Still The One - Carrie Elks Page 0,24

his cue against the white ball. “I swear it’s getting worse, on the field at least.”

“Cam was always uber competitive. You have to be to play football.” Gray shrugged.

“So how about you?” Tanner asked him. “How are you finding living back here after so long in L.A.? Is it driving you mad yet?”

The corner of Gray’s lips quirked up. “Yep, living in the house I’ve always dreamed of with the best girl in the world is a real bind. I’m longing for the days of misery on the West Coast.”

Tanner grinned as he sunk an orange striped ball smoothly into the middle pocket. “So when are you going to make it official?”

“With Maddie?”

“Yep.” The next shot was going to be tricky. All the striped balls left were pressed against the side or blocked by solids. He walked around the table, scanning it carefully.

“That’s between us.”

“But you’re gonna do it, right? I mean you’re not getting any younger. You don’t wanna be an old dad.”

Gray shook his head. “Have you been talking to Aunt Gina and Becca?”

“I might have overheard a few conversations.” Tanner gave him a wicked grin. “If I’m being honest, I might have encouraged it. I’ve always preferred the spotlight being on you.”

“Thanks, bro. And for the record, I’m only three years older than you.”

“Four.”

“Three right now,” Gray pointed out, his brow lifted.

“Ah yeah, but your birthday’s coming up and that’ll make it four.” There was a time when those years felt like a gulf. As the youngest brother, Tanner had longed to keep up with Gray, Cam, and Logan as they sat and plotted their next escapades. Maybe that’s why he’d been so drawn to Van on their first day at school. She was like the Hartson brothers on speed. The ultimate plotter of pranks.

“And not that it’s any of your business, but I’ll be asking Maddie to marry me in my own sweet time. Now are you gonna play that shot, or what? Watching you walk around the table is excrutiating.”

“Watch and weep, bro,” Tanner said, finally taking his shot. And when it careened off the cushion and potted Gray’s blue solid instead, he tried really hard to ignore his brother’s laughter.

Chapter Nine

Van hadn’t blinked when she walked out of her mom’s bungalow that morning, and spotted him standing there by the old oak tree. Instead, she’d done her usual stretches, her limbs long and lithe as she curled over them, and started her run along the lane toward the town square. He’d kept up easily, neither of them saying a word as the buildings gave way to fields and farms.

He’d spent at least half of their run looking at her from the corner of his eye, hoping Van wouldn’t notice. Out here, on the dusty road, with the sun shining down on her, she looked completely like the girl he used to know. Strong and determined, yet with a vulnerability only he could see. Of all the people in Hartson’s Creek, he was pretty sure only very few knew who she really was.

It had always felt like the most special of gifts, being Van Butler’s best friend. She’d been the sun his world had orbited. Without her, the world had felt colder. Lifeless. One of the reasons he threw himself into work the same way Gray threw himself into music. It was a way of pretending the pain wasn’t there.

Beneath her black shorts, her legs were firm and lean, the line of muscles beneath her tan skin illuminated by the sun. She was wearing that sports bra again, and he couldn’t help but glance at her stomach, his eyes roaming the lines of her abs until they reached the grey fabric covering her breasts.

Shaking his head at himself, he dragged his gaze away. “You wanna take a break here?” he asked, as they reached the old entrance of the drive-in.

“If you’re tired, I can wait with you.” She shrugged. Then she saw the bright white sign somebody had hammered into the field. “Sold?” she said, her brows pulled together. “I didn’t even know it was for sale.” She leaned on the old fence and looked at him. “Do you think a developer bought it? Ready to plow over all our childhood memories?”

His mouth felt dry. “No. I don’t think they did.”

Her eyes were pulled back to the sign again. “Fairfax Realty,” she murmured. “They’re everywhere, aren’t they?”

“I bought it,” he told her, waiting for her response.

Her head whipped around. “What? Why?”

“To stop a developer from