“How old were you?”
“Fourteen. I’ll never forget when my parents gave me my first camera. I hadn’t asked for one, but I used to spend hours going through National Geographic magazines. I remember feeling like those pictures were alive. I wanted to crawl into them and touch everything. It was like the pictures you take. Yours make me want to meet the people and hear their stories. Anyway, when my father put that camera in my hands, it was like he opened a door. I got on my bike that afternoon and came straight here. This is where I fell in love with photography.”
“You rode your bike all this way? My mom would never have let me do that at fourteen.”
“She let you travel without her.”
“Yes, with the woman she worked for and trusted.”
“Well, to be honest, my parents didn’t know until I developed the pictures; then I got my ass handed to me.”
She laughed. “Now, that’s good parenting.”
Flowers gave way to tufts of grass, and the dirt beneath their feet turned soft. Without the cover of greenery, the railroad ties appeared rotted and broken.
Ty put a hand on Aiyla’s back and pointed up ahead, where the thick steel rails of the tracks were twisted and gnarled as they snaked out over a debilitated trestle. “All I wanted was to see this through the lens of the camera.”
“Whoa,” she said. Moonlight glistened off the water like silver in contrast to the rusted, tangled mess that was the railroad tracks. “That’s a beautiful disaster.”
“Right? Well worth being grounded as a kid.” He set their bags and the cooler on the ground, fished out the blanket and spread it out. Then he handed her his camera. “Want to take a few pictures?”
“Do I ever!”
She looked through the lens, but it wasn’t the mangled tracks and conflicting serenity of the water she wanted to see. She focused on Ty as he gazed out at the picturesque view. His hair was pushed back, bringing his handsome face into focus. His thick dark brows made his eyes appear even more intense. She moved around him, taking one picture after another, capturing his surprised expression—and the instant lusty look that replaced it.
He stepped closer, reaching for her, and she stepped back, taking pictures as she went. When he caught her around the waist, her face tipped up, and she caught sight of a house on the hill behind him.
“Ty, there’s a house.”
He carefully lowered the camera and kissed her. “Mm-hm.”
He kissed her neck as she lifted the camera again, peering through the lens, trying to get a better look at the house.
“Who lives there?”
“No one,” he said, continuing to nibble on her like she was dinner. “That’s the house Beau’s renovating. It was abandoned forever before he bought it.”
“There’s a light on inside.”
“Beau must be there,” he said, and kissed her neck. “But I’m right here—”
“Let’s go see it,” she said excitedly, and headed up the hill.
“Why did I have to fall for a woman who loves old things?” he teased as he put a hand on her lower back.
“Because you’d be bored with someone who was predictable, and you know I adore your kisses and I’ll more than make up for it later.” She planted a kiss on his lips. “Promise.”
As the house came into clearer view, her pulse quickened at the spectacularly unique and desperately-in-need-of-love property. “Oh my gosh, look! The porch is round, and look at all the windows! Can you imagine the view they have of the water?”
“Yes,” he said with a laugh. “I have a million pictures taken from the porch. It’s a gorgeous view.”
They circled the small one-story home, admiring the uniqueness of the round porch, which circled the entire house. The paint and siding were chipped, and pieces were missing in some places. The clay-colored cone-shaped roof sagged over the front door, and several enormous picture windows were cracked or boarded up. Brick piers stood beneath aged wooden columns around the perimeter, holding up the porch roof.
“Yup. Beau’s here.” Ty pointed toward a shiny black truck out front.
Aiyla handed Ty the camera. “I have to peek inside. Do you think he’ll let us in?” She peered through the window. “There he is! I see him.”
Beau must have heard her, because he looked right at the window with a fierce expression.
She jumped back. “Oops. He saw me, and didn’t look happy.”
The front door opened and a big man walked out, his jaw tight, eyes serious as they landed on Aiyla. She lifted her hand in nervous wave. “Hi.”
“How’s it going, Beau?” Ty stepped onto the porch, and a surprised smile softened his cousin’s expression.
“Hey, cuz. What’re you doing out this way?”
“I was showing my girlfriend, Aiyla, the old tracks, and she saw your lights on and got curious. Aiyla, this is Beau. Beau, Aiyla.”
Beau nodded at her. “Nice to meet you.”
“You too. Sorry to peek in your window.”
“No, you’re not,” Beau said casually.
Ty laughed. “He’s got you nailed, babe.”
Her nerves eased, and she had to smile at his direct nature. “You caught me. I have a thing for old houses.”
“And mountain climbers, apparently,” Beau said. “Come on in and take a look around.”
“What are you doing out here so late?” Ty asked as they walked inside.
Beau looked down at his dusty shirt and jeans and splayed his hands. “I was gutting the kitchen, but I just finished cleaning up and I was getting ready to leave.” He glanced into the yard. “Did you walk here?”
“We came in the back way and walked along the tracks,” Ty answered.
Aiyla stood in the foyer feeling a wave of nostalgia. The home she’d grown up in was surrounded by woods and about this size, with similar worn hardwood floors, high ceilings, and dark crown molding. Her childhood home didn’t have interior columns like the ones separating the foyer from the two small rooms on either side of the home, but she remembered telling her mother they should knock down the walls. It had become a running joke between them. Whenever Aiyla or Cherise would suggest making a change to anything, her mother would say, We should consult Sledgehammer Sally, which was what her mother called her in those instances.
Smiling at the memory, she admired the room to the right, with a built-in bench that ran beneath two large windows and a built-in bookshelf in the corner. She imagined covering the bench with fluffy pillows and watching the rain fall in the spring, or snow fall in the winter.
“There’s not much to see yet,” Beau said.
“Are you kidding?” she said. “This place is full of character. The house I grew up in was about this size, although it didn’t have a round porch or the spectacular view of a creek. But we did have woods, and I have great memories of playing in them.”
Ty took her hand as they walked into the living room. The floor was covered with tarps and tools, but even with the chaos of refinishing, she could see how beautiful the home could be. A wall of windows faced the creek, and an old stone fireplace sat off to the right between two smaller rooms, which she assumed were bedrooms. Across from the fireplace was what would be the kitchen area.
“This is gorgeous,” she said, taking it all in. “Can you imagine if you put a whole wall of glass doors here and exposed the rafters in the ceiling? You could carry the stone from the fireplace across the wall, maybe throw in a few built-in bookshelves. And that roof over the porch? What a perfect sleeping deck.” She imagined sitting on the porch with Ty, watching the sun come up over the creek.
“A sleeping deck?” Beau said. “I hadn’t thought about that.”
“Really? I’d rather sleep outdoors any day. And with that view, and the sound of the water? People pay a lot of money for sound machines that imitate what you have right here at your fingertips.”
“That’s a great selling point,” Beau said. “I’m flipping this property. Are you a deco
rator? An architect?”
“No. I just love old houses.” She felt Ty’s gaze on her as she walked around. “The open kitchen is wonderful. Please tell me you’re not going to wall it off. This is so cozy and welcoming.”
“Babe.” Ty smiled and shook his head. “Beau’s been doing this a long time. I think he knows what’ll sell best.”
“Oh gosh, I’m sorry,” she said. “I don’t mean to tell you how to do your job. I just got excited.”
“No worries. I’m not going to wall off the kitchen. I think it’s better for entertaining this way.” Beau went to the windows and gazed outside. “And I like your sleeping porch idea.”
“You do?” She joined him by the windows. “I saw one once that had open archways, no screens or anything, but they’d draped one of those mosquito nets around the bed. It was so pretty.”
The three of them walked through each room tossing out design ideas. Ty suggested adding accent lights around the edges of the ceiling if Beau exposed the rafters, and Aiyla imagined how romantic that would look at night. After they’d gone through each room, Aiyla thanked Beau for letting them traipse through.
“Anytime. I’ve enjoyed brainstorming with you. Ty, are you and Graham still planning your climbing trip?”
“Definitely. Aiyla’s coming with us,” Ty said. “Graham’s supposed to be back in town a few days before we leave. We should try to get everyone together for dinner before we head out.”
“That’d be great. Speaking of heading out, I’ve got to get a move on,” Beau said. “Zev is Skyping everyone tonight, and I want to catch up with him before he goes off the grid again.”
“Zev is Beau’s younger brother,” Ty explained. “He’s a treasure hunter, and he travels more than we do.”
“Seriously?” she asked. “Like pirate treasures? What a cool job.”
“Cool, yes, but not often fruitful. I swear he must live on twigs and berries,” Beau said as they walked outside and he locked up. “I’m glad I had a chance to meet you, Aiyla.” He brushed the dust from his shirt and hugged her. “Let me know about dinner, because by the time you get back from your cross-country trip, I’ll be in Colorado renovating the Sterling House.”
“We were just there for the Mad Prix. It’s a gorgeous old inn,” Aiyla said.
“It will be,” Beau said. “I’m on cleanup duty after our cousins trashed the place.”
They talked for a few more minutes, and after Beau left, Aiyla and Ty stood on the back porch gazing out over the creek. It was warm and breezy, and the creek looked inviting.
“Are you hungry?” Ty asked.
“Not really.” She stepped from the porch and pulled off her sweatshirt. “Are there other houses around here?”
He followed her down the hill. “No, not for miles.”
“So…we’re totally alone?”
“As far as I know.”
“Let’s go skinny-dipping!” She limped down the hill, pulling off her shirt and laughing as she tossed it at Ty.
“Skinny-dip—” Her shirt hit him in the face as her bra fell to the ground.
She kicked off her boots and tugged off her socks. “Come on!” she hollered, wiggling out of her shorts and panties. She turned to face Ty, only then realizing he was looking at her through the lens of the camera. Her arms shot across her body. “Don’t you dare!” She turned and ran into the creek.
“Aiyla, wait!”
She tiptoe-ran through ankle-deep water. “Hurry up!” She ran to the middle of the creek and realized she was only in calf-deep water.
Ty doubled over in laughter.
“You knew it was this shallow?” she yelled.
“I tried to tell you.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Ty!”
He took off his shirt and set his camera on it, yanked off his boots and socks, and shimmied out of his jeans and briefs.
Holy frigging hotness. “You’re coming in?”
Six-plus feet of naked Ty Braden strode through the water with a wide grin and a dark look in his eyes. “Damn right I’m coming in, so you’d better be ready.”
“For?” She stepped backward, her pulse quickening as he neared.
“For your man.”
He reached for her and she squealed and darted away, splashing them both. He caught her around the waist and hauled her against him as she shrieked.
“You’re not getting away that easily, my sweet naked girl.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck, feeling his hard length against her belly, and her entire body ignited. “Getting away is the last thing on my mind.”
TY LOWERED HIS mouth to Aiyla’s, kissing her until she rose onto her toes, trying to scale him like a mountain. He lifted her into his arms, smiling against her lips as he carried her to the shore. He’d gone into some sort of a trance inside the house, watching her eyes light up as she’d gone through each room talking about how it reminded her of home and what she’d change. He’d never given a house a second thought, but he began to imagine what it might be like to put down roots with Aiyla, to have a home to come back to and call their own. And when she’d limped down to the water with that sexy smile and sassy attitude, he’d been struck dumb with love.
“You tricked me,” she said happily as he laid her on the blanket.
“No, babe. I was too busy enjoying you to even think about tricking you.”
She lay beneath him, drops of water glistening off her skin as he covered her shoulders and chest with kisses, loving the way she breathed harder with each one. He’d learned her pleasure points, how to tease her and make her go wild. As he ran his tongue around her nipples, over the tips, and lavished each beautiful breast with openmouthed kisses, she squirmed and made those sexy, needful sounds that drove him out of his mind. He followed the curves of her body with his mouth, sinking his teeth into her hip, slicking his tongue along the juncture of her thighs, tasting her sweetness.
“Ty,” she pleaded. Her fingers pushed into his hair, her hips rocking against his mouth.
He wanted her out of her mind with desire. He moved lower, one hand on either side of her injured leg, kissing a path down her thigh, covering every spec of flesh until he reached her shin. His heart ached with the memory of the sadness in her eyes when she’d spoken of her mother’s illness. He reached for her hand, needing to feel even more connected, and held it as he kissed her from shin to ankle, tasting the creek water, and more intensely, the love he had for her. As he kissed his way up her other leg, the scent of her arousal drew him in. He licked and teased her swollen sex until it glistened, and she begged for more. He pushed her thighs open wider, pressing them into the ground as he devoured her, thrusting his tongue in deep, then teasing her with light flicks over her most sensitive nerves. She writhed and moaned, digging her heels into the blanket. He teased her with his fingers and pushed them into her sex, seeking the spot that curled her fingers into fists. He stayed with her, loving her with his mouth and hand until her body shook and bucked, a string of indiscernible, sinful sounds sailing from her lips. Just hearing them nearly pulled him over the edge.
“Need you,” he ground out, overcome with lust and love.
He aligned their bodies, feeling her slick heat against the head of his cock. Wanting to feel her heart beating against his, he cradled her against him as their mouths, and their bodies, became one. Every thrust earned another moan, a claw of her nails. Heat and desire rushed through him, and he fisted his hands in her hair, tearing his mouth away with the need to see her. To see what their love did to her. And it was all right there, in the flush of her cheeks, her heavy breathing, and the alluring mix of white-hot vixen and sweet, loving woman gazing up at him.
He searched for words that could express the depth of his emotions, but his mind was whirling like a tornado, and only one word came: “Forever.”
As their mouths crashed together and their bodies took over, they succumbed to the domination of their love, and as they crested the peak, he knew word
s could never be enough.
They lay together afterward, Aiyla’s sated body draped over his side, her fingers absently drawing circles on his chest. “I like it here,” she said. “It reminds me of home, and of my mom.”
“I’m glad, babe. Can I ask you something about her? If you’d rather I didn’t, I understand.”
She leaned her chin on his chest, her eyes shadowed with sadness again. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you she was sick. For some reason it makes me less sad to say she died of a staph infection than talking about the disease. It was the staph infection that killed her, although if that hadn’t, the cancer would have.”
He rolled onto his side, holding her close. “Does it scare you? Because Jon made it sound like even if you did inherit the mutated genes it doesn’t mean you’ll end up with the disease.”
“It’s not that I’m scared. Her doctors explained all of that to me and Cherise. She suffered a lot, and the cancer took over so fast. It’s not something I like to think about, and it just makes me sad to talk about it, that’s all.”
“I understand. If Nate’s experience with losing his best friend is any indication of the power of grief, then I know it can eat you up if you keep it in and it can tear you apart when you let it out. But with love and support, all those broken pieces can be put back together in a way that they no longer feel like shards of broken glass. We don’t have to talk about how you lost your mom, but if you ever want to, I’m here. And if you break down and cry, or get angry with the world, you don’t have to worry about your broken pieces. I’ll pick up each and every one, and I’ll love them until you’re whole again.”
Chapter Sixteen
SATURDAY ARRIVED WITH sunshine and love in the air, the perfect day for Tempest and Nash’s bohemian-style picnic wedding. Colorful blankets and quilts surrounded the pond, each covered with mismatched, oversized throw pillows Tempest and the girls had bought over the last few weeks. Each blanket included place settings, a picnic basket filled with food, and a small tray Nash had made out of repurposed materials, beneath beautiful floral centerpieces. They’d strung enormous paper flowers from the trees and around the roof of the altar, where Nash and Phillip now stood. They wore matching light gray linen pants and short-sleeved white dress shirts with suspenders, though Nash’s pants were long, and Phillip wore shorts.
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