Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
AVERY
I came awake gradually, in warm, snuggly increments.
My legs were twined with West’s, the rough hair on his thighs a delicious scratch on my skin.
My head pillowed on his chest, his arm tight around me.
I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to get out of bed less.
He smelled so good—like West, pine, and spice and everything I wanted to burrow into.
A finger traced the shell of my ear, brushing my hair off my face.
“You awake?” His voice was low and husky, stirring me.
I would have thought we’d had enough sex the night before, but I was learning that when it came to West, there was no such thing as enough. I wondered if there ever would be. Maybe someday, after lots and lots of naked time. Maybe.
“No,” I said, answering his question. “I’m not awake.” I nuzzled my head into his chest, pressing a kiss to his collarbone. “I don’t want to get up,” I admitted .
“I know,” he said. His chest rose and fell as he let out a sigh. “I’m going to clear your name,” he said. “Don’t worry.”
“I know you are, but I can’t help worrying.” I rolled to my side so I could stay pressed to West’s body, not wanting to leave our cocoon of warmth. I liked this—stretched against him, our feet tangling, my hair across his chest. I felt cherished and loved and safe.
It was that last word that snagged in my head— safe —but at what cost? What cost to who West was, to the heart of the man I loved?
I propped myself up on an elbow so I could meet West’s eyes, loving the sated, warm brown.
I’d never seen him so unguarded. I loved that he didn’t just make me feel safe; he felt safe enough with me to be this West—relaxed and open.
And it was that part that really got to me, forcing me to open my mouth and say, “I’m scared. ”
“Avery, you don’t—” His hand came up to brush my cheek, and I caught it in mine, pulling it down between us, wrapping my fingers around his.
“Wait, West. Just listen to me for a second, okay?”
He pressed his lips together as if it took a force of will not to interrupt me. I loved him even more for trying.
“I’m scared about what happens next,” I said.
“I don’t want to go back to jail. But I don’t want you to compromise who you are for me.
I love you. That means I love all of you, West. Even when I think you’re being bullheaded, and you think everything is black and white.
I get annoyed you won’t bend the rules, but I love that you won’t.
I love your honor and your integrity. And I can’t stand the idea?—”
My voice caught in my throat, my eyes filling with sudden tears. I swallowed hard, knowing I had to get the words out before he interrupted. “I don’t want you to do anything you’ll regret, anything that feels wrong, for my sake. But,” I said as his lips parted, “the other thing is?—”
I squeezed my eyes shut, feeling a hot tear streak down my cheek. I hated crying, but I couldn’t help it, because the real truth was that as much as I meant everything I’d just said, I was also terrified of following in Ford’s footsteps. “I’m scared of what could happen to me if you don’t.”
I buried my face in his chest. Shame washed through me.
I should have kept that last part to myself.
If I didn’t let him see how scared I was, maybe he wouldn’t do anything he’d regret later.
And I did not want to be a regret for West. I didn’t want to be the thing that pushed him into betraying who he was.
“Avery, no,” he said, brushing my hair off my cheek and wiping away a tear with the pad of his thumb. “Oh, baby, no. I won’t let anything happen to you. Do you understand me?”
“You can’t promise—” I began.
“Avery, look at me.”
I lifted my head up and saw the strangest combination of resolve and amusement swirling in his dark eyes. “Baby, I love that you understand who I am, that you know what this job means to me, what my integrity means to me.”
“West, I do, and I don’t want?—”
“Just wait,” he said, pressing a fingertip to my lips. “I listened to you. Now you listen to me.”
I nodded and pursed my lips against his fingertip in a kiss.
“If you think there’s even a question that I’m going to protect you,” he said, the amusement draining from his eyes and leaving only resolve, “then you don’t understand what’s happening here.”
I raised an eyebrow. I didn’t have a response because he was right. I didn’t understand. There was always a choice.
West shook his head, seeing that I didn’t get it.
“It’s important to me to have honor, to follow the rules, to uphold the law.
I believe in it. I believe that if we do it right, it makes everyone’s lives better.
All of that is true. But Avery, you’re not everyone.
You’re mine. I love you. This isn’t some fling.
I’ve known you for most of my life. I didn’t know we’d end up here, not when we were kids.
But now that we are...” He shook his head.
“For anyone else, yeah, the rules are the rules. The law is the law. But I’m not letting you go to jail for a crime you did not commit.
You’re not your brother. Ford was innocent of killing your father—I’m sure of that—but Ford was not innocent. You understand?”
I nodded. As much as I hated it, Ford himself would be the first one to make that argument—and had not that long ago. “Yeah, but I’m not?—”
This time, West wasn’t just amused; he laughed out loud.
“Ave, you’re not na?ve. You’re not a kid.
But in the ways that matter, you’re as innocent as you could be.
I will not let you get set up to do hard time.
It’s not happening. And if you love me the way you say you do, if you see me the way I know you do, you already know you can’t ask me not to protect you. ”
At that, my eyes narrowed. “West Garfield,” I started, “if you think you can?—”
He grinned. “I know you’re smart and capable. I won’t put you in a box, though sometimes it’s going to be a struggle, and I’m sure we’ll butt heads.”
“Probably,” I agreed.
“But in this, you need to let me do what I need to do. Because there is no world in which I’d let you go to jail over this. It’s not happening. This isn’t me bending my ethics for you. This is me protecting the woman I love. It’s not a compromise. It’s a privilege.”
“But how are you going to—” I pressed, his speech giving me the warm fuzzies even as I was trying to figure out how he’d keep me safe without tanking his career. If he couldn’t find the real arsonist, what were our options?
West shook his head. “I’m going to find out who set the fire.”
“But how?”
His dark eyes narrowed in aggravated amusement. “You do know this is my job, yeah? Before I was police chief, I was a detective.”
I’d forgotten. Somewhere in the depths of my memories, I guess I’d known West had gotten promoted to detective before he’d left to come back to Sawyers Bend. But I hadn’t really thought about what that meant. Police chief and detective weren’t the same thing.
He reached up to smooth my hair back, his eyes so sweet I braced. “I need you to do me a favor. ”
“What?” I asked, suspicious but too mushy from his romantic speech to give him attitude.
“I’m going to bring you back to Heartstone, and I need you to stay there.”
I didn’t love that. “For how long?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “I’m not leaving you in jail, but you’re best off hidden. I want whoever set that fire to think you’re out of the picture.” He propped himself up on an elbow and looked down at me. “I want you to close Sawyers Bend Brewing for a few days. The brewery and the taproom.”
“Now?” I asked. “In leaf season?” I squeezed my eyes shut, knowing he was right. Cammie and Dave were good at their jobs—well, Dave was. Cammie was a little flaky, but still, they knew how to do their jobs and mostly did them well, whether it was tending bar or helping me out in the brewery.
But they didn’t run the place. If I kept it open, someone would have to make bank deposits, lock up, and get there early to open.
What if whoever set me up went after the brewery?
Dave and Cammie would be caught in the crossfire.
I had a flash of swinging that stool at the door to Wild Haven, smoke filling my lungs.
I shivered against West, suddenly cold. I wouldn’t wish those moments on anyone, especially my employees.
I let out a sigh. “Okay. Will you put up a sign?”
West kissed the top of my head. “Thanks for not arguing about it. I’ll put up a sign and call Cammie and Dave. I don’t want you to talk to anyone except your family and me. Not yet. ”
“So, the idea is to make whoever did this think I’m under arrest?”
“Something like that,” West said. “Jim and Amanda at the front desk know you were in that cell, but they don’t know when you left or where I took you. I want to keep it that way. If whoever did this thinks I believe you’re guilty, maybe they’ll get careless. We could use some luck.”
“Okay,” I agreed.
“Okay.” West leaned down and kissed me, lingering, his tongue sliding against mine.
“We have to get moving,” I said with some regret as he pulled back, his eyes skating down my bare shoulder, catching on the curve of my breast.
“Shower?” he asked.
“Definitely.”
West had a big, square, glassed-in shower with a deep bench on one side.
I rolled out of bed, stopping just long enough to dip a hand in his bedside drawer and pull out a condom.
Tossing my hair back, I peeked over my shoulder, eyes drinking in the sight of his long body stretched out in bed, his dark hair mussed, his eyes hot as they scanned my naked form.
“Race you,” I said, and took off.
West caught me by the time I cleared the bathroom door, turning the water up steamy hot and plucking the condom wrapper from my hands. His mouth went to that spot behind my ear that made me crazy, and for a while, I didn’t worry about anything but getting my hands on West.