Chapter 25
Dean
This is heaven. You don’t have to die to get there. You just have to give your soul to someone, and paradise finds you.
Firelight dances over Grace’s skin as she lies on her side, her head propped up while I run my fingers up and down her thigh. She’s half in, half out of a blanket with this dreamy, sleepy expression on her sweet face. Pride swells in my chest knowing I’m the man who put her in this serene state.
“Is this where everyone went earlier?” Her voice is soft like a songbird.
“Mm hmm. Nick has a key.”
“That explains all the tire tracks.”
Was she worried someone came up here while we were gone? “No one’s coming up here that’s not expected on a night like this. You don’t have to worry.”
“I thought I saw Bryson at the Jubilee.”
My heart skids to a stop. “Thought or know?”
“Hallucinated?” She shrugs. “That’s what I’m going with.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I wasn’t going to ruin the best date with something stupid like that. Besides, there’s no way he’d still be here. He’s back in New York being a jackass. Whoever I saw was just a dude in a black winter coat.”
A lot of men wear those. She’s probably right, and it was nothing.
But what if it was?
“I’ll be right back,” I say, peeling away from her. “I’m going to lock the gate down the hill, just to be safe.”
“It’s okay,” she says. “I’m just being overreactive. There’s no need to do that.”
“There’s every need.” My pants are hot from being so close to the fire all night. “I want you to feel safe here, Grace. Locking a gate is easy and can help achieve that.” Kissing her forehead, I inhale the scent of her shampoo. “Don’t you dare move until I get back.”
“Baby, I couldn’t move even if this cabin went up in flames.”
She tucks into the blankets, burying her face in a pillow, and sighs.
When I come back from locking the gate, she’s fast asleep. I let Oscar out of my bedroom, giving her extra treats for being so good while I got Grace to myself for a few hours.
Exhaustion has me curling up on the floor with my woman to watch the snow fall. I’ve carried the weight of my world for so long, the heaviness has become a part of me. But this is the first time I’ve held my world in my arms.
And I feel light as a feather.
“Good morning, beautiful.” I kiss Grace’s forehead. “Keep your eyes closed for me, okay?”
She giggles sleepily. “What are you up to now?”
“It’s a surprise.”
“Another one?” Her thighs rub against each other.
It makes me want to deviate from my plan, but Oscar ruins it by running across the blankets.
“Settle down.” Not listening, Oscar races to the front door, desperate to go out.
Ignoring her, I wrap Grace in one of the heavier blankets and help her stand.
“Keep your eyes closed, okay?”
Grace squeezes her eyes shut even tighter. “Okay.”
She waddles in front of me, and I cover her eyes with my hands just to make sure she doesn’t cave and peek.
“One… two… three.” I let go. “Open them.”
Her gasp is so pretty.
Staring out at a sea of white, she presses her hands to the sliding glass door and takes in the view.
“This is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” She turns to me with watery eyes. “It’s breathtaking.”
“Like you,” I whisper, tipping her quivering chin with my finger. The look of wonder on Grace is… spectacular. Warmth spreads through my chest and I feel lightheaded.
I’ve fallen madly in love.
I want Grace to see this mountain in every season. There’s no doubt she’ll have the same look on her face when heavy spring rain fills the streams and ferns uncoil along the paths. She’ll fall head over heels for the firefly show that runs for weeks in the tall grass and the clear summer nights when the stars are so bright, they glitter like crazy. And in fall, when the trees burst into vibrant reds and golds and smoke glides across the property from a big bonfire. But winter? With everything draped in white, the ice that shimmers in the sunlight, the way the moon reflects off the slopes… this is my favorite.
“See? I told you it was going to snow.”
Grace squeals and drops her blanket, running upstairs as fast as her legs can carry her.
“Hey! Where are you going?” I yell.
“Where do you think?” She dashes into her room and a few minutes later, comes out dressed in snow attire. “We’re playing outside!” She hops on one foot while shoving her boots on. “Whoop!” She loses balance and crashes against the wall.
Laughter blows out of me. “Slow down, you menace.”
Oscar jumps on the door, scratching it. She’s just as excited as Grace. It’s like neither of them have seen snow before.
She tugs my beanie over her unruly bed head and searches for her gloves.
Shoving my feet into boots, I hold the door for her. Luckily, I’ve already shoveled a path out for the both of them.
“Holy crap!” She stops at the step. “How much is there?”
“About two feet so far.” This is the first big snowfall of the season, but it won’t be the last, or the most.
She scoops some into her hands. “It’s so fluffy. ”
I’m worried about how much snow will fall, and what kind of white out conditions there will be if it gets any worse.
Grace slept through the morning, and well into the afternoon. My girl was exhausted from what we did last night.
Yes, I’m proud of that.
“Woo!” She trudges across my front yard, wading in the snow like a baby bigfoot. Oscar leaps after her. “Let’s build a snowman!”
The snow doesn’t stick together when she packs it into a ball.
“Too cold.” I gather a bunch of the powdery white stuff in my hands and toss it in the air. “Terrible snowman material.”
Grace falls back, disappearing as she makes what I assume is a snow angel.
Or demon, knowing her.
She’s so excited, I suspect this is probably the first time she’s been able to play in the snow. Her mother isn’t here to shame her for it. God, what a bitch that woman must be. To know Grace has been to some of the most luxurious ski resorts in the world and hasn’t been able to enjoy herself like this is such a shame. I’m determined to always let her have fun and be herself.
Messy, silly, wild… whatever Grace wants to be, she’s perfect to me.
My stomach drops when my cell vibrates in my back pocket. Someone needs to be plowed out. I’d put it off this morning, but that’s not going to be possible for much longer. Damnit, I just want one day to have fun. One moment to breathe .
You had that last night , I remind myself. Except one night isn’t enough. I want more nights. More mornings. More afternoons when I can just enjoy my life.
Grace hops up and marches through the snow, straight at me, with a big smile. “I’ve got to make some content out here. This is too stunning to waste.”
“Always working, huh?”
“Unfortunately.” Snowflakes stick to her lashes. “My gown is in the cabin.”
“You brought a gown ?” Of course, she did. What am I thinking? This is Grace Finch, I’m talking to. The woman legit packed everything imaginable for this supposed two-week trip to the middle of nowhere.
“I hung it in the closet the first day so it wouldn’t crinkle.”
“You should have told me. I could have brought it when I got all your other stuff.”
She waves me off. “I didn’t mention it because it wasn’t important.”
Oscar dashes past her and zooms in the other direction.
“I’ll take you down,” I say. “I have to help Nick plow some folks out too. It’s better if I go now. The snow’s not stopping today.”
“You go ahead. I can take the snowmobile to the cabin,” she says like it’s no big deal.
I made sure it was in working order the other day, but… “I’d rather be with you,” I say, wishing I hadn’t. The last thing I want is to be overbearing. “I’m just worried you’ll get hurt or stuck.”
“I’ll be fine.” She pats my cheeks.
“Let me plow the way down and you can ride on the side.” That way, if something happens, she can ditch the snowmobile and make it safely back home or to the cabins. “If you have any trouble, call me, understand?”
“Yes, sir.”
Oscar runs back to us, coated in white and shakes herself off next to Grace.
We head to the barn where the snowmobile sits. It takes two tries to start, which is one too many for my liking, but at least it’s running, and the tank is full. “Are you sure about this?”
“Absolutely.”
I grab a helmet for her, my instincts screaming to not let her on this thing without me. “I’d rather just drive you down. Or better yet, I can go get your dress and bring it back to you. There’s no point in you going yourself.”
“Dean.” Her hands land on her hips. “Don’t hold me back from having fun.”
“I’m not. I’m just…Fuck.”
“I swear I know what I’m doing.”
Relenting, I give her what she wants. My teeth clench so tight, I’ve given myself a headache. But it’s fine. Everything’s fine. She’ll be fine.
Grace straddles the damn thing, her boots firmly planted on the running boards, and she grips the handlebars.
“Keep two fingers on the brake lever!” I yell over the purr of the engine. “Don’t go too fast and—”
God. Damnit.
She’s taken off.
I race to my truck with Oscar, hellbent on beating her down the hill, which is impossible. Thankfully, Grace only does donuts in my yard and then she waits for me. “Good girl,” I grumble, strangling my steering wheel as we make our way towards the bridge.
She’ll have to go down the slope and over the frozen stream.
I feel sick.
She’s going to get hurt. She doesn’t know the terrain like I do.
This is a mistake.
Snow shoves out of my way as I clear the path off my mountain and when I reach the bridge, I honk my horn to signal for her to pull over.
She doesn’t.
My wild woman zips past me, down the small ravine, and right over the motherfucking ice. Then she climbs up the other side, full throttle, and catches airtime at the top.
Meanwhile my fucking stomach falls out of my ass.
“She’s going to be the death of me.”
I cross the bridge and…
Grace is having the time of her life in the field by the pavilion. Rolling my window down, I can hear her scream-laughing.
She finally catches back up with me while I clear a small patch all the way to the cabins. I’ll have to go back over all these a few more times, but it’s enough for her to get home safely should she want to walk it. Which, going by how happy she looks with my toy, isn’t going to happen.
I honk again, not wanting to take away her fun and wave.
She waves and blows me a kiss from her helmet, then cuts a right and looks like she’s having an absolute blast in the snow .
If one of us gets to have a good time, I’m glad it’s her. Working so she can play isn’t a bad trade off. I love making her happy.
But as I head down the hill and off my property, I can’t shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen.