With Abandon: With or Without, Book 4

Abandon
    satellite. My dad put in bigger water heaters a few years back. My mom is trying to talk my dad into
    installing a heated floor in their bathroom.”
    “Whoa,” Matt said once again as they drove around the side of the house toward the detached garage.
    “I can’t believe you grew up here.”
    “Sometimes I can’t believe it either. It used to be a cotton plantation and my family’s sole means of
    revenue.”
    “When did it stop being a working plantation?” Matt asked.
    Aubrey smiled. He could talk about Reynolds Hall all day long. “In the late 1800s. My great-great-
    grandfather built The Buchanan to supplement income from Reynolds Hall after the Civil War. Eventually, the hotel made more money than the cotton, so Reynolds Inc. was formed and more hotels were opened.”
    “Why are the hotels called The Buchanan? Why not the Reynolds?”
    “Buchanan was my great-great-grandmother’s last name.” Aubrey pulled around back, waiting for
    Matt to get his first sight of the big weeping willows along the creek. He’d always loved laying out on the bank looking up into the willow trees. There was a big Spanish moss-draped oak, like out front, that was perfect for jumping into the water. This time of year there would be fireflies at night and crickets and cicada serenading you in the moonlight. Aubrey stopped, put the car in park on the side of the house and pushed the ignition button off. “Come on.”
    Matt got out and met Aubrey around the driver’s side.
    “Follow me.” He had the urge to grab Matt’s hand and pull him but didn’t. Shoving the car door shut,
    he took off running across the grounds.
    Laughing, Matt gave chase.
    Aubrey laughed too, hurrying past the back of the house, the rose garden and gazebo.
    Matt exclaimed “Whoa” again, over the garden fountain Aubrey assumed, but he didn’t stop. The
    clicking of their heels sounded on the cobblestones, then there was nothing as the path turned into lawn again. The clean country air was addicting. Had it been a month since he’d been here last?
    “Where are we going?” Matt asked as he caught up.
    Pointing to his favorite tree, Aubrey slowed his pace. They stopped a foot away from the creek.
    “Oh my God, it’s beautiful.”
    Aubrey shook his head and stepped in front of his mate. “You haven’t seen beautiful yet.” Resting his
    hands on Matt’s shoulders, he urged him to turn around. “This is the best view.”
    Matt gasped.
    The back of the house looked nearly identical to the front, with the wraparound upper and lower
    colonnade, but from this point of view the profusion of red, pink, yellow and white roses added to the
    splendor. Between the house and the jessamine-and-jasmine-covered gazebo sat the fountain. Its spilling water competed with the lullaby of the running creek. Past Aubrey’s car and a silver Jaguar—how had he

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    missed that? And who did it belong to?—was the south pasture where all six of their horses grazed beyond the whitewashed wooden fence. Aubrey peered around Matt to see his expression.
    His mouth opened and closed. A serene smile spread over his lips. He was beautiful. “I think I see why you and Keaton talk about this place like it’s a living, breathing person.”
    Aubrey just stared, unable to look away from the peaceful expression on his mate’s face. Aubrey
    rubbed Matt’s back. He wished he could give Reynolds Hall to Matt. To present it to him as his dad had
    when he’d brought his mom here for the first time.
    “Thank you,” Matt whispered, “for sharing this with me.”
    “Wait till you see it tonight.”
    “It’s better seeing it as a wolf?”
    “No, just different.”
    Matt nodded absently, still taking in his surroundings. He touched Aubrey’s hand on his shoulder and
    stepped back, turning.
    They were too close to the creek. “Matt. Wai—” Aubrey lost his footing and fell backward. He landed
    on his butt with a splash.
    Matt’s arms flailed, he gulped in a startled breath and landed in Aubrey’s lap. His upper body
    slammed into Aubrey’s chest, and his head hit Aubrey’s forehead, knocking them both flat on their backs.
    Unfortunately, the water dropped off after the first foot, and they went ass over teakettle into the waist-high creek.
    Aubrey came up rubbing his head, laughing. When was the last time he’d done something so
    graceless as to end up fully clothed in the creek?
    Popping up about six feet away,