“How? How was it different, Wes? I thought that was somewhere special that only we shared,” I reply, looking him square in the eyes. It baffles me to think the tree house was our thing.
“It was. I didn’t decorate it with lights for her like I did you. There was no romantic ambiance set when I took her there. I never cared to do anything like that for a girl… woman… whatever, until I met you.”
My thumbs move back and forth, grazing his knuckles as I sit here and try to process this information. I can cut my losses with him now before I jump all in and possibly get my heart broken, or I can take what he’s saying at face value and trust him.
“Say something?” He pleads, his eyes begging me to say anything at all.
“I’m not going to sit here and say that I’m happy about what happened between the two of you, but I can’t blame you either. I didn’t know you then, or what place you were at in your life at that time. I’m not expecting you to tell me every single person that you’ve slept with, but I do expect you to be honest with me.” I scoot closer to him so that our knees touch. “I think that Jackie would be a lot less bitter toward the whole thing if you apologized to her. I can’t make you, but she needs it, and maybe so do you.” I shrug my shoulders. “And I’m sorry I got worked up about the whole tree house thing. I mean, I care, but she planted this doubt in my head, and I don’t know why I let it affect me. I’m sorry.” I drop my eyes in an attempt to avoid his piercing gaze. I feel foolish for letting that wench get into my head.
“What about us?” he asks quietly. The vulnerability in his tone shakes me to the core.
“We’ll work through it. I can tell that not too many people were thrilled by our little public display of affection earlier, but I don’t care. I like what we have, and I’m not going to let anyone or anything affect that.”
He tugs on my hands and pulls me haphazardly into his lap. His arms bind around me, anchoring me to him. I burst out laughing as my body smashes against the cold, thick mud covering his clothes. “Stop! Wes, stop! You’re getting me all muddy!”
Wes pushes back on his heels with me still wrapped in his arms, and starts towards the stairs. My laughter ceases as my legs circle around his waist, and I wrap my arms around his neck. I hold on to him as he looks up at me. His demanding blue eyes suck me in as everything else fades away. There is no Jackie. Her hurtful words no longer matter. It’s just Wes and me, our gazes locked, not saying a word.
I don’t even realize that we’re in the bathroom until I hear the shower turn on. He loosens his hold and slowly slides me down his body. The sound of the shower curtain being pushed back blends with the sound of the water pelting against the tub floor. He reaches out a hand to me as he steps in. For a second, I debate whether this is the right thing to do, but then I think, screw it, you only live once. I don’t care that we’re dressed. I would follow him anywhere. Cautiously, I take his hand, stepping in with him. Never breaking our gaze, I close the soft fabric, enclosing us in the shower. I still see the wariness in his eyes as he looks at me. I know he thinks that, at any moment, I’m going to bolt. But he’s wrong. I meant every word I said earlier.
Instead of waiting for him to close the distance between us, I take the lead. I place a hand on his chest, walking him backwards through the spray of the shower; his back collides with the wall. Our clothes cling to us like a second skin. I can feel my hair stick to the sides of my face. My eyes search his. I watch as the water turns from clear to light brown, mixing with the mud as it cascades down his face, caressing his perfectly shaped cheekbones, nose, lips, and jaw line. I grip his shirt tight in my hands as I lean into him. His strong hands come up to cup my face. My eyes flutter close at the contact.
“I’m so sorry, Kenleigh. You have no idea.” He peppers kisses all over my face. “Look at me, please,” he whispers against my lips.
“I’m not a man who gets scared very often, but I was going crazy out there, thinking that you and I were done. Especially when we just got started.” He leans down and rests his forehead against mine. His eyes close for a moment as he takes a deep breath. He opens his eyes before adding, “I don’t know what it is that we’re doing, but I like it. I feel free, liberated. I’m happy when I’m with you. You make me want to be a better man. I can’t explain my feelings for you, but I know they’re growing stronger and stronger each day, and I do not want that feeling to end.”
I’m stunned speechless by his confession. The more time we spend together, I feel myself falling for him deeper and deeper, but I didn’t know he was feeling it too. I tilt my head up and whisper against his lips, “I feel it, too.”
A tentative smile pulls at my lips when he flashes me the brightest smile I’ve ever seen. “Yeah? Really? I mean, you don’t ha—”
“Just shut up and kiss me.” I cut him off with a chuckle.
His hands go to my ass as he lifts me off the bottom of the shower and spins around, pinning me against the wall. With a mischievous smile, his lips descend on mine. “Yes, ma’am.”
Within seconds, his tongue invades my mouth, seeking and exploring every inch. Our hands search each other’s body as we tear at each other’s clothes. In no time, we’re naked, and I’m gasping as he slips inside me. It takes no time for me to adjust to his size. My fingers thread through his hair and gently tug it. I groan loudly as he increases his thrusts. My body sings with pleasure when he begins sucking and nipping my neck, collarbone, and that sweet spot behind my ear. I’m blinded by lust. Our sweat mixes in with the water as it glides down our bodies. “Wes… I’m so close,” I pant out.
“Fuck, Baby… just a little bit longer,” he murmurs against my ear.
He begins a ravenous pace, pounding into me as I meet him thrust for thrust. Just as I explode, calling out his name, he pulls out and cum sprays all over my stomach. I can’t help but look down.
Still heaving deep breaths, I hear him say, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know what else to do. I got caught up in the moment and I didn’t know if you were on any type of bir—”
“Stop,” I say, cutting him off yet again.
“Huh?”
I look up at him, and then back down to my stomach in amazement. “That was the hottest thing I have ever seen.” A cocky grin tugs at the corners of his lips. I roll my eyes. “Shut up.” A chuckle escapes the both of us at the same time as he leans in and kisses me.
“What have I done to you?”
“I don’t know, but whatever it is, don’t stop.” I drop my legs from around his waist and look up, meeting his eyes. “And, just so you know, I’m on birth control. I have been for a long time.”
He arches an eyebrow, silently asking me to explain further.
“My periods.”
“All right. You don’t have to explain any further.” He holds his hands up and shakes his head. “Let me help you get rinsed off,” he says huskily as he pulls me flush against him into the spray of the water. Before I can say anything, a knock sounds on the door, paralyzing us both.
“When you two are done, I’d like a word with the both of you, please.” Oh my gosh, Mrs. Sandy. My head drops to his chest as I screw my eyes tightly shut. Heat consumes my face from the embarrassment that I know I have to face her.
“Shit… She knows, Wes. Your mom knows. They’re gonna kick me out of the house,” I groan. My face snaps up to his as I suddenly realize they may make me leave all together. “What if they make me leave? I don’t want to leave. I can’t go back to campus yet. The dorms are closed for the summer. I’d have to go home.” I ramble on and on, before Wes captures my lips with his.
“They won’t make you leave. I promise you that. My parents love you, Kenleigh. And I highly doubt they will make you move into the volunteers’ quarters. It’s going to be fine.” He places a finger under my chin, forcing me to look at him. “Do you trust me?”
I nod. “Yes. I trust you,” I whisper.
I stand in my bedroom with a million different scenarios running through my he
ad as to what Mrs. Sandy is going to say or do. Wes and I having sex in the shower is not how I wanted her to find out about us. I knew that we were going to have to tell her soon, especially since everyone else found out today. I close my eyes and take a deep breath, willing myself to calm down. I reach for the door and open it. Time to face the music.
As I begin my descent, I hear hushed voices coming from downstairs. When I hit the bottom step, I stop and listen. “Mom, she’s really worried that you and Dad are going to kick her off the ranch.” My eyes widen in surprise when I notice it’s Wes’ voice. I can’t believe he would go down there and try to intervene in this inevitable conversation. As soon as I walk into the kitchen, all talking stops.
“Come on over here and have a seat,” Mrs. Sandy says as she looks at me over her shoulder.
My head drops with my hair falling around my face as a shield. I have never been so embarrassed in all my life. I nod, trying my best not to make eye contact with her. With steady movements, I make my way around the table, Wes pulls out my chair, and I sit. Underneath the table, his hand finds mine. I peek up at him, and he nods at me while squeezing my hand, offering me the reassurance that I need that everything will be fine.
“So, how long has this been going on?” Mrs. Sandy starts, waving her hand between Wes and me.
Before I have a chance to speak, Wes answers for the both of us. “Since the first night, at the bonfire.”
“What? Y’all have been sleeping together since the first night?” she screeches, her eyes bulging.
“No, Mom. God, no.”
“Oh. Thank you, Jesus. For a second there, I thought… Never mind, I don’t wanna know. We’ll just leave it at I know what the two of you were doing in the bathroom.” She gives us both a pointed look.
Heat rushes to my face. My eyes slide to the corners, looking at Wes. How can he just sit there completely calm and collected? I turn my attention back to Mrs. Sandy.
“Look. I’m not dumb. I know that you both are adults, and are going to do what you’re going to do. All I ask is, please, don’t do it under my roof. And if you do, you better not get caught.” A slow smile spreads across her face, and I feel a fraction of my embarrassment begin to slip. “I was young once, too. Your father and I were pretty hot and heavy,” she adds.
“Mom. I don’t wanna hear about you and Dad,” Wes groans, dropping his head to the table.
A small laugh escapes me at his discomfort. He rolls his head on the wooden table and looks at me with a smile playing on his face. “You think that’s funny?”
That makes me laugh harder. “I do,” I say between breaths. The muscles in my cheeks hurt. My eyes water, and I’m starting to get a stitch in my side. Suddenly, I look over to Mrs. Sandy who is laughing with me.
“Great. Now you’re both laughing at me.” Wes pushes his chair away from the table. As he stands, he leans down and kisses me on my forehead. “Come and get me when you and my mom are done,” he says as my bellyaching laughter starts to subside.
I take deep breaths, trying to compose myself as I nod. “I will,” I reply breathlessly. When I turn back to Mrs. Sandy, her eyes are wide, and her mouth is in the shape of an ‘o’. Curious as to why she’s looking at me like that, I ask, “What’s wrong?”
“I just can’t believe it,” she breathes out, as a smile spreads across her face.
My eyebrows furrow in confusion. “Can’t believe what, Mrs. Sandy?”
She reaches across the table for my hand. Grasping it, she says through a smile, “My son is in love with you.”
Now it’s my eyes that bulge, and my mouth that’s forming an ‘o’. No. No? He can’t be in love with me. It’s too soon. This is a joke. I get it now; Mrs. Sandy’s making a joke.
“And you’re in love with him, too,” she adds with a twinkle in her eye.
Slowly, I pull my hand out of her grasp. “I like him… a lot, but love…” I’m at a loss for words.
“Honey, I know love when I see it. You two can deny it all you want, but I know these things.” She leans back in her chair and winks at me. “Tell me, Kenleigh, do you like him as a person?”
“From what I know so far… yes.”
“Do you like being around him?”
“I do. We have fun together. I feel like I can be me. I don’t feel like there are any false pretenses when it comes to me and him,” I answer truthfully.
She nods at my answer. “Most importantly, how does he make you feel?”
I lean back in my chair and stare at her. There’s no contemplating that answer, so I lay it all out there. “Alive. More alive than I have ever felt. When he looks at me, he makes me feel like the only person in the room. Like no one else can compete with me. For a long time, it felt like there was this weight on my chest, crushing me, and it hurt to breathe. But not with him. He makes me feel like I can finally breathe again, no restraints, no constrictions, just a welcoming deep breath.” Tears well up in my eyes and threaten to spill over as I continue. “It’s more than that though. What we have, it’s seems exactly what my parents had. And I never want that feeling to go away,” I say, fading that last part out.
“See. Love.” She says it likes it’s so obvious as she grabs my hand again from across the table.
The tears spill over while I shrug my shoulders. “It’s too soon to be love, isn’t it?” I ask, sniffling back tears.
“No, it’s not. Who says love has a time restraint? Who says it takes six months to a year to fall in love? Love is love. When you know, you know. People fall in and out of it all the time. I fell in love with Will one month after we met, and the next month we were married. I knew when I met him that there would never be anyone else out there for me. And look at us; we’ve been married ever since. We have gone through a lot of hard times, but we’ve also had a lot of good ones. But no matter what happens, love always wins.” She squeezes my hand. “I have loved you like a daughter since the moment you pulled up on our ranch. You’re such a beautiful person, Kenleigh, inside and out. I knew once my son met you, he would see it too, and I’m so glad that he did.”
“I didn’t come here looking for love, Mrs. Sandy,” I say quietly.
“I know you didn’t. Sometimes love just finds you, especially when you’re not looking for it.”
There’s no way I can argue with that. I’ve been fighting it the past few days, trying to delude myself to the fact that I was only starting to fall for Wes, not that I had already fallen for him. “What if he doesn’t love me back?”
“I don’t think you have anything to worry about. Wesley had a high school girlfriend for a while, Leslie, but she was no good for him. Will and I both saw it. We heard the rumors of her cheating on him, but I think he just wanted somebody to fill the hole in his heart that Colt left. When he graduated high school and left for Dallas, he left her behind, too. Thank the Lord for that.” She shakes her head and chuckles. “But the way he looked at her, and the way he looks at you are completely different. I don’t doubt that, at one point, he loved that girl, but he was never in love with her.”
“How do you know?” I ask, my eyes diverting from hers, as I begin to feel a little insecure.
“His smile didn’t reach his eyes. His touches never went beyond holding hands and the occasional hug, at least that I know of. Above all else, Wes was never tender with her the way he is with you. And that little kiss on the forehead proves it.”
I nod my head, and accept that what she’s told me is more than enough proof that maybe Wes loves me, too. My hands grasp the edge of the table as I scoot my chair back. I stand up and walk around the table, enveloping her in a hug. My heart swells as she wraps her arms around me. “Thank you so much, Mrs. Sandy,” I whisper next to her ear.
She pulls back, cups my face in her hands, and smiles at me. “I love you, Kenleigh. You’re good for my son, and he knows it, too.”
My vision of her blurs as tears build up in my eyes. They fall freely as I nod my head and smile at her.
“Why are you crying?”
A burst of laughter escapes me before I answer. “Because I love you, too. I love your family very much, your son included.”
Mrs. Sandy drops her hands from my face as she leans across the table and plucks a tissue out of its box. Instead of handing it to me, she wipes away my tears and whispers, “I’m very glad to hear that, but no more crying, okay?”
Another laugh escapes me. “Yes ma’am,” I mumble, nodding my head. I pull back and add, “I’m gonna go and clean myself up. I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“I’ll see you tomorrow.” She leans back in her chair with an easy smile.
I feel lighter than I’ve felt in a long time as I make my way upstairs and into the bathroom. A wave of nausea hits me as I think of how to tell Wes. I stare at myself in the mirror, realizing that I know now that I’m in love with him, and his mother knows too, but he doesn’t. I want to tell him, but not until I explain what I went through as a child with my depression. I don’t feel that it’s right to give such a huge piece of myself to him and not trust him with my past. My head drops, and my hands squeeze the edge of the vanity as Jackie’s words filter back in about how I’m too nice for Wes. I shake my head, pushing those thoughts far, far away. As long as I continue to believe in what Mrs. Sandy told me, then I’m sure everything will be just fine.
With my face free of all the tear stains, I go to my room, open the door, and gasp in surprise. Wes is lying there on my bed, his arms tucked behind his head, waiting for me. “What are you doing in here?” I ask, whispering loudly.
“I was waiting for you.” He pats the empty side of the bed next to him. “Come lay with me.”
I have to give it to him. Even after what his mother said, he’s still as tenacious as ever.
I shake my head, smiling as I crawl onto the bed next to him. “Do you not remember what your mom just said?”
“What?” he asks, innocently. “I’m just laying in bed with my beautiful girlfriend. What’s wrong with that? We’re not doing anything,” he says as he pulls me into him.
Serenity Falls Page 17