendly, and nosey, but mainly friendly. And Grace was here. This was exactly where he needed to be.

They pulled up to the B&B and it looked exactly as Easton remembered, except for one thing. There was a white Range Rover parked in front of it. Not just any white Range Rover. The white Range Rover that he’d slept in the night before.

Easton’s heart picked up speed and his palms dampened.

He and Grace hadn’t spoken about where they’d be staying in town. He figured since she had three sisters who lived there and two of them were single, she’d be staying with them.

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