Kate's Forever (Thistle Do Flowers Book 1)

by Christina Butrum

  “Mmmhmm.” They hadn’t talked for more than ten minutes after he had told her the news; their celebrating then turned into a party between the sheets. Cursing herself for being so easy at first, but realizing it was now or never and there was no sense in holding back; it would eventually happen regardless of how determined she was to hold off.

  Everything had been perfect. The way he smelled, the way he talked, the way he had moved... oh god, how she enjoyed the way he had moved. She hadn’t wanted to fall asleep, but he had insisted she get some rest after their second, or was it their third round? Heck, she couldn’t remember. She had lost count along the way from the living room to her bedroom.

  He was now allowing his lips to travel their own path along the way to her breasts. She arched her back once he found the spot and she begged him to let her go back to sleep, if only for a few more minutes. Ignoring her pleas, he continued on his way, caressing her body with his firm hands as he found enjoyment watching her squirm.

  Round whatever number they were on was about to get started and she couldn’t resist. There was no way she could tell him no. It wasn’t in her vocabulary when it came to Jordan. Thinking about why she had put him off for so long until now, all while arching into him as he entered her slowly, giving her time to refocus on the here and now. There was no time for distractions.

  * * *

  She was beyond beautiful and amazing. She was somewhere between unimaginable and unrelenting. He had wanted to make love to her since the first time he had met her, but had refused to be the average guy that most women were used to. Besides, waiting had paid off. It had been well worth the wait.

  Standing at the side of the bed, he buttoned his shirt and reached for his watch from the nightstand. Stealing an extra glance or two at Kate as she walked past him, wearing nothing but the t-shirt she taken from him, he couldn’t help but find himself more aroused than he had been prior to their love making fest.

  “Don’t you have somewhere to be?” she asked, the smile on her face told him she was only teasing.

  “I could stay here all day if you’d let me,” he called out after her, as he stepped towards the doorway to catch another look at her backside as she swayed down the hallway. “I would even make you breakfast if you’d let me.”

  He knew there was no chance he could stay there with her today. He had plenty of work to get done around his store, along with his house, and he needed to tie up some loose ends on his plan. He needed to make a few more phone calls to make sure everyone was available for the biggest, most memorable night of his life.

  “You can make me breakfast tomorrow,” she called out from the bathroom. He could hear the running of the shower and so badly wanted to climb in there with her, but disregarded the idea as he pulled on his boots—and tied them this time. He wasn’t in a hurry to leave, but the list of things he had to do wasn’t going to take care of itself.

  Taking a few steps from the living room, he stopped at the doorway of the bathroom. “I’ll stop by after work. Don’t let Jessica work you too hard today. You’ll need to rest for later.”

  He wanted so badly to pull back that shower curtain and admire that beautiful body, but knew he didn’t have time, with Paul waiting on him at the store and customers coming in for their orders. Somedays he wondered why he didn’t own a business he could work from home so he didn’t have to worry about leaving a beautiful woman to fend for herself.

  “Okay,” she said, pulling the curtain back just enough to stick her head out as she held it tightly against her chest. “I’ll see you later, then.”

  He couldn’t help but notice the brightness in her eyes. It had been a few days since he had seen that look on her face. He only hoped that she wasn’t pretending to be okay for his sake. “Okay, well, then, I guess I’ll see you later.”

  He couldn’t look away from her smile as she laughed at his stammering. He couldn’t help stammering like an idiot because that was the effect she’d had on him since the day she had slammed into him in the hallway at the school. The day he was only there to talk to his brother, but had instead met the woman he wouldn’t ever forget.

  Turning to walk out of the bathroom, his boot caught on the rug, almost causing a scene that involved him smacking his face into the wall across the way. It was a good thing she hadn’t affected his reflexes or he would’ve ended up with a broken nose.

  “You should be more careful,” she hollered out from behind the shower curtain. “I wouldn’t want you to get hurt because of me.”

  She had to know what she was doing to him—the effect she had over his thoughts and his actions. He was in too deep already, and there was no backing out now. Regardless whether this town knew it or not, this girl had his heart, and there was no way he would fight to get it back.

  * * *

  “Do you know who the local photographer is?”

  Kate had met him once or twice, but his name hadn’t stuck. She could probably pick him out of a lineup, but other than that, she couldn’t tell anyone much about him.

  “He’s really good at what he does,” Jessica said.

  Their morning conversation had begun when Kate had brought a couple of lattes from the corner café. She had been worried she’d run into Jordan there, which would have caused her to possibly drop the coffees because that’s the effect he had on her, especially after last night and this morning. God forbid, she needed to get her mind off that and focus on something else.

  “Are you even listening to me?” Jessica asked, dropping her pencil and planner to wave a hand in front of Kate’s face. “Do I even want to know what you’re thinking about?”

  Kate smiled, trying not to allow her thoughts to change the color of her cheeks, and said, “I heard you. And no, I don’t know his name and I haven’t really paid attention to the work that he does.”

  Kate watched as her friend sat on the stool across from her shaking her head in silence. It wasn’t that Kate expected Jessica not to find out, but rather she didn’t until...

  “So... everyone around town is talking about someone’s truck being parked out front of your place all night and into the early morning,” Jessica said, looking up from whatever she had been filling in on the squares of her planner. “Wanna tell me if that’s true or not?”

  Kate’s throat swelled and she nearly choked on her own spit. She hadn’t expected the town to take note of what went on at her house. Unable to find the words to disregard Jessica’s curiosity, Kate cleared her throat and instantly felt the heat creep up her neck and onto her face. Not sure why it was so difficult for her to tell Jessica about Jordan, Kate decided to remain silent for as long as she could.

  “Or not,” Jessica said, shrugging, as she began to scribble in her planner once again. “I’m sure I can get the whole scoop when I get a refill on coffee at the café.”

  Deciding against having her friend hear about the assumptions, which were probably spot on, she said, “He came over last night and we talked. That’s it.”

  Jessica belted out laughter and startled Kate, causing her to jump, almost falling off the stool. “You act like I’m your mother. Have you forgotten that I’m your best friend and by now I know you well enough to know when you’re lying?”

  Kate hadn’t thought that far ahead, but wished she had. It had been a dumb decision to come to Thistle Do this morning, especially knowing she wouldn’t be able to pretend that nothing had happened.

  “Okay, so things happened,” Kate said, shrugging, as she slid off the stool and walked toward the trash can. Tossing her empty cup, she waited for Jessica to say something. When she didn’t, Kate asked, “Aren’t you going to ask how it was or if it was what I had expected it to be? Or if we talked about the future?”

  Kate stood in silence and shock when Jessica said nothing, but instead, shook her head and went on with what she had been doing this whole morning. She was confused. “Okay, then why did you insist on telling me that the whole town saw his truck in front of my house last nigh
t?”

  Jessica laughed and looked up away from her planner. “So, it was his truck? And it was him at your house last night?”

  Kate couldn’t help but feel a bit perplexed by this situation. What the heck was going on? “Yes, isn’t that what you already knew?”

  “To be honest, I was just making it up,” Jessica said, laughing at Kate’s expense. “I only said the whole town because I knew it was something you wouldn’t think twice about, with this being a small town and all.”

  Tossing Jessica a dirty look, Kate crossed her arms in front of her. She couldn’t help but laugh. The thought of Jessica taking the time to come up with a way to get information from Kate, aside from just asking her, was hilarious... and desperate. “If you needed to know so badly, you could’ve just asked me.”

  “I tried that,” Jessica said, scrunching her nose. “You refused to tell me the dirty details of how things are between you and Jordan.”

  “Ha! Okay, for one, nothing had happened between us before now,” Kate admitted, holding her fingers up as she counted on them. “Second of all, I don’t think my sex life is anyone else’s business, except my own.”

  “So, you did have sex? It really happened this time?”

  “Oh, my gosh! Jess! I can’t believe you!” Kate brought a hand to her face as she threw her head back.

  “I’m just saying. I’m married, so I’m living vicariously through you.”

  “What? You don’t have your own sex life to worry about?” Kate asked, holding her arms out in front of her. “You’re not even that old yet!”

  Offended by Kate’s assumption, Jessica poked a finger at herself and said, “I have a sex life, thank you very much. That’s not what I said at all.”

  “Well, mentioning that you’re married kind of gave me the impression that you’re not as happy with how your sex life has ended up.”

  “That’s not what I was insinuating at all.”

  “Okay, anyways, I know that you want to know, regardless of not asking me yet,” Kate said. “It was amazing. It was nothing like I have ever experienced. It was... he was perfect.”

  Jessica made a face like she was gagging and rolled her eyes. “That sounds so cliché. Were there fireworks too?”

  Kate thought about it for a moment before answering, “Actually, yes, there were. And it was way better than the clichés, if I can say so myself.”

  “So, now it’s official, right?”

  Kate raised a brow, giving Jessica a chance to explain what the heck she was talking about.

  “You two are officially a couple now, right?”

  Kate hadn’t had time between their sex fest to ask if it meant they were officially a couple now. But she did remember the night he arrived at the hotel to see her. He had introduced himself to the desk receptionist as her boyfriend. Maybe it was just a way to not feel weird about being there to see her, but to Kate it had confirmed that they were moving towards something more than friends and dating.

  “Well, since you are, you should look up this photographer and get started on making arrangements for the couple’s photo contest,” Jessica said, pulling the sheet of paper from under her pile of books to hand it across the desk to Kate. “He’s usually booked solid around this time of year, so you might want to call him just in case he can squeeze you in.”

  Kate grabbed the paper and read the name along the bottom of the page. Jessica had written the photographer’s name and phone number across the bottom. Kate made a mental note to call him later on today, after she had a talk with Jordan. She wasn’t going to schedule pictures for this contest unless Jordan agreed that they should.

  * * *

  “I’m taking an early lunch,” he hollered to Paul, who was ringing up one of their regular customers.

  “Do you have a hot date or what?”

  The smirk that was plastered on his face was at the thought that the only hot date he had would be later on tonight. He hadn’t asked Kate what time was a good time to come over tonight, but he had planned on showing up at her door with a bouquet of wild flowers and supper. He wasn’t sure what he would bring to eat, but, with his idea of how the night would go, they wouldn’t be focused on eating.

  Shutting the door behind him, he gave a quick wave to Paul through the large front window as he shook his head with a laugh. Paul had gotten his hopes up that Jordan would give him the scoop on what happened last night. He knew the reason for Jordan’s distraction and fogginess was from more than a lack of sleep.

  The thing this town needed to learn was that Jordan didn’t kiss and tell. He would rather keep his personal life just that, personal. He had nothing to prove and nothing to gain from blabbing about catching the eye of the prettiest girl in town. What he did gain, though, was a helluva promising future with that pretty woman, and he needed to get the ball rolling, now... before she got tired of him and jumped ship. There was no way he would let that happen.

  Parking his truck out front of the portrait studio, downtown, he climbed out and slammed the door, making a mental note to grease the hinges so he wouldn’t have to slam it so damned hard and have to hear that God awful rust-clunk as the door screeched shut.

  Pulling the glass door open, he was greeted by his best friend’s secretary, aka girlfriend, but no one was supposed to know that except for Jordan, and he had promised to pretend he had no idea—something he was getting pretty danged good at lately.

  “Hi, Jordan,” she greeted with a friendly smile. “Is there something I can help you with?”

  “Is Devon around?” Jordan asked, taking a quick glance into the back area of the studio, looking back at Cassie when he didn’t see Devon.

  “No, sorry, but he should be back within the next few minutes. Do you need me to call him?”

  “Nah, it’s fine. I’ll catch him later.”

  “I’ll tell him that you stopped by,” she called out from behind him as he turned and pushed through the door.

  He needed to get things set up and moving along before he couldn’t keep it a secret any longer. Soon enough, someone, somewhere in this town, would catch on to what he had going on in his head and spoil the whole surprise. The last thing he wanted was for his plan to fall apart before he even had a chance to put it together.

  * * *

  Finishing the last few touch up spots along the living room wall with the beige paint she had found in the basement, she put the brush down in the paint tray. She would take a quick break before moving on to the hallway.

  She had to admit that she was getting a lot of things done around here since being off work. Using the time off had been the best choice she had made since moving to Le Claire. She was more than thankful that she had been smart enough to put some money away for emergency funds, or whatever might have come up—not realizing that an unexpected retaliation at the school would be that whatever. She had enough money in the bank to take the rest of the year off—she didn’t need to go back to work in August if she really didn’t want to.

  The thought of taking a vacation to New York or Florida had crossed her mind several times over the last few days. Not sure what it was about those two states, but they had piqued her interest way before she decided on moving to Iowa. Her mother had even been surprised that she hadn’t moved to one of the two states when Kate told her Le Claire, Iowa was the place she had ended up.

  Thinking of her mother still brought sadness and threatened tears, but Kate was becoming stronger each day, with the help of Jordan and Jessica. She knew that her mother was there with her, everywhere she went. The thought soothed her emotions and provided just enough comfort to bring reassurance to Kate.

  Pulling from her back pocket the folded paper Jessica had given her, she decided to call the number along the bottom. She was going to wait to talk to Jordan, but decided to go ahead with scheduling a session in hopes of surprising him.

  She didn’t have to wait longer than a few rings before a woman with a high pitched voice answered. “Thank you for calling Devon
’s Photography, how can I help you?”

  “Hi, I was wondering what the cost of scheduling a session for Le Claire’s couple’s photo contest is?”

  “Let me see here,” the woman said, followed by subtle sounds of paper being shifted and picked through. “A lot of people have been scheduling for that. It’s such a unique contest. Just another reason why I love this town.”

  “Yes, I agree. I really like it here.”

  “Okay, here it is. It looks like he charges a fifty dollar sitting fee and then he charges a set amount for proofs, but has separate packages that you might be interested in.”

  “Okay, thank you,” Kate said, knowing that she’d most likely have to go into the studio in order to look at the different packages offered and decide on what it was that she wanted.

  “Would you like to come in and take a look or would you like me to email you all of the options?”

  Taking a look at the empty spot on the wall where the clock had once hung, only to remember it was now lying next to the couch on the floor. “What time do you close?”

  It was a quarter ’til four and if they didn’t close at four, she would be able to make it down there to get this all figured out and scheduled.

  “We close today at five.”

  “Perfect. I’ll stop in,” Kate said, sounding a bit too happy, but she didn’t care. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. Is there anything else I can help you with?”

  “Nope, that’s all I needed to know.”

  Hanging up, she shoved her phone into her back pocket and refolded the paper in order to shove that in behind it. She would get changed out of her painting clothes and head down there now before she found something else to do to distract her from getting pictures scheduled. She only hoped that Jordan would be surprised.