Chapter Twenty-Two
She woke up grinning.
Hawkeye was kissing her neck.
“Hi,” she said to him.
“Good evening,” he said.
“It’s evening?” She lifted her head. Through the slat in the blind, she could see the sun was setting.
They’d spent the entire weekend in the cottage.
The days had bled together. “Wow. We must have slept for hours. That’s the longest nap I’ve ever taken.
” Her body ached in certain sensitive parts, and it felt so good.
He scooped her up and pulled her closer.
She welcomed the comfort of his arms wrapped around her. She could enjoy waking up with him every day. She moved the blanket so there was nothing blocking their naked bodies.
“Do you know what today is?” he whispered next to her ear.
“Sunday? Your day off.” She curled her fingers at the ends of his hair.
“Yes, and yes. But that’s not all.” He left a trail of feathery soft kisses along her cheeks and jawline. He flicked his thumb over her nipples, bringing them to firm buds under his touch.
“What’s left of importance? I want to stay in bed all day. Eat. Sleep. Make love.” She stretched her arms high above her head languidly.
His laughter rang out. “That sounds amazing.” He kissed the valley between her breasts as he kneaded one, molding it in his callused palm.
She combed her fingers through his hair, relishing in the thickness.
“I need to go to the bathroom,” she said.
“Does that mean I should let you up?”
“Can you go to the bathroom for me?” She lifted a brow.
“I’ll let you up. Want some water?”
“Yes.” She pushed up off the bed, hating that she had to get up and ruin the moment between them. She felt a dull ache in her hips. They’d worn themselves out making love and that was why they’d taken a long nap.
Picking up his shirt off the floor she tugged it over her head, letting the hem fall to her thighs.
“I love how you look in my shirt.”
She lifted it and inhaled the scent on the fabric. “I love how it smells like you.”
“What smell is that? Hay, sweat and leather?”
“Outdoorsy. Sage wood. A touch of mint. A lethal combination.” She paused at the doorway into the bathroom.
“A reminder, we need more condoms.” She stepped inside and closed the door.
Not wanting him to hear her peeing, she turned on the faucet, feeling a little ridiculous.
After all, they’d explored each other’s bodies—every inch.
Had their mouths on each other—every part.
Flushing the toilet, she washed her hands and checked herself in the mirror. So, this was what a woman looked like after she’d been roughly handled in a thorough manner. Tousled hair. Flushed skin. Swollen lips.
She joined him back in bed, crawling next to him, cuddling close. “I like it when you’re naked. You have an amazing body.” She skimmed her gaze down at him.
He kissed her briefly then pulled back, his brows drawing together. “You really don’t know what today is?”
“Do you realize you’ve seduced me into memory loss? I can’t think of anything but how much I want you.” To prove how much, she kissed his chest. Plucking at his flat nipples. She found out last night just how much he enjoyed having her lick that part of him. She was more than happy to oblige.
He threaded his fingers in her hair, sighing. “You certainly do grow on a man.”
She lifted her head, looking at him. “I do?”
“Yes, you do and you know it.”
There was seriousness in his expression despite the flirty remarks. “What’s wrong? Do you feel guilty for what we’re doing?”
“Yes. A little. I feel like I should be more focused on keeping you safe.”
“Hawkeye, you are keeping me safe. Who can do anything to me when you’re inside of me all the time?” she said the words in a playful tone.
His gaze was a guard against the words he didn’t want to say aloud. “Today is the day before you’re supposed to receive the package.”
His words lifted an invisible window and allowed the world inside into their intimate place. She did the calculations in her head. He was right. Tomorrow was two weeks. She’d been having so much fun she’d forgotten about the package.
What did this mean for them? What if their last day together was today?
“I’m so tired of that package hanging over our heads.” She pushed out her bottom lip.
He tapped the end of her nose. “And that’s almost over.”
“I have something I want to show you.” She got back up and went into the kitchen to grab the scrap of paper she’d hidden under the flowerpot. She sat down on the bed next to his hip and laid the paper on his chest.
He looked down at it. “What’s that?”
“The address to where we’ll be going tomorrow.”
He lifted himself onto his elbow. “Yeah?”
“Right before Leo was shot he gave me this.”
He met her gaze, his brows knitted. “And you’re just now giving it to me?”
“Yes, but to make it clear, I had forgotten about it. The last busy days, with us, taking care of Hope, I’d forgotten that tomorrow will be two weeks.”
A scowl crossed his features, that same scowl that had occupied his features at the beginning of their relationship.
He read the paper then laid it aside. “I know the area, but not the exact location.”
She nodded. “Tomorrow, we worry about that package. Today, we relax…after I feed Hope.” She got up and dressed.
“I have a few things to take care of too. I’ll drive into town and get a box of condoms.” He slid out of bed. “I’ll meet you back here later.” He kissed her forehead.
“Does that mean I need to give this back to you?” She tugged at the material of his shirt.
“As much as I love it on you, I think I better be dressed before I leave the cottage.”
“Fine,” she sighed, reaching for the hem and hauling it off her body. “You can have it.” She pressed it against his chest.
“You’re a minx. You do know that, right?”
“Make sure you bring clothes for tomorrow since you’ll be staying tonight.” She waited for any sign that he didn’t agree.
“I already planned that, my dear.”
He dressed and she grabbed her own clothes.
They left the cottage and walked together until they reached the fork in the path.
She walked the rest of the distance to the barn where Hope was cuddled up in the warm stall.
Margo made sure she closed the barn door behind her because the calf was walking better, and she could escape outside.
Hawkeye said they wouldn’t introduce her to the other cows until Hope could take care of herself.
Just as soon as Hope saw Margo the baby stood to her feet, her legs still a little shaky but she’d come a long way.
It was a miracle how nurturing could save the life of an animal.
It was too bad Hope’s mama didn’t make it, but Margo had loved taking care of the sweet calf.
She didn’t know how she’d ever leave her when that time came.
Margo didn’t know how she’d leave Hawkeye too.
After making a bottle of milk and feeding a hungry Hope who was much stronger now, Margo held the baby in her lap. The whirling of the industrial fans on the ceiling lulled both Hope and Margo to sleep. She hadn’t been getting much since she and Hawkeye were always enjoying each other.
She came awake with a jolt. A soft click had awakened her. Was someone else in the barn? Listening, Margo heard nothing at first. Then she heard the soft crackling of straw. Someone was inside the barn with her.
“Hello?” she called out without a response.
The fans stopped whirring, and the overhead lights went out, plunging the interior of the barn into an eerie silence and darkness.
“I’m in here,” she said, louder this time.
Margo craned her neck to peer around the corner of the stall but couldn’t see anything. She heard the rattle of tools and a few bumps as if someone hit the wall.
The door opened briefly, letting a thin ray of fading light enter before it quickly closed again.
Cast in total darkness again, Margo gently placed sleeping Hope in the straw, and she felt her way to the closed doors.
She tried to pull one side open, but it was stuck.
She tried the other but neither budged. Someone had locked the doors on the outside.
“Hello? Is there someone out there? I’m here.
It’s Margo.” She tried looking through the crack in the door, but it was too dark outside.
“Hawkeye, if this is you this isn’t funny.”
He wouldn’t do this, would he?
Fear riddled through her.
Pressing her ear against the door, she listened. She could hear footsteps.
“Who’s there?”
She waited.
Nothing.
“I know someone’s there.”
She heard nothing but total silence.
She hated darkness more than anything else.