Page 71 of Searching for Bristol
“Not at all,” Rocky told her, eagerly cutting a piece of tender chicken. “Protein bars have nothing on this. Now…your day?” he asked.
He loved how normal it felt to listen to Bristol talk about hanging out with Lilly and everything she’d done while he was gone. He was glad she’d been able to get out and made a mental note to thank Lilly for realizing she might be nervous, since this was the first search he’d been called out on since she’d been here.
“And…I should probably tell you, because I’m guessing nothing is a secret in Fallport for long. I had Lilly drive me around today, so I could get a better feel for where things were…and to see what kind of houses are for sale.”
Rocky froze with his fork halfway to his mouth as he stared at Bristol. “What? Why?”
Bristol shrugged and blushed. “I like Fallport. A lot. Everyone’s been so nice and welcoming. I know it’s not always that way, and eventually some people will show their true colors. But spending time at the festival, hanging out with Lilly and Elsie, getting to know Finley, Khloe, Sandra…and everyone else…I like it here. I haven’t been here that long, but Fallport already feels more like home than Kingsport ever did.”
Rocky’s heart was thumping hard in his chest. “You want to move here?” he asked, wanting to make sure he was hearing her correctly.
“Well…yes. If you don’t mind?” she said, a little uncertainly.
It was a good thing he was mostly done eating before she’d sprung this tidbit of information on him. Rocky pushed his chair back and took the single step it required to get to her side.
“Rocky?” she asked—before he leaned over and picked her up.
She let out a little shriek, but threw an arm around his shoulder and didn’t protest as he carried her to the couch. He sat, holding her on his lap as he buried his nose into the space between her neck and shoulder.
It took him a moment to gain his composure. He inhaled her scent, wanting to imprint her on his psyche, then lifted his head to meet her gaze.
“If I don’t mind?” he said. “Bristol, there’snothingI want more than to move you to Fallport. I didn’t want to bring it up yet because I didn’t want to freak you out. I was going to give you some more time, and when you eventually talked about going back to Kingsport, I was planning on bringing up the fact that you could make your art here just as easily as you could in Tennessee. If that didn’t work, I was going to recruit Lilly and the others to help me convince you.”
She smiled shyly. “I didn’t freakyouout?” she asked.
“Not even close, Punky,” he said firmly. “We’ve got something special here. I might not completely understand how it happened so fast, but I’m not upset that it has.”
“Me either,” she said.
“Did you find anything?” Rocky asked.
“Not yet. But I’m guessing that if I talk to a realtor, they might know about more properties than we could find by driving around.”
“Right. And you’re going to need a good-size workshop. So a barn or something. Too much land won’t be good, because then you’d have that upkeep, but a few acres wouldn’t be bad. And you need an attached garage. They’re safer, especially if you’re living on some acreage,” Rocky said, his mind spinning with ideas.
Bristol put a hand over his, which was resting on her thigh. “Breathe, Rocky. I don’t have to buy anything immediately…unless you’re eager to get rid of me.”
“No!” he blurted. “Not at all.”
“I mean, I’d understand. I know I’ve been here longer than you probably thought I would be when you volunteered to let me stay.”
“I love having you here. It’s wonderful to come home to you instead of an empty apartment.”
They smiled at each other for a beat.
“You’re really going to move to Fallport?” he asked softly.
Bristol nodded. “I don’t know when, because I don’t want to rush, and I want to find the perfect place. But yeah…I think I am.”
“Best homecoming ever,” Rocky sighed. “I won’t lie. Last night and todaysucked. It’s been a while since we’ve been on a hunt like this one. The guy we were after was a piece of shit, but he wasn’t a novice when it came to being out in the woods.”
“But you got him.”
“We did. He wasn’t happy about it either,” Rocky admitted. “Even tried to scare us by throwing around all sorts of threats.”
Bristol frowned. “Threats?”
He nodded. “But it was obvious he was just spouting off. He’s on his way to Roanoke, to the jail there, it’s more secure than the local one. He’s gonna have a heap of charges after what he did to his stepdaughter and for running from the cops.”
