Chapter Twenty-One #2
“Thank you,” she said, nodding to the hand that still held his now-soiled boxers. Then she kissed him. It was a long, sweet, intimate kiss. Not a prelude to anything sexual, but one that still held so much promise.
Chad was relieved she wasn’t upset about the condom thing. He knew that if there were unintended consequences from this morning, he’d take care of both Britt and their child. Hell, he’d marry her today if he could, but he’d never want her to think it was only because of an unplanned pregnancy.
No, when he married this woman, she’d know down to her bones it was because she was the only woman he ever wanted to be with, because he wanted to love and cherish her to the end of their days.
He wanted a relationship like his parents had, and he believed with everything in him that Britt was the woman who would make that dream come true.
“I need to get changed. Go downstairs and start the muffins. See what your mom needs help with today before I head over to the cabins.”
“You work too hard,” Chad said with a frown.
She laughed in his face. “Pot, meet kettle.”
He chuckled. She wasn’t wrong. “Right. Text me and let me know how your day is going?” he asked.
“If you want me to.”
“I want you to,” Chad reassured her.
Knowing he could stand there with her in his arms all day, Chad took a step back and leaned down to pick up the towel he’d removed earlier. He wrapped it back around her and tucked the end in, making sure to cop a feel as he did.
As expected, she rolled her eyes at him. “You’re such a guy.”
“I am,” he agreed, then leaned down to kiss her lips briefly. “I’m gonna jump in the shower while you change. You good?”
“I’m perfect,” Britt said with a happy grin.
Warmth spread through Chad at her words. He believed her. Everything about this woman glowed. She looked and acted so differently than she had when he’d met her not so long ago. He was proud of her for her perseverance.
He was two seconds away from saying screw it and ripping that towel back off her, taking her back to bed for the rest of the morning, but they both had things to do, people who were counting on them.
So he settled for tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, then gently moving her to the side so he could open the door.
He headed to the bathroom naked as the day he was born, not concerned that his mom might suddenly appear. As he’d told Britt before, she knew better than to come upstairs without some kind of warning. She was well aware that her sons liked to wander around without a stitch of clothing on.
By the time Chad got downstairs, Britt was in the kitchen putting a pan of muffins into the oven and his mom was sitting at the table, doing her morning crossword and drinking a cup of coffee.
“Morning,” he said cheerfully as he entered.
He didn’t have a lot of time before he needed to head out to Lincoln’s place, thanks to his impromptu lovemaking session with Britt.
They wanted to get an early start before the sun got too hot.
Many people thought Maine was cool year round, but it could get brutally hot in the summers, especially in the direct sunlight.
He had enough time to wait for the muffins to finish cooking so he could pilfer one before he left.
As he pulled out onto the road and headed toward his brother’s house, Chad was content.
For the first time since his dad had died, he felt as if things were settling down.
Despite the setback with Otis, he was counting his blessings.
Life was good, and he felt optimistic about his future, and about the future of Lobster Cove.
Britt couldn’t stop smiling. She hadn’t intended to start her day with a monster orgasm and the man she loved being so desperate to make love to her that he took her against the bedroom door. But man oh man had that been hot .
And when he’d knelt at her feet and cleaned up the aftermath of coming inside her?
Her ovaries had just about exploded. She hadn’t thought about a condom in the heat of the moment either, and she didn’t blame Chad in the least. She’d wanted him, right then and there, and she probably would’ve been annoyed if he’d taken the time to walk across the room to grab one anyway.
The encounter had been perfect in every way.
She’d never felt so ... feminine as she had when he’d picked her up.
She’d never been a tiny, dainty woman, but in Chad’s arms she felt that way.
She didn’t think it was the right time of the month to get pregnant, but she supposed anything was possible.
Was she upset at the thought of getting pregnant?
She should be. She and Chad were still in a new relationship.
But the thought of having his baby made her insides swirl with excitement.
He’d be an amazing father. And the baby would have three awesome uncles to spoil him or her rotten as well.
And Evelyn was always talking about how much she wanted a grandbaby.
Shaking her head, Britt tried to pay attention to what she was doing.
She’d cleaned the smaller cabin hours ago, but the renters in the two-bedroom guesthouse had checked out late—and they were total slobs during their stay.
They’d had two small children, and it was as if they’d had a food fight or something.
Britt found Cheerios and food crumbs all over the place—under the beds, in the couches.
She’d even found a smear of what she thought was peanut butter on the wall next to the door.
Sighing, she grabbed another wipe to try to get the sticky food off the wall.
Thirty minutes later, she’d just turned off the vacuum cleaner when a sound outside caught her attention. Normally she’d have her headphones in, listening to an audiobook as she cleaned, but she’d forgotten to charge them last night ... so the raised voices were easy to hear.
Not sure what was happening, Britt went to the window and glanced out. What she saw confused her for a moment—then panic set in, and she dropped the handle of the vacuum and ran for the door.
Camden’s truck was in front of the main house, and from the window, she’d seen him pulling Evelyn toward his pickup. The older woman was yelling at him and trying to pull her arm out of his grasp, with no luck.
By the time Britt got the door of the cabin open, Camden was climbing into the driver’s seat after shoving Evelyn into the vehicle through the same door and forcing her to scoot over.
She acted without thinking, running toward the long gravel drive between the main road and the house.
If she could get in front of Camden’s truck, block his way, she could maybe get him to stop and find out what was happening.
Her shoes weren’t exactly made for running, but she didn’t slow down for a second.
Something inside her was screaming that if Camden left the property with Evelyn, it wouldn’t be good.
As she ran, Britt kept her eye on the truck. She wasn’t going to make it. Camden was going to race right by her before she could get out in front of him. Of course, there was no guarantee that he’d stop even if she did manage to jump in front of his truck—but she had to try.
And apparently, luck was on Britt’s side.
In all the time she’d been at Lobster Cove, she hadn’t seen any animal larger than a porcupine or wild turkey.
She’d wanted to see a moose since she’d moved to Maine, but Chad had informed her that it was extremely rare for them to come this far south, especially in a populated area like Rockville and by the coast.
It wasn’t a moose that had Camden slamming on his brakes and swearing so loud she could hear him through the closed windows of his truck—but a black bear.
It ambled across the gravel drive as if it didn’t have a care in the world. It barely turned its head when Camden’s wheels skidded on the path as he desperately tried to stop from running into the huge animal.
The bear showing up right when and where it did gave Britt just enough time to reach the pickup before Camden slammed his foot on the gas once more. She managed to grab the tailgate and jump on the back bumper as he took off again.
For a moment, Britt thought she was going to lose her grip and fall, but she awkwardly swung one leg over the tailgate and threw herself into the bed.
Of course, Camden didn’t have a nice clean truck like Chad did.
There were car parts, trash, bags of salt, and who the hell knew what else in the bed.
Something poked Britt’s side as she struggled to get up onto her knees and regain her balance, but Camden had obviously seen her climb into the back of his truck.
He was weaving all over the drive, apparently trying to get her to fall out.
Britt’s determination took over. She was stubborn as hell, and there was no way she was leaving Evelyn to whatever this lunatic had in store for her.
It was clear the woman hadn’t willingly gone with Camden.
Not with the way she’d been struggling to get out of his grip and yelling at the top of her lungs.
The sounds of Camden swearing could be heard yet again through the closed windows, and when Britt met his gaze in the rearview mirror, she saw nothing but hatred.
She and Evelyn were in big trouble.
It was then that Britt realized she didn’t have her phone. It had been in her back pocket when she’d left the rental cabin, but it must have fallen out. Either as she ran or while she was trying to climb into the bed of the truck.
She couldn’t call for help. Couldn’t let Chad or any of his brothers know that their mom was being kidnapped.
Fear chilled her blood, but she swallowed hard and vowed to do whatever was necessary to help Evelyn. The Young family had been through enough. She’d get Evelyn home safe and sound if it was the last thing she did.
Although she really, really hoped it wasn’t the last thing she did ... because she desperately wanted a long life with Chad by her side.