It's been years since June Bell shared a stolen moment with her girlhood crush, Kase McCasker. It's been just as long since Kase's father nixed the sale of the McCasker farm to expand the grounds of the Bell's grand hotel. Now that Kase is back home...
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I turn in bed with a stretch. The morning air is cool on my skin, and the faint sounds of farm equipment float in through the cracked window. I open my eyes and squint against the early morning sunlight filling the bedroom.
The events of yesterday come back to me as I blink awake. The mortifying experience of being caught making out half naked in Kase's truck shoots to the forefront of my thoughts. I groan and turn my face into the pillow.
I wish I could bring myself to regret it. I really should. I'm twenty years old and really should know better than to be so reckless. But Kase's hands on me—sweet merciful God, his mouth on me—was like nothing I'd ever experienced. I'm not sure I would take the moment back if half of Falls Edge happened upon us.
Luckily, they hadn't, and as we sped off for home, I could barely get my shirt back on before succumbing to an uncontrollable fit of laughter. Hard as I tried, I couldn't stop, a circumstance that proved contagious when Kase lost his composure too.
Once we caught our breath back at the farmhouse, I'd half expected Kase to have his wicked way with me. He certainly could have. Even though I was sated, my body still hummed from the incredible orgasm he'd pulled from me. Still, in the hours after, he exercised restraint he didn't have before. We spent the evening in front of the television, curled up together, talking sometimes, kissing other times. Always touching but never going further.
When I was too sleepy to keep my eyes open, he helped me get settled in the guest room for the night. I didn't ask why he wasn't inviting me into his bed, but a little part of me appreciated the space. As much as I wanted to stay close to him, I wasn't quite sure what it would be like to sleep next to someone in a strange bed and strange house.
More awake now, I sit up and look around the room. This isn't home. But it's a home. A house. A little thrill runs through me with that thought.
Wallpaper with yellow roses covers the bedroom walls. The antique furniture is minimal—a small bureau and an end table by my bed. The quilt covering my legs is a patchwork of floral pastels, softened by age. How long has it lived in this house? I get the feeling much of what fills the McCasker farmhouse has been here through several generations of his family.
Eager to explore more and find Kase, I shower and dress quickly. With bare feet, I descend the stairs and take a short tour through the empty first floor. Kase must be working. The note he leaves in the kitchen confirms it.
June, future queen of the McCasker farm...
Hope you slept well. I'll be in the pasture all day. Make yourself at home. I'll be back before sundown.
Kase
P.S. Didn't sleep a wink last night thinking of you.
I smile. Butterflies flit around my belly. Warmth floods me the same way it does when Kase is near. Immediately I regret that I have to spend the day without him. Still, Kase neglecting the garden isn't quite the same as neglecting the farm. The livestock needs attention regardless of the property's fate.
