36. The Calling
Chapter 36
The Calling
Reece sat on Neve’s couch, admiring the tree he had put up and decorated this morning. Tomorrow was Christmas Eve, and he’d gotten it finished in the nick of time. His human audience had oohed and aahed and told him how much she appreciated his surprise, and that had made the effort more than worth it. Bonus: She’d promised to show him just how grateful she was later.
“We’ll have to maneuver around this cast,” she’d sighed
“No problem,” he had assured her. “I’ll just tie it to the bed with my best figure-eight knot so it stays out of the way.”
She had looked scandalized for an instant. Then mischief had sparked in her eyes, and she’d tried a one-armed tackle that he’d let her win so she could kiss him silly.
Looking around the comfortable space that had become his home this past month, Reece indulged himself in a self-satisfied sigh. Mr. Whiskers was a warm weight on his thighs, purring when Reece idly stroked his fur. Outside the window, pine trees swayed gracefully in the wind, shaking snow from their limbs.
This was home. This was where his real family lived and struggled and cared for one another. They needed him; he needed them. Why the hell had he ever thought he could leave it behind for a state he didn’t know, people he’d never met, and a climate so different from the one he’d grown up in and loved?
Every time he thought about pulling out of Stowe, though, his stomach twisted with guilt. He’d made commitments. People had jumped through one hoop after another for him, including sending other qualified candidates packing. They had been counting on him, and he had let them down, gone back on his word. He wasn’t the type of guy to break his promises, yet he had.
“Reece Hunnicutt, are you brooding over there? Don’t tell me you’re beating yourself up again.” Neve stood in the doorway to the kitchen, her good fist parked on her curvy hip. With her arm in the cast, she’d taken to wearing flowing clothes that draped her body like a Greek statue. Offsetting the whole goddess look, though, was the red Santa hat on top of her head. He loved the combination.
“Come here, my spicy margarita.”
As she came toward him, he repositioned Mr. W on a comfy quilt so he could catch her at the waist and hoist her onto his lap. Something about her made it impossible to keep his hands off this woman.
He slid his fingers under the hem of her top and caressed the skin above her waistband with his thumb while she draped her good arm across his shoulders and kissed his cheek. Her fingers dove into his hair and played. “You know moving there would have been a colossal mistake. I bet you a foot massage no more than three months would have gone by before you’d have been back in Fall River, if not three weeks. Better to cut your losses—and theirs—now.”
Turning her so she straddled him, he splayed his hands against the small of her back and pulled her closer. “Not sure how we can bet a foot massage when we’ll never know the answer. And speaking of foot massages, who gets one after our bet? ”
She shrugged. “No one. The game was postponed.” She leaned in, her fresh floral scent swirling around him, and licked his earlobe as she whispered, “Maybe we can arrange a trade on Christmas Day. Our gifts to each other.”
“I like that idea.”
She drew back and grinned. “Thought you would.”
“I was supposed to pick up your actual Christmas present the day you went missing. It’s too late today, and starting tomorrow they’re closed until after Christmas, so I’m hoping you don’t mind getting it late.”
“You got me a gift?” There was wonder—or was that panic?—in her voice.
“Uh-huh,” he chuckled.
Sheepishness crept into her eyes. “I could use some extra time too.”
“You don’t have to get me anything. You being here, sitting on my lap, is present enough.” He stroked her good arm. “While we’re on the subject, I’ve been thinking. What do you say we celebrate Christmas Day together? Just the two of us, without friends and family?”
An impermanence existed on the wavy outer margins of their relationship, and it was a hard edge to straddle. He wasn’t sure if they were together-together, like his brothers and their wives, and a victory in a game of rock, paper, scissors wasn’t enough to seal the deal for him. They were in this weird gray area where a piece of paper said they were together, bolstered by what they did in the bedroom and the easy rhythm they’d developed living with each other for a month. But he needed to turn those margins into something rigid and lasting, and for that, he needed time alone with her—like on Christmas Day—without anyone else around. And that led him full circle back to his father and tomorrow’s looming family get-together on Christmas Eve. Reece dreaded the earful he was sure to get from his dad when he found out Reece had backed out of his obligation to Stowe Mountain.
Happy Holidays.
He ran his hands along the outside of her thighs. “Actually, there is one thing you could do for me. Tell me again I’m not an asshole for breaking my promises.”
She’d been doing exactly that since the ride home from the hospital two days ago, but he wasn’t buying it .
She rested her head against his, her soft hair tickling his beard. “Reece, you’ve always been a man of your word, and this time isn’t so different. I know it feels bigger, but think of it this way. You had a bunch of commitments all vying for top spot, and you had to give up something, because as much as you wanted to, you couldn’t fulfill them all. They weren’t compatible. Some of those obligations are to your folks, your brothers, this town. Those were at odds with the ones you made to Stowe, but in the end, they carried the most weight. You had to make a choice, and you did. You’re following what you feel in your heart is right.” Sitting up, she placed her small hand on his chest, and he covered it with his.
“I’ll chew on that.”
“You do that.”
“In the meantime, what am I supposed to do with my time?” He waggled his eyebrows. “Never mind. I have an idea. I’ll chew on you .” He nibbled her neck until she squealed.
She gave him a playful tap. “Even you can’t keep going all day and all night.”
“But I could die trying. Can’t think of a better way to go.” Making love to Neve all day and all night had a definite appeal to it, but his spirit was restless. He also wanted back into something that gave him purpose, that made a difference for his community.
Her phone rang, and she swiped it from the coffee table. “Jill Carlisle,” she hissed. Before he could stop her, she answered it. “Merry Christmas Eve Eve, Ms. Carlisle. Reece is here. Is it okay if I put you on speaker?”
Reece could hear the lawyer agree, followed by her laughter trilling over the phone. “Same to you, Neve. And I’m glad you’re together because this call is for both of you. I’ve done my research, and honestly, we’re down to the one option. But it should be relatively simple since we’re not dealing with a property settlement or children.”
Neve’s eyes slid to his. “Well, we might have a second option.”
“Oh?”
“Yes. Would you mind if Reece and I talk and get back to you?”
“I’ll be in my office for another hour, then I’m out for the holidays.”
“Thank you. We’ll call you.” Eyes still glued to his, Neve ended the call.
“What’s on your mind, Doc? ”
Her mouth twisted side to side. “I’ve been thinking. You’re not moving to Vermont, and going through a divorce—no matter how simple—isn’t going to be easy or cheap. Then there’s that big black mark on my record that might scare off my next husband.”
He was pretty sure she was yanking his chain, but he gawked at her nonetheless. “Your next husband? Who the hell is this guy?”
“Nobody you know. In fact, neither do I.”
With one hand holding her at the small of her waist, he traced his fingertip along the side of her face to her throat, where he wrapped his hand around her nape. “When you talked about promises just now, you left out the most important one: you. I swore an oath to you, Neve. In Vegas. I might have been drunk off my ass, but I still did it. That’s the promise I hold above all the others.”
Large denim-blue pools sucked him in, and he let them. He had bared himself to this woman he’d known his entire life yet had never really seen until now, and he wanted to continue baring himself. The windows were open, and their souls reached for one another. Connected. Intertwined. The way it was supposed to be.
“You know, when you asked me about people I’d dated before …” she started, and he wasn’t sure he wanted her to finish. He braced himself, and she went on. “What I didn’t say was those relationships didn’t go anywhere because sparks never flew. I was in love with someone else.”
He hesitated while his heart thudded in his chest. “And who would that be?”
“It’s you, Reece. I’m in love with you. I always have been.”
“Say it.” He’d been waiting, dying to hear those three words fall from her lips ever since he’d told her two days ago.
“I love you.” Her voice was soft, like a summer breeze.
He cupped his ear. “Not sure I caught that.”
“I love you.” Then she threw her back and yelled at the ceiling. “I love you, Reece Hunnicutt! Do you hear me?” She brought her eyes back level with his and smiled wide.
“I heard you, but I’m gonna wanna hear that again and again and over and over because I love you too, Neve Hunnicutt.”
She tapped her chin dramatically with her good fingers. “Here’s a thought: If you love me and I love you— ”
“We should get married,” he spouted. “Oh, wait. We’re already married. Now we need to make it official-official.” He pulled her down for a kiss, breaking it long enough to add, “Are you going to call the attorney back and tell her we don’t need her services, or am I?” He had some consummating ideas begging to be acted on, but they owed the attorney an answer first.
Before Neve could respond, his phone rang. “Jesus, don’t people have anything better to do today than call us? No last-minute Christmas shopping?” He grabbed his phone from where it lay on the arm of the couch.
“Huh.” He slid his thumb over the green button. “Reuben?”
“Hey, Reece,” Reuben Keyes greeted in a cheerful voice. “How’s it going, buddy?”
“Well, we kinda had a situation a few days ago, but it’s all good now.” Still straddling him, Neve nestled against his chest on her good side, and he tightened his arm around her shoulder.
This. Right here.
“Yeah, I heard about that situation from Deputy O’Brien. Wow, lots of action for such a small town.”
Reece chuckled. “I know, right?”
“Hey, the reason I’m calling is I also heard you were considering a job in Vermont.”
“I was.” But I was an asshole and stuffed it back in their faces.
“So here’s the thing,” Reuben drawled. “Chelsea Selkirk quit, and San Juan needs an incident commander to take her place. Pronto.”
Reece’s heart began jackhammering. “She hasn’t been replaced yet? I figured candidates had lined up all along the Million Dollar Highway and that the job was already filled.” With the excitement of the last few days, Reece hadn’t even considered what Chelsea’s resignation meant to SAR. Now his mind was spinning like a hamster wheel.
“You figured right, at least on the first part. Lots of people are interested, but the county guys haven’t offered it to anyone yet. They want to get this right, and they asked me if I had any recommendations. You’re the first person I thought of. By sheer coincidence, Chelsea stayed with the wife and me at our house the other night before she took off for Portland, so I asked her about you. ”
Reece sucked in a silent breath, held it, and closed his eyes, sure he was about to hear how Chelsea had thrown his ass under the bus.
“She agreed you were the best man for the job.” Reuben let out a chuckle. “In fact, she couldn’t stop singing your praises. Talked about your integrity, your calm under fire, and how the team respects you. She gave you a glowing recommendation, and that reinforced my decision to call you and see if you could be talked into staying before we lose you to some other outfit. Now I haven’t mentioned this to the county guys yet—I didn’t want them getting their hopes up. Even if I heard wrong about Vermont, I’m sure opportunities have been coming at you fast and furious since you quit.”
Reece reeled, his tongue tying itself in knots. Neve slid from his lap, as if she sensed the tension thrumming in his body, and he stood and paced.
Reuben rushed into the silent void. “So, Hunnicutt, what do you say about becoming the incident commander for San Juan Search and Rescue?”
Reece got his tongue unstuck. “Let me get back to you. I-I need to talk it over with … my wife.” Looking at Neve, he raised his eyebrows in question. She returned a nod and a smile.
“Didn’t know you got married. Congratulations. And yeah, I get it. My wife would want in on an important decision like that too.” Another chuckle from the other end of the line. “I hate to push, but here I am doing it. I’d like an answer before New Year’s Eve so the guys can get the ball rolling, one way or the other.”
“Of course. You’ll get it.” Reece pulled the pieces of his blown mind together. “Thanks for the opportunity, Reuben. I really appreciate the confidence.”
“Like I said, no one’s better suited.”
He turned to Neve as soon as he hung up. “How do you feel about sitting down, you and me, as a family, and making a decision about an opportunity that just landed in my lap?”
When he got a quizzical look in reply, he added, “It’s what married couples do. They make decisions together about stuff that’s going to impact both their futures.”
One side of her mouth curled up. “Sounds like we’re going to need at least one pot of coffee. I’ll get busy.”