Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
Merritt
I felt like I was walking around in a daze as I moved from room to room at Second Hope Lodge. I cleaned the guest rooms on autopilot since there was one person occupying every inch of space in my brain. He had been for weeks now, and it had only gotten more intense since waking up this morning wrapped in his arms.
After Levi’s nightmare the night before, I thought there wasn’t a chance in hell I was going to get any sleep. But with Levi pressed against me and Tristan’s soothing cloves and spice scent wrapped around me, I was out almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.
I couldn’t remember the last time I slept so soundly, and as scared as I was to admit it to myself, I knew why—or who —made that possible. I knew it was because he made me feel safe, made it possible for me to let go of the fear and stress so I could rest easy for the first time in years.
I don’t know how it happened, but at some point in the night, Levi and I managed to switch places, and I ended up in the middle of the bed. When I woke up, my back was pressed into Tristan’s chest. His arm was like a steel band around my waist, and our legs were tangled together.
That was the first time I’d ever slept wrapped up so securely with someone else. Warren had claimed early on that he wasn’t much of a cuddler. I’d been disappointed for a while, wanting to feel that kind of closeness with him. However, it became a relief later on, once I discovered who and what he really was. The last few years of our marriage, I’d slept every night curled up in a tight ball at the edge of the bed, as far away from Warren as I could get. I was always on guard, even in my sleep; the slightest movement from his side of the bed had me shooting awake.
I didn’t need to do that with Tristan. It was like I knew instinctively I didn’t have anything to fear, so my body relaxed in a way it hadn’t in a very long time.
I’d spent most of my day so far replaying how I’d woken up. The way his arms tightened when I shifted, like unconsciously he didn’t want to let me go, caused my belly to clench in a needy way I hadn’t felt in far too long, and when he nuzzled into my hair and inhaled deeply, letting out a rumbly moan, I had to bite my lip to keep from whimpering.
When he murmured, “Mornin’, Dandelion,” in that raspy, sleep-rough voice, I nearly spontaneously combusted. I was so screwed, because I didn’t know how the hell I was supposed to go back to sleeping in my own bed after the most perfect night’s sleep of my life, and an even better wakeup call.
My body still reacted to the memory of it, even hours later. Every time I thought back to all those hard, warm muscles, that intoxicating scent, and that more-than-impressive morning erection that had been prodding me in the back, I became hot all over.
Like I was in that very moment.
Damn it .
I’d slipped into the daydream again, and when I blinked back into reality, I was clutching the clean sheets I’d been using to make the bed in a death grip. I needed to get my shit together. I was behaving like a hormonal teenager, not a grown woman who was supposed to have more self-control than this.
I shook off the Tristan-induced daze and got back to work. I made the bed with the sheets I’d been strangling, relieved I was able to stretch out the wrinkles that had formed from my fists, and moved on to dusting. I had just started on the bathroom when I heard voices coming from outside the room I was in.
“I didn’t need you to tag along to keep an eye on me. You do realize I’m a grown-ass woman, right?”
“Who said anything about keeping an eye on you?” another woman asked. “Maybe I wanted to meet her too. Ever consider that?”
Meet who ? I thought. The conversation happening in the hallway outside the room was more than a little intriguing.
“Please,” the first voice scoffed, and I imagined the woman was rolling her eyes. “I don’t buy it. You’re here to play babysitter.”
The second woman blew out a raspberry. “Len, you know I love your personal brand of sass, but you also know you can come on a little strong sometimes.”
Woman Number One— Len ?—made an affronted sound. “I do not come on a little strong. I’m just... unexpected.”
“You’re great. Honestly. And you know I love you. But the longer we stand out here arguing about this, the weirder the situation is going to seem.”
My curiosity got the best of me then, and I moved through the room, popping my head through the open doorway. “Um... hi.”
They both let out startled yelps and whipped around to face me.
“Oh my God,” the one on the left said. She was the owner of the second voice, a stunning woman with highlighted brown hair and lighter brown eyes. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment as she said, “We’re so sorry. We thought you were in that room over there.” She pointed to the room beside the one I was currently working in. The housekeeping cart I was using was parked between the two rooms, and I’d propped both doors open for easy access, so it was an understandable mistake.
I assumed the two women were guests, and didn’t want to make them feel uncomfortable. I smiled, hoping to ease some of the second woman’s discomfort. “It’s no problem. Is there something I can help you with? Maybe more towels for you room, or?—”
“Oh!” Woman Number Two let out a laugh. “No. Nothing like that. We actually wanted to introduce ourselves.”
My brows pulled together. “To who?”
The other woman had thick, glossy black hair, and the most striking deep, forest green eyes I’d ever seen. They popped even while they were narrowed on her friend. “So you are terrible at this,” she declared before turning her attention to me and smiling so big you would have thought I was an old friend she hadn’t seen forever. “I’m Lennix. And this walking bag of awkward is my sister-in-law, Rae. Our family owns and operates the lodge and ranch.”
My eyes widened. “Oh! You’re more Paulsons.” So far I’d met Rory, Becky, and Cord. Though Becky wasn’t technically a Paulson since she was Rory’s mother. Her last name was Hightower. I learned that the ranch was originally in the Hightower family. Then Rory married Cord Paulson, and, years later, their son Zach, took over the ranch. Since then, they’d expanded, and built the resort that was Second Hope. But they were all one big happy family, and they were all incredibly sweet. At least the ones I’d already met.
“Sure are,” the woman I now knew as Rae said proudly. “I’m married to Zach.”
“And I’m the baby of the whole brood.” Lennix gave me a once over, scanning me up and down in a way that made me feel like I was part of an exhibit before declaring out of nowhere, “You’re really pretty.”
My lips formed an O. “Um... thank you?”
“Oh, it was a compliment, for sure. You’re like, seriously gorgeous. With the dark hair and light eyes, you’ve got this whole Snow White vibe happening right now.”
I really wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Fortunately, I didn’t need to, because Lennix wasn’t finished.
“Word around town is that you’re shacking up with Tristan Fanning. I’ve known that guy basically my whole life, since our moms are besties. There’s a lot of that around here, you’ll see. Anyway, he’s like a brother to me, so I totally don’t see him that way. There’s no need to get territorial or anything.” I hadn’t even realized my whole body had gone stiff at her mention of Tristan. And sure enough, something territorial was stirring in my gut that must have been written all over my face. “But even though I’d never go there in a million years, because, ew , I’m not blind or dead, so I’m well aware how hot he is.”
Rae threw her arms up in exasperation. “See, this is exactly what I meant when I said you could come on a little strong. Ivy’s going to kick your ass if you scare her off. And she’s got that crazy pregnancy strength right now. She could totally do it.”
Lennix waved her hand at her sister-in-law while I stood there, wondering if I should find the whole situation hilarious or odd. I was leaning toward the former.
“You shush,” she ordered, then to me she said, “My curiosity has been driving me crazy. I have to know, what’s he like in bed?”
I proceeded to choke on my own spit.
“You know what? Ignore me.” Rae suddenly changed her tune, her curiosity piquing as well. “Lennix had the right idea. You see, he comes off as this great, super trustworthy guy. Like, he’s the dude you’d call if a pipe busts in your kitchen or something, and he drops everything to come fix it for you. But then there’s this swoon vibe beneath that, he’s this big, strong, alpha protector who’s capable of just...” She trailed off, and Lennix was all too happy to finish Rae’s thought for her.
“Ripping your panties off with his teeth?”
“Yep! That.”
My jaw hinged open, then closed, then opened again as I struggled to find the right words. All the while, I could feel heat creeping up my neck to my cheeks, and I knew I was probably glowing bright red.
“I . . . um . . .”
“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want,” Lennix assured me. “I had to ask.” She lifted her arms in a shrug. “Can’t blame a girl for tryin’ right?”
“No, it’s just, well...” I bit down on my bottom lip. “We haven’t... you know,” God, I felt like I was in high school again. “We’re just friends.” Those words left behind a sour taste as I said them. It didn’t come close to doing us justice. How I felt for Tristan was so much more complex than friendship.
They both seemed surprised by my admission. “Oh,” Rae said after a few seconds.
Lennix crossed her arms over her chest. “Well, I gotta admit, I wasn’t expecting that. I just figured... you’re hot. He’s hot. You’re under the same roof. Seemed like nature would take its course there.”
My flush grew even deeper. My heart began beating a quick rhythm against my ribs.
Rae turned to Lennix. “And didn’t Ray say Tristan got all possessive at the bar that night when she was brought up?”
Lennix snapped excitedly. “He did! Like he didn’t want anyone else talking about her.”
I held up my hands to stop them. “Wait. I thought you were Rae.”
Rae smiled. “I’m Rae, R-A-E. We’re talking about Raylan . He’s the guy who handles the trail rides and fishing and other excursions around here.”
That made sense. I’d met that Ray already. He seemed nice enough. Then something else they said hit me. “He didn’t want other people talking about me?” I hadn’t meant for my question to come out sounding as breathy as it had.
Rae and Lennix shared a look, matching knowing smirks curving their lips. “I believe Ray lan ’s exact words were that he seemed really protective of you. And not just in a cop way.”
Hearing that shouldn’t have made my stomach feel like a million butterflies had just taken flight, but it did. That voice in the back of my head told me I shouldn’t be happy, but this time, instead of listening to her, I slapped a piece of duct tape over her mouth and stuffed her into a closet.
I’d never been much of a poker player, and they clearly read everything I was feeling all over my face.
Lennix closed the distance between us and linked her arm through mine, leading me away from the room I’d been cleaning. “Oh, honey. We have so much to talk about. I think it’s time for you to spill the tea. But over coffee, because I don’t actually drink tea.”
I twisted to look back at the guest room that was getting farther and farther away with each step. “I don’t know. I really need to finish?—”
“You’re on lunch,” she insisted. “And we aren’t going far. The coffee shop off the lobby might not be as good as Muffin Top, but it’s nothing to sneeze at.”
“Ivy won’t mind,” Rae added. “In fact, I just texted her the bullet points, and she’s on her way down. She wants to hear all about this too.”
Lennix patted my hand before I could have second thoughts and smiled up at me. “I like you,” she announced. “I can already tell. We’re going to be good friends.”
For some reason, I actually believed that.
And the thought didn’t scare the hell out of me. I found myself actually looking forward to it.