Smitten (5 page)
“Including college, you’ve given me over fifty grand through the years.”
Carson hadn’t had any idea that Sawyer was keeping track. “It wasn’t a loan, little brother.”
Sawyer lifted a brow. “I know. That’s one reason I made sure I kept track. And one of the many reasons why I love you.”
Uncomfortable, Carson looked away. Singing love songs every day had made his brother more open about his feelings. “Ditto. But I don’t want to take your money.”
“You don’t want to renovate at all, I hear.” There was amusement in Sawyer’s voice.
“I’m sure my reaction is all over town.”
Sawyer frowned. “But it’s a great idea. We’ve had to endure all those jokes about our name. Might as well put it to work. What do you say? Let’s do something with this place.”
“I’ll think about it. What are you doing here anyway?” Carson asked, indicating the other chair on the deck.
His brother dropped into it. “I have a gig in Maine, and I had the bus go through here so I could show Kate where I was from.”
“Who’s Kate?”
Sawyer’s grin came. “My fiancée.”
N
o one missed the big bus lumbering along Main Street as the women sat on Natalie’s porch with their drinks from the coffee shop. The shiny paint on the sides depicted the face of the town’s one claim to fame—Sawyer Smitten, the Cowboy Lover. Since he’d won the big
Country’s Best
talent contest the year before with his cowboy love songs, he’d put Smitten on the map.
Natalie couldn’t bear to look at Reese, focusing instead on the hummingbirds buzzing around the feeder near the blooming azalea bushes. She dreaded telling her the news she’d heard this morning from Zoe.
“Sawyer is in town,” Shelby said, stating the obvious. “I’ve been praying for him. And for you, Reese, that you would find someone ten times better.” She knelt to pick up Penelope, who was whining at her feet.
Reese’s cheeks reddened, and her expression was guarded. “I saw him last night at the coffee shop. I managed to slip out the back door when he came in.”
Julia set down her mocha java on the table beside her. “And we’re just now hearing this?”
“He was with a woman.” She studied her fingernails.
Natalie opened her mouth and closed it again. She squeezed Reese’s hand. Sometimes a touch was the only comfort she could offer. That and prayer. “Zoe told me it was his fiancée.”
Reese’s smile looked forced. “I’m okay, Natalie. Really. I’m not going to lie and say it doesn’t sting a little.”
“What’s she like?” Julia asked. “What kind of purse was she carrying? Was she wearing Louboutin shoes? I’ve been trying to save up for a pair.”
“I didn’t look at her feet,” Reese said dryly. “I only got a glimpse before I rushed out. She’s very pretty. Blond hair, green eyes, I think.”
“Hmm, sounds like someone else we know,” Julia said, exchanging a long glance with Natalie.
“She did look a little like me, except my eyes are hazel,”
Reese said. “I guess Sawyer is attracted to a certain type.”
“You’re really okay?” Natalie asked. Reese tended to keep her feelings to herself until things got so bad they erupted out of her.
Reese squeezed her hand. “Really.”
“Zoe said she told Sawyer about our idea for the town,”
Natalie said. She’d been dying to tell the girls what she’d heard.
“What did he say?” Reese asked.
“He was excited about it.” Natalie glanced at the other two. “I think he might have his wedding here.” She couldn’t help the triumphant smile that lifted her lips.
“What?” Julia scooted to the edge of her chair.
“Celebrities will be swarming Smitten if Sawyer gets married here! What can we do to convince him? If I decide to do the spa, I’ll be able to name the celebrities who have visited.
It could make my spa a national destination!”
“Zoe said Sawyer was going to talk to Carson about it,”
Natalie said.
“We don’t have housing,” Julia said, pausing to turn a gloomy face Reese’s way. “Without housing, the wedding won’t happen here.”
“They could stay in Stowe,” Shelby suggested.
“We want the business,” Julia and Natalie said together.
The bus
had
stopped at the coffee shop. Natalie could make out its shiny paint two blocks down. “Sawyer will forget it once he starts looking into things. He’ll need lodging for everyone. Close lodging.”
“Maybe he’ll talk Carson into renovating the cabins,”
Shelby said.
“You’re such an optimist,” Julia said. “No one can talk sense into that hard head of Carson’s. Not even Sawyer.”
“I don’t know,” Natalie said. “Shelby might be right.
Carson would do anything for Sawyer. And Carson
has
agreed to stay on the council to help. That’s a start.”
The women fell silent. “How can we help that decision along?” Shelby asked. “What if we all talked to him?”
“He’ll feel ganged up on,” Natalie said, shaking her head.
“I wouldn’t want to do that to him. Let’s just pray and let God take care of it.”
Julia’s eyes widened. “You’re attracted to the guy. It’s written all over your face.”
Natalie opened her mouth to deny it, but closed it again.
How did they know when she hadn’t realized it herself until this minute? Something about Carson intrigued her. And she didn’t
want
to like anything about him. Not after what he’d done to Lisa.
“Okay,” she said finally. “Maybe I am. But nothing can come of it.” She bit her lip. “There’s something I haven’t told you. It felt too much like gossip.”
“About Carson?” Shelby asked.
Natalie nodded. “Lisa told me he’s Mia’s father.”
Reese froze, then twisted her ponytail in her fingers.
“You’re kidding. She just told you this?”
Natalie shook her head. “No, I’ve known about it ever since she got pregnant. She said he brought her home one night, and it happened then.”
The girls looked a little hurt that she’d kept something so important from them. “You know how I hate gossip,” she said again.
“What does Carson say?” Shelby asked. “Knowing you, I assume you talked to him about it.”
“I talked to him about it a week ago. He denied it.”
Julia held up her hand. “I’m sorry—I know Lisa is your sister, but, Natalie,
think
. When has Lisa ever told the truth?”
Natalie looked down at her hands. “I can’t believe she would lie about something that important.” She told her friends about her discussion with him in the coffee shop.
“There you go,” Julia said. “I bet Lisa is the one who lied.”
“I’m not convinced,” Natalie said. “And I wouldn’t date a man I couldn’t trust. No matter how soft I go in the knees whenever he looks at me.”
“Oh, honey, you’ve got it bad,” Shelby said. She sounded wistful. “Good for you. I have a feeling God is going to surprise you in this relationship.”
Natalie squinted at the bus again, still parked in front of her coffee shop. “Look, let’s skip Pilates today. I want to talk to Sawyer.”
The girls turned to follow her gaze.
“But it’s your day to choose our exercise,” Reese protested. “It’s not a good idea to skip a day.”
“We’ll work extra hard tomorrow.”
Shelby turned pleading eyes toward Reese. “Let her go, Reese. She’s right. We need to talk to Sawyer.”
“You go, then. I don’t want to. I’ll see you later.” Reese jumped to her feet and headed down the street in the opposite direction from the coffee shop.
Natalie’s heart hammered against her ribs as she hurried back to the shop, accompanied by Julia and Shelby. She stepped inside Mountain Perks. Sawyer was hard to miss with his bright shirt and cowboy hat. His fiancée
did
remind her of Reese, but Natalie’s attention went to Carson, who was coloring with Mia.
He put down his crayon and got up when he saw them.
“There you are,” he said, putting his hands in his pockets.
“Got news for you. Sawyer is going to have his wedding here.
We wanted you to know since it might figure into your plans somehow.”
Natalie’s heart skipped, and she told herself it was only the good news. “That’s fabulous! Thanks, Sawyer.” She stepped forward to hug him. “We’re so grateful.”
“It’ll be great publicity for Smitten. Get things off with a big bang.”
“You like our scheme?”
“I love it. And the media will descend here for the wedding. All my guests too. I need your help to convince my brother he has to get the cabins renovated for them.”
“I think you’ll have more luck with that than me.” She stepped back and smiled up at him. “You look every inch the rising country singer. Are you really the one who used to bring me wilted daffodils?”
“Guilty as charged,” he said. “I backed off when Carson gave me the evil eye.”
Evil eye?
Natalie glanced at Carson. Surely Sawyer hadn’t meant Carson liked her in that way.
Carson’s smile vanished. “We need to go, Sawyer.” He nodded to Natalie. “See you later.” The bell over the door tinkled as they stepped back into the sunshine.
“Well, well, well,” Shelby said, smiling. “Did you all see what I saw? Carson has a crush on Natalie.”
“That’s so not true,” Natalie said, leaning down to pick up the crayon that had rolled to the floor. It was still warm from Carson’s fingers.
“Sawyer said Carson gave him the evil eye for giving you flowers. What do you think he meant?”
“Oh, stop it! He was kidding. And I was only sixteen, and Sawyer was thirteen.”
“And Carson was seventeen,” Julia said. “Did he ever ask you out?”
“No,” Natalie said. She wasn’t about to tell them he’d asked her to get a Coke and she’d turned him down because she was giddy about going to the prom with Chris, a senior at the time. Carson had never asked again. What would have happened if she’d said yes that day?
Shelby eyed her over the top of Penelope’s head. “You’re afraid of being like your mother, aren’t you?”
Her friend’s perception shouldn’t have startled her.
Shelby had an uncanny ability to read her mind.
“It’s easy for guys to hide who they really are.”
“You have much better judgment than your mom,”
Julia said. “And I’m a discerner. There’s nothing fake about Carson.”
“My mother swore that was the case about husband number three. And four. And five,” Natalie said. “I don’t want anyone to deceive me.”
“So you’re going to be single the rest of your life, just to be safe?” Shelby asked. “What kind of life is that?”
“As you just said, a safe one,” Natalie said. “Besides, you girls are blowing this out of proportion. Carson isn’t interested in me.” She picked up a plate of gluten-free cranberry bars. “Here, try these. Cranberries are good for you. They’re full of antioxidants and protect against heart disease and cancer. I put more figs in them, so they’re sweeter than the last batch.”
Julia shot to her feet. “Uh, I have to go.”
Shelby hugged Natalie on the way out. “Trust God,” she whispered. “He might be opening a door for you.”
Natalie nibbled on a cranberry bar and watched her friends through the big window. There was nothing wrong with being sure you knew someone before getting involved.
Not that she was “involved” with Carson. They were just going to work together.
Carson didn’t like his attorney’s expression as he shut the door to the office and indicated a chair. It was just a little too eager, and the message Brian had left on Carson’s cell phone had been too bright as well.
“Been a good day?” Carson asked. He wasn’t about to even look at the way his morning had gone. The store had been packed with people working on their property and talking about the pros and cons of the romance idea. Good for business, but it made him uneasy. What if they were all hitching their dreams to a falling star?