“All is good down here,” Tyler calls out, his voice faint.
“Okay, lean your back against the top step there and push with your good foot.”
“It won’t go through to the basement?”
“No, and if it does, I’ll catch you before you fall,” he says, his voice so soft, so serious, my heart misses a beat.
I press my foot against the wood and push forward. When I do, Jay tugs, and I land in his arms. He holds me tight as Tyler comes rushing back up the stairs.
“I’m taking you straight to the hospital,” Jay says.
I squirm in his arms, but I have to say, I love the way he worries about me and takes such great care of me. “I’m okay.”
“You’re not okay.”
Tyler shakes his head. “Do you think someone did this on purpose?”
“I do,” he says so vehemently, my gaze flies to his in time to catch anger flashing across his face. He turns his head, averts my gaze.
What the hell is it that he doesn’t want me to see?
Chapter Eighteen
Jay
It’s been one whole week since Alyson fell through the stairs. Fortunately, after a trip to the clinic—despite her heated protests—we found out she only sprained her ankle. I paid a visit to Charlie Miller, but why would he sabotage Alyson’s property? He wants her to stay. The only person who’d want her gone is Bryce Kent, outside of me, of course. Not that I really want her gone—I need her gone if I want to keep the farm. Sure, the bet was never put on paper, but around these parts we take a man at his word, and honor is everything. As far as Bryce is concerned, I’ve known the man for years, and while he can be an asshole, he’s not the type to personally sabotage someone’s property.
My brothers and I have been helping her out at the market, and I’ve been sleeping at her place every night, inspecting the property for damage every evening before crawling into bed with her and every morning upon waking. But I have to say, she’s been quieter than usual, a little more secretive, tucking her phone away when I walk into the room or dashing off to make calls she doesn’t want me to hear about.
I’m not sure what is going on— Maybe she’s tiring of the farm and making plans to head back home. Then again, both of my brothers have been acting strange, too. Beck is probably thinking about his upcoming move and starting college. He’s sure to be nervous about that. Tyler, well, I’m not sure what his problem is, but he’d better not be up to no good. Last time I saw him in town, he was hanging out with Shay Banks’s brothers, and nothing good can come from that.
Alyson stretches out on the bed as I step into the room, a hot cup of coffee in my hand. Everything inside me softens, weakens, the things I feel for her crawling into my throat as I take in the sleeping beauty before me, her warm body exposed after a night of intimate lovemaking.
She was so tired, she slept through Cluck crowing this morning, and I didn’t have the heart to wake her. Instead, the guys and I chipped in to help with her morning chores, and nothing I’m doing here is conducive to saving my farm.
I crouch beside her on the mattress, touch her hair, and when she smiles up at me, a future with her in my life forever flashes before my eyes. Should I confess? Tell her about the bet, beg for forgiveness, and ask her to stay? If she does stay, that’ll just fuck me over. If she leaves, I win the bet, but it also means losing the girl I never should have fallen for. Who’s to say she even wants what I want anyway, and am I really ready to try again after Juanita? Have lessons learned taught me nothing?
She’s not Juanita.
“Good morning,” I say to her, and her lids flutter open, surprise registering on her face as the sun slants off her walls.
“What time is it?” she asks and gives a slow, lazy cat stretch.
I hold the cup of coffee out to her as she sits up and scrubs her eyes with the back of her hands.
“Freshly brewed and steaming hot, just the way you like it.”
The sheets slip from her body, exposing her beautiful breasts, and without a hint of self-consciousness, she takes the cup.