Chapter 9
CULLEN
My alarm went off after I’d just fallen asleep.
Rose curled into my side, her curves molding against me.
Home was quiet in a way the fire line never was—the kind of calm that made a man want more of it.
I didn’t want to move. Didn’t want to break the peace I felt waking up with my arm curled around her and the scent of her shampoo filling my nose.
We’d been up half the night, mapping each other's bodies, diving headfirst into the heat between us. Then she’d fallen asleep, and I’d stayed up to prep the brisket and get it on the smoker. Once I had it going, I crawled back into bed with her to catch a little sleep before I had to head out.
The connection was fresh, but already went deeper than anything I’d ever known before. For the first time, I had a purpose bigger than myself… to take care of my daughter and to commit to the woman who’d opened my heart.
“You need to go,” Rose mumbled, her eyes still closed. “Can’t let someone else steal that first place ribbon away.”
A soft laugh rumbled through my chest. “I’d rather stay here with you.”
“That sounds promising.” One eyelid cracked open. “Don’t you need to check in by eight though?”
I glanced at the clock on my nightstand. “I’ve got ten minutes before I have to leave. I only need two for a shower.” Two minutes to scrub off the night, not the want that had taken up residence inside me.
“Are you trying to break me?” She rolled onto her back and brushed her palm against my cheek.
“No, sweetness. I’m trying to make sure you’ll miss me while I’m gone.”
She let out a soft snort of a laugh that turned into a moan as I slid my hand between her legs. I’d learned last night exactly how she liked to be touched, and I was hellbent on making her come before I had to leave her.
Her hips arched into me as I kissed my way down her belly. My hands pressed down on her thighs, keeping her pinned to the bed. She spread her legs for me, just as eager for my tongue as I was to taste her.
I sucked on her clit, gentle at first. Then doubled down as she fisted her hands in the sheet. I loved watching her come undone and the wild look in her eyes as she let herself go.
“Come here.” She tried to tug me toward her, but I had other plans. “You can’t do that to me and then leave.”
“Later, sweetness.” I pressed a quick kiss to her forehead as I tugged the blanket back up to cover her.
I almost told her I didn’t care about the damn ribbon—I’d already won what mattered.
“Get some more sleep. I set an alarm for you at nine so you can go get Callie. Can’t wait to see my two girls at the festival. ”
She snuggled into the pillow. “Good luck, Cullen.”
I took one last look at her in my bed… exactly where she belonged… then hightailed it into the shower.
Dozens of competitors had already set up by the time I checked in and found my way to the space assigned to me.
I recognized one or two, but I was the only local who’d signed up to compete.
The smell of hickory, pepper, and a combination of secret spice mixes hung in the air, so heavy I could taste it in the back of my throat.
I set up my station at the edge of the line. The air was cool and crisp with the bite of early fall. My smoker was still warm from the drive, and the moment I lifted the lid, the scent of my brisket rolled out… sweet and tangy, rich with the sauce recipe my great-aunt had drilled into me years ago.
This early in the day, there were only a few spectators wandering around. The morning belonged to the competitors… to the clang of metal tongs on a prep bin, the sound of an old country song drifting from someone’s radio, and to the hiss and pop of smokers coming to life.
I got set up, then pulled out the thermos of coffee I’d brought.
This was the part of the process I loved the most. There was nothing to do but mop the meat with sauce every so often while the smoker did its job.
That left me plenty of time to think, and it didn’t surprise me a bit that my thoughts immediately turned to Rose.
Fatherhood I could grind my way through—diapers, bottles, schedules.
Loving someone was the piece that could gut me if I let it. And I wanted to let it.
Neither one of us held anything back last night. I gave her every last piece of me, and instead of emptying me out like I’d always feared it would, I felt whole.
“Already taking a coffee break?” Miles called out as he walked toward me. With a ball cap pulled down over his eyes and a rumpled flannel hanging from his shoulders, he looked like he’d gotten even less sleep than I did.
“How are you holding up, man?” I got up and clamped a hand onto his shoulder. “Are you still going through with this?”
He lifted his shades, exposing the dark smudges under his eyes. “It’s our best chance of drawing him out. You’ll be there, right? You and Rose and Callie?”
“Of course.” I didn’t like the plan he’d shared with me last night.
He and Kinley were telling everyone they were leaving town, that the fire at their place had scared them away.
They were even having a going away party at the community center on Halloween.
Only, it was all a lie. It was a last ditch effort to draw Kinley’s ex out of hiding. For their sake, I hoped it worked.
“Thanks. We’re going to put an end to this once and for all. Kinley’s done some digging, and it looks like Doug owns the company that’s been buying out pieces of Mustang Mountain. He’s not just terrorizing us. He’s been coming after the whole damn town.”
“Why?” I’d heard how Kinley and Miles met… how she’d jumped into the front of his truck in a wedding dress as a runaway bride, one step away from making the biggest mistake of her life.
“I’m not sure.” Miles slid his shades back in place. “But we’re going to find out.”
“Good luck.” I held up my mug to tap against his paper cup of coffee.
“Thanks. You too. I can’t wait to taste whatever it is you have cooking. Smells delicious.”
I leaned against the truck as he ambled away.
Miles had proven over and over again that he’d do absolutely anything for the woman he loved.
As my thoughts wandered toward Rose again, I realized I was starting to feel the same way about her.
I waited for panic to wrap around my heart and choke some sense back into me, but it didn’t come.
Instead, a vision of Rose and me holding hands materialized.
We stood in front of a restaurant, our restaurant, with Callie sitting high on my shoulders.
When I thought about my future, it had always been hazy, but this image was crystal clear.
It was what I wanted. And I was going to fight like hell for a future for the three of us, no matter what it cost me.
I was in love with her. Fine. I wouldn’t say it yet—but the truth sat solid as iron in my chest.
* * *
Rose
In all the places I’d lived over the years, I’d never felt fully settled.
Every apartment, every room I rented, every trailer I stayed in was a temporary pit stop on my way to somewhere else.
But waking up in Cullen’s bed, with the sheets still warm from where he’d slept next to me felt like home.
I shifted my head to his pillow and drew in the scent of him…
pine and cedar and wood smoke. For the first time, I didn’t want to run.
I wanted to stay somewhere and try to build a life.
I wanted to stay here, with him and Callie.
The feeling lasted as I got ready. It lasted the entire drive to Ruby’s, and even as I stepped into her cozy home and greeted her and Orville.
“Did you have a good time last night?” Ruby asked as she handed me a mug of coffee.
The question made my cheeks pink. She was just being nice and couldn’t know how good of a time we’d had. “Dinner was delicious. We stopped by Ace’s after and I got to chat with Rae and Kinley.”
“I heard about that ridiculous idea Miles came up with.” Ruby bustled around the kitchen while she talked. I hadn’t seen Callie yet. She’d been up early and Ruby had already put her back down for a nap.
“Do you think it will work?”
“I hope so. If that man has been behind all the trouble we’ve had in Mustang Mountain this year, he needs to be held accountable.” She pulled a chair out from the table and was about to sit down when a faint cry drifted down the hallway. “Aw, that’s the little angel. I’ll go get her.”
Knowing Cullen had decided to go all in on being a dad had me eager to see Callie. The thought of all three of us at the festival sent flutters through my belly. She wouldn’t know anything had shifted, but I did.
I’d been trying to stay as unattached as possible since I planned on leaving. But after last night, my feelings about leaving had changed. Maybe I owed it to myself to stick around and give whatever was happening between me and Cullen a real shot.
Ruby came back into the kitchen holding a teary-eyed Callie. “Those teeth have been bothering her something awful. I put one of those teether rings in the freezer. Do you want to grab it and see if that helps?”
“Sure.” I found the ring and took it over to where Ruby sat at the table.
Callie pushed it away then held her arms out to me.
“Aw, isn’t that sweet? She wants you, hon.” Ruby passed her over while Callie smacked her lips.
I wrapped her in my arms and gazed down into her big, round brown eyes—the same color as her daddy’s. Her weight settled against my chest and something in me clicked into place.
“Mmmm. Ahhhh.” Callie wrapped my hair around her finger and smiled up at me.
“Is she trying to say ‘mama’?” Ruby’s eyes lit up. “Come on, angel. You can say it. Maaaa-maaaa,” Ruby coached.
“Mmm-aaaa-mmm-aaaa,” Callie parroted back. Heat flooded my eyes. Wanting and warning slammed into each other so hard my knees went weak.
My heart screeched to a stop. “Don’t teach her that.”
“Why not, hon? I heard Cullen was going to ask you to stay. I’m assuming you said yes since you’re here this morning.” She smiled at me like everything was exactly as it should be. But it wasn’t. I couldn’t be a mama. Hell, I could barely take care of myself.
“When did he tell you that?” Clearly Cullen had mentioned it to Ruby before he brought it up to me.
Had he totally played me? He’d asked me to stay, then sank into me, sealing the deal.
Until Callie started school, he’d said. And I’d been stupid enough to think he actually wanted me, not just someone to watch his daughter and make his life easier with the added benefit of a fuck buddy for the next four years.
“Well, he said he wanted to ask you to stay last week. I said I’d be more than happy to take Callie for the evening so the two of you could talk.” She brushed one of Callie’s curls away from her cheek. “I’m so glad you’re going to be here for the two of them.”
“Right.” The only thing that seemed to matter to everyone was getting Cullen through the next few years of fatherhood. Had he even considered how Callie would feel when he didn’t need me anymore and dumped me? Or how I would feel after he’d gotten what he needed from me and sent me on my way?
A man like Cullen didn’t commit. He took what he needed without giving any thought to anyone else.
I was glad he’d decided to be a father to his daughter, but he’d overplayed his hand if he thought he could trick me into staying to help him.
And I’d fallen for it. That was the worst part.
I’d actually believed he wanted me, not just a body to warm his bed and care for his little girl until he didn’t need help anymore.
“Do you want to feed her before you leave for the contest or do you want to do it there?” Ruby asked, oblivious to the tornado of thoughts swirling around in my head.
“I’ll do it there.” I kissed her curls, breathing in the scent of baby shampoo, then stuffed the ache down deep where I keep the rest of my mistakes.
I grabbed Callie’s things, shoved them into the diaper bag, and headed out, trying to ignore the way my chest had warmed when she looked up at me and mumbled her first word.