Can’t Hurry Love by Nadine Millard (little red riding hood ebook TXT) 📗

his hands to himself, not wanting to make things too obvious in front of her family.

She was chattering away with her usual bubbliness. But there was something on her mind, he knew. He watched her closely as she verbally sparred with her brothers.

It couldn’t have been easy for any of them losing both parents, but they were obviously a close and loving family.

His own mother would be horrified by the raucous chaos. His father would have been too busy to make a Monday night family meal.

He listened while Zach and Seth told horror stories about them trying to heat up Beth’s food while she was gone. And even though she laughed along, Josh couldn’t help but think about how much pressure there was on her shoulders between the ranch and her bakery. If he didn’t know her better, he’d question why she ran her own business when there was clearly more than enough for her to do here.

But Beth had an energy that he’d never seen in another person. He imagined the challenge of running the bakery would be an adventure for her. And seeing the dynamic around the table, hearing how much Grayson, in particular, Zach, and Seth did in the ranch, he could understand her wanting something that was hers and hers alone.

Something more than keeping house for her brothers.

He wondered if she ever felt unappreciated. It wasn’t that her brothers seemed ungrateful. And they clearly needed someone to cook for them if their horror stories were anything to go by. Plus, he’d been here long enough to know that ranchers just didn’t have the time to be popping back home three times a day to cook and clean. It wasn’t that sort of life. They worked hard, damn hard, from sun-up to sundown.

But… was Beth happy with it?

And what about when she left? Got married, had kids? The thought popped into his head, catching him unawares. He hadn’t pondered the future since he’d decided to take the plunge with Beth. He hadn’t allowed himself to, wanting to just enjoy some time with her before his complicated past inevitably caused problems. And he couldn’t be sitting here thinking marriage and babies after what, two days together?

It was way too soon.

And he wasn’t ready for that. Didn’t know if he’d ever be…

“So we need to really consider getting someone in here to help out,” Beth’s voice cut through Josh’s thoughts. “I know we talked about it, but the bakery is getting busier by the day, and wedding season is coming up, not to mention the tourist season. I’ll need to be at the bakery a lot more.”

“And you can’t stay here forever.”

Grayson’s eyes darted between Beth and Josh as he spoke in that quiet, steady way of his, and Josh got the impression that maybe Beth’s big brother wasn’t as relaxed about them as he’d first thought. He also got the impression that nobody at this table thought this was a casual thing.

Hell, who was he kidding? He didn’t think it was a casual thing, either.

What did that even mean? Truth be told, he didn’t know. But he suspected the heart he’d been so sure was closed off forever was opening up for business.

“You trying to get rid of me?” Beth joked, but the tell-tale flush on her cheeks gave her away. She’d heard the implication in Grayson’s words, too.

Was that what had her on edge?

He’d known that her brothers would guess that something was going on between them when he showed up here with her wearing his clothes. And it hadn’t bothered him. But did it bother her? Had he pushed too far, too soon?

Probably, he conceded.

Especially when he wasn’t even sure yet how much of himself he could give to her. Wasn’t sure if he was brave enough to do it all over again.

Beth was different. He was different. The way he felt about her? That was brand new.

But he hadn’t come out of his marriage unscathed. The scars were still healing. Weren’t they?

“I’m trying to plan for the next time you disappear for two days,” Grayson answered with another look in Josh’s direction. “If that’s going to be a regular thing?”

Shit.

That was as close to a ”What are your intentions with my baby sister?” as things could get really.

He shifted slightly in his seat, not knowing if Grayson was expecting an answer from him or from Beth. He glanced over to see that her cheeks had gone from pink to fiery red. And that uneasiness was back in her eyes as they briefly met his before dropping to her plate.

Josh realised that by putting off the conversation about his past, by wanting to just enjoy the feeling of letting himself be happy without his doomed marriage getting in his way, he’d done nothing to let Beth know how he felt about her. The doubt he’d seen earlier when Seth had asked if he was staying… the uneasiness he’d noticed in her more than once — he’d put it all there because he hadn’t wanted to face any of it. Which was fine for him because he knew that at the end of it all, he wanted her. Whatever it took. However long it took him to sort through his crap, now that he’d let her in just a little, he knew a little wasn’t enough. Suspected that he’d never not want her.

But she didn’t know that. He hadn’t told her that. He’d been too busy dragging her into his bed.

The silence started to grow uncomfortable. Grayson looked implacable. Zach looked a little pissed, truth be told. Seth looked as if he was enjoying himself.

Josh waited a little longer for Beth to speak. At the end of the day, this was her family. It wasn’t his place to get in the middle of them all. But he hated that she felt uncomfortable and unsure. Hated that he’d caused that with a year of cat and mouse and then never actually having an adult conversation.

It was time to