Always Mine (Coming Home To The Grove 1)

“I’m sure you and Dad got it. I need to get settled in,” I tell my meddling mom. Essentially, it’s just pushing a button. Very easy.

“Your dad and I have plans tonight, honey. We have to say bye to our friends before we leave for our cruise. Plus, it’s bridge night. You know that.”

Every week for as long as I can remember, my mom and dad have had the same group of friends that they meet with weekly for a bridge game, dinner, and gossip. No doubt my name will be on the list to talk about tonight. Probably the first on the list if I was guessing.

As if my mom just notices that I’m spaced out, she tells me, “Lacy, you absolutely have to go.”

“But Mom—” I start.

“You can’t hide from Trent Keller forever. It’s better to just rip the Band-Aid off,” my mother challenges me.

I thought I’d have time to settle in before even facing the idea of having to see Trent, but it looks like my mother is planning to throw me to the wolves.

My only hope is that maybe Trent won’t be there tonight. At one time, years ago, he played on the Forest Grove Slammers, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be there tonight. Surely the ranch keeps him busy.

All I can hope is that I can turn the picture on and then leave. Surely, that will not give me any time to run into Trent.TrentI hadn’t planned on coming back to town for the Picture in the Park event, but since Lacy is back in town and the B&B usually sponsors the baseball team that’s putting it on, I hoped that I’d see her there.

Jason for all his gossiping hasn’t found out if she is returning with a boyfriend, fiancé, or husband.

Surely I would’ve heard if she’d been married. Someone would have told me. I don’t know what I’ll do if she is dating someone else, but I know I have to talk to her.

I purchased the picnic blanket spot right next to the projector after I asked the baseball coach where the B&B folks were going to be seated. The spot that is right in front of me is reserved for Lacy’s family, but it remains vacant even when the announcements begin.

I talk to a few of the people passing by, but it’s probably obvious to everyone that I’m not in the mood to chat because they don’t stay long.

Disappointment weighs me down, and I consider swinging by the B&B to say “Hi,” but I know Lacy’s father has never forgiven me for breaking Lacy’s heart. I have seen her mother plenty of times since then, and she’s gone out of her way to hug me and talk to me, so I’ve always wondered if maybe she has a more clear picture of what exactly happened between Lacy and me. The way she treats me, I’m almost sure she does.

The announcements continue, and as the coaches for the Slammers are thanking the Forest Grove B&B, I finally see Lacy arrive just in time to push the button and start the film.

I can hardly breathe. She’s even more beautiful than she was as a teenager. Her body is curvy, womanly, and filling out the sundress she’s wearing. A jolt of something that feels like electricity goes all through me, and I can feel my cock lengthening in my jeans. I can’t take my eyes off her, and when her brown doe eyes collide with mine there are flashes, like a movie replaying, of her in my arms, under me in bed and her body wrapped by mine. I don’t even have to think about it to remember the feel of her soft skin, her sweet kisses, and the sounds she made when we made love. I’m not seated more than four feet from where she’s standing, but it’s not close enough.

She looks surprised and not moving, so I stand up and take her hand, leading her to come sit on the blanket I have spread out. Lacy’s expression is blank, making it so difficult to know where she is emotionally when it comes to me.

I smile anyway. “It’s so good to see you, Lacy.”3LacySay something! Anything!

Walking into the event tonight, I wasn’t ready to see the town. I stayed hidden in the shadows until they’d called the B&B’s name, and then I went to the projector to hit the button while everyone applauded. My plan was to be in and out. I was trying to avoid seeing people, especially Trent Keller. Never did I imagine that he would be front and center and actually seek me out. Especially with half the town in the audience.

Trent has always been handsome and fit. Seeing him as a fully developed man with chiseled features and that deep tan that makes his blue eyes look like they belong to an angel renders me speechless. He’s got a short, scruffy beard, and my hands are itching to reach out, touch it, and feel it under my fingers or, God help me, between my thighs.