Southern Seducer (North Carolina Highlands 1)

That’s not my place, though. Even if I could, making a relationship work would be a dicey proposition at best. Between the hours I work and being a single mom, I’m not sure how I could pull it off. Especially long distance.

I can tell myself until I’m blue in the face that Beau and I aren’t meant to be.

My heart, however, has yet to get the memo. Especially when it sees the two most important people in my life making each other giggle.

Which is probably why I invite Beau to take a stroll with Maisie and me after breakfast. I love having him around.

I also love having the help.

If we only have the better part of two weeks together, I’m going to milk the shit out of them. Enjoy the time while I can.

“It’s a good time of day for the baby and me to get out,” I explain. “I’ve been trying to get regular walks and sunshine in. It helps me mentally.”

I’m pleasantly surprised when he agrees. He makes a couple of phone calls while I get ready, then helps me get Maisie and her stroller outside.

“Where to?” I ask.

Beau grabs the stroller—of course—and heads right on the road. It leads away from the main house and the rest of the resort.

“I’ve never been this way.” I slip my hand between his elbow and side. He firms his bicep, holding my hand there. “Hank told me my house was the resort’s eastern boundary.”

Beau keeps his eyes on the road in front of us. It disappears into a leafy tunnel of green up ahead.

“Hank’s right. We own this side of the mountain, but we haven’t developed it yet.”

“Ah. Are we allowed back there?”

“Not technically, no.” At last, he looks at me and grins. “But since you’re sleeping with the owner, we’ll make an exception.”

We walk for a half mile or so in companionable silence. The morning is calm and clear, a hint of the summer warmth to come in the air. Beau pushes the stroller up a hill, then down another as Maisie gazes thoughtfully at the world around her.

Beau points out a hawk, then a squirrel. He says the name of each animal slowly. Maisie is rapt, watching his lips move.

There’s a flutter inside my stomach.

Happiness.

Holy hell, I’m feeling it. Again.

It only lasts a minute. But as we crest yet another hill, the sun in my eyes and on my face, I imagine that a sun’s starting to rise in me.

Saying a little prayer of gratitude for the gifts of Zoloft and a friend who bakes, loves my baby, and is great in bed, I let my mind wander.

It wanders to my job. And how the idea of returning to it makes me feel…not great.

“Penny for your thoughts,” Beau says.

I shake my head. “I was thinking about the bank, actually. My career.”

“What about it?”

“I like my job. I’ve built a solid career at a firm that seems to value what I bring to the table. It’s just—I don’t know. Something’s changed in me since I had Maisie. The fire I had to climb the corporate ladder doesn’t burn nearly as brightly. Granted, that could have something to do with my depression, but deep down, I don’t think it does. I still have ambitions, big ambitions…just not for that kind of future, I guess.”

“That second act you’ve always talked about. Maybe it’s time to start thinking about it more seriously.”

Curling my arm around his—holy shit, I still can’t get over how cool it is that I get to do this—I nod. “I think you’re right. Only thing is, I have no clue where to start.”

“Might be one of those things that just needs to fall into your lap.”

“The striver in me doesn’t buy that idea.”

Beau shrugs. “Think about it as a balance, then. Do your homework. Hit up your network. When the timing is good, the right opportunity will come.”

“Maybe,” I say.

“Definitely,” he replies.

My heart does a neat little backflip when a wide clearing opens up to our right. Smack dab in the middle of it stands a white farmhouse.

It’s gorgeous. Perfectly proportioned with a wide front porch, Victorian detailing around the eaves, and a tin roof. It looks worse for the wear. One of the windows is boarded up, and the roof is littered with branches and dead leaves. But its charm still shines through.

Huge oak trees surround it. The flower beds have been tended to, and by the scent of grass that hangs heavy in the air, I can tell the lawn’s recently been mowed.

I get that feeling again, the one I got driving up to the resort for the first time.

That feeling of summer.

Without thinking, I squeeze Beau’s arm. “This is yours?”

“It’s the house I grew up in.”

Something rough and quiet in his voice makes me glance up at him.