“I hated waking up without you this morning.” He traced his finger over her soft cheek and kissed the tip of her nose.
“I hated to leave you. You are so sexy when you’re asleep, but your brother caught us and I didn’t want the rest of your family seeing me lying on top of you.”
“Why? They don’t seem to care. In fact, they really like you. They actually expect you to stay here with me.”
“Well, I like them, too. It’s nice here. It feels like a family.” The kind of family she’d had a long time ago, too many years and bad days ago to remember if it was real or imagined now.
Rory wanted to give her the family she hoped for and wanted, the happy life she deserved. “You’re a part of it now, you know?”
“I want to be.”
Not a definite Yes, I am. So, maybe she was still on the fence. He’d give her time. She’d settle her father’s affairs and he’d keep her close and show her that he meant to remain by her side. Forever, like she wanted.
“So what’s with your brothers?” she asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, if your grandfather wants you all happily married, why does Colt act like he murdered someone every time Luna’s name comes up? I asked her about it, but she’s uncharacteristically close-lipped about him.”
“You said Colt used to be friends with Luna’s ex. Whatever happened between them, it wasn’t good.”
“And Ford. He watches the TV news about the war like he’s missing something and will only find it in those bombed-out towns.”
“The girl he dated after high school joined the army and left him. I never thought about it, or saw what you see, but maybe he’s looking for her.”
“Those two may not admit it, especially to your grandfather, but they want something lasting and permanent.”
“Maybe seeing me with you has made them look back at their lives and the women they’ve known and wonder what might have been.”
“Or what could be,” she suggested. “Maybe we should set up a double date with me and you, and Colt and Luna.”
“I don’t want them interfering in our relationship, so I’m not getting involved in Colt’s life. They can get their own girls. After all we’ve been through, I’m ready to focus on you and me and some normal, drama-free days together.”
“Is that right?”
“Yes.”
“Well okay then.”
“Good, now come here and kiss me good morning.”
She looked behind her.
“We’re alone. All they want is you and me together.”
She walked into his arms and smiled up at him. “Is that right?”
“Yes. Now about last night.”
“What about it?”
“That thing you did . . .”
She flushed pink to the roots of her hair.
“You are so pretty when you blush.”
“You didn’t like that thing I did. It was too much. Too soon. I didn’t do it the way you liked—”
He cut her off with a long deep kiss that took her breath away. His tongue slid along hers in an urgent sweep. She went up on tiptoe and pressed her body against his, her softness crushed against all those hard muscles as his arms contracted around her. He broke the kiss, sucking in a deep breath, and pressing his forehead to hers. His hazel eyes held a depth of need that matched her own.
“I’ve never done that thing, so if I did it wrong—”
He cut her off with another kiss, this time softer, more coaxing. She settled into him again, trying to relax and let her nerves go. She didn’t have a lot of experience with other guys. She hated to think she’d done something he didn’t like, or that he thought was too forward. The last thing she wanted to do was give him the wrong idea about her. Rory had a deep sense of family, responsibility, duty, and honor. She loved those things about him and didn’t want to do or say anything that made him think less of her.
Rory pressed another soft kiss to her lips. His hand came up, his fingers softly brushing against her cheek. He leaned back just enough to look down into her eyes.
“Damn, sweetheart, I really can’t get enough of you.” He brushed his fingers through her hair. “You are and were perfect. Have mercy on me if you decide you want to practice and repeat what we did last night.”
The blush intensified, heating her cheeks and ears. “Rory . . .”
His finger settled beneath her chin to prevent her from looking away. “What we share in private is just that, Sadie. Private. You never have to be embarrassed or nervous or hold back. I don’t want you to. I want exactly what we had last night. You and me completely lost in each other and the way we make each other feel.”
“I’m sorry. I thought you thought I was—”
“Kind. Generous. Unbelievably amazing.” Rory slid his hands down her back and over her round bottom, pulling her snug against him. He held her there, trapped in his embrace, a soft smile on his lips. “What I was trying to tell you before you went off on that tangent is that I want more of last night and more of you. Not on the couch, but in our bed upstairs. Stay with me tonight. For a few days at least. I don’t want you to be alone at your place, because you miss your father, but also because the police haven’t caught your brother and his friends.”
Disappointment made her heart sink. “So, you want me to stay here because you’re afraid they’ll come back to my house and maybe hurt me?”
“If giving you a reason to stay here makes you want to stay, then yes, stay so I can protect you.”
Despite the hold he had on her, she backed out of his arms, ready to say yes, but wishing for so much more.
Rory reached out and pulled her back before she got more than a step away. His eyes grew dark with worry. “Stay because I want you here with me. Please.” That vulnerable “please” melted her heart. This wasn’t easy for a man like Rory to ask because it meant something deep to him. As much as it did to her. “I don’t want to lose what we shared last night. I don’t want to see it fade when all I want to do is keep that fire burning.”
She wanted the same. But she didn’t want there to be any reason for her to stay except the one that mattered most. She wanted to be here. With Rory.
Fires burned out. You have to feed them, let them live and breathe.
Yes, sometimes they’d fade to glowing embers, but only if the fire was stoked enough to burn hot enough to create those coals. She didn’t want their relationship to be something that flashed and burned out quickly. She wanted it to be a living thing they worked to keep alive. That was fire, life, a relationship, marriage, love.
“I need to go home and take care of a few things.” The disappointment in his eyes warmed her heart and solidified her decision. “I’ll pack up more clothes. Underwear.”
The light in his eyes sparked. “You don’t need those.”
She laughed. “Maybe not, but they do make things more comfortable.”
“Whatever. I’m glad you decided to stay.”
“Yeah, well, at least until those guys are caught, right?”
“We’ll see.”
He may have said the words, but something told her he didn’t mean them. Did he truly want her to move in with him? She didn’t dare ask. It was too soon. Right? And yet she planned to go home, pack a bag, and stay here for some undetermined amount of time. A flutter of anticipation shivered in her belly. Mostly because she thought of where she’d be sleeping tonight. In his bed. In his arms. After thinking her life was over hanging in that tree, her father dying so young, she didn’t want to waste a single day she had left on this earth. She wanted to live and do the things she wanted to do. The things that made her happy. Not for anyone else, but for herself. She wanted to be with Rory, so she would be with Rory. She didn’t care what anyone thought about them getting together so fast. It didn’t seem fast to her. It seemed right. No, it was right.
“What is that face you’re making? Are you angry?”
“No. Determined.”
&nbs
p; “Uh, about what?”
“Doing what I want for a change.”
“Okay. What do you want to do?”
“Stop doing what others want me to do or think I should do. I want to be here with you, so I’m not going to worry about what other people think.”
“Who the fuck cares what they think?”
“Exactly. You want me here. I want to be here. So I’m sleeping with you tonight.”
“I’m all for that,” Rory teased.
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Oh, I hope you did,” he teased again.
She smacked him on the arm and tried to hold back the laugh she let loose anyway. “Stop. You know what I mean.”
“I know, but I love it when you smile, even more when you laugh.”
“You know what I like about you?”
“What?”
“The way you make me feel when you kiss me.”
“Well, sweetheart, lucky for you, that’s my favorite thing to do.” He drew her close, dipped his head, and kissed her softly, his gaze locked with hers, a light of mischief brightening the hazel depths. He made her smile and forget all her troubles, if only for a little while. When she was with him, she didn’t think about anything. Her worries went away.
She closed her eyes, sank into the kiss he masterfully laid on her, and let everything else go, hoping she could get through the next few days and settle her father’s affairs. Then she could begin the next chapter of her life. Something she now looked forward to because she wouldn’t be alone. No, that new life included being Rory Kendrick’s live-in girlfriend and lover.
CHAPTER 21
Sadie held Rory’s hand in the front seat of the truck. She’d gone quiet on him. Worried about her, every few minutes he cast his glance her way. She didn’t meet his gaze; instead she stayed inside her head and the dark thoughts that intruded when she grew tired of trying to keep them at bay. Her father lying bloody on the floor moaning and holding his head, disoriented and in so much pain. The depth of agony in his dark eyes so different from the love she always saw there when he looked at her. That evening all she’d seen was his fear that he’d come to the end of his life and he wasn’t ready to go. She didn’t know how long he’d been on the floor. She’d done what she had to do.
Exactly what she needed to do now. Get the job done.
Which meant going back into the house, cleaning up the mess, sorting through her father’s papers and things, and making the tough decisions about the house, her life, and her future.
“Sadie, sweetheart, we’re here.”
She stared at the house like she was seeing it for the first time. The four-bedroom, three-bath, ranch-style home needed a new coat of white paint. The gray stone pillars that held up the wraparound porch overhang were covered in mostly dead vines that needed to be cut down. A few rugged bushes and wild roses flourished despite her neglect. The porch steps needed to be repaired, along with several other things in the house, including a few holes in the walls, thanks to her brother. His bedroom needed the most work.
Yep, nothing much had changed in the last handful of years. Except one thing. Her. She’d changed when her father died. Maybe before that, when she met Rory. The dreams she’d once held close, then buried in the deepest part of her heart, sprang free and illuminated a brighter future than the past she’d been living day in and day out, never getting anywhere, always stuck exactly where she was in life.
Not anymore.
“Sadie?” Rory’s deep voice held a wealth of concern about her continued silence.
“There’s no one home.”
The house stood as empty as her heart. The depth of sadness washed over her for the loss of her family. The loss of the dream of what she hoped that family could have been, but never was. She’d had her mother for too short a time, her father to see her through the tough teenage years and the years trying to keep Connor on the right path, but now she was as alone as her weathered old house looked without a family living in it.
She didn’t know if she could live in it alone. The loneliness of it just might kill her.
“Sadie, sweetheart, I am so sorry for your loss.” Rory kissed the back of her hand. So kind. So understanding.
“I tuck it away for a while, but then it hits me all at once. This pain. He’s gone. They’re all gone. Connor may still be here, but I’ve lost him, too. He’s not the little brother I remember. He’s turned into a man I don’t know, or understand, or even like.”
She didn’t have to stay in that lonely house. Tonight, for as long as he wanted her to stay at his place, she’d be with Rory. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“You’re everything to me.”
Stunned by the softly spoken words, she let them sink into her heart, easing the pain and sorrow she carried with her. He meant those simple words, and they lit her up with love.
Rory leaned over and kissed her softly.
The connection, the love, the understanding they shared flared.
She pressed her hand to his smooth cheek and held the kiss for a couple extra seconds. As much as she loved his scruffy-beard look, the man was even more handsome clean-shaven. She slid her hand along his face and into his damp hair, holding the dark golden locks and him to her.
She leaned back, breaking the kiss, but not her hold on him. “I’m glad you’re here.” She meant more than just beside her in the truck, seeing her through this ordeal. She meant in her life.
“There’s nowhere I’d rather be.”
“Good, because I really don’t think I can let you go.” She gripped his hair a bit tighter, careful not to actually hurt him.
“Then hold on, because I don’t want you to let go.”
“Okay.”
“Okay.”
It seemed everything had been settled with those simple words. An understanding they’d both reached separately, acknowledged and accepted out loud without spelling it out with words that didn’t explain it accurately or completely. “Okay” explained it all.
“Do you want me to go in and pack some things for you? You can wait out here if you want.”
“That’s sweet, but I need to do it. I’m just stalling.”
“You’ve got a dozen reasons for not wanting to go in there. Any one reason in particular holding you back?”
“I see him lying there in my head. Seeing the mess again . . . It’s hard.”
“Sadie, sweetheart, I should have told you. I had a cleaning crew come and clean the house.”
She cocked her head and stared at him, surprised. “You did?”
“The day your father went to the hospital. I came here looking for you, saw the blood and thought the worst. After Bell called to tell me where you were, I called my house and asked my grandfather to send the cleaning crew here. I didn’t want you to come home to that.”
“I . . .” Love you stuck on the tip of her tongue. She couldn’t just blurt that out because he’d done something so thoughtful and kind and sweet and just for her. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Thank you,” he suggested. “It’s nothing, sweetheart. The smallest thing I could do to make this easier for you.”
“That’s just it, isn’t it? The small things people do to show they care. Those are the things that mean so much. So thank you. You’re sweet.” She kissed him softly. A small display of the depth of her feelings for him, but again, something simple that meant so much.
“Whatever you do, don’t tell my brothers, or anyone else, you think I’m sweet.” He scrunched up his mouth into a sour face, but the light in his eyes told her he was kidding.
“Your secret is safe with me.”
“There’s a hint of the smile I’ve missed since we headed over here.” He brushed his fingers over her lips, making her want to stay in the truck and kiss him the rest of the day and get another taste of the fire they’d started last night. “Don’t look at me like that, we’ll never get out of this truck.”
“Would that be so bad?” Sh
e cocked up one eyebrow and smiled softly.
He pointed his finger at her. “Stop procrastinating and driving me crazy.” The finger pointed at her shifted to point out the truck window. “Out.”
“You’re no fun.” She pouted.
“That’s not what you thought last night.” With that parting shot, he opened his door and got out. She caught the hint of a smile on his lips when he turned back and held his hand out for her to take so he could help her out of the truck.
“I’m happy to let you change my mind back to what I thought last night.”
Rory tugged her into his chest. His mouth crashed into hers for a hungry kiss. His tongue slid along hers, tasting and tempting her to ride the wave of pure lust he unleashed inside her. His hands slid down her back and over her bottom. He pulled her close, snug against his hard length. She rocked her hips against him. The low growl he let loose reverberated through her chest and straight down to her belly.
As fast as the kiss started, he ended it, holding her away by her hips. “No.”
“No?” He’d scrambled her brain. She truly had no idea what he meant.
His soft chuckle made her focus on his smile, the gold and green in his eyes, the way his long hair swept back away from his too handsome face. “God, you’re gorgeous.”
“Are you drunk?” he teased.
“On you.”
Rory took her hand and tugged her toward the house. “Come on, crazy girl. Let’s get this done. I’ll take you riding later.”
“Really?”
“Sure. Why?”
“Don’t you have work to do? I’ve kept you from it for days.”
“My brothers and the ranch hands have it covered.”
“You really don’t mind spending all this time with me, doing all this depressing stuff.”
“The circumstances may be hard, but spending time with you isn’t.” Rory took her keys and opened the front door. The fresh scent of pine and flowers the cleaning crew left behind wafted out on the soft breeze.
Rory took a step away, but she held him back, her hand locked in his, their fingers laced together.
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