I am staring right back into those honey caramel eyes from the diner. Of course I am. I feel heat rising to my cheeks once again. An older man steps out and places his hand on Mr. Perfect's shoulder. "Well aren't you going to let the young lady in son?" who I'm assuming is Mr. Reese says.
Mr. Perfect steps back leaving me a path into the cabin, right past the two of them. His eyes never leave me, yet again I don't seem to mind. I turn around to face them both and stick my hand out, "Hi I am Myranda Ross."
"Hello Myranda, I am John. And this is my son Carter. I heard you are new to town, and will be starting at the hospital soon," the older man says while firmly shaking my hand.
"Yes I am," I say giving him a smile. Something I have been trying to get better at lately, my RBF is all too real 98% of the time, but new beginnings I have to remind myself. I glance at Mr. Perfect, who I now know is Carter. Carter Reese. I like the sound of that. I snap out of my thoughts to see him smirking at me.
Mr. Reese looks between the two of us with an interested look on his face, and then clears his throat. "So Myranda, let me show you around the cabin a bit." he says, and turns to walk towards the kitchen.
"That would be great, thank you," I reply. Glancing back at Carter who has yet to say a word to me. We walk through the kitchen, and the two bedrooms in the home, stopping at the bathroom last. I thank Mr. Reese for the tour, and letting me stay in the cabin. He insists I come over for dinner at their house tonight. I agree, and Mr. Reese takes down my phone number to send directions later.
The three of us walk outside towards my truck, as we get closer Mr. Reese turns back to Carter and I. "Carter why don't you help Myranda carry her things inside, and then I will see you both for dinner later" Mr. Reese says with that same smirk Carter gave me earlier.
I wonder what that look was about...I look between the two of them so see blank expressions on their face. It is almost like they are having a conversation with each other without speaking. Oh please don't tell me I wound up staying in the house of a family of creeps. As I finish that thought both of them snap out of the trance and look at me. For the first time I hear Carter speak, "Yeah of course Dad I will help her, then I will bring her and the pup home for dinner."
His voice was raspy but smooth with a southern accent, more pronounced than his fathers. I could tell you my only thought in this moment was how I was done with men, but that would be a lie. There is something about this guy. Him and his father exchange a few more words, and Mr. Reese heads to his truck and hops in. Carter and I walk the few feet left to mine. We both reach for the back door handle at the same time, and I freeze with my hand on top of his. A short breath leaves my lips as I feel a tingling sensation where our skin meets.
Not quickly enough, I remove my hand from his and look up at him. I was right earlier. Now that we are standing next to each other I can see he is easily six foot seven. He makes me feel small, and I have always been the tall one. Nick was only two inches taller than me at most.
He is giving me a look with a tinge of hurt in it. Is he upset that I moved my hand away? Did he also feel those sparks between us?
Both of us turn back towards the truck at the same time breaking the tension that developed. I open the door and Denver immediately jumps out tail wagging high in the air. Carter reaches down to pet him, and Denver jumps up on his chest licking his chin. We both start to laugh and Carter says "well I guess someone wants to be friends now." Clearly referencing Denver growling at him a few hours ago. I laugh in response and start to grab my bags from the back seat.
Carter grabs the few boxes I have in the bed of the truck and follows me into the cabin, Denver not far behind him. I walk down the small hallway to the two bedrooms and turn towards the one on the right when I hear Carter pause. "Uh actually that is my room" he says to me. I turn slowly, not realizing we'd be sharing the cabin before. Not that I can complain, I am staying here for free.
"Oh. Okay no problem" I say as I rotate towards the door to the bedroom on the left.
"Well actually I will be staying in my parent's house while you're here. So you can have that room if you want, I can take all of my stuff with me." Carter says, still standing between the two doors.
I set down my things on the bed, "No no that's okay. I didn't realize I was kicking you out by staying here. I will find a place soon I promise."
He laughs a bit, and says "No don't you worry, you can stay as long as you'd like."
"You know you don't have to move out, I am happy to share the space with you." I say, but it comes out sounding more like a question. That signature smirk comes back to his lips. Uh oh. Maybe that was a little too forward of me, maybe he is taking it as suggestive of something more.
"Okay, as long as you're okay with it. I haven't moved anything yet." he stated.
"Yep totally fine" I said moving past him to grab Denver's things out of the truck. Carter follows me out and waits by the door as I grab the things from the passenger seat this time. He sits down on the couch as we pass the living room, Denver hops up and sits right next to him leaning into his leg. I roll my eyes, and Carter laughs giving Denver a pat on the head. I continue down the hallway to my room, and begin to put a few things away.
After about thirty minutes, I plop down on the bed and reach for my phone. Surprise surprise more texts and calls. I guess I should respond to someone so they don't think I am dead. I know if I call my Dad he will just give me a lecture about running off, then the third degree on why I would do such a thing. My mom on the other hand would just cry and not let me get a word out. Neither of them know what happened with Nick, my brother's do though. Cody and Liam were less than happy to say the least. I know if I call one of them, the other will be there. So I tap on Cody's name at the top of the screen and hear the phone start to ring. Without the first ring completing he picks up and I hear a frantic "Hello," on the other end of the line.
"Hi Coco," I say trying to lighten the mood. He hates it when I call him that.
"MYRANDA WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU!" I hear Liam yell in the background. Knew it.
"I am in Alabama.." I pause waiting for a response. "And I am going to stay here for a while," I say.
"No the hell your'e not." Cody says firmly. "Just come home, you have everything going for you here."
I left out a pained laugh at his response. "Really guys? No. I am not coming home. I already made that decision. I was calling to let you know I am fine and I am happy. I am going to live my life the way I want to now. I love you both. And tell mom and dad I love them too. But that place is full of memories I don'r care to remember one bit. It's time for my fresh start." And with that I hang up the phone before they can respond. I am sure soon enough the twins will show up on my door step, but for now I can focus on me.
I walk out of the room to see Carter and Denver in the exact same spot they were 40 minutes ago. Carter pats the couch next to him, motioning me to sit down. I do, but hesitantly, and he notices that. Looking at the TV, he's watching NCIS. What a coincidence. I'm sure I rolled my eyes.
Both of us sit intently watching the TV until he turns to me and asks "you like this show?"
"Yeah my brothers and I used to watch this every night," I say without breaking my attention from the flat screen. I can see a slight smile from him out of the corner of my eye.
Another hour passes by, and Carter gets up from the couch turning off the TV. He turns back to me and says "We should probably get going now, dinner is almost ready." I get up without saying anything but throw him a confused look. He turns away and starts walking towards the door. I follow him, and Denver follows me. How did he know dinner was ready? I haven't even seen him take his phone out. Maybe it was a good guess?
When I shut the door behind me and pivot towards the trucks, I look up to see Carter already standing at his passenger door with it open. I walk over and as I go to hop up he places his hand on my lower back guiding me. The sparks return right away, taking my breath once again. I try my best to act as if nothing happened. And he shuts my door, moving to open the back door for Denver.
As we start driving, I start to become lost in my thoughts. This time they aren't about Nick but rather Mr. Perfect sitting right next to me. Why do I have this draw to him, even after my long thought out decision of no men? What is with these sparks when our skin comes into contact? Why does he stare at me so longingly, when we met for the first time just a few hours ago? The more I think, the more I am confused. But not once do I feel the need to get out of here. There's the difference. Being at home, being with Nick, I constantly had the feeling to run. And I did. Now I am here, and after only a few short hours in this town, I already feel content.