10. Bex
Chapter 10
Bex
Penny was passed out in the sleeping bag next to mine, but I couldn’t shut my brain off enough to fall asleep.
After rolling over for the hundredth time, I’d had enough and decided to get some fresh air. Unzipping the front of the tent, I slipped on my shoes before crawling out.
I was still rising to my feet when a familiar voice spoke softly. “Couldn’t sleep?”
Head whipping up, I found Tucker propped against a tree trunk not too far from the fire that had died to embers, casting a soft glow over him in the dark.
When I merely offered him a shrug in response, he asked, “Wrist still bothering you?”
My gaze dipped to my right arm. Things had been so hectic the past few days that I’d practically forgotten about my injury. Almost as if my body needed Tucker’s reminder that I’d been hurt, a dull throb came to life beneath the plaster, similar to the ache filling my chest.
“A little,” I confessed .
Tuck’s brow wrinkled. “You taking your meds on schedule?”
I bristled, ready to lash out and declare that I could take care of myself, but the voice of reason at the back of my mind warned that he was only acting out of concern as the treating physician.
The fight went right out of me at the thought, and anger turned to sadness. That’s what I wanted, wasn’t it? To have clear lines drawn? To separate the past from the present? If that were true, then why did my stomach hurt at the idea that he might be pulling away?
“Bex?” Tucker shoved off the ground, stalking closer slowly as if I were a horse about to spook. “Are you in pain?”
Heart twisting, I managed to rasp out, “Yes.”
Pure anguish filled his eyes, and he reached for me. Every cell screamed for me to go to him, to bury my face in his chest, to let his strong arms surround me, but I held myself back.
When I didn’t close the distance between us, a heavy sigh sounded, and his hand fell to his side.
“Tell me how I can make it better,” he begged.
My eyes slammed shut, and I hugged my waist as a wave of sorrow crashed over me, threatening to knock me to my knees. In another lifetime, Tucker had been the only person on this earth who could offer me the comfort I needed in a moment like this. Now, he was the source of my suffering.
The teenage version of me was a fool to think that running from Rust Canyon was the solution to all my problems. Because Tucker had left a mark on my soul that would never fade, no matter where I went or how much space I tried to put between us.
What if the man who broke your heart is the only one who can put it back together ?
A gasp worked its way up my throat when the truth of that thought hit home.
“What?” Tuck’s panicked whisper reached my ears. His voice grew hoarse. “Please, Bex. You’re killing me.”
I dared to raise my eyelids to peek at him, and my heart leapt into my throat when I realized he was standing right before me, his hand hovering an inch away from my cheek.
Longing built in my chest until it became difficult to breathe. And before I could think better of it, my face turned enough that his palm grazed my skin. That was all it took to spark action, and his second hand came up to join the first. Thumbs reverently caressed over my cheekbones, spreading moisture, and that’s when I realized I was crying.
Whether those tears were mourning the past or washing it away, I couldn’t be sure. All I knew was that Tucker’s touch calmed the storm inside me, and for the first time in a decade, I felt at peace.
The craving for more came over me suddenly, so on instinct, my arms wrapped around his waist, and I pulled him closer. A relieved rush of air burst from his mouth as his gentle hands slid from my face to cradle the back of my head, tucking it into the crook of his shoulder.
“I’ve got you.”
Three simple words. That’s all it took to unlock a piece of my heart I’d kept guarded for ten long years. The piece that held my trust, which I hadn’t given to any other man. Only this one.
“Tucker.” His name came out broken between quiet sobs that rattled my chest.
“I’m so sorry, baby. You have no idea.”
For my entire adult life, I’d wanted to hate him but never could. It was as if my heart knew something I didn’t. That Tucker wasn’t the bad guy in our story, that he still loved me. We were just unlucky that life—or rather, some heartless bitch—had ripped us apart.
His hands offered silent comfort, stroking over my hair, running down the length of my back until my cries turned to hiccups. Swallowing hard, I asked a question I was almost afraid to hear the answer to. “What do we do now?”
With our bodies pressed flush, the vibration of his hum tickled my chest.
“Right now? All I want is to hold you. Is that okay?”
“Pretty sure you’re already doing that,” I teased on a watery laugh.
He clutched me tighter. “Will you sit with me? I know it’s chilly out, but we can use my sleeping bag as a blanket to stay warm. Or I can stoke the fire back to life. I don’t care which. I just don’t want to let you go.”
With my face pressed to his chest, I could hear his heart racing, betraying that he was scared I would turn him down.
For all I knew, this might be my last chance to spend the night in Tucker’s arms. The real world would come crashing in to burst our bubble soon enough, and I wanted to pretend, even if only for a few hours, that I could ever be his again.
The world hadn’t felt this right in a very long time, and I was desperate to hold on.
“Okay.”
Curling an arm around my waist, he guided me toward the tree he’d been propped up against earlier. Lowering himself to the ground, he held his hand out to help me down, situating me between his open thighs, my back to his front. Once I was settled, he yanked his sleeping bag over us both before pulling me close.
I let out a contented sigh, my limbs growing heavy along with my eyelids.
My last thought before sleep pulled me under was: I’m home.
Voices murmuring nearby had me cracking an eye open. The sky was just beginning to lighten with the sun rising over the horizon, and the first thing I saw was a pair of boots. Frowning, I shifted my gaze upward to discover Mac with his arms looped around Aspen’s waist from behind, the pair of them staring down at me with loopy grins on their faces.
Then, a shift from beneath me had me remembering last night, and I realized I was sprawled out across Tucker’s prone form.
Heat rose to my cheeks, and my sleep-roughened voice rasped, “Mornin’.”
Aspen playfully elbowed Mac in the ribs. “Told you that you were being too loud. You woke her up.”
Remorse flickered over Mac’s features. “Sorry, Bex.”
Tucker’s steady breathing told me he was still asleep, so I stayed still, not ready to leave the comfort of his arms.
“How long have you two been watching on like creeps?”
Mac checked his watch. “About half an hour.”
I shot a glare at my best friend. “Seriously? Don’t you two have better things to do?”
“Did ’em last night. Why do you think we slept on the other side of the house from the campsite?” Mac tossed me a wink.
“Lord have mercy.” Aspen groaned, rolling her eyes, but the flush rising up her neck betrayed there was some truth to Mac’s words. To me, she said, “I’ve seen this show before, but it was Mac’s first time, so I decided to indulge him.” Gaze softening as it swept over me, tangled up in Tucker, she smiled. “Is this the part where you ask me for five more minutes? ”
I snuggled into the man beneath me. “If you don’t mind.”
Threading her fingers with Mac’s, she led him away, tossing over her shoulder, “We’ll get a head start on breakfast. Take your time.”
Their footfalls crunched on the frost-tipped grass as they moved away from our resting spot.
“Thought they’d never leave.” Tucker’s husky voice had my head lifting to meet his blue eyes which were full of life for the first time since my return.
I arched an eyebrow. “And just how long have you been awake?”
His palm found the exposed skin at the small of my back, making heat curl low in my belly. “Long enough to know I never want to let you go.”
It was a good thing I was lying down because those words would have knocked me over.
Releasing a sigh, I closed my eyes, wishing with all my might that we could stay like this forever.
Aspen pulled her horse, Snowflake, alongside mine on our ride back across the ranch toward the barn. Eyes darting behind me to where I knew Tucker was riding, she kept her voice low. “What happened last night?”
I shrugged, attempting to play it cool. “Nothing much.”
She scoffed. “Sure. Looked like a whole lot of ‘nothing much’ from where I was standing.”
Face lifting toward the sun, I basked in the heat it provided.
“Are you seriously holding out on me right now?” There was a hint of indignation in her tone .
My lips curved into a grin. We shared everything, and I mean everything , with each other. Always had. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy messing with her from time to time.
“Must’ve been sleepwalking. Honestly, I have no recollection of how I ended up outside the tent, let alone how I found myself curled up on Tucker’s chest.”
When her blue eyes narrowed into thin slits, I decided to put her out of her misery.
“It’s not as exciting of a story as you’re probably hoping for, Aspen. I couldn’t sleep, so I snuck out for some fresh air. Tucker was still awake, hanging out near the fire.” I blew out a heavy breath. “And I don’t know. Maybe it was nostalgia, but when he offered the comfort of his arms, I couldn’t say no. Giving up the fight felt too good, and before I knew it, I was passed out.”
“So, what does this mean? Are you willing to give him another chance?” she pressed.
I let out a frustrated groan. “Honestly, I don’t know. As much as I wish I could wipe the slate clean, it’s not that easy. I’m still harboring a lot of hurt.”
“That’s fair.” Aspen nodded slowly. “But he’s still your person.”
Damn, she knew me too well.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “He is.”
Tucker Grant held the key to my heart. That had never changed.
Now, all that was left to decide was whether to let him keep it or demand he return it.