Page 15 of Falling For The Enemy (The Gilbert Curse)

Emotions roiled through her and she felt like she wanted to scream with them, but knew that wasn’t okay so instead a grunt sort of erupted from her.

“You okay?”

She nodded and then looked over at Kit. “Better than okay.”

“Ready to walk or are you good here?” he asked.

“Walk, please.”

“The ground is pretty firm closest to the center of the yard. So we can walk out and then turn and come back.”

She held his hand as they stepped off the concrete, and the first touch of the wet grass under her foot tickled a little. Spreading her toes out, she felt the sprigs between them. She stood there for a long minute, just happy that she could feel her toes and happy with her body.

The body that she’d been resenting more than a little because it was taking so long to recover and do what she wanted it to. But right now she was so glad to be standing in the rain with the grass under her feet and Kit at her side.

Five

“So when I decided to buy this property, Dash was—”

“Can we not talk about your brother?” he interrupted her. “Sorry if that sounded rude, but it seems he dominates your life. What about this property attracted you?”

He wished he had a plan to separate Rory from Dash in his mind. He didn’t want her to have any part of his revenge for his brother. But he was realistic enough to know that might not be possible. Also, when he was with her, he wanted to throw off the heavy mantle of expectation that Aunt Mal had placed on him.

The rain was soft and a little cold, forcing him to be present, and he was enjoying their slow walk in her yard. Kit normally just put his head down in the rain and rushed to get out of it, but there could be no rushing with Rory. And if he were honest, he didn’t want to.

She was enjoying this. Her steps on the grass were gentle and almost gliding. She tipped her head back repeatedly, her face turned up to the rain, and he had the feeling that this was something she had desperately missed.

“Sorry about that.”

“You don’t have to apologize,” he assured her. “I like you more than your brother.”

“I’m glad,” she said, leaning toward him again.

He was struggling with that lip-lock they’d almost shared and really trying to keep some distance between them. Not because he’d changed his mind about wanting to kiss her, but she’d pulled back to get her pie from the oven. It could have waited. She’d chosen to move away. And he was going to respect that.

“So, about this place...? It’s not exactly where I picture a Gilbert of Gilbert Corners living.”

“Well, that’s what I was going for. I wanted a place where I could figure out who I am,” she confided. “I want to make it my own, so I talked to my financial advisor and he found this place.”

“Is Dash your financial advisor?” he asked.

“No. My inheritance comes from my maternal side. So Dash oversaw it while I was in the coma but he didn’t merge them.”

“Why not?”

“He knew I’d wake up,” she said. “At least that is what he told me.”

He believed that Dash loved his sister, but Kit had always thought it was a guilty conscience that drove the other man. Now he was getting a glimpse that it might be more nuanced than all of that. “So you’re happy here?”

“Yes, I am. My family wanted me to stay close and I agreed if they backed off. I have a home in northern California but haven’t been there in years.”

She started laughing after she said that. “I mean even before the accident.”

They reached the point where he thought they should turn, and he halted for a second, looking around the overgrown brambles and flower bushes that lined the fence on the left and the right. This place also seemed special. Like it was hidden and, though neglected, it didn’t have the abandoned feel that some of the other parts of Gilbert Corners had.

“I like it.”

“Me, too,” she said, then gave him a questioning look. “Why are we stopping?”

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