by Claire Adams
My body was on a high that I had never felt before. Could it really be this easy? I heard his truck when it pulled into the drive. I walked outside to greet him and smiled when he walked over, pulling me against him.
“Hey, you,” I laughed as he nuzzled me.
“Hey yourself,” he said against my neck. He lifted me and then turned and walked to the chair on my front porch sitting down and perching me on his lap. He pulled my back against his front, and we sat there watching as the sun dipped below the trees.
“You hungry?” I asked as I tried to turn in his lap.
“Yes,” he growled playfully.
“I meant for food,” I added. “I threw some stuff in the crock pot earlier.”
“I suppose that will do,” he teased and lifted me before dropping me to my feet. I opened the door and headed into the kitchen. Lifting the lid to check the tenderloin, Luke peered over my shoulder.
“Smells amazing.” He kissed my neck before opening the cabinet, pulling two glasses out and setting them on the counter. He filled them with ice and then found my water pitcher in the fridge, pouring us each a glass. I pointed to the bottle of wine on the counter, and he smiled.
Once I had the brown rice out of the microwave, I put some of the shredded chicken over it, and added some broccoli to the side. I had tried to cook something that was good but also workout friendly. Luke smirked at me when I put his plate on the table. I took the glass of wine he offered and walked around to the other side and sat down.
“This is nice. To future dinners.” He lifted his glass, and I clinked mine against it. We chatted as we ate, just enjoying it. Luke stood and went to get more after he cleaned his plate.
“Ryan is going to be mad if you don't leave any for him,” I stated.
“He’s with Cindy. I doubt we’ll see him tonight.”
“I thought they were off.”
“They were, just like they were last year and the year before.”
“Oh.”
“I think Ryan likes her but is scared to commit. She said no, he freaked out, and now he is trying to be good.”
“Weird.” I joked as I stood and took my plate to the sink.
“You think?” He laughed and walked behind up behind me. “I think this is pretty weird too,” he said softly in my ear.
I turned as his arms landed on the counter top, caging me in.
“And why is that?” I asked before kissing his beard covered chin. I had never been with a man that had longer hair and a full beard, but damn it worked for him.
“I don't know. It just is.” He smiled and then kissed me softly. The wine had heated my body, and I leaned into him.
“Maybe it's just us. Maybe we are weird,” I said.
“Maybe so.” He laughed then pulled back away from me. He refilled his wine glass and walked toward the door.
“Come on.” He waved me toward the door. I picked up my wine glass and followed him out. He handed me his glass and then walked toward the shop, pulling a chair out. He sat it in front of me then sat down. He patted his lap inviting me, and I curled into him. He took his glass from my hand and wrapped his other arm around me.
“Sunsets now stars?” I asked as I lifted my glass to my mouth.
“It's been a really good day,” he chuckled.
“Oh really?” I looked up at him. The smile on his face was breathtaking, maybe the best one I had ever seen.
“Waking up with you was the highlight of my year, maybe the last ten years.”
“Well, when you win the title later this year, I'm sure it will top last night.”
“I don't think anything will ever top that.” He kissed the top of my head. I wanted to smile along with him, but I was inexperienced and even though I felt like it had been good, I was sure he’d had better.
“What are you thinking about? Your face is all scrunched up.”
“Nothing. Just about last night and this morning.”
“I've thought about it all day. I may have even made Ryan a little jealous.”
“How?”
“Because I wouldn't talk about it at all. He was so mad at me,” he laughed.
“You didn't tell him anything?”
“Nope.” I felt his chest moving as he chuckled.
“Why not?”
“Oh no.” He lifted my chin toward him. “That is between me and you.”
“I'll probably tell Rachel.”
“That's fine. But I don't want Ryan thinking about you naked.”
“That seems like a legit reason,” I teased.
“It is.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Luke
I carried her up to my bed and laid her down after she fell asleep on my shoulder. I pulled the cover over her and then climbed in behind her. I thought about the last two days and how I felt about her. I didn’t remember ever wanting something so much. She snuggled into me, and I pulled her closer, listened to her breathing even out, and fell asleep myself.
“Good morning!” I heard yelled from downstairs.
“Yeah,” I called back.
Emmy groaned against my chest. “I think I'm going to start sleeping at my house. He is way too loud.”
I chuckled and then kissed her forehead. “Won't matter.” I pushed away from her and stood rubbing my eyes and then stretching my hands over my head. I heard Ryan coming up the stairs, and I stood and pushed the door shut.
“Oh, it's like that now?” Ryan complained.
“What if she was naked,” I said through the door.
“Nothing I haven't seen before,” Ryan said seriously. I looked over my shoulder when Emmy laughed.
“It isn't funny.” I stalked toward her.
“It is, actually.” She laughed again. I jumped on the bed and kissed her hard. Her laughter broke through the kiss.
“He doesn't get to see you naked, Em.” I smiled and then pushed off the bed again.
“Why Em now?”
I sat on the bed and took her hand in mine.
“It just seemed intimate before. I can call you Emerson if you want me to.”
“Uhh. No. I like it.” She smiled and sat up. “Sorry I fell asleep on you last night.”
“I'm not.” I stood and went to the bathroom. I brushed my teeth and ran some water over my hair just to try and make it lay down.
“I have to run into town after we workout. I should be back later this afternoon.” She nodded and then pulled the covers over her head.
“I've got to hit the woods today.” Her voice was muffled as she spoke.
“Be careful.” I reached the bed, pulled the covers back, and kissed her. “See you later.”
***
“You're going to cut your foot off, asshole,” Ryan yelled from behind me. I was a little distracted and probably shouldn't have been swinging an ax at the moment.
“What the hell, man?” Ryan complained. I shrugged and hopped down from the log. My mind was totally on the fact that Emmy was in my bed and I wasn't.
“She’ll be there later.” Ryan pointed toward my half of the house. Ryan was annoyed, and it showed.
“Are you jealous?” I asked him.
“Yes,” he answered honestly. “I always got the women, and even though I sent her here for you, I'm green with envy. She’s amazing. And you guys are disgusting.” He shoved my arm and then laughed. I raised my eyebrows at him.
“You sent her here for me?”
“Of course I am going to take all the credit. I am the best at getting girls and apparently getting them for you as well. Glad you took this one though. I've been trying to get you one for years.” He laughed. I laughed too.
“She's pretty great, I'll admit that. Thanks.”
“Don't get all sappy on me, but your first child should be named Ryan.”
“Noted.” We walked around the front of the house, our workout forgotten, and headed into town to get some work done at the lumber mill.
Emmy was on her way out to the woods when we got bac
k about one.
“You finally get up, lazy butt?” Ryan teased her.
“Yeah, figured I would get some work done!”
“I'll cook tonight.” I pulled her against me and kissed her quickly before letting her go.
“I'll be back in a couple of hours.” She pulled her bag over her shoulder and walked out toward the woods. Ryan and I went about moving wood around in the shop to make room for the table I needed to make for someone in town. He helped me sand most of it and get it to a point where I could stain and seal it.
“What time is it? I'm starving.” I looked up at the old Budweiser clock that hung in the shop, and it showed it was after seven. My first thought was I needed to get dinner started and my next was why hadn't Emmy popped in when she came back from the woods. We cleaned up and closed up the shop, dragging chairs out into the yard so we could sit around the fire barrel after dinner.
“Emmy?” I called into her house. She didn't answer, so I walked in and looked around. I didn't see her, so I went upstairs. She wasn't in the house, and I started to panic. I yelled for Ryan, and I skidded out of the back door.
“She never came back,” I shouted and ran for my house. I grabbed my shotgun and started toward the woods. Ryan was hot on my heels as we ran through the woods yelling for her as we went. I felt like we ran a hundred miles, but soon enough we popped into the meadow. She wasn't there. I looked in all directions trying to find something of hers, anything.
“I'm going out toward the creek. My phone is in my pocket. Let me know as soon as you find her, or I'll call you,” Ryan said and took off running, his twenty-two in hand. My heart was racing when I tried her number again. It went straight to voicemail.
“Fuck!” I shouted then went the opposite direction of Ryan. I was running and yelling, looking for anything that would give me a clue as to where she might be. My phone dinged, and I immediately pulled it from my pocket.
Called dad, they are on their way.
Ryan
I tried to stay on the path, but I knew Emmy would probably wander off looking for samples. I continued to run east, yelling for her between breaths. I could barely hear Ryan, but he was yelling too.
I turned and started backtracking. She wouldn't have wandered this far, at least I hoped she hadn't. She was more than likely closer to the creek; that's where she’d told me the trees were that had this disease. I turned and started to run a northward circle toward Ryan. the trees were all starting to look alike as I ran, but I knew what direction I needed to go. I ran straight back into the meadow from a different direction, turned, and kept running toward the direction Ryan had gone. I stopped and put my hands on my knees, taking a minute to catch my breath. My adrenaline was pumping, but that wouldn't last long. I heard Ryan yell, and I yelled back, letting him know I was close so he didn't shoot me by accident; loud crashing in the woods usually meant something big was coming at you.
Dad’s here
Heading toward pasture and across the highway
Ryan
I looked at the screen and then shoved the phone back in my pocket. I knew the whole town would be here within the hour if we hadn't found her.
“Have you seen anything?” I asked as I approached Ryan.
“Nothing.” He shook his head. He was bent over trying to catch his breath too.
“Did she have her gun on her?” He asked me
“I don't remember. She usually has it on her hip. I don't know why she wouldn't be carrying it today.”
“Let's hope she did.” Ryan said then turned.
“I'm going to follow the river bank.” I pointed in that direction.
“I'm going to head toward Shannon’s Peak.” He looked back at me. “We’ll find her.”
We looked for almost an hour, and I was starting to lose hope when my phone dinged in my pocket.
Why didn't you tell me about the natural spring on your property?
E
Where the hell are you?
Luke
Excuse me?
E
Where the hell are you?
Luke
I'm at the house, where the hell are you?
E
I lifted the phone to my ear as it rang. I was mad, but when her voice came across the line, I smiled.
“Hello?” she answered.
“Ryan and I realized you weren't back, and we are out in the woods looking for you.”
“I came back to the house.”
“I can see that. Did you not hear us?”
“I've been here for almost an hour,” she said. Ryan and I had been running around the woods for over an hour, and she was sitting at the house.
“We thought you got in trouble. You are never gone for more than a couple hours or so.” I was speaking fast and heading back toward the house.
“I have a gun and a cell phone. I think I got this,” she said into the phone. She sounded a little annoyed at me, but I needed to get my hands on her to make sure that she was okay.
“I'll be there in a minute.” I hung up and ran toward the house. I called Ryan quickly and let him know that she was safe, and then I hauled ass home. I was in a flat run when I got to her steps, and she walked out the door to greet me.
“Jesus, Luke.” She pushed my hair back from my face.
“I thought you were lost or hurt or dead.” I said between the breaths sawing in and out of my mouth.
“Why didn't you just call me?” It seemed logical, but I had tried to call her.
“I did, and it went straight to voicemail.” I shouted without meaning to. “I'm sorry,” I said almost immediately.
“I'm sorry that I scared you.” She leaned forward and kissed my mouth. I caught the back of her head and pulled her against me. She wiggled away and laughed.
“You are gross. Go take a shower.” I reached for her again. “I just got out, and I don't want your sweaty body and dirty hands on me, go.” She pointed toward her house, so I skipped the stairs two at a time and took a quick shower. Luckily, my shirt and a pair of my boxers were on the chair in her bedroom. When I came down the stairs, I pulled her to me and kissed her hard.
“You scared the hell out of me.” I kissed her all over her face.
“You guys are gonna make me puke.” Ryan said as he strolled into the house.
“I sent him to your shower.” She pointed at Ryan and turned back to smile at him.
“Don't ever do that shit again, Emmy.” Ryan walked over and kissed the top of her head. I wanted to pull her away, but I knew Ryan cared about her too.
“I'm so sorry. I never thought about you guys being worried about me.”
“We keep tabs on you most of the time; you just don’t realize it. The longest you have ever been in those woods is two hours and forty-five minutes. When Luke looked up and it was close to seven, I think we both panicked.” Ryan sat at my kitchen table and dropped his hands to his lap.
“I had no idea,” she said apologetically.
“There are too many things out there that could kill you. I've seen bears, bobcats, cougars, mountain lions, and the occasional big mule deer, all of which could be a big problem if you’re alone,” Ryan said.
“I don’t know why my phone didn't work, but thank you for worrying about me.” She hugged Ryan from behind. He stood and turned on her shaking her back and forth.
“Don't. You. Ever. Do. That. Again.” He said as she laughed. I could feel the adrenaline crash, and I was suddenly exhausted and my head was pounding.
“Do you have any ibuprofen?” I stood.
“Yes.” I watched as she disappeared up the stairs.
“You good?” Ryan asked.
“My head is pounding, and I think we may have overreacted.”
“There is never an overreaction when you are dealing with people being alone in these woods.” Ryan pointed out the window.
“I guess you're right.”
When Emmy reappeared, she was carrying several bottles in her hands. “I wasn't sure wh
ich one you would want.” She sat them on the table, and I reached and grabbed the middle one. I was having trouble getting the arrows lined up, so Emmy grabbed the bottle from me, opened it, and poured four caplets in my hand. I watched as she poured some water into a glass before handing it to me. I tossed them in my mouth and swallowed them down with the water. I reached for her and pulled her down and into my lap. I just wanted my hands on her.
“Okay, well that's my cue.” Ryan stood and walked toward her front door. “I'll see y’all tomorrow.” He waved and then disappeared out of the house.
I ran my hands up her sides and nuzzled into her neck.
“Luke, I'm fine. I'm sorry I scared you.” She twisted so we were face to face. Her hands reached up and cupped my cheeks, turning me so I was looking into her eyes. “I will continue to be careful in the woods, I promise.” She pulled my mouth to hers and brushed her lips against mine. The kiss deepened and I gathered her hair in my hand and pressed my mouth closer to hers. I needed to be as close to her as possible, so I stood lifting her in my arms and started up the stairs to her room. Her fingers tangled in my hair, and she gave it a tug as we crossed the threshold into her room. My mouth was on hers when my knees connected with her bed. I sat her gently on the bed and settled myself on top of her.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Emerson
I watched Luke as he walked around my room, water dripping from his skin. His hair had droplets of water that were catching the first rays of sun, and it almost looked like he had tiny diamonds in his hair. He smiled when he caught me watching him.
“You like what you see?” He wiggled his eyebrows at me in a playful manner.
“Ehhh... it’s okay.” I shrugged. He narrowed his eyes at me then pounced on the bed, shaking his wet hair in my face. When the cold water hit, I tried to pull the sheet up and over me, but his knees held it in place.