Chapter 8

WhenKarahadsaid that Isaac owned a ranch on the other side of town, I had envisioned a ranch-style home on a few acres of land with a cow or two. I didn’t know much about ranches, it seemed. What Isaac drove me to was something unlike anything I’d ever seen in person. I couldn’t count the cows I saw; there were so many. There were what looked like miles of white fence, set against the backdrop of the mountains that surrounded Briar’s Point. The ranch was also hidden away behind rows and rows of trees.

The ranch was like a magical land, tucked away in its own little green heaven. There was a huge barn, and then, down a long gravel driveway, a large house sat, welcoming and warm. White clapboard with a big, wraparound porch, it was something special to look at. I saw porch fans and a swing instantly and wanted to spend the night there, like in Ya-Ya Sisterhood. I wanted, instantly. Just wanted.

“My brothers and I were born and raised in this house. I had it redone as things came up, but a lot of it is still original to how my dad’s dad had it. Like the porch swing.” Isaac smiled at me and nodded. “Want to try it out?”

I nodded and hurried out of the truck. “It’s amazing.”

Leading me up to the swing, he sat on it with me, his arm stretched out along the back of it. “This thing has gotten a lot of use over the years.”

“I’m sure. It’s beautiful. And the breeze is amazing, too.” I sighed and leaned back in the seat. “It feels a little like heaven.”

“You can sit out here while I get the burgers ready to go on the grill if you want.” He caught a strand of my hair and gently tugged it. “Or you can come in and look around. Whatever you want.”

I laughed. “I have the run of the land, huh?”

“Yeah, I’m helpless against the powers of that dress. Pretty sure Kara got in my brain and stole that dress from my dreams. Remind me to thank her at breakfast tomorrow.”

I groaned. “You don’t have to come to that if you don’t want to. They’re just so busy playing matchmakers, on my second day in town, might I add, that they don’t stop to think that maybe you have something better to do.”

“I don’t.” With a lingering look and a shake of his head, he opened the front door and stepped into the house. “Come in if you want. I won’t be long.”

I sat on the porch for a few minutes longer, just enjoying the chilly evening breeze and looking out at the mountains and forest. The beauty of it all was almost enough to convince me that I was dreaming. The land, the house, the man, it was all an insane change from where I’d been just two days before.

All alone in the city, surrounded by buildings and people nonstop, never having a moment of peace. It was crazy how much a handful of hours could change everything. Men had been the farthest thing from my mind when I was alone with Hank. I was too worried about finding reliable childcare and getting home safe to him to ever bother thinking about dating.

There I was, though, just a couple of days later, on a date. Kara had really worked her magic. She hadn’t started small and built her way up, either. Isaac was stunning to look at. He was perfectly my type with his sexy Grizzly Adams look. He also seemed nice, which hadn’t been my type before Hank. Nice on Isaac was sexy, though.

I made my way into the house, taking in everything as I searched for the kitchen. The décor was manly with lots of leather and browns, but it was warm. There were books everywhere, stacked haphazardly all over the place, but it just added to the charm. I touched the spine of a few of them, not even dusty, and smiled when I noticed there were a few romances in the stacks.

“You’re a romantic at heart, huh, Isaac?”

He poked his head out of the back room, and his cheeks darkened when he saw where I was looking. “I’m not going to lie to you twice in one day, so I have to own up to those, but that’s all I’ll say.”

Laughing, I followed him into the kitchen and settled at a stool at the island to watch him form the burgers. He’d shed the flannel shirt he’d had on and was in a t-shirt that stretched across wide shoulders and strong arms. I had to force myself to stop staring.

“I have beer and water. I would’ve gotten something different, but I didn’t plan on Kara being onto something when she pushed us together.”

“Don’t give her credit for this. She’ll never shut up about it.”

“I think that ship has already sailed. She looked very smug as we were leaving.” Isaac paused. “She also shoved a condom into my hand while you were grabbing your purse.”

I gasped. “No, she didn’t.”

“She did.”

I covered my face with my hands and groaned. “She’s dead to me.”

“I wasn’t sure what to say to her after I realized what she’d given me, so I just bumped fists with her and told her I wouldn’t use it all in one place.”

Surprised laughter bubbled out of me, and I snorted. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I thought about what Kara had made of that.

“I’m realizing now that I probably really concerned her.” He tossed the condom onto the island and laughed. “Also, do you think she already had the Magnums on hand? Or did she go out shopping for this?”

I snorted again and crossed my legs as I laughed harder. “Stop! I’m going to pee myself!”

“Bathroom’s behind you.” He bit his lip as he watched me try to right myself before I stood up. “You’re fucking beautiful when you laugh.”

I scrunched up my nose and fought back a protest as I hurried into the bathroom. While I washed my hands after, I stared at myself in the mirror above the sink and shook my head. I didn’t see what Isaac saw, but I liked that he seemed to like what he saw. I liked feeling desirable after so long.

Coming back out, I found Isaac chopping potatoes. He looked up at me and his eyes heated. A part of me, the part that hadn’t been out in almost two years, wanted to hide in the bathroom. The rest of me wanted to know what all that heat entailed.

“This is a lot different from how I thought my night would go.” I shrugged and sat down across from him. “Honestly, I’ve never really had good experiences with dating, so I’d kind of sworn off it after Hank came along. So, this is a little weird for me. Like, I can’t stop the urge to tell you that I’ve peed on myself laughing two times since I had Hank and I’m concerned that it’s going to happen again and it almost just did happen again. But that’s a really embarrassing thing to say on a first date, right? So, why did I do that?”

He put the knife down, and I could see he was fighting a smile. “I don’t think it’s embarrassing. Embarrassing is going to a birthday party for a baby to get a date. I’m the one who should be awkward right now, not you.”

“I got picked up at a birthday party for a baby, so really, I’m the awkward one.” I groaned. “I got picked up at my baby’s birthday party.”

“So. For the record. I did pick you up.” He puffed his chest out and stroked his beard. “Prettiest lady at the party, too.”

I reached across to grab the cutting board and knife and preoccupied myself with cutting potatoes even as I rolled my eyes at him. “I’m already here; you can stop complimenting me.”

“I’m not complimenting you to get anything from you. I’m just stating what I see. And I like what I see, a lot.” He shrugged like he wasn’t saying anything big. “You’re mincing the potatoes.”

I looked down to realize I’d been cutting the same poor potato into tiny chunks. Dropping the knife, I cleared my throat and walked around the island to get to the sink to wash my hands. I was aware of Isaac behind me, and that awareness traveled down my spine in a tantalizing way.

Leaning against the counter next to me, he looked down at me and smiled. “I haven’t had a date in a long time, either. I’m rusty, I’m sure. There’s no pressure, though.”

My stomach fluttered and I felt urges that I hadn’t felt in too long. He was so attractive, and he was funny. I knew basically nothing about him, but there was no way I could get involved with him on a more serious level. Not with Julian potentially ever being in the picture. I couldn’t date him. I could only enjoy him for that moment and then go back to my life of focusing on Hank.

“You’re giving me an interesting look, Mallory.” Isaac stood up straighter and moved closer to me. “What’s on your mind?”

Even his ability to ask about my thoughts was sexy. The man was a complete package, from what I’d seen so far. I blew out a rough breath and turned to face him fully. “I don’t date.”

He grinned. “And yet here we are.”