Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Emery
I wake before dawn like always. And I can’t wait to greet the day.
Now I have a companion to do it with.
Michael’s strong arm hugs me to him as he whispers, “Good morning, sunshine.”
“Good morning.” I twist around to hug him back.
He kisses the top of my head. “How’d you sleep?”
“Great. You?”
“Better than I have in years.”
I squeak in surprise. “Really?”
“Really. I think it’s your hot body next to me.”
His voice is tinged with humor, and I teasingly pat him lightly on the forearm. “Ha-ha.”
“You think I’m joking?” He cups my ass and kisses me hard on the mouth. “I’m completely serious.”
“Well, that’s just…” The sweetest freaking thing ever. “That’s kind of you.”
He barks out a laugh. “Kind of me, huh?”
“Shut up.” I stick out my tongue at him and step out of bed. “You want to watch the sun come up?” I ask as I head for my dresser to grab a t-shirt and shorts.
“I don’t think I need to see the sunrise with this view.”
I smile over my shoulder at him, and he raises his eyebrows at me.
“If you’d get your butt out of bed, I could admire the view also.”
Michael obliges me and walks over to me naked.
I reach out and palm his muscled chest. “You don’t have a change of clothes here,” I say.
He bends down to kiss me. “Does it bother you for me to be naked?”
“Not at all, but it might bother your cousins if the other guests watch you walk outside nude.”
“True.” He nuzzles my ear, and I shiver.
This man is very convincing at making me never want to leave the bed.
I force myself to step back from him and slip on my bra.
“You put on your clothes from last night, and we’ll stop by your cabin for some fresh ones in a minute,” I say.
I pull on my panties, t-shirt, and cut-offs.
“Ready?” I ask.
Michael’s already buttoning his pants. “Ready.”
We walk into his cabin, and while he’s getting changed, I sit on the living room couch and look with interest at the photographs framed and sitting on the coffee table.
I pick up the first one. It’s dated, clearly years old, of a family of four—parents and two young boys. I look more closely.
And I squeal.
I’ve seen this photograph before .
“What is it?” Michael appears in the doorway.
I hold up the framed photo in my hand. “Is this you and Ayden with your parents?”
“Yep.”
I smile. “Aunt Lynn has this photo at her house.”
Michael’s eyes widen. “Seriously?”
“Uh-huh. She has a smattering of what she always calls her Lucky Bay photos sitting on a table by her back door. They’re all from years ago, from when Tony was still alive. This is one of them.” I stare at him. “I bet that’s why you looked so familiar to me. I’ve seen pictures of you when you were young.”
“I bet I’ve seen ones of you too.” He snaps his fingers. “I remember now. Lynn showed me several of you with her and Tony. Obviously, they were from years ago, so I never saw you as an adult.”
“That would explain our confusion over whether we’d met before,” I say. “But it’s pretty cool, don’t you think? Almost like we were destined.”
I smile, and Michael chuckles.
“There you go with your fate and destiny again,” he teases me. “I’m going to go finish getting dressed.”
I know he thinks I’m being silly with this fated thing, but I feel closer to him than ever now. And yes, I’m a firm believer that some things are meant to be.
I look more closely at the photo.
Michael and Ayden as adults now look similar to their dad. Mr. Wild was handsome and dark-haired with an inviting expression. Mrs. Wild is lovely-looking with pretty eyes and a friendly face, and both parents are smiling down at their two boys.
I get a lump in my throat as I imagine the grief the three left behind must have felt—and still feel—without Mr. Wild here anymore .
I pick up another photo where Michael stands by a docked boat. He’s older than in the first photo, but his dad is with him, and I can make out the words Lucky Queen on the boat’s side.
The third photo has Michael holding a baby with Ayden and Bella next to them.
“That’s Hal.”
I was so engrossed in the pictures I didn’t realize Michael had re-entered the room. He takes a seat next to me again on the couch.
“He was asleep last night, and there was a nanny inside the house with him. You’ll meet him another time.”
“I’d love to.” I smile. “You’re a happy uncle.”
“I am.”
“Do you want kids of your own someday?” I ask impulsively.
He opens his mouth and then closes it.
“Too personal,” I say. “I hate when people ask me that question.”
“No, it’s okay.” He stares down at the photograph of himself with Ayden, Bella, and their son.
Then, he stands and extends his hand to me. “I have an idea. Instead of going outside, let’s sit at my bedroom window and watch the sun rise. We can talk more privately.”
The huge window seat provides the perfect place to watch the sun come up over the horizon. Michael and I sit close together and enjoy the gorgeous yellows and golds.
“I always wanted to be a father,” he says in a low tone.
“Really?”
“Yep. But I felt firsthand what my dad’s death did to the family he left behind. I don’t want to crush anyone that way. ”
I turn toward him and trace a heart over his chest with my finger. “I’m so sorry about your dad, Michael.” I hesitate. “I remember the day the Lucky Queen went down.”
His breath hitches. “You do?”
“I came home from school, and my mom was a wreck. She loved Uncle Tony like he was her own brother. He was my dad’s older brother, and everyone in my family looked up to him. Tony and Lynn would come out to Montana at least once a year. My uncle took time off work.”
“I remember my dad saying Tony had his priorities straight.” He looks at me. “How old were you?”
“I was ten.”
“That’s how old my brother was.” His face twists in pain. “I tried so hard to make it better for him and for my mom. I don’t think I’ll ever think I did enough.”
His cheeks flush like he didn’t mean to say all of that.
“Do you think a piece of you is still that twelve-year-old kid waiting for your dad to come home safely?”
“I don’t know,” he says after a long beat of silence.
“It couldn’t have been easy being the oldest male in the house at such a tender age.”
“I played father as best I could. But I couldn’t make up for my dad’s absence.”
My heart breaks at his raw honesty. Only to absolutely shatter when he adds—
“My wound still hasn’t healed, and every time I go out on the water, I feel him again. But it’s never enough. Last month, when we nearly capsized and my entire crew was at risk…” He clears his throat. “We almost didn’t make it back. And it got me thinking—why am I doing this? Who am I doing it for? Is it all for him?”
“We do crazy things to stay close to our parents,” I say. “I never left the area. I went to college locally and lived at home. I couldn’t bear the idea of being away from my mom. Even though she’s begged me to get out and explore the world because she knows I need more than just what she had. And she’s right. Losing my job made me start to think about things. She and I are very different people, and that’s okay.”
He flicks his gaze to mine. “I never thought of it that way.”
I touch his cheek tenderly. “Maybe because you were so young when you lost your dad. You didn’t have a chance to know him as an adult.”
He kisses the top of my head. “That makes sense.”
We sit quietly for a few moments before I accidentally bump his…ahem, package, with my hand.
“Sorry,” I say with a giggle. God, I truly feel almost constantly turned on around this man. Not sure if he’s on the same page, I add quickly, “That was unplanned.”
“But certainly not unwanted,” Michael says in a raspy tone. He shifts around and pulls me on top of him. “Things are just getting started between us. I plan to be inside you plenty more times.”
In my heart, I’d like endless more days and nights with Michael Wild.
But that’s not a conversation I can have with him. So instead, I’ll push those deeper needs aside and enjoy what’s happening in the present.