I Love You

by Shanade White

  “No. I’m hoping to keep it quiet as long as possible, but someone’s going to get suspicious eventually and that’s why we need you.” She said to the leader, relieved that he was treating her with the respect she deserved instead of deferring to the men.

  “Well, then for now our job will be easy.” He said, then gestured to his men who filed out of the room one by one. “We’ll go get set up.”

  Once they were gone, she looked around the room, then said, “Wow, Donovan doesn’t mess around, does he?”

  “Not when it comes to family.” Scott said. “Or money.”

  By the next morning when Donovan’s truck with all their supplies arrived, including the supplies Scott would need to convert one of the barns into a secure holding facility for the artifacts, Paige had everyone assembled and assigned new jobs. The student’s looked at her strangely when she gave them instructions, but when they got to the dig and saw the guards there was a flurry of questions.

  She avoided direct answers as much as possible, but her students weren’t fools and soon were whispering that the find was much bigger than she’d led them to believe. Refusing to answer any more questions, she helped David get their supplies up into the cave and finally put on a pair of gloves and began the daunting task of sorting, cataloging, and packing the artifacts for storage. They were soon joined by Cooper and Marissa who’d volunteered to help, and would be in charge of photography.

  It was after midnight when Cooper finally called a halt to the work, knowing that Marissa would work all night given the choice. “I think we need to call it a night. I can barely keep my eyes open.” He said, setting down the camera he’d been operating.

  Paige looked at her watch, shocked to see what time it was. “I’m sorry, I just lose track of time. Let’s call it a night.” She said, getting to her feet from where she’d been sitting sorting through a basket of beautiful turquoise and silver jewelry.

  Once they were all out of the cave, they checked in with the guards, then headed for Cooper’s house making plans for the next day as they walked. Paige’s parents and Justin would be there in the morning, and once they were settled in they’d go back to work. Her parents had agreed to stay for a few days to help with the kids while the work on the cave went on, her mother was thrilled at the prospect of taking care of a baby.

  Scott and the baby had been at Cooper’s with Justin who was sound asleep in bed, so it was only minutes before they were gone. David had already set up his tent across the road and only waved to them as he walked away. Paige started to go to her camp, but Cooper stopped her and pulled her into his house.

  “You need a shower and a real bed tonight.” He said, pulling her into the little makeshift bathroom at the back of the house. “Get in there and take a shower, I’ll find you something to wear, then you can sleep in my bed. I’ll sleep in Brandon’s room.”

  “But...” Paige tried to protest.

  “I’m not going to argue with you. Go.” He said, shoving her toward the shower. As much as he would have loved to join her, the shower wouldn’t hold both of them.

  When she got out of the shower, feeling much better but definitely exhausted, Cooper was waiting with a big fluffy towel. He dried her off, then slipped one of his T-shirts over her head, then sat her down at the kitchen table and brushed her hair. She was half asleep as he led her to his bed and tucked her in and gave her a kiss on the forehead. Falling asleep with the scent of his cologne teasing her nose, she realized the only way she could be happier was if he was lying next to her.

  Cooper woke the next morning with the sun shining right in his face. He was disoriented for a second until he realized he was in Brandon’s room. Looking at Brandon’s bed he noticed that it was empty, then taking a deep breath got a delicious whiff of bacon. Getting out of bed, he stretched, his muscles protesting a bit. Working in the confined space of the cave was difficult since he had to spend most of his time stooped over, but it was worth every sore muscle to see the things that they’d uncovered.

  Making his way into the kitchen, the first sight that greeted him was Brandon shoving a huge bit of pancakes into his mouth. They both looked at him and even the sight of Paige standing at the stove in his tee-shirt, her bottom barely covered, could hide his displeasure at the size of the bite Brandon was shoving into his mouth.

  Paige quickly grabbed a cup of coffee and handed it to him blocking his view of Brandon. She stood up on her tip toes and kissed him on the cheek, and whispered, “Good morning, I would have slept better if you’d been with me.” In his ear.

  Distracted, Cooper forgot about Brandon long enough for him to grab his knife and cut up his pancakes into smaller pieces. He allowed himself to be distracted, liking the fact that Paige had come to Brandon’s rescue and he had let her. He sat down at the table and accepted the plate of food Paige handed him with a smile.

  “So, you two are up early.” He said, taking a bite of his breakfast, then understood why Brandon had been shoving them into his mouth so quickly.

  “I couldn’t sleep. Justin and my parents will be here soon and I’m excited to see them.” She said, shrugging her shoulders.

  “She made cinnamon rolls and pancakes.” Brandon said, carefully swallowing the bite he’d had in his mouth first. “And she said that Justin and I can go to the top of the ladder if we’re very careful.”

  When Cooper looked at her she said, “That’s right, but you have to remember the rules. We’ll go over them again when Justin gets here. And your dad has to give you his permission.”

  She left them in the middle of a big discussion about ladder safety to get ready for the day, earlier she’d snuck across the road and gotten her things from her tent deciding that getting ready at Cooper’s house wouldn’t be any worse than spending the night. She and Brandon had already had another discussion about what it meant that she’d slept there that night.

  By the time she’d gotten herself ready for the day, Cooper and Brandon had cleaned up the kitchen, proud of themselves for not eating the cinnamon rolls while she was gone. As she walked around the corner into the kitchen she overheard Brandon say, “Dad if you eat one of those Paige will kill you.”

  She walked into the kitchen laughing and said, “He’s right. Hands off Mr.”

  “Told you.” Brandon said, heading for the front door. “I’m going to go wait on the porch for them.”

  Cooper waited for the door to close, then crossed the room and pulled her into his arms, “Do you have any idea what it did to me to have to watch you prancing around here in that shirt this morning?”

  “Hmm, was it anything like what I feel when I see you with your shirt off?” She asked, running her hands up and down his chest.

  “It must be.” He said, and lowered his mouth to hers.

  Chapter 10

  They were interrupted before things could go much farther by the sound of vehicles coming up the road and Brandon shouting, “They’re here. They’re here.”

  Hand in hand, Cooper and Paige walked out the door and joined Brandon in the yard. Everyone had arrived at once, Scott and Marissa with the baby and her parents with Justin. There was a lot of commotion and laughter when Paige’s father joked that he thought he was being followed. Paige noticed that everyone laughed but her mother who looked serious.

  “Mom, what’s the matter?” Paige asked, when she saw the look on her mother’s face.

  “The news about your find is all over the news. Someone even posted something about it on social media. There aren’t any details, but everyone seems to think that what you’ve found is very valuable.” She said, “It might not be that far-fetched that we’d be followed.”

  Cooper jumped in then and escorted her mother into the house, offering her reassurance that they were well prepared for anything that might come up. By the time they’d all gotten cinnamon rolls and coffee and gone back out to the porch to enjoy the morning, her mother had relaxed, reassured by both Scott and Cooper that everyone was safe.

&nb
sp; Justin and Brandon had already disappeared around the back of the house where Brandon had begun his own dig. Paige had helped him find what she thought was the rubbish pile out back and he’d already found some broken dishes and a couple of buttons. They chatted for a while, her mother charmed by the baby and more than happy to take him off Marissa’s hands when he got fussy.

  But Paige was feeling the pull of the cave more and more strongly as the morning passed, relieved when Scott finally suggested that he’d take her parents back to Honey Hills to get settled. “We’ve put the two of you along with Justin in one of the guest houses, but we’d like you to share meals with us.” He explained as they headed for the cars, after rounding up Brandon and Justin.

  The rest of them including David, who’d shown up just in time for cinnamon rolls, headed for the cave and another day of back-breaking work. They all knew that at the rate they were going, it would be days before they finished and each day that passed made it more likely the true scope of their find would be discovered.

  It was late evening three day later when Paige nailed the lid on the last crate. She stepped back and looked at the empty cave a little sadly; somehow it seemed wrong that they’d taken everything out but better out and safe than stolen or destroyed. Her eyes were gritty and she knew she was filthy, but she’d been going non-stop for three days, only stopping to eat and sleep for a few hours at a time. When she’d finally called Professor Morgan, she’d made the trip up, bringing her assistant whom they both trusted and the work had gone faster.

  They’d created a rotation schedule, but Paige refused to leave until she absolutely had to. But now that the cave was empty she was suddenly so exhausted that she could barely stand. Cooper helped her down the ladder much like he’d helped the boys the day they’d been allowed to go up and see the cave. He more or less carried her down the trail, then put her into his truck and headed down the mountain.

  Paige was so tired she didn’t even realize they’d gotten in the truck until they’d gone several miles. “Where are we going?” She finally got up the energy to ask.

  “You need a hot shower, some food and sleep in that order.” He said, “Marissa insisted I bring you over to her house for a few days.”

  “But your house is quieter and the shower is fine.” She said, thinking of all the people and commotion that would be going on at Marissa’s house.

  “Don’t worry, they’ve all gone down to the city to help Marissa’s sister move up here. I hope you don’t mind, but I think you need some rest. They’ll be back in a couple of days.” He said, turning onto the road that led to Honey Hills.

  “There’s so much work to do still.” She said, feeling overwhelmed all of the sudden.

  “Paige there’s plenty of time for that. Those artifacts have been in that cave for over a hundred years and a few more days or weeks isn’t going to matter.” He said, helping her out of the truck.

  “I know but...” She had no idea what she’d been going to say, so she let him lead her to the bedroom she’d stayed in before. He pushed her into the bathroom, took off her clothes then his own and got them both in a hot shower. Paige simply stood under the hot water while Cooper washed her hair and every inch of her body, aware only of his gentle hands on her tired flesh. Once they were both clean, he dried them off and put her straight into bed, deciding that she needed sleep more than she needed food.

  As she slipped into the clean bed, she thought about dragging Cooper in with her for only a second before her exhaustion overtook her and she was asleep. Cooper kissed her on the forehead and turned down the light, leaving the door open on his way out. He looked back at Paige from the doorway, thinking he was a lucky man.

  Paige slowly opened her eyes, disoriented at first when she didn’t recognize the room or the bed she was in. But Cooper’s solid weight pressed up against her back brought it all back to her. Stretching her legs experimentally, she found that she didn’t feel as bad as she’d expected, then she noticed that it was afternoon, not morning as she’d first thought.

  “Hey sleepyhead. I thought you were never going to wake up.” He said, kissing her on the nose.

  “How long have I been asleep?” She asked, looking out the window again.

  “For over eighteen hours.” He said, “You were pretty tired.”

  “Well, right now I have to use the bathroom.” She said, getting out of bed and grabbing his T-shirt and throwing it on before rushing into the bathroom.

  When she climbed back into bed, her face washed and her teeth brushed, he asked, “Feel better?”

  “Much better thank you.” She said, snuggling up to him.

  “Hey, where did this come from?” He asked, tugging at the shirt, then tried to take it off her which turned into a wrestling match.

  But Paige’s stomach growled so loudly they both heard it. Still laughing Paige said, “I give in. I’m starving.”

  “Stay right where you are. I’ll be right back.” Cooper said, jumping out of bed.

  Paige smiled and settled back in bed happy to have nothing to do for a whole day. She was still tired, but nowhere near what she’d been the night before. Cooper was back in only a few minutes with a tray filled with food. He set it down on her lap then left the room again, bringing a tray with a cup of coffee and a glass of juice on it.

  “I didn’t know what you’d want for breakfast, so I made a bunch of stuff. I didn’t think you’d sleep so long, but we can have it for lunch.” He said, settling back down next to her in bed.

  Paige found that she was very hungry and with Cooper’s help they finished just about everything on the plate. When she finally sat back full and very sleepy, Cooper suggested she take a nap, but she’d already slept enough so they moved out onto the deck where the view was enough to keep her mind occupied for a while.

  Cooper thought that she still looked tired, so he brought out his laptop and some work he’d been trying to finish and handed her a book from the library. She looked up at him from the lounge chair he’d put her in, then at the book he’d handed her. It was one of her favorites and he’d remembered. Touched she felt tears spring to her eyes and knew that she must still be tired.

  “Thank you, you remembered.” She said, her lip trembling.

  Cooper took one look at her and pulled her off the chair and into his arms. “Hey what’s wrong? I thought you’d be happy. I’m sorry I let Justin leave so soon, I just thought you needed some rest.” He said, rubbing her back.

  “I’m not upset. You made the right call on letting Justin go; I’m just overwhelmed with everything that’s happened.” She said, taking strength from his closeness.

  “You’re not having second thoughts, are you?” He said, suddenly afraid she was going to back away from them.

  “About us?” She said, looking up at him. “No way. You’re stuck with me, irrational tears and all.”

  “Good, then since that’s settled, sit down here and relax. Read your book, don’t think about anything but relaxing. I’m going to be right over here.” Cooper said, helping her back into the chair.

  By dinner time, she was feeling more like her old self and looking forward to another meal. “I can’t believe how hungry I am again.” She said, as they sat down to a wonderful pasta meal that Cooper had made that afternoon. “Thank you for taking care of me. It’s nice.”

  “I like taking care of you.” He said, his blue eyes fixing on her brown ones. “Maybe later I can take care of you some more.”

  Paige actually blushed making Cooper laugh, then she said, “I’m sure I’ll like that just as much, maybe even more.”

  After they finished dinner, when Cooper would gladly taken her back to bed she resisted. “I’m way too full to go to bed. Let’s go for a walk.” She suggested.

  “You just want to go see where the artifacts are.” He accused.

  “No, I don’t. I just want to go for a walk; we’ll stay as far away from there as we can.” She promised.

  “Do I have to get dressed?
” He asked, perfectly happy running around the house in his boxers.

  “Yes, you do.” She said, digging around in the bag he’d packed for her, happy to find her favorite yoga pants and slipping them on under his shirt.

  After a long debate about the fairness of her being able to wear his shirt, she said, “Well, if I put on one of my T-shirts I’ll have to put on a bra.”

  Cooper immediately said, “Never mind. Let’s go.” And pulled her out of the bedroom and out the front door, only stopping long enough to grab a blanket and shut the door.

  They wandered over to the stream, happy to see it rushing along, with happy gurgling sounds. Something scampered in the bushes making Paige jump then laugh. It wasn’t dark yet, but the shadows were getting long. They headed up the path to the rock they’d sat on that night not so long ago, and Paige found herself thinking of it as their place.

  They sat down on the rock which was still warm from the day’s heat and watched the stars emerge as the sun dropped behind the mountains, content to just be together without the possibility of an interruption. Cooper scooted closer to Paige and put his arm around her, then pulled her closer.

  With a big sigh, she leaned into him and relaxed, “It feels like there’s so much to do, so much to plan that I don’t even want to think about all of it.” She said.

  “Then don’t think about it yet. Tomorrow will be soon enough, although it wouldn’t hurt you to take another day off. David has things under control at the dig, they’re just finishing the last of the shifting.” He said, rubbing her back.

  “I don’t think I need another day sitting around doing nothing, but I wouldn’t mind taking another day off.” She said, little tingles of desire beginning to form in her stomach.

  “How about we go scout out someplace for you and Justin to live this winter? I’m thinking one of the houses in town.” He said, holding his breath for her answer.

  “I think that might be a good idea.” She said, “I think Justin’s already hooked.”