The mention of last night had her skin on fire, cheeks blazing from the heat.
Craig smiled, slow and seductive. “That’s what I thought.” His front pressed tighter to hers. “I’m going crazy not being able to touch you the way I want.” His hands slid up her body, an odd expression flickering across his gaze.
“What’s wrong?” It was the first time she’d ever seen that look on him.
Craig was hiding something.
His dark eyes moved to either side of the tree at her back. “We found something in the woods.” He paused, his attention coming back to lock onto hers. “Jude didn’t want me to tell you, but you need to know.”
“Jude was there?” The chill of fear gnawed away at the warmth brought on by Craig’s closeness.
“Danny—” Craig raked one hand through his hair, “Fuck, this is hard.” He leaned in, pressing his forehead to hers. “I’m never going to lie to you. Never going to hold anything back, but sometimes it might not be easy, okay?”
She nodded as much as the weight of his head on hers allowed. “Just tell me. I can handle it.”
His eyes slowly lifted to hers and a smile tugged at his lips. “Sometimes I forget how strong you are.” He sucked in a breath. “There was a pile of hair in the woods, Danny.” His expression sobered. “From a beast.”
He was so serious. So positive she would be worried. Maybe even scared.
Her laughter clearly was not what he was expecting. “No. I’m sure it was from a deer carcass.” She smoothed down his chest, wanting to soothe the fear lining his brow. “They look very similar.”
“There was no deer, Danny.”
“The coyotes kill them in the winter, and by spring all that’s left is a pile of fur.” She smiled, wanting to reassure him. “It’s longer than you would expect when it’s not attached to anything.” Danny pushed away from the tree, pressing closer to him. The man who worried about her and her son.
Who wanted Jude to know about his past and his future.
Who did grocery shopping and cooked dinner.
But would never be able to help process game. Which was fine.
That’s what she had JD for.
“I really like you, Craig.” She laced her arms around his neck.
“I love hearing you say that, Sweetheart, but I think this is not what you want to believe it is.” His eyes stayed on hers. “This wasn’t fur from a deer or any other animal. This was hair from a beast.”
“If there was a beast in the woods I would know.” She slid both hands into his almost black hair and skimmed her lips over the barely-stubbled skin of his neck and jaw.
“Jude says he can hear them at night. Talking to each other.”
Danny froze. “How has he heard that?”
“He says he goes on the porch. Can hear from there.” Craig held her tight.
Thinking he had to comfort her.
“I think we should have a security system set up on the house so we can be sure he stays in at night.”
“I’ll just talk to him. Let him know that’s not a safe thing for him to do.” Danny eased back a little. She understood Craig’s concern.
Appreciated it.
Except if Jude couldn’t sneak out, then neither could she.
“I promised him I wouldn’t tell you any of this.” Craig smoothed one hand through her hair. “He wants to protect you. Doesn’t want you to worry.”
“I don’t know that I can afford to have a security system installed.” That sounded plausible. Might even be true-ish.
Not that she and her sisters wouldn’t come up with whatever it took to keep Jude safe. But locking down the house wouldn’t keep her son any safer than he already was.
Because there was nothing in those woods. She was positive of that.
Craig took a long breath, his hands coming up to rest on her shoulders. “I need to tell you something, Danny.”
That didn’t sound good.
That sounded a whole lot like Craig was about to tell her he was rich and had more than enough money to pay for a security system.
And from the look on his face Craig believed this would all come as a complete surprise to her.
Which would be funny if she wasn’t so worried about not being able to get out of her house at night. It was the only thing that kept her sane sometimes. The certainty that she and her sisters could always be sure they held the upper hand. That they were still what they’d always been even if their daily lives changed.
The women of the woods.
“I can pay for the system, Danny. That and anything else you and Jude ever need.” Craig paused, thinking he had to let the information sink in. “I can take care of all of it.”
“I don’t need your money, Craig.” She blew out a long sigh and dropped her head back. “Damn it.”
The key to survival her whole life had been keeping secrets.
Making sure her father didn’t know they taught themselves to read and write. Hiding how much they knew about a world they weren’t supposed to know existed.
Then concealing who they were and where they came from.
What they were capable of.
But Craig walked in knowing almost every secret she had. Knocking down the barriers she kept between her and a world that could never understand.
“It’s me.” Danny dropped her head down, coming eye to eye with the only man in the world who knew all she hid. “What Jude’s heard is me and my sisters.”
NINETEEN
CRAIG KNEW SHE was different from Kari. That Danny’s life led her to be more dangerous.
More developed.
“What about the hair?” He scanned her, trying to imagine what Danny might really be.
“Stop trying to imagine me covered in fur.”
“I’m not sure I can.” He’d been face to face with a beast on more occasions than he could count, and right now Craig was questioning whether or not he was interested in adding to that tally.
“I’m not a beast.” She turned toward the side of town where her sisters lived. “None of us are.” Danny lifted her shoulders a little. “We’re just somewhere in the middle, I guess. Not a beast, but not normal either.”
“Normal is relative.” Craig smoothed down her hair as the wind caught it again. “But I’ve seen beast hair, Danny. That’s what’s out there.” The sounds Jude heard could very well have been her and her sisters, but that hair was not from a deer. “Someone is watching you.”
“They’re not, though.” Her eyes came back to his. “That’s part of why we go out. To make sure no one’s camping out.”
A cold weight settled in his stomach. “Has that happened?”
“Oh, yeah. Lots of times.” She barely smiled. “They’re the easiest to get rid of.”
Craig could only imagine what the five of them were capable of in the dark of night.
“You can’t go out for a while. Not until we make sure no one is out there.” Danny might believe she and her sisters were the only things lurking in the woods at night, but he was positive she was wrong.
And unwilling to bet her safety on which of them knew what they were talking about.
Craig leaned into her. “Please, Danny Girl. Stay safe for me.”
She huffed out a loud sigh. “Fine.” Her eyes stayed on him. “How was Jude today?”
Telling Danny he and Lance suspected Jude’s accelerated development had to do with her son’s belief that he had to protect her from any and everything would definitely not sit well, so for now he would keep that to himself. Especially since they might have a shot at slowing it down. Easing the burden the little boy chose to carry.
“Cautious.”
Danny smiled. “Good.”
“You’ve raised him well.” Craig backed away, the setting sun making the air around them cool quickly. “Come on. Before he starts asking more specific questions about what kind of friends we are.”
“Do you think he knows?” Danny followed along, her hand in his, head resti
ng on his shoulder.
“I think Jude has an idea what’s going on, but so many things are happening he hasn’t had time to really process it.” Craig leaned in to press a kiss to her forehead. “Once things calm down a little I’ll sit down with him. Make sure he understands.”
“I’m not sure things will calm down anytime soon.” Danny frowned. “Sam is having a hard time with you being here.”
“Then I’ll sit down with her too.” Nothing was going to keep him from Danny and Jude. Craig knew going into it this wouldn’t be an easy transition for them. “Did she think you would all live like this forever?”
“I think she did.” Danny lifted her head from his shoulder. “Sam struggles with separating out where the guilt really lies.”
“But not you?”
Danny barely smiled. “I couldn’t really hate men when I’m the mother of one, could I?”
“She’ll come around for the same reason.” Hopefully it wasn’t just Jude who helped convince Sam that not all men were evil manipulators or scumbags out to win one of the Backwoods Beauties like a prize.
Danny nodded. “I hope so.”
“Mom!” Jude ran down the stairs toward them as they approached the house.
Craig loosened his hold on Danny’s hand but she didn’t let go, holding tight as Jude hurried toward them, not even missing a beat.
“Can I have a sleepover in the camper with Uncle Lance?”
Lance stood on the porch, giving them a wink over Jude’s head.
Danny glanced at Craig. “Well.” Her eyes turned to her half-brother. “If Uncle Lance is sure he can handle everything.”
“Got special locks on all the doors.” Lance smiled. “I’ve got two little girls who are proving to be just as big of a handful as their momma.”
Danny’s eyes dropped back to Jude. “Listen to Lance and Kari. Be a good helper with the girls, okay?”
Jude smiled wide. “Okay.” He leaned in to plant a kiss on Danny’s cheek. “Thanks. Love you.”
“I love you too, Ju-Ju.” Danny watched as Jude and Lance walked side-by-side down the street toward where Lance’s giant camper was set up for an extended stay.
“I don’t think he’ll be very impressed by getting to stay in my camper after this.”
Danny lifted her brows at him, her eyes making him wonder if she knew more than he realized. “Your camper?”
“It was faster to just buy it.” Craig skimmed his fingers down her cheek. “I was on a tight schedule.”
“Did you have other plans you had to work around?” The twitch of her lips barely gave away the tease.
Because Danny knew damn well she was the only plan he had. Indefinitely.
“I’ve got plenty of plans, Danny Girl, and they all involve you.” He pushed against her, easing Danny toward the front door. “I have some very pressing ones I need to handle right now, actually.” It felt like forever since he’d held her close. Breathed in the scent of her skin.
Craig kicked the door closed behind them and pulled her tight to him, ready to heft her upstairs, but before he could get a grip Danny danced away. She smiled as she backed toward the stairs. “How about you don’t wear yourself out carrying me up the stairs tonight, City Boy?”
“That sounds promising. Like you have plans for me.” Craig followed behind her, reeled in by the realization that tonight he would have this woman to himself.
With no sensitive ears in hearing distance. No prospective interrupters.
Just them.
“You’re not the only one with a schedule around here.” Danny went up a few stairs backwards before spinning away to race up the rest.
The urge to chase her was not one he cared to resist. His feet slammed against the treads, taking the steps two at a time. Craig caught her just as she reached her room, grabbing her tight and taking them both down to the bed. “What plans do you have, Danny Girl?” He leaned into her skin, inhaling deep. “Anything you want I will make sure you have.”
“Even you have limits, Craig O’Neal.” Danny held him tight, clamping her knees at his hips before rolling with an unsurprising amount of strength.
She would always challenge him.
The men who came here had no clue what they found, or what it really took to make one of the Backwoods Beauties their own.
“You’d be surprised what I can accomplish, Danny.” He’d learned long ago what money and connections could make happen.
And Craig had plenty of both. It’s how he found Magni.
How he found her.
Danny sat up, her knees pressing into the mattress at his sides. “You actually never stop surprising me.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.” He reached for her.
Danny smacked his hand away, shaking her head slowly at him, a wicked smile spreading over her beautiful face. “Keep your hands to yourself.”
“I don’t think I like your plans, Danny Girl.” Craig reached for her again.
She traced a line up the center of his chest with the fingers of both hands, before splitting them apart to run down his arms, holding them to the bed. “I don’t care.” Her lips barely played with a smile as she let go to grab his shirt, working the hem up and across his stomach, blue eyes dropping to follow the same path. “I’m guessing you normally work out.” Her nails gently raked over his abs.
“Usually every day.” Craig fought the desire to reach for her once more, convince Danny that not letting him touch her was the wrong decision.
But if this was what she wanted, then this was what she would get.
For now.
“Usually?” Her touch slid higher, pulling his shirt up over his chest.
“Before I came here.”
Her eyes lifted to his. “But not now?”
“I’ve had more important things to focus on.” He smiled, knowing it was what she was fishing for.
“You don’t have to give up the things you enjoy for me, Craig.” Her palms flattened on his pecs as her eyes dropped from his. “I don’t expect you to fit yourself into my life.”
“What do you expect?” So far he’d been simply taking things as they came. One step at a time, showing Danny what he already knew.
But that left no room for discussion of future plans or expectations.
Her gaze slowly lifted. “I don’t really know.” A sadness edged the soft line of her lips. “I don’t know what something like this should look like.”
Neither did he. His parents were only together for a short while, and when they split his mother took him and moved, raising him with the help of nannies and cooks and housekeepers. “It should look like whatever makes us happy. Whatever gives us what we need.”
“I don’t know what I need, Craig.” Danny smoothed her hands down his sternum. “I’ve never thought about what I needed outside of food and a safe place to live. Everything else was about Jude.”
This time when he reached for her Danny didn’t brush him away.
Craig cradled her face in his hand as he sat up, bringing his other palm to rest on the opposite cheek. “Then let’s just take it one day at a time.”
She hesitated, eyes searching his.
“What’s wrong, Danny Girl?” Craig leaned in to brush a kiss over her lips. “Tell me what you need now.”
“One day at a time might be a little too—” Her eyes lifted to the ceiling as she held the last word. “Short-sighted?”
He kissed her again, this time deeper, taking the time to focus on the feel of her lips, the warmth of her breath. All the things he wanted to always remember about this moment.
The first moment Danny was with him. At his side as they stared the future down.
“I’ve told you what I want from the beginning, Danny. It’s not changing.” He sank his fingers into her hair and pulled her against him, taking her down with him as he laid back. “I’m not leaving Shadow Pine. This is my new home. Here. With you and Jude.”
“Is it supposed to happen this fast?”
“It might feel fast to you, but I’ve been getting ready to be here for a long damn time, Danny.” Craig rolled, her long frame moving with him smooth and easy.
“Everything I’ve done has been for this.” His lips coasted over her skin. “I didn’t know it, but my whole life lined up so I would be ready for you. For Jude.”
Joel. The Wolffsens. Greenlea. Vanessa and Annabelle. All of it taught him what he needed to know to be all this woman deserved.
And has never even come close to having.
He still might not be perfect, but he was sure as hell willing to do whatever it took to give them everything they needed, and as much of what they wanted as possible.
“But that’s just it.” Danny’s hands played with the bunched-up fabric of his shirt between them. “What’s in it for you? There’s nothing special about me, Craig. Definitely nothing that makes all of this worth the extreme effort you’re putting in.”
All this time he saw her as unbreakable. A woman who escaped unspeakable conditions to move forward and thrive. Become a successful business owner. An amazing mother.
But right now Craig saw something he didn’t realize existed.
The vulnerable side of a woman stronger than she should have to be.
And she was showing it to him.
“I’m not a stupid man, Danny. I don’t waste my time and I don’t waste my energy. Life is too short.” He smoothed back the blonde strands of her hair. “You are the most worthwhile endeavor I’ve ever taken on.” He paused, knowing it was too soon for the full truth of what Danny could give him.
If he was lucky.
But now wasn’t the time to hold back. She needed to know why she was special. Needed to understand why another woman couldn’t fill the need she could.
“You are everything I would want my children to have in a mother, Danny. Having kids doesn’t scare me if you’re there.” He skimmed over her cheeks with his thumbs. “You are all a man wants in the woman standing beside him. You are strong and soft. Smart and sweet.” He brushed a kiss over her lips, the last soft one she would have from him tonight. “And you know where the bacon is on a pig.”
Danny (Big Northwest Book 1) Page 19