Tiptoeing through the trailer, I made my way into the kitchen. I poured water into the coffee pot and added my favorite hazelnut-flavored dark brew into the filter. Leaning against the counter, I stared into space as the warm steam trickled out of the machine.
A smile slipped on my lips from the residual effects of my runner’s high. I loved running. When my feet hit the ground, I was one with the trees and the grass as the cool air slapped me in the face and I disappeared into the free fall.
But tonight was beyond anything I’d ever experienced. Being with Wyatt was a complete free fall with another person. I had let go and he had let go, and nothing else mattered except the moment in which we had fallen together.
I jumped, feeling his hands around my waist. “You have to stop doing that,” I whispered.
Pulling me back against his chest, Wyatt kissed the side of my forehead. “Haven’t you figured it out by now? I like scaring you.”
“I know you do.” I laughed softly.
Wyatt held me in his arms as the coffee dripped down into the silver pot. I sucked in a deep breath, inhaling the scent of hazelnut and the smell of him.
“Are you okay?” he whispered.
“It hurts a little, but I’m okay.” I turned around in his arms, seeing the concern etched in the creases of his eyes. “Don’t worry. You can’t have love without a little pain. Right?”
His lips gently touched mine. “It will be better next time.”
“It was good this time. I promise.”
“I love you,” he whispered. He clutched me in his arms with a tight grip, giving those words the depth of saying them a thousand times. In the shadows, I was his tree limb. I was his rock. I was pulling him slowly to shore as he allowed himself to feel something deep and passionate for another person.
He held me for a little bit longer before letting go. He flashed me a sweet smile complete with his rugged dimples. “I’ll let you get to work. I’ve got a Gator to check on. Maybe if I’m there when he wakes up, it will make it better for him.”
Wyatt grabbed a book off of the shelf and a small umbrella. My heart grew five sizes bigger as I watched him disappear out the door, knowing he was planning to read to the poor, scared dog in the kennel.
I LEFT WYATT’S AS THE sun drifted slowly into the sky. My paper had to be submitted before eight in the morning, and I still needed to stop by the computer lab and use their printer. This professor preferred the good old-fashioned printout to mark it full of red lines.
I was exhausted when I pulled into the apartment complex. Last night, it had taken five hours to finish my paper and then at three in the morning, we had sex again. I was sore, but it was already better than the first time. And honestly, I didn’t even care if being with Wyatt still hurt a little. I simply loved the way it felt as we got tangled up together in the darkness.
I got out of the car, seeing Kurt perched on the wooden stairs leading to the second floor. He had a hammer in one hand and a box of nails sitting on the steps. I wonder what lit a fire under our apartment manager to cause him to do work this early considering Lanie, the girl who lived on the other side of Mr. Hughes, had reported the broken banister about three months ago.
I made my way over to the stairs, wishing I didn’t have to pass by Kurt to get to my apartment. He stopped beating the hammer against the wood once he noticed my presence.
“Well, well. Emma’s doing the damn walk of shame. What do they call that? Rode hard and left . . .” His words faded into a grin that held the pictures I knew must be dancing around in his head. I had on my damp yoga pants from last night and Wyatt’s sweatshirt since mine was still wet.
I gave him a tired glare at his disgusting statement. “Move your stuff, Kurt. I seriously doubt you want me falling down the stairs again while you are out here.”
Under the wiry beard, his face stiffened at the subtle hint. One time was enough to make people talk. But twice, well, that kind of stuff made people start investigating, even if Kurt didn’t push me down the stairs.
The burly man dusted the step clean of all the loose nails and scooted over next to the railing. I moved quickly past him without giving a second glance. As I reached the top, his voice came out almost as a low growl.
“Why doesn’t he ever come here to see you? Instead, he just leaves his girlfriend here all alone.”
My skin crawled at his implication. This little banter with Kurt was getting ridiculous. Putting the key into the lock, I went inside the apartment only to find Blaire pacing around the living room, cursing under her breath. Glancing back outside, Kurt still had his eyes on me as I shut the door. I turned the deadbolt even though it failed to give me any kind of comfort.
Blaire made another pass in front of me as she wore down our carpet with her feet. I figured my sister was worked up again over our creepy apartment manager. “What’s wrong, Blaire?”
“He wants to meet. I knew it. And I told you it would happen. But you just had to make me look all nice and send that damn picture. Now he wants to meet. I can’t do it. I’m not ready. I just can’t, Emma.”
“It’s going to be okay. You can do this.”
She paused, gaping at me like I’d grown horns. “You had sex with him. I thought something was off last night, but now it makes sense.”
“I did,” I muttered. My skin bristled as I waited for some tirade. I’d expected one of her explosions since M-Attack815 already had my sister wound up tight.
“Did you like having sex with him?” Her expression seemed more curious than crazy as she asked the blunt question.
“I did.”
“Hmm. Well, that’s good. So you are happy with Wyatt? The way things are with him?” Her words came out cautious as she probed the controversial subject between us.
“Yes, but it’s not like it’s going to be like this forever. You do understand that he will eventually get to leave. It’s not that long of a wait. And then everything will be normal.”
“That’s true.” She started pacing again. I glanced out the kitchen window, seeing Kurt walk back to the office. He picked up the dog crate next to the door and disappeared inside. I didn’t know what kind of game he was playing, but I swear the creepy man was taunting me after he’d caught me snooping.
“You’re not helping,” she spat from behind me.
I turned around, seeing her face a little wild as her feet moved quickly to the back wall of the living room and spun in a complete circle as she headed back toward the kitchen.
“You should just go meet Matt. Get it over with.”
“I can’t,” she gasped.
“Then why did you ask me to help you? Just go meet him. If it’s terrible, then leave.”
“Like, just get up and walk out of Starbucks?”
“He wants to meet at Starbucks? That sounds good. It’s usually loud. And you are not required to eat dinner or play twelve holes of mini golf. Starbucks. It’s simple. You should go.”
“Shit!” Her face exploded into a panic attack. “I’m just so . . . just . . . shit. I’m not good at this. I’ll freak out. I won’t even get in the door.”
My heart hurt, seeing Blaire’s sudden meltdown. In this moment, I was reminded of our differences. I had barged into Wyatt’s life, forcing him to take notice as I slowly pulled his kind soul from the dark clutches of his mental anguish. My sister couldn’t even have coffee with a guy who wanted to see her.
“I’ll go with you.” I tried to reassure Blaire. “I’ll stay in the corner. I’ll even wear a disguise. Like, a wig or something and my big sunglasses. He will be looking for you in that little blue hat anyway.”
“You’d go with me?” she asked weakly.
“Yes. And if things get crazy, then we will walk out the door together. Now go figure out a day to meet him.”
And I needed to figure out what Kurt was doing with that dog crate. I peered out the window again, seeing him carry the white box around the corner to where he parked his pickup truck. Something was up wit
h Kurt again. And I wasn’t sure how easy it would be to rescue another Charlie from his clutches.
OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF weeks, I secretly watched Kurt through the curtains. Something just didn’t make sense. When I was home, I studied his comings and goings from the apartment complex, but I never actually saw Kurt in possession of another crate. I wasn’t sure what I could do if I did catch him with a dog. Yank it out of his hands and make a run for it. Call the police and report a man with crates. All of my irrational logic had me thinking crazy thoughts until I questioned my sanity and gave up on my surveillance of Kurt.
Besides, I had a full work schedule keeping me busy. I helped decorate the nursing home for Thanksgiving. Vera said her grandson was picking her up for the holiday. She was going to their fancy house in Nichols Hills for the whole day. After a cup of Earl Grey tea, Vera showed me the pink dress she was planning to wear, the one she saved for special occasions.
As for Wyatt, our relationship grew deeper, sweeter, and more intense. He loved making love to me, which sounded cheesy for a guy like him. But I couldn’t call it anything else with Wyatt. Those moments were not just sex or the hundred other torrid terms used to describe it. In his mind, there was nothing he could give me but love—so he loved me over and over again.
Sometimes when I arrived at the trailer, he pulled me through door, touching me, kissing me, until I was swept away into the feel of our bodies melding together in a fiery collision. And sometimes it was a slow burn like the embers had all of eternity to smolder into oblivion.
I wasn’t sure what side of Wyatt I would get when I showed up unexpected on Tuesday. My chemistry lab had ended early so I sought out the only person I wanted to see in my free time. As I climbed out of the driver’s seat, he came out of the kennel door covered in sweat, looking a little bewildered. I ran over to him, jumping into his arms, wrapping my legs around his waist. He kissed me briefly before pulling back.
“What’s wrong?” I looked into his green eyes, seeing the creases around the corners.
“I’ve been wrestling a Gator most of the morning.” I felt the warmth of his breath against my cold face.
“That bad?” I said, letting go of his body. He pulled me back close, keeping his hands in a possessive hold around my waist.
“He got loose when I tried to fill his food bowl. I honestly thought he was going take my damn arm off. I’m not sure if he wouldn’t just eat me if he had the chance. It took forever to put him back in his pen. Shit was flying everywhere in the kennel room as he knocked stuff around. And he got some of the others all worked up as he tried to attack them through the gates.”
“What are you going to do with him?”
He shook his head as his face twisted up a bit. “Honestly? I don’t know. I guess give him some time and keep trying.”
“Maybe that’s all you can do. Keep at it until he has no choice but to let you help him.”
His eyes caught mine. “I guess so.”
“Do you need me to help you in there?”
“Nah, I’ve got it all put back together. What are you doing here? I thought you wouldn’t be back until tomorrow.”
“Well, my schedule cleared up a little bit today. So I thought I would stop by.”
“Hmm.” He grinned. “I like that you decided to stop by.”
“You do?”
His lips touched my mouth as my eyes drifted closed. His fingers rubbed softly against my back as he teased me with his tongue. I relaxed against him, feeling the sweetness of the slow burn.
“I can’t reach you under all of this,” he whispered against my lips.
Wyatt tugged my scarf, twirling it slowly around and around until he pulled the red wool free from around my neck. The brisk chill hit my skin, but his lips quickly made a slow descent toward the neckline of my purple sweater. We moved around in the cold breeze—almost like it pushed us into a slow dance, swaying back and forth as his hands stayed on my waist and his warm mouth on my skin.
“I want us to go dancing sometime,” I whispered.
His eyes caught mine. “Like, country dancing or something different?”
“Can you two-step?”
“Yes,” he whispered as a flash of sadness mixed in with his gaze. I knew it bothered Wyatt to be reminded of how our relationship was anything but normal. “You want me to take you sometime?”
“Yes.”
“Okay.” He let out a deep breath. “We will go dancing.”
“With a live band?”
Wyatt kissed my forehead before running the tip of his nose down the length of mine. “Yes. I’ll bring you flowers and take you to dinner. You’ll wear some short, sexy dress, which will make me not want to leave your apartment. But I’ll take you dancing anyway. And there will be a live band. I’ll hold you against me on the dance floor as I fight the urge to touch your ass. And I’ll probably step on your toes with my boots.”
“I wouldn’t care if you did,” I whispered.
“I know.” Wyatt’s lips found mine and my eyes closed. I got lost in the dream he’d painted of dancing as our bodies swayed to the imaginary music that played in the cold air. I wanted those dreams. I wanted those moments to come true. I wanted our future. The one we built brick by brick as we gradually made promises of a life together in the outside world.
The sound of a car brought me back to our current reality as the beautiful moment crumbled right into a ball of dust. We both turned in the direction of the dirty cloud coming up the grass path to the trailer. I recognized the vehicle immediately as the black Tahoe parked in front of us. Willa.
Wyatt tensed up before stepping away from my embrace. I dreaded every second as the door opened. I didn’t want another episode like last time. But things were different. We were different.
Willa got out of the passenger’s side, her long brown hair hanging in silky waves to her elbows. She wore a flowy white shirt with a frayed jean jacket and black skinny jeans. She was just as angelic as the last time I saw her.
Another woman got out of the driver’s side. She hesitated as her eyes latched on to Wyatt. I knew immediately she was his mother. Glancing to my right, the chill of the air was nothing compared to what I felt coming from Wyatt. He remained perfectly still, watching her get a giant picnic basket out of the back of the vehicle. His mother lugged the heavy load over to us, setting it down on the ground.
“Hi.” I smiled, trying to break the tension.
“Hey.” Willa’s eyes flickered from me to her brother.
His mother focused on me. “You must be Emma. Nice to finally meet you.”
She was younger than I’d expected. But I assume the last couple of years had played their toll on this woman. Dark circles haunted her blue eyes from the many nights she must have stayed awake, worrying about her children.
“Nice to meet you too, Mrs. Carter.”
“Call me Karen.” She looked over at her son, but he focused on the ground instead of acknowledging her presence.
“I got my diploma today.” Willa grinned. Her excitement overshadowed the awkward situation.
Wyatt had yet to say a word so I spoke up. “For high school?”
“GED. I finished the program and did the testing.”
“Wow. That is really awesome. Isn’t it, Wyatt?”
He said nothing, and I saw tears on the corner of Karen’s eyes. “She’s been watching the mail for a week. And it finally came this morning. I asked Willa what she wanted to do to celebrate. And she said have dinner with her family.”
Her voice broke a little on the last part, but she kept talking, addressing Wyatt directly. “Your father was going to come, but he wasn’t sure how you would feel about it. So it’s just us. I . . . um . . . I have everything in there. Pulled pork. Baked beans. Some mashed potatoes. It’s still hot.”
The familiar look of panic gripped his face. Not the explosive angry kind, but the one where he fell down in a deep hole. The one that made me worry about his mental state.
“It sounds really good. Give us just a second.” Grabbing his hand, I pulled Wyatt inside the trailer. I shut the door behind us. His stricken expression hurt my heart. Cupping a hand on each side of his face, I forced him to look at me.
“Before you freak out and start cramming your family back in the car, have you ever thought about this from their perspective? They have lost you. They don’t see you. They worry about you.”
“I know, but—”
“No buts. Just stop whatever nonsense you are about to tell me. Your sister just accomplished something really big. And you sit out here, acting like you killed her. She’s not dead. Stop pretending like she is. Willa is alive, standing outside your door. And she wants to celebrate with you. And it’s a big deal. I’m sure it was hard for her to study and do this on her own. But she did it.”
Wyatt chewed around on my words. I had pushed a mountain of reality on him all at once. I prayed my approach didn’t backfire. And then his eyes turned sad. “It hurts to see her like this. That’s why I make them stay away.”
“I know. But it hurts your mom not to see you. It hurts Willa.” I pleaded with him. “This dinner will not be easy. It’s going to be awkward. But let them stay.”
It took a moment, but his shoulders relaxed. He put his hands over mine. “Okay.” His voice cracked thick with emotion. “Let’s have dinner.”
A tear fell down my cheek as I stared into his eyes. He kissed my forehead. Wyatt took my hand, leading me back outside. He picked up the picnic basket.
“Thanks, Mom,” he mumbled. She followed him back inside the trailer, and I felt a heart rush, seeing it happen. I lagged behind with Willa. She threw her arms around me for a brief hug.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“Don’t thank me yet.” I rolled my eyes.
As we joined them inside, I heard Wyatt muttering something about not having a kitchen table.
“That’s okay.” I smiled, trying to keep everyone moving. “We can eat on the coffee table.”
Waiting for Wyatt (Red Dirt #1) Page 27