She broke from the trees into the open meadow where Thad’s cabin was illuminated by the moon and nothing else. No lights shined from inside, but an old truck sat to the side. She parked in front and turned the Jeep off.
Even though the music had been annoying, without it, the night took on an ominous silence. She sat in the driver’s seat and eyed the short distance to the front door. It was nothing. A few seconds walk, even less if she ran.
Yet she couldn’t move. Lead had been injected into her veins, weighting her limbs. Her brain paced out logic. This wouldn’t be a repeat of LSU. No boogeyman would jump from the darkness to hurt her. Thad was counting on her. Not only that, but she was anxious to get to the hospital to touch him, hug him, kiss him. Make sure he really was okay.
If she was to apply theories to the situation with Thad, she might say she had cut herself off from everyone and was starved for any kind of contact, but her textbooks couldn’t explain the way he had planted himself in her heart, sending roots far and deep.
She blew out a long breath, grabbed the golf club, and pushed the door open. The weak interior light kept her in its comforting grasp. All she remembered from the night she’d been attacked was the suffocating darkness and the breathing. Hers and his and then her screams.
The darkness surrounding her now was more like an embrace. It wasn’t silent and scary. The crescendo of bug calls and the throaty croaks of bullfrogs filled the silence, undercut by the constant flow of the river in the background.
She stepped out of the Jeep and closed the door, leaving no protection from the night except for the shaft of steel in her hands. One step followed another, the crunching gravel grounding her. Finally she reached the front door, relief and pride and fear all battling for dominance. She raised her hand to knock—
“Howdy, there.” The male voice came from her right, and she spun to face the threat, the golf club up like a bat. Her whooshing heart was all she could hear now, and terror filled the void.
The threat stood and stepped close enough for the moonlight to reveal his identity. Clayton. Of course it was Clayton, and he’d been sitting on the porch swing watching her the entire time.
“Whoa, there. No need to take my head off. Thaddeus isn’t here. I assumed he was with you, actually.”
This time the terror ebbed faster, and she retained a grasp on the control she’d almost let slip away. Her heart rate slowed, not anywhere near normal levels, but a panic attack wasn’t imminent.
When her voice came, it was rough and emotional, but the words that formed made sense. “He’s been hurt. Asked me to fetch you.”
“How bad? Is he going to die?” Now that she wasn’t focused inward, his worry and fear were clear.
She touched his arm, the muscle strung tight. “No, just stiches. An old lady hit him with a garden hoe.”
After a few beats, his laughter cracked the darkness, sending a bird to flight from the rafters. He retreated to the swing, retrieved a beer, and tipped it up. “You’re going to have to spill the whole story while you drive. That was my fourth beer, and not even having a little brother as police chief would save my bacon if I got pulled over while on probation.”
Honestly, she would be glad for the company. She’d wrestled her fears into submission, and it had felt good, but after facing down Mrs. Cross and her past, her body and mind were wrung out.
“He seemed fine when the ambulance drove off, but Mrs. Cross did give him a good knock to the head.”
On the way, she told him the entire story. Clayton shook his head and tried to stifle laughter. Even Sadie found herself unable to hold back a few giggles, which seemed impossible after the events of the night, but the laughter was like a release valve.
“Damn, Cottonbloom is some kind of town, huh?” Clayton stared out the window, his expression turned serious.
“It sure is. Are you sticking around?” She glanced between him and the road.
“For now. Thaddeus wants me to stay, but I don’t want to complicate his life and stuff.”
The side-eye he shot her made it clear she was Thad’s “stuff.” “Seems to me, both of you have given up a lot for each other. You should stay and get to know each other now that you’re grown-ups.”
She pulled into the small hospital’s parking lot. The nurse-receptionist was expecting them and led them straight back to a small examination room where Thad half sat on the edge of an exam table, his shirt off and a doctor stitching his arm. She hesitated in the doorway, studying him through the crack while he was unaware.
While the area around his arm was clean, blood still streaked one cheek, dried now and almost brown. If anything, Thad looked bored with the process, and Sadie wondered how many times he’d been stitched up.
She pushed the door open. Thad looked up and took both of them in, but his smile was for her as his gaze traveled her body as if she’d been the one injured.
“Everything okay, Sadie?”
His question went deeper than the polite greeting would suggest. Her answering smile came easier than she could have anticipated an hour earlier, and she tried to impart the scope of her feelings in her surface answer. “Everything is fine.”
Their gazes held for a long moment before he gave a sharp nod, seemingly satisfied, then turned his attention to his brother. She tuned out their conversation. Although her eyes told her he wasn’t seriously injured, she needed to touch him, feel the rhythm and warmth of his heart pumping blood thorough his body. She moved to his good arm and stroked her fingers down the smooth skin of his biceps. The muscle jumping was his only reaction.
In a short amount of time, Thad had become important to her. So important the thought of him hurt had tears fighting their way up her throat. This wasn’t just about physical attraction—although their chemistry was like nothing she’d ever experienced—she felt understood for the first time in… well, maybe her life.
The doctor stood and gathered the tray with his instruments. “That should do it, Chief. Try to avoid old ladies swinging garden implements for a while. No telling the amount of damage a rake might do.”
“Har-har. I don’t suppose you could tell people it was an ax-wielding seven-foot biker, could you?”
“Afraid my mama taught me not to lie.” The doctor winked. “Give me a sec to check you out, and you folks can head home and get some rest.”
Now that the doctor was gone, Thad snaked his arm around her and pulled her close. She buried her face in the back of his neck, his hair tickling her lips, her tears conquering another few inches of her throat, making words impossible.
“What do you want to do, bro?” Clayton asked.
“Let’s all head back to the cabin. I’ll get Buzz’s cousin out to fix Sadie’s back door again in the morning. That okay?” He pulled away enough to see her face. She blinked, hoping he couldn’t tell how close she was to breaking down.
He moved toward her as if he’d planned to kiss her but stopped himself short, his brown eyes full of understanding but also sorrow. She would kiss that sorrow away as soon as they were alone.
Chapter Eight
Sadie’s nod had been accompanied by watery eyes, and he wanted nothing more but to kiss those tears away. He’d asked too much of her tonight and was sorry for it. All he could do now was get her home and into his bed so he could hold her the rest of the night. Keep her safe.
He pushed off the exam room table and struggled with his shirt until Clayton stepped in to help. In a low voice, his brother said, “All joking about hoe-wielding little old ladies aside, I nearly had a heart attack when Sadie said you’d been hurt. Glad you’re in one piece.”
Thad stared into his eyes. The same color and shape and dark lashes he saw every morning in the mirror, but the harshness of life’s experiences shadowed Clayton’s eyes. Feeling very much like the younger brother, Thad put his good arm around his brother and gave him a half hug.
“I’m glad you’re home,” Thad said.
“Is Cottonbloom your home now?
No chance of moving back to New Orleans?”
Thad wasn’t sure when Cottonbloom had turned from just a town with a job into his home, but it had. The river had become therapy, and every day seemed to grow his roots deeper. “It is my home, and it could be yours too.”
“We’ll see.” Clayton clapped him once on the shoulder and pulled away. “Let’s scoot.”
Sadie was quiet, but her grip on his hand was strong, and she seemed reluctant to let him go to get into the Jeep. Clayton squeezed onto the backseat, and Thad took the passenger side. The county road was dark, the noise from the wheels soothing.
The numbing shot in his arm was wearing off, and the throb in his head and arm paced the beat of his heart. A soft touch unfurled his fisted hand, and Sadie weaved their fingers. He closed his eyes and let his senses concentrate on her touch instead of the physical pain.
The change from pavement to gravel signaled the approach to his cabin. The lights were off, but a whisper of welcome came from the gurgling river and shush of the wind in the trees.
“You good, bro?” Clayton asked softly on their way inside.
“Yep. I’m going to get cleaned up and then crash.”
With a small, meaningful smile, Clayton glanced over Thad’s shoulder toward the kitchen where Sadie was getting medicine and water together. “I have the feeling you’re in good hands. I’m headed to Rufus’s in the morning to work. I’ll try not to bother you two.”
“Thanks for coming to the hospital tonight.”
“Don’t think you really needed me, but you’re welcome.”
Clayton turned, but before he could take a step, Thad caught his arm. “I do need you. I’ve missed you so damn much. It’s good to have you here.” He couldn’t even blame his overblown emotional outburst on pain medication since he’d turned down anything stronger than ibuprofen. It had been years since he’d had anyone he could count on, and now, all of a sudden, two people had his back.
“I missed you too.” Clayton squeezed his forearm. “Now go and rest up.”
Thad didn’t move until Clayton disappeared behind the spare bedroom door. Sadie was waiting at the bottom of the stairs leading up to his loft bedroom. He popped two ibuprofen and half the water, then they walked in tandem up the stairs.
“This is not how I pictured the night proceeding,” he said.
“I don’t know, in the general sense, we’re headed to bed, which is exactly how I pictured it.” Under the tease, the strain of the night still strung her voice thin.
“At least we identified the perpetrator and should be able keep her contained.”
“I feel sorry for her. Everything important to her is gone except for her memories. And even those have betrayed her.”
“That’s the way it happens sometimes. Things get taken away, and you don’t realize until they’re gone how important they were.” Thad had been taught that lesson time and again over his childhood and didn’t plan on having to learn it with her too. “Give me five minutes to clean up,” he whispered.
He took the fastest shower of his life, taking care with his stitches. The room was dark when he emerged, but there was a Sadie-sized lump under his covers.
“It’s freezing in here.” Her voice was muffled.
He joined her under the covers and started when she burrowed her icy feet between his calves. Her body pressed into his, the softness of her breasts against his chest like receiving a shot of prescription painkillers.
They kissed. Soft touches turned into nips, and soon their tongues tangled. He hadn’t planned on doing anything but hold her close, but plans changed when he ran his hand under her shirt and up her silky back. His body was fully on board with the change, and the way Sadie was squirming to get closer to him signaled her agreement.
Desperation made him clumsy, and he pushed her shirt over her head and pulled her panties down with her help. She circled him with her hand, running her thumb over the tip. His approach to the edge of oblivion was light speed, and it would be easy to let her finish him like this. But that’s not want he wanted.
He grabbed her wrist and pressed her wandering, tormenting hand over her head. The motion pulled at his stitches, but the burning sting only added to the rush of the moment.
“Keep your hands over your head.” The command came out harsher than he intended.
“Yes, sir.” Her breathless agreement turned up the heat of his desire even more.
He trailed a hand down her body, and before he even reached her belly, her hips wiggled and her legs parted. She was wet, and the way she bucked against his hand was a language he instinctively understood.
Still, he had to ask, “Are you ready?”
“Yes, yes, yes.” She pulled at his torso, trying to move him over her, but he rose to a crouch beside her.
“On your hands and knees.”
She obeyed so fast he couldn’t stop a smile, but it turned into an appreciative groan when she rotated her hips and pressed back against him. He covered her ass with his hands and squeezed before moving them over the dip of her waist, and he was struck again how delicate she was compared to him. So different. Seemingly weak, yet not.
She reached between them and fitted him against her opening, pushing back onto him slowly, taking him inch by inch. He let her take charge of the moment, but the instant he was buried inside her, he grasped her hips and held her in place while he took long, hard strokes. Despite the chilly air of the cabin, a sheen of sweat broke over his shoulders. Could he hold on? He had to.
She pulsed around him, her cry muffled in the pillow. Her body turned lax. Two more thrusts, and he joined her. Words came out of his mouth. Crude and thankful and loving. He was beyond embarrassment.
He had barely enough sense to roll to her side before he collapsed. She stayed on her stomach, her face in the pillow. After his body had cooled, he pulled the covers up and over them both.
Her shoulders shook, and he put a hand on her back, fear chasing away the feel-good endorphins. “Did I hurt you? Jesus, I’m—”
“No, you didn’t. That was amazing. The best sex of my life, if you want to know the truth.” Her words were muffled by the pillow.
“But you’re crying.”
“I know.” Laughter snuck through the tears, easing his worries. Wonder lilted in her voice. “Tonight was important, not only because of you and me, but because I did it. I went out by myself at night. Drove here and went to the door. I was terrified, but I did it. And nothing bad happened. It felt good, and I felt strong.”
He kissed her cheek, tasting the salt of her tears. “You’re stronger than you realize, Sadie. You always have been.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, pulling him down and settling into the crook of his shoulder.
He should be the one thanking her. Clayton was right. His life had been as gray and stark as a prison before she’d broken him out. Chance. Happenstance. Fate. Whatever it was called, he was grateful. Clayton getting out of jail and knowing he was safe, if not exactly settled, added another layer to his happiness.
He tried to stay awake, wanting to savor the new feelings ricocheting around his heart like a pinball machine. But at least when he drifted off, it was with Sadie in his arms.
Epilogue
Six months later…
Mississippi hadn’t gotten the memo from Mother Nature that fall had officially arrived. Sweat crept down Sadie’s back as she hauled another box of her stuff into the cabin, passing Clayton on his way back to Thad’s truck for another load.
“Had to pick the hottest dog day of summer you could, didn’t you Sadie?”
“Just to torment you, of course,” she said over her shoulder with a laugh. Clayton had become like her big brother too. Although with his past struggles, she felt what she imagined was a big-sister protectiveness when people brought up his stint in jail with a bless-his-heart fake smile and shake of their head, writing him off before they even gave him a chance.
Luckily, his past hadn’t fazed Rufus, and Cl
ayton had turned into his right-hand man at the restaurant with talk of opening another one close to campus on the Mississippi side of Cottonbloom.
Jokes about Louisiana invading Mississippi, with barbeque being the Trojan horse, ran rampant among the morning coffee drinkers on both sides of the river. But it was all in fun. At least Sadie thought it was. She had heard the stories about the rift between the two sides of Cottonbloom. It had been real and sometimes vicious.
Clayton was slowly becoming part of the fabric of Cottonbloom. He’d moved into an apartment on the Louisiana side of the river the previous week. A burgeoning relationship with his daughter, Evie, brought him both joy and anxiety.
Sadie put the box of dishes on the kitchen counter and watched Thad and Clayton manhandle her couch in front of the fireplace. The past six months had been a whirlwind and the happiest of her life. Finally she had found a place and a person she fit with. Going out at night still gave her pause, but she could face it now, and it got easier every time. She’d made friends at the college, and her relationship with Thad had only intensified and deepened over the months.
“Looks good.” She wrapped her arms around Thad from the side, and his arm circled her shoulders. His size and height was usually a huge turn-on. Except when she ended up with her face pressed into his sweaty armpit.
She shoved him away with an, “Ew, gross,” which made him laugh. His rumbly laugh was her favorite thing in the world. She used to have to work hard for each and every one, but these days, his laughter came fast and furious.
He leaned on the back of the couch and crossed his arms, putting them at eye level, his expression turning solemn. “You sure you’ll be okay out here at night by yourself?”
His job meant he could be called in at night during an emergency or to cover third shift for a sick or vacationing deputy. Clayton slipped outside, perhaps sensing the moment.
“I feel safe here.” She kept her voice light.
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