31. Shiloh
Shiloh
Waking up in his arms is something I could get used to.
But I can’t. Everything is different now, but it doesn’t change anything.
I roll over slowly to go let the dog out, but then his large arm comes back around, pulling me into his bare chest.
“Where are you going?” he asks tightening his arm.
“To let the dog out.”
“Already done,” he mumbles, still half-asleep.
He lets me go laying on his back and I turn to look at his profile. He’s normally meticulous, but right now he’s messy. I love it.
He turns his head to look at me. We didn’t set an alarm and I know I’m very late to work, but I can’t find it in myself to care.
“Let me take you out tonight,” he says.
I hum. “I’m not really interested in the diner, or one of the bars we’ve been to countless times.”
The corner of his mouth tips up. “Good thing I wasn’t going to take you to any of those places.”
“Oh? Where are we going?” I ask him.
He runs a hand through his hair brushing it back. “You’re just going to have to trust me.”
I know he’s messing with me, but I trust him, and it hits me how much I really do.
“We’re very late,” I mumble.
He groans, then flips himself onto me, and I wheeze, trying to breathe under the weight of him. “Ten more minutes,” he says, covering my body.
“I don’t think I’ll last that long,” I gasp.
He chuckles and takes his weight off of me, kissing me long and slow.
“Morning,” he rasps.
“Morning,” I whisper.
Then he disappears under the sheets.
“What are you doing? We need to get up,” I say to the sheet covered head.
His hand squeezes my thigh, and he says, “Ten more minutes.”
Heat pools in my stomach with his touch, and I know it’s going to be hard to get out of this bed for anything.
“Ledger, come on,” I mumble.
“Oh,” I gasp.
He pops his head up. “Twenty more minutes?”
I nod rapidly. “Yeah, twenty more minutes.”
He grins mischievously and disappears under the sheets.
We’re in the truck for about twenty minutes, as we get closer to the mountains until he turns onto a long gravel road. A lot of country roads out here are gravel so I don’t think anything of it.
The road inclines, and I look out over the mountainous scenery. Paxton is beautiful, always has been, and looking down at the town in the valley makes me love it even more.
“I’ve been waiting for you to ask me where we’re going, and I’m surprised you haven’t,” Ledger says.
I shrug. “I don’t mind fun surprises.”
He chuckles dryly.
Ledger slows the truck as he rounds a switchback, then slowly climbs higher, and I’m glad we left Dozer at home for a couple of hours because I’d be afraid of him getting hurt.
A cabin comes into view and I gasp. It’s beautiful and definitely one of those cabins people rent out to tourists.
During the summer months we get a huge influx of travelers.
They’re here to hike, and stay in the mountains, and visit the national parks near us.
In the winter the winter sport fanatics come out for skiing and snowboarding.
It’s partially what helps Paxton thrive.
The large cabin is in the classic log cabin style and surrounding the front door is an entire wall of windows overlooking the mountains. Surrounding the house is a deck with two chairs and a propane fire pit between them.
Ledger parks the truck. “What do you think?” he asks.
“It’s beautiful. Is it your family’s?”
“My cousin Dallas built it. He lives in Texas, but he likes to come up here to decompress,” he says.
“Wow.”
“Yeah, that side of my family is a little different,” he says.
I frown. “Why do you say that?” I ask him.
He shrugs. “They’re ranchers like us, but the King family are landmen and have been for a very long time.”
I stare at Ledger for a second. “Wait … are you saying your cousin is Dallas King? The Dallas King?”
Ledger nods and reaches for the door handle. “Yeah, he’s a country singer.”
“You’re joking.”
His brows squish together as if it’s not already obvious. “Why would I joke?” he asks.
I snort and shake my head reaching for my door.
“You better not open that door,” he commands.
I take my hand off the lever and hold it up, looking at Ledger in a ‘see I’m listening’, gesture.
“Good girl,” he grunts.
I bite my lip to contain the heated thoughts as he rounds the truck to open the door for me.
“I cannot believe you’re cousins with Dallas King. I love his music.”
“He’s just my cousin,” Ledger mutters.
“Does he know our own Grace Goodwin?” I ask him.
“I don’t know you’ll have to ask June,” he says leading me to the front door with his hand at the small of my back.
“Wait, I know we all went to school together, but I figured she wasn’t really around here much now that she’s a country star.”
Ledger shakes his head. “I saw her a few weeks ago at family dinner.”
“I’m not trying to be a fan girl or anything, but whoa.”
He reaches around me and types in the code on the front door before pushing it open, allowing me to go first.
“I’m sure she’ll be around in another couple weeks, you could meet her then,” Ledger says nonchalantly.
I nearly melt on the spot. Ledger is handsome and all, but his cousin… Dallas is … that man. I puff out a breath and pull my brain out of lala land.
“What do you think?” Ledger asks and I finally look around.
The entry to the cabin has a bench with hooks for hats, coats, and a tray for boots.
In front of me is a staircase to the second floor.
Across from the bench is the massive living room with a giant sectional in front of the fireplace.
The large wall of windows sits to the right and a small sitting area with two chairs and a table between them face the windows.
A large TV sits above the fireplace and from there it leads into a sprawling kitchen with an island twice the size of Ledger’s kitchen.
This kitchen looks like it was pulled directly out of some fancy magazine and placed here.
The cabinets are a light wood color, probably hickory, and the backsplash is a thin white tile that isn’t perfectly straight all around it has an organic touch to it making it feel natural yet has a modern flare to it.
The appliances are stainless steel and the fridge is massive with a little wine fridge to the side.
“It’s amazing, do you come here often?” I ask him.
“Nah, Dallas has it rented out most of the year, unless he’s here, of course, and this is usually the only time it’s not booked because we’re in between seasons,” he says.
I look around still in awe of the cozy space.
“Would you like a beer or a glass of wine or whiskey?” he asks.
I spin around and he’s standing next to the fridge. “Does it come with beer, wine, and whiskey when you rent it?” I ask him.
He chuckles. “No, I went and got some and brought everything up here.”
“When did you do that?” I ask him because I don’t know how he had time to do all of this.
“After I dropped you off at home,” he says and winks.
“Beer please,” I say, a little breathless.
He pops the top and hands it over to me and pulls food out of the fridge.
“I’m going to make dinner, and then I thought we could sit by the fire pit.”
I hum and look around, pretending to decide. “I think that would be alright.”
He huffs. “Sounds like a hardship for you.”
I shrug and take a sip. “Sometimes we have to make sacrifices.”
He smiles and shakes his head.
“Before you start can you show me the rest of the house?” I ask.
He sets the burgers on the counter. “Sure.”
Ledger gestures for me to go first and as I start to climb the stairs, I glance over my shoulder.
“You just wanted me to go first so you could stare at my ass.”
He hums. “I am many things, but I’m not a liar. You caught me,” he says, holding his hands up.
“Then I guess it’s time to admit I can’t stop looking at yours in those jeans.”
He chuckles and starts down the hall to the right. “There’s three bedrooms, and four bathrooms. Down here is the master,” he says and opens the door.
The room is massive, with a giant bed on solid wood that looks like it was hand hewn.
It’s simple but feels cozy, with a white bedspread and pops of green and rustic orange pillows sitting on top, with other colorful western accents throughout the space.
The rug on the wood floor is cozy with a classic traditional design that appears worn, but it’s supposed to look that way, giving it a warm feel.
I follow Ledger into the bathroom, and it looks state of the art, a giant walk-in shower with a rainhead hanging from the ceiling and a bathtub arguably big enough for three people.
“This looks comfortable.”
Ledger nods and shows me the other equally pretty bedrooms, all centered around a cozy but somewhat modern theme with touches of western roots throughout the house.
He leads the way back down stairs and gestures to a seat at the island.
I take my beer and watch him gather the ingredients from the fridge.
“How was your day today?” I ask him.
“It was a little chaotic, but slightly more so than normal. We’re still buttoning up things from the hold up at TJ’s.”
I take a sip of beer. “It probably didn’t help that you were late.”
The corner of his mouth tips up, and he opens the package of carrots. “No, it didn’t, but I’d say it was worth it.” He looks up and my skin feels hot.
I take a swig of beer, trying to focus on asking him what’s been on my mind. “So, have you heard anything about Grey?”
He pauses washing the carrots. “No, unfortunately I haven’t. But we’ll catch him. It’s only a matter of time.”
“Why do you ask?”
“No reason, I was wondering if you had.” I feel like I’ve been balancing on a tightrope ever since he disappeared. I keep expecting him to jump out, and I’ll fall to my death.
“Have you heard something?” he asks gently.
“No, I haven’t. I would have told you if I did.”
“We have a warrant out for him. You’ll be the first to know when we have him in cuffs,” Ledger says.
“When you do, he’s probably going to talk,” I whisper. My throat tightens, and I swallow thickly.
“I know. But I have a plan,” he says.
“How did you swing that legally?” I ask him, knowing how important the rules, the law is to him.
He sighs and looks me in the eye, “I’ll do whatever I need to do to make sure nothing comes back to you.”
“I mean, I’m the one who —”
Ledger holds up his hand. “No, honey, you’re not hearing me. I will do anything I need to do.”
I blink, absorbing his words, and a cross between guilt, that I’ve put him in this situation, and relief fight for dominance. So I nod, needing to change the subject because I don’t want to think about the consequences of Grey anymore than I already do.
“Can I help?” I ask.
“Sure, want to chop the salad?” he asks.
I hop off my seat and round the island.
Our hands brush when he hands me the knife and the heat of his touch lingers on my skin.
“Do you think if the Sheriff called the diner and the Wooden Cowboy and told them you needed to take some time off they’d let you keep your jobs?”
I frown and keep chopping. “Um, I don’t know. Why would you ask them that, anyway?”
“Because I think it might be a safer option for the moment.”
“Why? Is it because of Grey?”
“Among other things,” he mumbles.
The warmth bleeds from me and I drop the knife on the counter, angry that I’m in this position. I feel a little crazy bouncing from one emotion to the next. Ledger probably thinks I am crazy at this point.
“Absolutely not. No, I won’t do it. He doesn’t get to control me.
I promised myself when I left I was done letting him dictate anything in my life.
I will be damned if I stop living because of that asshole.
So screw him and screw you for even suggesting that I alter my life because of that ass.
” Fury and a bit of fear make my stomach sour.
I reach for the knife, but my hands are shaking because I’m so mad.
He sighs and takes the knife from me.
“I care about you a lot. Do you understand that?”
I glance at him then back at the cutting board, and shrug.
He huffs, holding my hand. “Then let me explain it to you.”