Montana Mornings (The Wildes of Birch Bay Book 3)

by Kim Law

  Well, wasn’t that quick? “Maybe I was too boring for you?” Gabe suggested wryly.

  She didn’t immediately reply, seeming to think about his question and weigh the reality of it. Then she shook her head. “You were safe. Between us, it was always so . . .”

  “Natural,” he finished.

  She nodded. “It seemed too easy, I think.”

  He stooped to retrieve her blanket. “We’re not so different, you and I.” He wrapped it over her shoulders, holding the sides closed together in front of her, and thought about when he’d first met Michelle. She’d blown his mind.

  Then she’d turned out to be just like his mother.

  He released his grip and dropped back to the bench. “Ask me about my mother sometime, will you?”

  He didn’t know why he’d said that. He didn’t talk to anyone about his mother.

  “Never mind,” he muttered. His heart raced at the idea of sharing details of his childhood with Erica, but he knew he wouldn’t do it. It was too humiliating. He looked up at her. “Suffice it to say that things with her weren’t good—though she could weave a hell of a pretty picture. Same as my ex.”

  Erica remained standing for another minute, studying him carefully as he sat unmoving. Then she settled back in next to him and spread the blanket over them both. She curled into his side. “I’m sorry your marriage didn’t work out.”

  “And I’m sorry yours didn’t.” He pressed his head to the top of hers.

  They both grew quiet once again, and after several minutes, he slipped both arms around her and pulled her in tight. She brought the blanket up over their shoulders and tucked her feet under her on the bench, and they sat there like that, both of them dozing, until bright flashes of sunlight began to peek through the trees.

  Without words, they watched the sun rise together. The moment seemed to signal a new beginning of sorts, and when Erica turned her face and let her gaze meet his, he thought he saw hints of peace.

  “You’d better get inside,” she whispered. “The girls are bound to wake up soon.”

  He stared down at her. He didn’t want to leave her yet.

  And he wanted to believe that she didn’t want to leave him, either.

  Her eyes were almost amber in the early morning light, and the tip of her nose had turned pink from the cold. He swept his fingers across her cheek, noting its chill, and found that he couldn’t bring himself to be sorry that he’d kept her outside for hours. “Thanks for spending the night with me.”

  Then he lowered his mouth.

  Erica sucked in a breath at his touch, but just as quickly engaged in the kiss. It moved slowly at first, each exploring, neither ready to push the boundaries. But then she arched her neck. Reaching for more. So Gabe cupped her under the chin and deepened their connection. He’d been wanting to do this all night, and he had no intention of letting go until they both grew faint.

  When tiny mewling sounds reached his ears, he scooped Erica into his lap, and they sat like that for several minutes longer. They kissed greedily—yet somehow still leisurely—and when they were finally forced to break apart, Erica watched him from under sex-heavy lids.

  He dropped his forehead to hers. Damn, what a kiss. What a woman.

  What a way to start the day.

  Her breaths puffed against his cheek, and he slid a hand along her rear until he reached the fleshiest part of her bottom. Then he gave her a little squeeze and pressed a soft kiss to her ear. “Did I ever mention how very much I love your ass?” he whispered.

  A faint smile curved her lips.

  “You showed up at Nick’s last week”—he lifted his head and stared at her—“with that damned tight skirt on, and I suddenly had full recollection of what your naked rear used to look like.” He squeezed her once more. “It’s one of the best sights I’ve ever seen.”

  She peered over her shoulder, peeking down at the body part in question, before turning a sassy smirk back to him. “And it still looks pretty much the same today.”

  He growled and hugged her to him. “You haven’t changed at all. You were always such a tease.”

  “The real problem was that you were always so easy to tease.”

  He kissed her again, tugging her bottom lip between his teeth as he pulled away. And though she didn’t look the least bit put out by the kissing, she pursed her lips. Worry filled her eyes.

  “What are we doing, Gabe?”

  “We’re doing what feels good.”

  She chuckled at that. “That sounds like something my baby sister would say.”

  “I always did like that sister.” He leaned toward her mouth again, but she drew back.

  “I’m serious.” And damn, but she even looked it. “What is this? You have a kid—a messed-up kid, I might add. I have a”—she paused and held up both palms—“messed-up me.”

  “You’re not so messed up.”

  But when she didn’t reply, continuing to give him her “serious face,” he blew out a breath and searched for an answer. He didn’t know what they were doing any more than she did. He just knew that he felt as if he deserved this small bit of pleasure. Maybe they both did. Neither of them had experienced great marriages. Couldn’t they simply lean on each other as they made their way back?

  “We’re kissing,” he finally answered. “We’re flirting, we’re hanging out. We’re getting to know each other again.”

  “But why?”

  He picked up her hand, gripping her fingers in his, and tucked in his chin so he could look directly into her eyes. “Because that’s what we want to do right now. Because I’m not joking when I say it feels good. It also feels right.”

  “But I don’t want to hurt Jenna. I’m her teacher.”

  “I promise you, I won’t let you hurt Jenna.”

  She leaned forward then, until their foreheads touched once more, and he could see her mentally fighting with herself.

  “Don’t put an end to this before we can even see if it’s anything,” he pleaded, and she looked him in the eyes.

  “Do we want it to be anything?”

  “Three weeks ago?” He shook his head. “I would have said no in a heartbeat. I’m just getting rid of a wife who did nothing but make my and Jenna’s lives miserable. Not to mention, a relationship is the last thing I expected to want or find. But twelve years ago?” He nodded and brought her fingers to his mouth. “Hell, yes.”

  “But we’re not twenty-one anymore.”

  He loved that she took things so seriously. “Which makes this even better now,” he told her with the same level of sincerity. He kissed her again, capturing her mouth before she could see him coming and pull away. “Stop overthinking it,” he whispered against her lips. “Just enjoy. I don’t know where this might go, but come over again tomorrow morning and let’s keep going. We’ll flirt, hang out, and get to know each other a little more.” He pulled slightly back and measured his level of persuasion. “Five thirty? Jenna gets up around six thirty most days.”

  He could see her wanting to say yes.

  “I’m usually exercising at that time. I still dance in the mornings.”

  And he did like the benefits of her exercise. He squeezed her bottom once more, and touched one last kiss to her mouth. “Then come at five. I’ll take whatever I can get.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Their meeting up at five in the morning had become habit by the following Wednesday, and as Erica came out of her apartment, she could make out Gabe already standing on his porch, mug of hot chocolate waiting for her, with the patio heater he’d purchased emitting a low red glow. She skipped across the road, hurrying since the temperature had dropped more than usual the night before, and laughed as she and her blanket were greeted with a hot kiss.

  “I missed you.” Gabe nuzzled her neck.

  “When did you miss me? You’ve not been anywhere?”

  “When I woke up last night and you weren’t in my bed.”

  She shot him a pointed look. “I’ve not
been in your bed in twelve years.”

  “You have in my dreams.” He snaked his hands beneath her blanket and slid his warm palms under the back of her shirt. She shivered at his touch. These clandestine meetings had become such a part of her mornings that she’d begun looking forward to them around noon the day before.

  “I missed you, too,” she whispered when they broke apart. Then the devil danced through her. “But it was while in my shower instead of my bed.”

  He’d been right before. She liked to tease him.

  She chose the end of the bench closest to the heater and took her time making her nest, all the while avoiding the look she knew Gabe had to be sending her way. But she could avoid him no longer when he gripped one hand at the back of the bench and clasped the other across her. Then he leaned in. “You’re evil,” he whispered.

  She lifted her lips, intending to fuse hers with his, but he pulled away with a wink.

  “I’m not the evil one,” she muttered when he denied her what she wanted.

  “Tit for tat.”

  He slid under the covers with her and pulled her onto his lap, and within seconds they were mired in a conversation about upcoming plans for their respective days. Gabe’s workload was heavier than hers, and as he was a first-year teacher, a single dad, and a coach, she honestly didn’t know how he did it. They’d covered similar topics most days, steering away from more personal conversations, and though that was fine with her, she also sensed a hesitancy in Gabe to share too much.

  As the eastern horizon began to grow lighter, she tucked her nose into his neck and breathed him in. “This is nice,” she told him. “Flirting, hanging out, and getting to know each other like this.”

  He dipped his head for a soft kiss. “Very nice.”

  “I suspect it’s close to time for me to go, though.” She dug her fingers into the front pocket of his jeans, and pulled out his phone. Each morning they stayed out a little longer. She pressed the button to display the time, and saw that today had been no exception. “I have to go.” She held the phone up for him to see. “Calories to burn.”

  They rose together, and he took her hand in his. “I wish you’d quit closing your blinds every morning so I could see what goes on in these calorie-burning sessions of yours.”

  “And I wish you weren’t such a Peeping Tom,” she teased. She took a step toward her house, but he tugged on her hand. He angled his head toward her living room window when she glanced back at him.

  “That’s the pot calling the kettle black, isn’t it? Didn’t I catch you doing exactly that the first day I moved in?”

  Heat fought with the coolness of her cheeks as embarrassment sparked to life. He hadn’t brought that up before, and she’d hoped he’d forgotten it. “That was an entirely different situation,” she defended. “It was more like I was checking out my new neighbor.”

  “And you think I wouldn’t be checking you out?”

  The heaviness of his voice told her that he’d not only peek through her window, but he’d do his best to get inside the apartment, as well.

  She gulped. “I really do have to go, Gabe.” No matter how much she’d like to stay.

  She could ease off her morning routine a little thanks to the two sessions a week she would now be putting in at the gym, but she’d promised herself she’d keep this thing between them cool. Let them make sure they knew what they were doing before they did anything else.

  Wanting to keep the moment light, she patted her butt and tossed out a saucy wink. “I can’t keep my rear looking this fine if I don’t exercise every morning, Coach.”

  He laughed and finally released her, but when she reached her front porch, he called out, “You should dance for me, you know? Put me out of my misery.”

  She looked back at him, seeing the desire in his eyes, and fought to not show him the same from hers. She wanted to put him out of his misery. In more ways than one. They’d been amazing in bed together before, and with over a decade of experience since then, she could only imagine what sleeping with Gabe in present day could bring.

  But she wasn’t quite ready for that yet.

  She ducked into the apartment with a wave as her only reply and softly closed the door behind her. Then she looked at the pole mocking her from the middle of the room, and she knew that someday soon she absolutely would dance for Gabe.

  A Top 40 song blasted from the speakers set up in the corners of the room as Erica shouted above the music, pointing out the next move to the group. Thirty women shuffled to the right with her, feet moving the way she’d shown them, then together, thirty rears poked out. All level of twerking was attempted, followed up by a multitude of giggles, as some got it and others didn’t. But the thing that Erica noticed in the wall of mirrors was that everyone tried it. And that thrilled her.

  She moved into the final sequence, feeling a bead of sweat drip over the outside corner of her eye as she turned. It was Thursday evening, and only her second time at the gym, but participation had doubled since Monday. A couple of friends from school had shown up tonight after hearing others rave about how much fun the class had been, and Arsula from the Wilde cookout was there, as well. She worked her stuff front and center behind Erica, giving it 110 percent.

  When they finished the routine, Erica clapped at the effort each of the women had put in, while from the back of the room someone silenced the music.

  “Great job tonight, everyone. Terrific energy!”

  Cheers surrounded her. A handful of women came up to thank Erica for offering the class, and after several minutes, most everyone had emptied out of the room. A couple of small groups remained, chatting among themselves. And then Erica caught sight of Maggie Crowder hanging out by the door. Maggie had become a close friend over the last few weeks, with the two of them having lunch together any time the other wasn’t on lunchroom duty.

  “Hey, Mags,” Erica greeted her as she grabbed a hand towel out of her bag.

  “Hey. Great class.” Maggie was in her late twenties, and had grown up in the area. “But oh my gosh, your stamina is killer. I could barely keep up.”

  Erica chuckled. “You did great.”

  She turned up her water bottle as Maggie went into details about which muscle group she expected to hurt the most the next day, then the two of them eased into a casual conversation, doing nothing more than enjoying the opportunity to hang out together outside of school. As they talked, Erica found that she appreciated the simplicity of the moment. It was the type of thing she hadn’t experienced since moving to Birch Bay.

  When Arsula exited the changing room, Erica called her over. “Do you two know each other?” Erica smiled at the other woman, who had to be at least ten years younger than her. “Arsula moved here from Cheyenne earlier this month,” she told Maggie.

  Eyelashes as thick and dark as her hair framed smiling eyes as Arsula stuck out her hand. “Pleased to meet you,” she said. “Do you teach with Erica?”

  “I do. I’m in the classroom next door to her. Third grade.”

  “Really? My momma taught third grade for years,” Arsula shared. “She retired early, though, and she works at the State Museum now.”

  “I didn’t know your mother had been a teacher.” Erica had spent some time with Arsula during the cookout, but they’d talked more about Arsula’s road trip to Birch Bay and her first week on the job than anything else. “You didn’t want to follow in her footsteps?”

  “I considered it, but I started being able to read dreams in my late teens, and I decided that would be a better use of my time.”

  Maggie and Erica both had to know more about Arsula’s gift, and soon the three of them were chattering together as if they’d all been best friends for years. The moment seemed big. And it had Erica wanting to extend it. Or at least have a chance to do it again.

  “Would the two of you want to come over for dinner sometime?” she suggested during a small lull. And when the other women looked her way, she added, “I’ve been practicing a fe
w new recipes. I’d be thrilled if you’d let me try some out on you. Plus, I’ve rented the most fabulous place. I haven’t had any guests, and I’m dying to show it off.”

  “The fire hall.” Maggie nodded. “I know the guy who renovated it. Didn’t he do an amazing job?”

  “Completely,” Erica agreed. “So what day works?”

  After consultation with the calendars on their phones, they decided on a Wednesday night, almost three weeks away. The long wait was a bit of a letdown, but she couldn’t exactly hog everyone’s time.

  “Then it’s a date,” she announced before adding, less enthusiastically, “That’s the last week of my contract at the school.”

  “Oh, no.” Maggie squeezed Erica’s hand. “You aren’t really going to leave us, are you?”

  “Honestly, I don’t know what I’m going to do. But I am looking for a job.”

  She ignored the panic that always tried to grip her when she thought about her lack of plans, and concentrated on the conversation that quickly kicked back up. After a few more minutes, the impromptu gathering broke up, and they each headed to their own vehicle, and as Erica climbed into her car, she dug her cell out of her bag. She’d felt it buzzing while talking to the girls, and upon retrieving it, she saw that she’d missed four calls. All from her ex-husband.

  That was it. The man was getting blocked.

  She brought up his number and chose the option to keep him from getting through to her, and while she was at it, she cleared out his most recent text messages. She hadn’t read any in the last few days, hoping that if he didn’t see the indicator that she’d viewed them, then maybe he would leave her alone. But the man didn’t seem to get a clue.

  At this point, it was either block him or sic her baby sister on him.

  She smiled at the thought of that. Bree would love to handle JC for her. Erica had called her sister after last weekend’s violin lesson—which totally had not gone well at all—to finally fill her in on the kiss from Gabe. But she’d also let it slip that JC had been reaching out to her. Given that Bree was already ready to hang the man up by the short hairs, Erica knew it wouldn’t take much encouragement for her sister to find a way to retaliate. Bree had always been one who enjoyed fighting the good fight. Whether the fight was hers or not.