“For so many things. For starters, running away the morning after we were together. That was awful and unfair to you. I didn’t consider how that would make you feel, and I’m so sorry, Liam.” Rachel’s voice was almost a whisper, and she could feel herself beginning to dissolve. Pieces of the hardened wall she had worked so hard to build around her heart were crumbling. Tears started to trickle down her chilled cheeks.
“Oh Rachel, it’s okay, baby.” Liam smoothed them softly from her face.
“Being here with you and your family feels so nice and perfect. I’m not used to anything like this. I wasn’t looking for this when I came up here,” Rachel said, allowing herself to feel the range of emotions as they flooded her.
She had left her whole life behind when she moved here because she felt something was missing. She just didn’t expect to find it so soon.
“We need to get up early if we want any chance of seeing a moose.” Liam led her to the RV, where he guided her to her bedroom in the rear and planted another feathery kiss on her forehead. His arms sought her and brought her closer to him. Rachel’s face found refuge on his broad chest, where she breathed in the scent of his aftershave mixed with wood smoke from the campfire. She fought hard against the urge to grab him and pull him into her bed. She could tell Liam was restraining himself too as he released his hold on her and said good night, leaving her alone in the tiny bedroom.
***
Liam
Closing the pocket door and leaving Rachel in the RV was one of the hardest things he’d ever done.
The sitting room in the RV was softly illuminated by moonlight as Liam stared at the ceiling above the couch. He hadn’t realized how fragile Rachel was. He didn’t like seeing her cry and instantly wanted to protect her and shield her from any pain, emotional or physical. He wanted her in so many more ways too. He loved how she fit right in with his family, like a perfect piece to their puzzle. Her ability to engage so effortlessly with his mother and sister amazed him, and she was sweet to his father and grandfather, particularly tonight when she’d brought them the hot dogs to cook. She also got along well with his brothers, joking and laughing with them as if they were old friends. He had a fleeting sensation that this was what their lives could be like if he and Rachel were married. Marriage wasn’t usually something he enjoyed thinking about, not because he didn’t want to get married eventually but because he had never met someone he might want to marry. Until now.
Dizzying visions of what was happening between him and Rachel circled his brain until sleep finally invaded him.
***
Rachel
It was still dark out when the O’Brien family gathered the next morning to search for moose. The air was brisk, and a dense fog hovered over the lake and clung to the trees, giving the land an eerie look.
Armed with hot coffee and binoculars, they went off in different directions. Dressed in camouflage clothing, Patrick and Daniel embarked on a trail together. Maggie dragged Michael along with her, securing her arm tightly around his as they followed a more open path closer to the water. Grandpa Paddy and Pat moved slowly, taking easy paces toward higher ground so they could have a view of a wider area. Mary, meanwhile, decided to stay back with the kids and work on breakfast.
Liam and Rachel stalked quietly through the wooded area, eyes peeled for any sign of the elusive moose. Rachel wasn’t quite sure where these creatures hid, but they were good at it. They had been walking for a while without any luck, and just when Rachel had lost hope of seeing one, Liam paused, grabbing her arm gently. He put his finger to his lips, silently guiding her with his eyes to a mother and her calf. They were strolling slowly through the thick brush, nibbling and grazing without a care in the world on their way to the lake.
Rachel was in complete awe at the sight of them. The mother was far larger than she had imagined, significantly bigger than the deer that were always in her yard. The baby was a goofy little thing with awkward legs, and it kept close to its mother. The cinnamon-colored animal sniffed the air and nudged her calf, indicating they better get a move on. She suddenly seemed a bit nervous.
“We might want to back off. I think she’s getting a whiff of us. They can be pretty protective with their young,” Liam whispered.
“Wow, I could watch them all day,” Rachel commented as the moose walked toward a series of trees that separated them from the water. She then turned her gaze to Liam’s handsome face. The beginnings of a beard lined his jaw, and his green eyes were bold against the gray of the early morning.
Turning back to watch the mother and her baby, Rachel asked, “Wait, where did they go?”
“Probably down to the lake. Quick, aren’t they?” Liam said as he pointed in the direction they’d most likely gone. “We should head back.”
Rachel was in no hurry to return to camp. Being alone in the woods with Liam felt primal, as if they were the only two people in an undiscovered world.
“Liam,” she murmured.
He stood there towering over her, his green eyes piercing as they searched her own.
“I think I might love you,” Rachel said.
Liam brought his head lower and pressed their foreheads lightly together before pulling her into his arms.
“I know I love you,” he answered before kissing her full on the mouth. The dewy air clung to them as they stood in their embrace.
Rachel had known that moving to Birch Valley would help her find what had been missing in her life, and now, as Liam held her tight, she realized she was holding his heart and their future.
Epilogue
Her nerves were zinging in all directions as she reread the label on the box. Breathing in slowly to steady the uneven waves crashing wickedly in her stomach, she braced herself as she watched one line form in one of the two plastic-covered windows on the test strip, followed by a faint second line.
Maybe she should try again. After all, there were two tests in the box. Perhaps this one was faulty, a dud or something. If it was right, this was definitely not something she had planned for.
After taking out the other test, she straddled the toilet again and let the warm stream leave her body while praying silently that this would yield a different result. The bathroom light shone harshly down on her as she placed the test on the granite countertop and watched and waited. The first line was visible in seconds, and soon the other plastic-covered window proudly displayed a bold line. It was positive.
Looking in the mirror, she saw her eyes were red from crying. What was she going to do?
About the Author
I was born and raised in southern California and relocated to beautiful eastern Washington state. The rural small towns that speckle this vast area have inspired my ideal setting for most of the stories I write. The pine and tamarack trees covering the towering mountains, the shimmering lakes and rivers, the abundant wildlife and a feeling of a time forgotten, stirs so many of my creative juices. I can’t thank my parents enough for dragging this city kid on long roadtrips up to this rugged foreign area, because now it is my home and I truly love my life here.
Reading was something that spurred me to begin writing at a young age. I enjoyed creating characters, different settings, and describing anything and everything. Storytelling, I have found is something I have inherited from both of my parents. I love attention to detail, using words to fully bring the picture alive, that is something I got from my dad. Creating characters and figuring out their story and how to achieve their happy ending comes from my mom. Then there is the smell of a book, new or old, the weight of it in your hands as you balance it open, seeing all those beautifully typed words spun and woven into sentences, this was created by a writer. I knew that was what I wanted to be when I grew up.
Over the years I fiddled with a story here and there, but it wasn’t until 2015 that I realized it was time. Time to get those dreams down on paper (or my laptop) and so The Cloverleaf Series was born. Coming from a family that is focused on being involved in each oth
er’s lives as much as possible created a great deal of inspiration and ideas for The Cloverleaf Series. My family is one that has weathered several terrible storms and still somehow keeps propelling forward. During those sunny times we can be seen gathered around, eating good food, sharing memories, and laughing until we can’t catch our breath. We fight hard and love hard.
Romance, I simply love it, that’s why I write it. I remember my mom giving me my very first paperback romance novel. It was a pretty exciting one filled with suspense and an overall excellent storyline, she had just read it and she felt it was suitable for my teenage eyes. That was it, I was hooked. I began to devour these romance stories that varied over the years from sweet to sultry, I consumed thousands of books and stories over the years. Each time I finished reading a novel, the desire to write my own grew stronger. As ideas for books swirled in my mind, it always had a romantic element to it, and I suppose it always will. What is there not to love about falling in love and finding that special person to share your life with? Who doesn’t wish for passion, butterflies in your stomach, and that happily ever after?
As a reader, I can’t even begin to thank all of the writers that have created so many emotions for me, falling in love with characters, mourning their loss, sighing as I close the final chapter or smiling when everyone lives happily ever after. As a writer, I just want to do the same.
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Loving Liam (Cloverleaf #1) Page 25