Cross Ties (Swamp Heads, #5)

by Esther E. Schmidt

  “A date?” I squeak, and dammit...the pencil I was holding breaks in two.

  “Yes, a date...for starters. Look,” he releases a deep sigh and reaches for his backpack.

  He pulls something out of it and places it in my hands. It’s an amazing clutch and I can tell he’s worked so hard on this piece. That’s right, I recognize his handy work. We would always share the same passion, crafting from wood.

  “It’s gorgeous.” I whisper, letting my fingers travel over the tiny details he put in there.

  “I made it for,” He plows a hand through his hair and I can tell he’s struggling to find the right words. “Two of my brothers and both my sisters knew who their soulmate was the second they laid eyes on them. Soulmate, love at first sight, call it what you want. It runs in the family...kinda like a tradition. Though I’ve always known there was only one for me. When I made that clutch, I had you on my mind...so yeah...I made it for you.”

  I’m staring at the clutch. Unable to meet his eyes. Couldn’t he just have said that he made it for me? Without saying anything about soulmates, love at first sight, his family, and how he knew there was one for him...me. Just how I always saved myself for him. I chose him, even if that meant to leave him behind and never see him again...I still chose him. Yet again, a tear slides down my cheek. I’m turning into a mushy wreck at every turn.

  “I wanted to tell you so many times I love you more than a friend too. But I was so scared.” I direct the words to the clutch, still not able to face him.

  Like all those years ago, I’m still afraid to see his reaction. Even though he said it first, even after all these years. All of the things that changed between us and all those years apart. With everything going on...and yet my feelings for him are rooted deep and have never faded.

  “We have all the time now, Laudy. There’s a gap we need to close as it is...with all the years apart and the stuff that’s going on. It’s good we both feel the same way so we can move forward. Now come on, get your ass back on this couch next to me so we can watch the ending of this movie and head to bed afterwards.”

  “I told you to stop ordering me around,” I squawk before I realize what he said. “I’m not gonna dive into bed with you!”

  His chuckle flows through the room, prickling my skin. “There’s only one bed. But don’t worry, it’s big enough for the two of us. We’ve slept in one bed together before without doing anything else but sleep, remember?”

  Oh, I remember all right. The last time we were in bed together he was tickling the shit out of me and it ended with him hoovering over me, the both of us staring at each other...that was when I almost spilled my feelings.

  Tickles...I gave him that nickname for a reason. Every chance he got he would tickle the shit out of me. Dammit. Why did he have to tell me back at his parents’ house that he tickles a whole different way? And why am I thinking about this now?

  Our eyes lock and it’s as if he sees my train of thought. A sly smile spreads his face. Yeah, I’m so not going to sleep in one bed with this man.

  Chapter 07

  ***Zeke***

  I don’t mind doing the dishes. She offered to do it since I cooked but I damn well know she was going to use it to delay getting ready for bed. I told her to just grab a shower instead. We made a lot of headway today with the both of us admitting we felt more for each other than just friends all those years ago.

  For me that’s something solid. Man, do I wish things were different. We not only lost all those years but I can’t seem to wrap my mind around the fact it was my brother who sent her away...away from me. I brought the envelopes he put in the locker with me, but I still haven’t read them.

  I hate saying it but I’m actually afraid to. What if the letter says something that makes me see Laudy through different eyes again? I just got over my raw feelings of her coming back into my life after leaving. I just couldn’t take another hit like that. And for fuck’s sake...what the hell was my brother thinking running her out of our hometown and dropping her at the airport, and giving her cash to get her ass on a plane?

  Right now, I choose not to care. Right now, all I need is a hot shower to wash it all away and to share a bed with a person that means a whole helluva lot, and who I’ve missed more than words can describe. Making a quick round to make sure everything is locked up tight, I stroll into the bedroom. Laudy comes out of the bathroom at the same time.

  Her hair is wet from the shower she just took and she’s wearing hot pink pineapple pajama shorts that make her legs look long and delicious. And the way her tits are hugged by a matching pink tank top is really making my dick hard. Her nipples are saluting me through the thin fabric and she’s most definitely not wearing a bra. Everything about her is taunting me, inviting, making me want to swoop her off her feet and make her mine...but I can’t.

  I damn well won’t. Because I’ve got my mind set on making her mine the right way. Like every masterpiece I’ve created. I used to grab a chunk of wood, start immediately and see how I sculpt it into something.

  But nowadays I spend time to really see how the raw piece has the ability to turn into something more. That’s what I’m doing. When I see Laudy, I see everything. Every possibility. That’s why I’m not rushing anything. Because what we have together is going to be built on a solid foundation.

  Her eyes slide to dick level and they widen at the way the front of my jeans are tenting. “I can’t hide the way you obviously make me feel, Laudy. But I promise nothing is going to happen tonight. Well, nothing more than the both of us getting into bed together to get a good night sleep that is. So, dive in while I take a quick shower, okay?”

  She slowly scurries toward the bed while I disappear into the bathroom. I take my time showering, allowing her the time to doze off to sleep. When I stroll back into the bathroom with a towel wrapped low around my waist, I can tell she’s pretending to be asleep. How do I know? No one sleeps with a tight grip on the sheet. Not with your knuckles all white and your body as rigid as she’s got going on.

  That right there fuels my intentions. I was going to grab some boxers from my backpack, but with seeing her like this...all tightened up? I see no need to hide myself. I never sleep with boxers on so why start now? The corner of my mouth twitches as I drop the towel and slide underneath the covers.

  I tug my arms underneath my pillow and stare at the ceiling. It’s fucked up that I’m smiling the way I am, the wound on my shoulder still stings as a reminder someone tried to kill her, and yet I can’t help the feeling of content flowing through me. She’s right there next to me in this bed. Not dead and gone how all my nightmares ended.

  Good thing my hands are buried behind my head because I’m itching to reach out and pull her close. We’ve slept in the same bed many times. As friends, doing homework, spending time watching movies, whatever. But as grownups, knowing we could fuck? Knowing we both have had more feelings than friendship, back then and now? Yeah...I suddenly understand the way her hands had tightened on the sheets.

  “For fuck’s sake.” I mutter and reach for her. She squeals as I turn her over and plaster her against my side. “Our bodies might have changed but we’re no strangers, Laudy. Just relax and go sleep.”

  She goes slack and actually sighs in content as she rubs her cheek over my bare chest. Damn, that feels good.

  “Night, Tickles,” she says with a smile lacing those words.

  “Night, ma chèrie,” I murmur against her hair as I place a kiss on the top of her head.

  Yet with the feel of her body against me, I already know I won’t get any shut eye. We’re never promised a tomorrow, so I might as well revel in today. And right now, having this woman close...might just be the most perfect moment I’ve had in years.

  I feel Laudy slipping away into a deep sleep. As I suspected, I can’t find the sleep I need. My mind is running in circles, going over everything and I still come up empty about why, how, and what my brother has to do with all of this. An unsettling feeling r
ises up in my gut and causes me to slide out of bed and pulling on a pair of sweatpants.

  I grab my backpack and dive deep. I tucked the two envelopes into a tiny bag and made sure they were at the bottom. Now that I have them in my hands, I still have doubts whether to read them or not. Fucked-up, I know. After another moment or two I make the decision and I start to open the one that says Claudette.

  Glancing over my brother’s handwriting he basically tells me that he’s located Claudette and that she’s working in a small shop in Amsterdam where she also sells her woodwork. He ordered a sample for me to see if it’s really her work but there’s a last line in there where he says he contacted her and asked her to return home.

  Dammit. If only I’d read the fucking letter sooner, or hell...why didn’t Roscoe call to tell me this? My mind is still spinning when I place the letter on the table and open the other one. Roscoe always writes a short note about regular things, if he’s okay or if there’s something he wants to know about the family. Common things, chit chat...but this note isn’t that, it’s more like he’s saying goodbye...or rather...what the hell?

  “Hey,” Laudy’s soft, sleepy voice flows through the room. “Can’t sleep?”

  I hold out the letter. “The day you came back...when I ran to our tree house, I had just opened a package I got along with two letters. I didn’t open the letters, only the package that contained the pencil case you made. I was choking on my emotions so I ran out of the house, then there you were...I couldn’t handle it and I ended up not reading the letters. Until now.”

  “What do they say?” Laudy questions tentatively.

  I hand her both and she reads them over. First the one about her, then the one from Roscoe, making her eyes go wide. “Please tell me this is not some kamikaze suicide note. Because it sure seems like an admittance, plan of action, whatever...but it sounds so final and yet he doesn’t give any details.”

  “I have the same feeling. Why else would he say it was something he should have done the day he came to your house? Cleaning up this mess once and for all? And for fuck’s sake...even if it takes my last breath, I’m good with it? It doesn’t make sense.” I tug my beard in an effort to think things through but this shit is as confusing as a ballerina dancin’ on mud.

  “Do you think he used me as bait?” Laudy’s voice quivers and fuck...I think she might be right.

  Fury boils inside me. “That scumbag. Oh, it will cost him his last breath alright. Brother or not, when I get my damn hands on him...”

  “Hey,” Laudy wraps her arms around me, hugging close. “I’m here because of him too, remember that.”

  Even if that’s true, I can’t see past my brother’s intention. But the bottom line is...nothing makes sense. I hug Laudy even closer, having her in my arms is practically the only thing that does feel how things should be.

  “Come on, let’s get some sleep, all of this will still be here tomorrow. Maybe we can ask your brothers to have a look at the letter? Or we’ll talk some more tomorrow, something, anything.” She presses.

  I let her guide me toward the bedroom. With red cheeks she quickly diverts her eyes when I slide my sweatpants down. My nakedness doesn’t stop her from snuggling close to me. Her finger is making circles on my chest while we’re reminiscing.

  Suddenly she pushes up and asks, “Did anyone ever hear anything from Leroy?”

  Leroy. Just like Laudy and I were friends, Leroy was her sister’s best friend. He disappeared about a week before her family was killed.

  “No. His grandma died about six months after Leroy disappeared. No one ever heard anything from him. The sheriff said he might have gotten lost in the swamp or left town to search for something better in the city.”

  I never gave it any thought till now, and to be honest...no one did. He was kind of a loner. Well, he and Laudy’s sister were always together, when she wasn’t on a date with Beau that is. Leroy was a good dude, no one never said a bad word about him. He was always helping his grandma around the house, making sure she was cared for.

  “Did you know he told my sister he loved her? Like...like us...how we did just now?” Laudy asks.

  Confusion hits me. “Like us? But your sister was dating Beau.”

  Laudy settles back on my chest. “Yeah. She was shocked. I remember her telling me all of this as if it was yesterday. Even more because I felt the same way about you and I saw what happened with her and Leroy. She told both Leroy and Beau she wanted time to think. Leroy was gone, vanished without a trace...that made it so much harder for her, she regretted it because she told me herself that she loved Leroy the same way...but she couldn’t just drop Beau like that. Even if Beau and Geraldine only started dating for about three weeks before Leroy told her about his feelings.”

  “She went back to Beau because Leroy left?” I question.

  “I don’t know. She didn’t want to talk to me about it. I thought she was still thinking things over because she wanted to wait for Leroy to come back but then...then,” Her voice wavers.

  “Then she died,” I state and rub her back, silently telling her she doesn’t have to finish her sentence.

  Damn. That makes me feel even more shitty for Beau. And even as hard for Laudy because we had the same feelings but they were unspoken. She had her sister’s example of friends getting their feelings out in the open and then look what happened.

  “I’ve had my own company for years, did you know?” I question, in an effort to change topics.

  “No,” She pushes up again to look in my eyes. “I avoided checking up on you. It was just too hard...but that’s amazing. Do you have a website? Because you also sell through the shop, right? That’s why you brought all that stuff over for Elsie to put on the shelves, huh?”

  “Yes. I make stuff I like to make and sell it at the shop at the gator farm. Though through my website they can place a direct order. I love it. It gives me the freedom I need to do what I want and like and support myself along with it.” I state proudly.

  “I’m happy for you.” She gushes and moves forward to place a kiss on my cheek but I clearly see what her intentions are so I turn just in time to catch her lips with my mouth.

  A little gasp escapes her, allowing me to swirl my tongue against hers. The moan that rips from the back of her throat spurs me on. My fingers dive into her hair so I can pull her closer and guide her head to deepen the kiss. The flames of the kiss grow into an inferno as she straddles me to take control into her own hands.

  Chapter 08

  ***Laudy***

  Kissing is most definitely a nice way to pass the time. Even more when my whole body lights up because of it. The feel of his beard against my skin, his hands roaming my body, the way he groans into my mouth. It’s everything about this man that spurs me on to obtain more. So much more. And by the feel of his dick trapped between our bodies, it’s exactly what he craves too.

  When I left, I thought Roscoe would have told him everything, and that I had no choice. Like how Roscoe explained everything to me...but clearly, he didn’t. No wonder Zeke reacted the way he did when I came back. Then reading the letters just now, and how he saved me from a bullet, while he was still angry with me I might add. Right now, it’s us. Just us and our connection that clearly surpassed the point of friendship.

  Zeke grips my hips and grinds me harder against him. “You feel so good, ma chèrie. So. Good. All these years with nightmares...not wanting to sleep...afraid to close my eyes...I would always try to avoid the bad dreams and start with thinking of something that would make me happy. Something that would be worth dreaming about. This was it, Laudy. Finally having you, being able to touch you the way I crave you. All of you. I never got the chance. Every night I would lose you all over again. Please tell me I’m not dreaming right now. Tell me the nightmare is over, that you’re really here and that I won’t ever lose you again.” The emotion and fear that cracks through his words tug at my heart.

  “I thought Roscoe would explain it all to you. I
had no idea.” Dammit, why do my tears keep falling around this man?

  “That makes the both of us, Laudy. Now give me your mouth again. Now that I have you, I ain’t ever letting go. I intend to make every second of our life count.”

  Zeke sits up and rolls us over so he’s now hovering over me. My vision is blurry from the tears and my glasses are on the bedside table, and yet I see him clearly for the first time. My fingers slide along the side of his face, his neck, up into his hair while we both stare at each other. Both very aware of the shift in our relationship along with the sexual desire crackling in the air that surrounds us.

  Slowly Zeke sits back and starts to slide off my pink pineapple shorts, my top quickly following. The tender, yet fierce emotion flowing through his eyes is something that I’ve never seen, and it’s all directed at me. Within this moment he makes me feel as if I’m the most valuable person in the world...one he needs to possess and claim, to make sure this is as precious and real as life gets.

  “So damn beautiful,” he murmurs, more to himself than to me.

  Fingertips are sliding around my breasts, pinching my nipples to hard peaks before they slide over my stomach, making me quiver underneath his touch. Inching forward, his mouth is now a breath away from my pussy. I want to keep watching him but when his tongue laps lazily over my clit, my eyes roll into the back of my head as my back arches up. Holy hell that feels good.

  I’m fisting the bedsheets where I would rather be holding Zeke’s head in a tight grip. It’s like he’s teasing me or exploring what feels good to me when in fact everything he does makes my body react in a way I’ve never experienced. I can feel one of his fingers sliding inside me. A groan rumbles from deep within his throat, making it vibrate against my pussy.