Summer Love_ A Steamy Small Town Romance Anthology - Piper Rayne Page 0,181

be so much fun.

“It helps that we’re on the same page.” He reached for his water goblet, idly rubbing the condensation with a thumb. “Because I won’t be around much longer.” His gaze flicked up and caught hers, as though checking her reaction.

Well, she wasn’t happy about it. She’d loved every minute with him these past three weeks. Living together in the ranch house, they’d take turns cooking, spend time sitting side by side on the couch, laptop perched on his knees as they scrolled design sites for ideas. They hiked every day, laughed all the time. After dinner, they’d sit on the patio and watch the spectacle of lights in a sky that turned from robin’s egg blue to twilight purple to black with a dazzling array of twinkling stars.

She’d had such a great time, she’d forgotten he’d leave for training camp in July, and she wouldn’t see him again until February.

She would miss him fiercely.

“You mind if I ask why you don’t drink?” he asked.

“Not at all. When I was a kid, my parents had totally different lives. My dad worked in a bank, and my mom was a secretary at our school. They were both miserable, and they drank too much. They weren’t falling down drunks or anything, but I didn’t like it. It scared me. They were mean and sad. It was just a really uncomfortable home life back then.”

“When did your mom become a fly-fishing guide?”

“I was eleven. Actually, I remember the exact day.” She smiled at the memory. “I was sitting at the kitchen table with a glass of milk and a bag of peanut butter pretzels, and my mom walked in the door two hours earlier than usual. I was freaking out. I wasn’t allowed to eat snacks, and she never came home early. But she didn’t even notice. She dumps her purse on the table and goes, ‘I quit. I’m done.’ Of course, the only thing on my mind at the time was hiding the pretzels.”

“I can relate to that. I’ve got six brothers and sisters, and it was always a fight for the junk food. On the rare occasion my parents brought something home—chips, pretzels, cookies—I’d nab a few and hide them in my hoodie pockets.” He tipped his chin. “So that’s it? She just decided there and then?”

“Oh, it was quite a scene. My dad flipped out when she told him. They had four kids, and they needed her income for college. And my mom was all, ‘Fuck it. Let ‘em get student loans like the rest of the world. I’m not selling my soul one more day.’ My dad was pissed. ‘What’re you going to do? Sit around and watch reality TV?’ And she gets all huffy and says, ‘I’ll do whatever the hell I want to do.’”

“That went over well.”

“My dad lost it. ‘And what do you want to do, Erin?’ And in this high and mighty tone, she goes, “Maybe I’ll go fly fishing every damn day.’ And I swear to God they looked at each other, and the room went dead quiet. I will never forget seeing my older brother, Caleb, standing in the doorway, watching this whole fight play out. We had no idea what was going to happen—were they going to divorce? Would my mom give in and get her job back? And then all of a sudden, my parents burst out laughing—like the maniacal kind—and my dad goes, ‘You’re going to be a fly-fishing guide.’ And my mom nods and says, ‘I’m going to be a fly-fishing guide.’ Because that’s literally what they did with their weekends and vacations—they were outside hiking, fishing, rafting. That was the whole point of living in Calamity, Wyoming.”

“Great story. I love it. So, your dad quit, too?”

“Not right away. He stuck it out at the bank for another year, but then he got a job at an outfitter in town. He leads white water rafting expeditions.”

They shared a knowing look. “So, they’ll come work for me once I get my eco-tourism ranch going?”

She smiled. “I can’t wait to ask them.”

As he took her in, his chest rose on a deep breath, and his eyes grew hot and lustful. “You’re so fucking beautiful.”

Equal parts fear and excitement churned, gaining speed, sending her into a tailspin. But she liked him too damn much to hold back when he kept putting himself out there. “And you’re fucking gorgeous. You know that, right? As gorgeous inside as you are on the

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