Cop-Off (Love Burns #2)

CHAPTER TWELVE

“Is that Nicolas Cage?” Cody eyed the strangest bikini top he’d ever seen.

Cat’s beaming smile was enough to pull his eyes away from her chest. Just. “Yes. The other love of my life. You jealous?”

Tugging her hips until they were pressing into him, he couldn’t keep from grinning. “That depends. Did you just refer to me as the love of your life?”

He didn’t miss the momentary panic on her face, and he definitely didn’t miss the moment she shrugged it off, either. “ One of them, McBride. Don’t let that head of yours get too big now.”

How the hell did he get this lucky? Not only did she love him back, but it was looking a lot like she felt it just as deeply as he did.

Cody walked Cat backward until her legs hit the bed, his eyes never leaving those pools of blue as he lowered them both onto the mattress. He was back where he belonged. In between those luscious legs.

“Is there a reason you’re wearing a bikini top and not a bra, kitten?”

“Laundry day.” She fluttered those long, thick eyelashes at him.

“Let me guess...your lack of clean clothes has something to do with you spending the past two weeks in my bed?” And what a couple of weeks.

“Maybe. Or maybe I just need to go lingerie shopping. Wanna come with me?” She squirmed beneath him, knowing very well what she was doing to him.

“Hell yeah I do, but that’s a whole other conversation. One we’ll come back to in just a moment.”

Her mouth was on him now, her tongue trailing down his neck until she reached the crook. As soon as her teeth sank into him, his head tilted back on a groan.

Ask her. Before you get to the point where you can’t form a sentence.

“Move in with me,” he rushed out.

The unholy sucking on his neck came to an abrupt stop and she was back to staring at him. “What did you say?”

“Move in with me,” he repeated. “I know it’s only been two months. Trust me, I do. But I fucking love you, sweetheart. And I meant what I said back at Little Rock—I’m gonna do everything in my power to keep you by my side.”

“I...” She paused. “It’s been two months,” she reiterated as he felt his heart sinking. “I know you said that already, but it bears repeating. I love you, Cody, I do. It’s kinda scary how much, to be honest. But this is a big step, not just for you and me but for Dylan too.”

“He loves you, too,” he reassured her. “He wants you here as much as I do.”

“Even so, I don’t want us to rush into anything. Especially not if there’s a chance we could fuck something so good up just ‘cos we couldn’t wait a few months.”

He understood. He really did. But that didn’t make the rejection sting any less. She was right. As always. He would do anything to ensure he got to keep this woman, including waiting.

Letting out a sigh, he let his nose nudge hers. “Okay, kitten, I hear you. We’ll put a pin in it for now. But please think on it, yeah? Whenever you decide you’re ready, then I want you here. In this house. In this bed. In mine and Dylan’s life. Forever.”

Luckily, she didn’t think him a madman. That was made clear when she reached up and lay the softest kiss on his lips.

“Make love to me, Cody McBride.” The words brushed against his mouth and sent fire shooting through his veins.

Capturing both her hands, he pinned them above her head. He would do more than make love to his woman tonight. He would worship her.

***

Today, Cody was taking Cat riding. Not just Cat though, like he’d originally planned. No, a whole load of people were currently on their way to his parents’ ranch.

There was Jack, of course, who he still needed to make time to get to know better. Dylan would be there too, but would likely be glued to his grandparents the entire day. Libby and Zach were coming as well, along with Zach’s friends from work: Hunter, Benny and Luke. And let’s not forget Rachel, who was friends with Cat and Libby.

Why am I doing this again?

As he parked up on the gravel drive, he couldn’t quite remember the reason. It started as a way to give Cat a fun day and a little more time for her to get to know his parents. Then Jack turned up, so naturally he was invited. Then Zach heard about it, and it spiralled from there.

His family ranch was small in comparison to the one his friend Zach grew up on, which wasn’t too far away. Unlike his friend, Cody’s family business was small. His parents used their land to board horses and offer riding lessons. It was the reason he loved riding so much, something he was pleased to be sharing with Cat.

With dirt crunching beneath his boots, he made his way up to the main house. His dad already in sight as he rocked his chair back and forth on the white wooden porch.

Greetings exchanged, his dad rose and gestured for him to go inside.

“Your ma’s made enough food to feed an army. Pies, sandwiches, potato salad...you name it, we got it. I’ll fire up the barbecue later on, too.”

That sounded like his mom. Ever the hostess. And you couldn’t beat his dad’s barbecue.

“Thanks, Dad. I know this is all kind of last minute, I appreciate you having everyone over.”

He really did. Especially now the guest list had snowballed.

As they walked through his family home his eyes automatically zoomed to the picture frames on the wall. Photos of Cody and Dylan were front and center, but it was the ones of Ellie that had bile rising up.

Guilt. His old friend.

The feel of his dad’s hand slapping on his back was his first indication he’d frozen in place. The second was what his dad said next.

“She’d want you to be happy, son.”

His head was hanging now, staring down at the scuffed, dark wooden boards. “Then why does it feel so wrong? Why do I feel so damn guilty?”

“Because you’re a good man.” His head lifted again to find wrinkles crinkling his father’s brow. “Just because you loved her doesn’t mean you have to spend the rest of your days mourning her. You only get one life. And you deserve to spend it happy. Dylan deserves a dad who is happy, Cody. And son, I haven’t seen you as happy as you’ve been these past couple of months.”

“Cat,” he mumbled under his breath.

“Yes, Cat. I may be an old man, but I know love when I see it. You’ve got a second chance at a future...don’t waste it by living in the past.”

When did his dad get so wise?

The subject was dropped after that. Most likely because his father could see that Cody was still struggling. They were back on the move again, through the double doors that opened up onto the back patio.

As soon as he stepped outside, he smiled. The weight of the world on his shoulders slowly easing. God bless his mom and dad. They’d put out chairs and tables and had rows of covered food ready to go as soon as people started to arrive.

Dylan was already in the yard. Dropping the toy car he’d been holding as soon as he’d laid eyes on Cody. Running straight at him and colliding with his legs as usual.

“Dad! Have you seen all the food Nana made? She told me I wasn’t allowed to eat any pie until you got here, but now you’re here, can I have some?”

He chuckled in his ma’s direction. She was already shaking her head as she wandered over.

“Like father, like son. All you could think about at that age was the contents of your stomach, too.” His mom ignored the child attached to his legs and pulled him into a hug. “Hello, my boy.”

“Hi, Ma,” Cody returned.

Dylan was tugging his flannel shirt now, clearly concerned about where they stood on the whole pie situation.

“Yes, you can have pie, little man. But only one slice.”

And he was off.

Before he had a chance to catch up with his mom, the sound of cars pulling into the driveway caught all of their attention. It was party time.

***

An hour into the party, Cody whisked Cat away on horseback, so he could give her the grand tour of the land he grew up on. As Cat didn’t know how to ride, they’d only taken the one horse, which worked out well because not only did he have a view to enjoy, but he got to enjoy it with Cat’s sexy body plastered against him.

“So, I really did snag myself a cowboy after all, huh?” Her head lolled against his shoulder as she leaned back against him.

“I’m a man of many talents, sweetheart.”

“Yes, you are.” He didn’t need to see her face to know she had on that smirk of hers.

Cody pulled on the reins, bringing the toffee-colored mare to a stop. After jumping down, he took Cat’s hand and carefully helped her dismount too. As she slid down his body, he couldn’t for the life of him remember what he was going to say.

Yep. It’s not coming back.

“You think you could bring that hat home with you?” Cat’s fingers were climbing up his torso now, a playful look in her eyes.

One hand shot to the rim of his leather Stetson. “You like this, kitten?”

He had his answer as soon as her expression switched from playful to hot-blooded hellion. His woman really did have a thing for cowboys.

“Maybe.” Those naughty fingers of hers were now playing with the buttons at the opening of his shirt. “Bring that hat home and I’m sure you’ll find out.”

It was decided. He was never taking the thing off. And damn if the word ‘home’ didn’t sound really, really good coming out of her sweet mouth.

Just be patient.

He wasn’t feeling very patient. Especially as she reached up and grazed his lips with a teasing kiss. A rumble vibrated down his throat. The only thing stopping him from throwing Cat down and taking what he wanted was the mare snorting beside them.

Shaking his head in the hope that some of his senses that had been rattled loose would return to their rightful place, he took a reluctant step back.

Making quick work of tying up their horse to the nearest tree, he grabbed hold of Cat’s hand and led her up the pebble path. This was his favorite spot. Secluded and high up enough to look out onto the nearby creek.

“This is where I used to come as a kid.” Kneeling down, he settled himself into the springy grass and tugged on Cat’s hand until she joined him. “You see that over there?” He pointed out the pile of wooden planks sitting under a huge bur oak.

“Yeah.”

“That was my old treehouse. It didn’t quite make it through its first storm, though.”

Her eyes remained fixed on the stack of wood. “That’s sad. Did you not try and build another one?”

“Nah, I was onto my next phase by then. Video games, if I remember correctly.” Cody’s arm went around her shoulder, and he tucked her into his side. “And girls.”

Cat let her head fall onto his shoulder. It felt damn good to share this place with her. He’d never taken anyone up here before. Not even Dylan. One day he wanted Dylan to find his own spot. Somewhere he could escape like he had. It was yet another reminder he’d been dragging serious ass when it came to buying land for them. Maybe it was finally time to fix that.

“Jack wants me to go back with him. To Brighton.”

If there was ever a way to pull Cody out of his head in less than a second, those words would definitely do it.

“What?” He didn’t even hide the panic in his voice.

“He doesn’t think Dad has long and thinks I should go back. To say goodbye.”

“For a visit...or are we talking moving back?” Again, he was beyond hiding the fear crawling up his throat.

“He wants me to stay until...you know.”

That could be months. A year. Longer. Who was to say how long her dad had left. Surely, that was in God’s hands. Fighting to contain the frantic feeling inside, he twisted to look at her, her head no longer given the option of a place to rest.

“When you say Jack thinks your dad doesn’t have long, is that just a guess or did an actual doctor tell him that?”

The sadness shining in those blue pools managed to switch his brain back on. It clicked then. He was being selfish. This was her dad, for heaven’s sake. Her dad who was going to die. And all he’d been worrying about was himself when he should have been worrying about her.

His big hand reached out to cup her delicate face. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. Are you okay? What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know.” Her voice was just a whisper. “A part of me thinks I’ve been grieving for so long that it feels like a relief to finally be free. To just accept that he’s gone, y’know? And start moving on with my life. But then there’s this other part of me. The guilty part. The one telling me how selfish I’m being. That I’ve given up on a man who is still very much alive ‘cos I’m just not strong enough to handle what’s going on.”

His chest tightened as her gaze hit the grass. Using a single finger, he lifted her chin until he was looking into her eyes. “Hey, don’t do that. Don’t put all that shit on your shoulders. You’re the strongest person I know. You spent three years doing what most people wouldn’t even last three days doing. And you did it all out of love. You’re fucking amazing, sweetheart. I’m in awe of you.”

And he was. Behind her obvious strength was layers and layers of kindness. She was the best person he knew. She had looked after everyone around her for years while still maintaining a full-time job. And what looked like an anxiety disorder. The last thing she should have been feeling was guilt for finally putting herself first.

“How can you say that? I abandoned not only my dad but my mum, too. And Jack. All because I was too weak to stick it out any longer.”

“You were having panic attacks, for God’s sake. This is not about being weak or strong. Although, I stand by what I said about you being strong as hell. This is about your health. How are you supposed to look after all these people when you don’t even have time to look after yourself, huh?”

Two lone tears tumbled down her cheeks. Framing her face, he used both thumbs to swipe them away.

“You’re not on your own anymore,” Cody continued. “I love you, sweetheart. And part of that love means I’ve got you . You wanna go take care of other people, then fine, but I’ll take care of you. Whatever you need. Emotionally or physically. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.” And he meant that.

He swiped more tears as a steady stream descended. They both let the droplets fall, not taking their eyes off each other as they did.

It would be another hour before they left their spot and re-joined the others. And when they did, Cody knew with great certainty that he was going to marry this woman.