Chapter 13 #2
“I think this is real,” he said. “I’m not smart enough to have all the answers, but I’ll be one hundred percent honest with you, always.”
The words settled between them like the promise it was meant to be. The space on the porch felt warmer somehow. Safer.
Allison smiled, not because she had the answers but because, maybe, she didn’t need to.
She shifted again, leaning her shoulder lightly on the back of the swing. The wood was warm against her back. She didn’t press him. Didn’t fill the silence. She let it settle, let it breathe.
Seth finally spoke, his voice low and rough. “I was married once.”
Allison turned her head toward him, surprised. “You were?”
“Yeah. For about six months. Well, I lived with her for six months. The divorce took over a year. We were both handlers for military working dogs. Met in training, got together fast. It was one of those whirlwind things that felt right in the middle of all the chaos.” He grabbed his cup from the rail and ran a finger around the rim.
“She cheated. Repeatedly. We worked different shifts, and I was the last one to figure it out, which probably says something about my intelligence.”
Allison didn’t say anything. He needed the space to let it out, just like she had earlier.
“I think I held onto her because we understood the job. Because she was familiar when nothing else was. But she didn’t respect me or us. Didn’t care the way I thought she did.”
He looked over at her, jaw tight. “That wrecked a lot of things inside me. Trust. Pride. Man, both of those took massive hits.” He gave a short, bitter laugh.
“I spent the next twenty years alone. I dated, but nothing serious. Then I retired and came back stateside. Two months later, my dad started slipping …” He trailed off, staring into the darkness.
“You came home,” Allison said softly.
“Yeah. He was confused when I got back. He was growly and mean. God forbid anyone know Chester Hansen couldn’t handle his life.”
“Was he always like that?”
“Proud? Stubborn as hell?” Seth gave a small nod. “Yeah. He wasn’t a bad dad, not exactly. Just … hard. Distance was his way of loving people. And silence was his version of showing you he trusted you. If he didn’t have to bark at you, you were golden.”
Allison sensed the ache in his voice wasn’t sharp or bitter. He just seemed tired and worn down.
“I resented him for a long time,” he said.
“Still do, sometimes. But now? Watching him slip … It’s like the worst parts of our history don’t even matter anymore.
I keep the best morsels of our time together in here.
” He touched his chest, over his heart. “I just want to keep him safe. Give him some dignity.”
When he looked out at the land again, Allison followed his gaze. The fields stretched quiet and silver in the moonlight .
Seth continued, “So, yeah. Married and divorced when I was barely able to drink legally. A decorated career handling and training dogs. And now, back in my hometown, I care for a man who never once said, ‘I need help,’ until a couple of days ago.” His laugh was low, rueful.
“So, we can both attest to having a bumpy road. Good thing we know where the ruts are now.”
Allison reached over and brushed her fingers against his.
It wasn’t a grab. Just a touch. Gentle. Steady.
And she wasn’t afraid to make the move, which was pure heaven.
Her inner demons seemed to vanish around Seth.
“You don’t have to drive that route all alone,” she whispered.
“Whatever this is, and whatever the ending, I’m here for you. You don’t have to do this alone.”
Seth’s eyes met hers, quiet and searching. Something settled there in his eyes, something that looked a lot like hope. “Yeah,” he said. “I think I’m starting to believe that.”
He leaned in.
The kiss wasn’t hesitant. It wasn’t rushed either. Just a slow, claiming brush of lips that deepened as the silence wrapped around them. Her hand slid to his jaw. His arm curled around her waist.
She ended up in his lap, her body pressed against his, the swing groaning under the shift. His hands moved to her hips, his mouth trailing heat against her throat. The air between them grew electric. Breathless.
Desire flared, sharp and white hot and undeniably real.
Allison’s breath hitched as Seth’s mouth returned to hers, more insistent this time, less careful. His hands slid under her shirt, rough palms against the curve of her waist, anchoring her to him. Her heart beat so hard she felt it in her throat and heard it in her ears.
“This isn’t slow,” he murmured against her mouth, his voice low, gravel-edged.
She didn’t pretend to misunderstand. “I know,” she whispered, fingers gripping his shoulders as if to ground herself. “I don’t want to go slow with this. Not right now.”
“Then we’ll go slow later.”
She nodded. “Later, much later.”
“Next year?”
She shook her head. “Next century.”
“That’s a long time.” He smiled down at her.
“Take a hint, Hansen.” She lifted her eyebrows at him.
That was all he needed.
Seth stood, one arm under her thighs, the other around her back.
The porch swing rocked violently as he lifted her off it, but he didn’t pause.
He carried her inside, his steps fast and sure, booted feet thudding against the old wooden floors.
The door clicked shut behind them, Gomer glancing up from his place near Chester’s room before settling again with a huff.
Seth didn’t speak as he crossed the living room, his focus entirely on her. He pushed open the door to the guest room and stepped inside, kicking it closed behind him.
Allison’s back met the mattress, her breath rushing out of her as he followed her down. His mouth was on her neck, her jaw, her collarbone. She arched into him, pulling his shirt loose from where it was tucked into his waistband.
Every kiss, every touch, was confirmation that this moment was happening. And it wasn’t careful or tentative anymore. It was all-consuming. Unleashed. He’d never wanted anything so badly. His body ached for her, and the nights spent thinking of this moment didn’t compare to the real thing .
His fingers brushed the hem of her shirt and slid higher, pausing just beneath the lace of her bra.
“Allison,” he breathed against her skin, voice hoarse. “Tell me if you want to stop. You say the word, and I stop.” He’d stop. There was no question there. Whatever she needed, he’d make sure she got.
With her eyes locked on his, she shook her head. “I want this.”
His hand stilled, and his gaze searched hers, a flicker of tension passing through the heat.
Then she said it, soft but clear. “I need to tell you something.”
Seth froze above her, his body humming with restraint, breath coming hard.
“I’m still a virgin,” she whispered.
The room fell quiet. The only sound was the ticking of the old clock in the hall and the distant call of a night bird from beyond the window.
Seth blinked. His brow drew down. His mind tried to make that statement compute, but he couldn’t. Disbelief swamped him until he stared at her and saw the truth.
“You’re…wait, you’re serious?” His voice dropped, raw and reverent all at once. “Allison …”
Color rushed to her cheeks. “I know that’s probably not what you expected. But it’s true. I’ve come close before, but I never followed through. It never felt right.”
Seth leaned back slightly, his weight shifting to his forearms as he looked down at her, stunned. “You could’ve said nothing. I wouldn’t have known.”
“I didn’t want to do that,” she whispered. “Not with you. Honesty, always honesty.”
His eyes softened, and he reached up, brushing a strand of hair back from her face with aching gentleness. “Jesus, sweetheart.” He exhaled, his forehead lowering to rest against hers. “You’re … you’re giving me something you’ve never given anyone else.”
Her fingertips trailed down his arms. “This, us … It feels right, doesn’t it?”
For a long moment, he didn’t move. Just held her, forehead to forehead, their breath mingling in the space in between. “This feels perfect, and we’ll take our time,” he whispered. “We’re here, together. Right now. No pressure. No rush. Just us.”
The woman he held planted the biggest compliment and one hell of a serving of responsibility on him with those simple words.
He didn’t want this to be a mistake for her.
He needed this relationship to be solid and true, and he knew his intention toward her was honorable.
Hell, he could see himself with her for the rest of their lives, but he wouldn’t scare her with that revelation.
Seth hovered above her, his eyes searching hers. He needed to make sure, one last time, that this wasn’t something she’d regret. “Babe,” he whispered again, barely more than breath, reverent and unsteady. “If I do this, I need to do it right.”
She reached up, her palm against the side of his face, thumb brushing over the edge of his jaw. “Then don’t be careful with me, Seth. Be real. I need real. I …” She closed her eyes. “You are who I want. Who I need.”
That did something to him. Unleashed something quiet and reverent that had been chained up behind all his restraint.
He lowered his mouth to hers with aching need and every ounce of tenderness he could find.
Their kiss was slow, sensual, and hot. He was no longer tentative.
His hands moved beneath her shirt again, warm against bare skin as he lifted the fabric inch by inch, pausing only to make sure she was still with him.
She was. God, she was. They both leaned into touches, to the dance that spun them higher and higher.
She shivered at his touch. The soft moans and sounds of her pants filled the room.
They were the sexiest sounds he’d ever heard.
Her shirt landed somewhere on the floor.
Then her bra, undone with steady fingers and care that he prayed told her he wasn’t just undressing her; he was memorizing and mapping every inch of her body. Her hot, tight, gorgeous body.
“You’re beautiful,” he murmured, his voice rough even to his own ears.
“You always were.” He’d always admired her.
Her laugh, her personality, but he knew he was leaving Hollister the first chance he got, and besides, she was Ken’s.
Or so he’d thought. Now, he could stare at her beauty because she was his.
All his, and she was giving him the most beautiful present he’d ever received.
She was giving him herself, and he would honor that present forever.
Her chest rose and fell beneath his gaze, vulnerable and naked, but she didn’t flinch, and he prayed she understood the reverence he was trying to give her.
His hands slid over her hips, down to the waistband of her jeans, and then paused.
His mouth was on her again, whispering promises against her neck.
“We’ll go slow,” he said, even though he was barely holding himself back. “I need you to feel everything. No rushing through it.”
“I want to feel everything,” she whispered, her arms pulling him closer. “I want you.”
The room was filled with the soft sounds of breath and the rustle of sheets. His shirt joined hers, then her jeans, then his. Piece by piece, they shed the barriers between them. The air was warm and heavy, filled with the scent of night air and skin.
He kissed her like she was something he didn’t dare break because she was a present, and she was safe in his arms. She would always be safe with him. He reached over to the nightstand, grabbed his wallet, and pulled out a condom.
“Why?” she panted.
He stopped and looked down at her. “Protection against pregnancy.”
“I’m on the pill.” She took the condom and tossed it off the bed.
“Probably for the best. That thing is five or six years old.”
She laughed, and he smiled down at her. The humor died, but the passion between them engulfed them white hot and urgent.
When he entered her, it wasn’t without hesitation. He paused, kissed her cheek, her jaw, her temple. God, it was painful to stop, but for her, he’d endure hell. “You okay?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “I want this, Seth. I want you.”
And then there was no space left between them.
It wasn’t perfect, but it was real. They laughed and sighed.
There were awkward moments that melted away as they found a rhythm.
Was it the perfect coupling? God, no. But it was good, and the depth of the honesty between them was powerful.
It was the type of intimacy that broke the holds of the past and shone a light on the future.
Seth held her gently because this woman mattered, and she’d taken up a place in his life with ease. He treated her like the precious gift he believed she was. And when she cried, just a little, he kissed the tears from her cheeks.
When they were both quiet again, tangled in each other beneath the worn quilt and the soft moonlight coming in from the window, Seth spoke first. “I can’t help but feel you just changed everything for me,” he said, voice bare and honest. He needed her to know what he was saying was the truth.
Allison didn’t answer right away. She just curled closer to him, fitting into the space his body made for her. She whispered, “I think you changed everything for me first. You saw me.”
Outside, the wind whispered through the prairie grass. Inside, two people who had lived through a rough and rutted past found something neither thought they’d get. A fresh start.