Chapter Seven
Tag looked at his watch again and groaned when he realized that only five minutes had passed since the last time he checked it.
The day was dragging by at an agonizing pace.
Torren checked in twice to say that everything was going according to plan.
His brother seemed to be in good spirits.
Of course, the three extremely hot women on the trip with him could account for his brother’s good mood.
Torren was always so easygoing. Tag was pretty sure it was because his brother never really took anything too seriously.
When their grandfather died, Torren mourned with Tag, but within a few days, his brother fell into another woman’s bed.
He was starting to think that Torren was going to run out of women to sleep with in town.
It was a good thing that their little adventure company brought new conquests in for his brother; otherwise, he feared that Torren would get bored with Harvest Ridge and leave.
It was the only fear that Tag had. Torren was so like their father, and Tag was afraid that he would just disappear one day, just as their old man did.
The thought terrified Tag. Torren was all he had left in the world.
He wouldn’t know how to survive without his brother by his side.
While Tag waited for his afternoon clients, he stacked the firewood that he needed into the bed of his pick-up truck.
He liked doing bonfires on the mountain.
He could show his clients a little slice of his idea of heaven, eat s'mores, drink hot cocoa, and sleep in his bed at night. Tonight, he wanted nothing more than to be in Piper’s bed.
He didn’t plan on tasting her this morning, but finding her in those skimpy panties and tight t-shirt nearly did him in.
Once Lorna left, all he could think about was getting Piper naked and reminding her of what she agreed to.
Remembering the way Piper reacted to him made him hard.
He needed to get himself under control before his clients showed up.
Keeping Piper was going to be the difficult part.
He knew that she had commitment issues, but he was hoping that he was enough to tear them down.
Losing his parents taught him that life was too short to waste time worrying.
He couldn’t control the future, so he decided a long time ago that he was just going to enjoy the ride.
On his twenty-eighth birthday, he decided that he wanted to settle down.
He was done with dating all the wrong women in town.
Heck, most of them wanted to be with Torren but settled for him instead.
He was sick of his brother’s leftovers, so he stopped dating completely.
He took a break, hoping that a clear head and a positive attitude would lead him to the right person.
One day, he went into town after spending a few nights at his grandfather’s cabin.
He was up there sorting through all of Dane’s papers, trying to get the place ready to sell.
Since it was an unusually hot day, he decided to grab some ice cream, and that was when he ran into Piper—literally.
She dumped about half a gallon of melted Rocky Road down his t-shirt.
He fell for her that day and decided that she was the person he wanted to be with.
He went back to the cabin and called Torren to tell him that he wanted to keep Dane’s place.
His run-in with Piper seemed to clear up the fog that he was living in.
Suddenly, he could see his future, which Tag hoped would include Piper and the family that they would have, living in the cabin where he was raised.
Tag found it funny that a beautiful woman who always lived right under his nose and a tub of Rocky Road ice cream could change his entire life.
The next morning, he asked her out, and she turned him down flat.
Now, a year later, he saw that she was well worth the wait.
He still felt a little blindsided by how much he wanted her.
Here he was, busy as hell and still thinking about Piper.
Maybe he just needed to sleep with her, and that would calm down his overactive libido.
But after just one taste of her, he was pretty sure he would never get enough.
Piper woke up at dawn again. Her erotic dreams were all about Tag.
His hot mouth and skilled hands did wicked things to her all night long, and she woke up feeling needy and on edge.
She was thankful that her nightmares seemed to be taking a back seat to her sultry dreams of Tag, but she was tired.
The aching deep in her core only intensified when she woke, and she wasn’t quite sure how to make it stop.
She was sure of one thing, though—she wanted Tag.
She showered and pulled on a pair of cut-off shorts, a t-shirt, and a sweatshirt.
She knew that the morning would start chilly, but by midday, it was supposed to be warm.
She was looking forward to spending the day with her friends, but being with Tag was all she could think about.
Last night, she was hoping that his bonfire would end early so that he would be able to sneak over to kiss her good night.
If she were being honest, she would admit that she wished that he would just stay the night and kiss her good morning, too.
She knew she was rushing things, but she couldn’t help it.
Twenty-six years of virginity were playing against her biological clock.
She wanted to be with Tag and experience what other couples had.
It was comforting and terrifying all at once to think of herself as being part of a couple.
Tag made her feel safer than she ever felt, but she still had her same worries; the biggest being that he would leave her.
She didn’t want to experience that pain again.
But what if Sunny and Lorna were right? What if constantly living with fear meant that she wasn’t living life?
She needed to step out onto that ledge and look fear straight in the eye.
Otherwise, she would be missing out on one of the most amazing men that she has ever met.
Her phone chimed, tearing her from her thoughts. Sunny sent her a text.
I didn’t want to wake you. Mads and Jack can’t make it. Maddie isn’t feeling well—morning sickness.
She was just about to call Sunny when her phone chimed again. This time, it was a text from Tag.
Good morning, gorgeous. We are down to just four people today. I’m thinking of a little picnic lunch at my grandpa’s cabin. Sound good?
Piper couldn’t help her smile. She loved the idea of a picnic lunch, and being able to see Tag’s cabin was a bonus. She wanted to find out what made him tick, and seeing the place where he grew up would help put some puzzle pieces in place.
Good morning, handsome. A picnic at your place sounds perfect. See you soon—looking forward to my good morning kiss.
Piper finished getting ready, pulling her hair back and wearing just a little makeup. She kept it simple. She was downstairs pulling on her hiking boots when Sunny popped in through the front door. Piper’s heart sank a little since she was expecting Tag, but Sunny didn’t seem to notice.
“Hey, birthday girl! Look at you in those shorts—sexy!” Piper laughed at Sunny’s outrageous remarks.
Her friend was always saying inappropriate things to her and Maddie.
“So, are you ready for your day?” Sunny pulled out a mason jar from Piper’s kitchen cabinet to stick the wildflowers that she picked into.
“Hope you don’t mind, I picked you some flowers from your garden.
They were just too pretty not to bring inside and enjoy. ” Piper smiled.
“You know that I haven’t been able to get a word in since you barged into my house, right?” Piper teased. Sunny waved her hands in the air as if erasing a board.
“Sorry, start over. How are you?” It was comical to watch Sunny try to patiently wait for Piper’s reply. She couldn’t make her wait too long. Otherwise, her friend would burst.
“I’m well. How are you?” Piper was almost afraid to ask.
“As you can tell, I’m super excited about your birthday. And, I may have already eaten a few of these donuts.” Sunny held up a box full of delicious, warm donuts, and Piper moaned.
“God, please tell me that those are all for me.” Piper snatched the box from Sunny’s hands and breathed in the sugary goodness.
“Hey, you aren’t going to share any with me?
” They both turned to find Tag standing in the hallway, leaning against the wall as if he was listening in on their conversation.
“Your door was open again, Honey.” Tag took the three steps to stand in front of Piper and pulled her against his body, crushing the box of donuts between them.
“Morning.” He took her lips in a long, wet, passionate kiss that left her knees weak.
Tag let her slide back down his body, leaving her breathless.
“Good morning, Sunny,” Tag said, smiling at Sunny, who dropped most of the flowers on the floor.
If Piper wasn’t mistaken, Sunny had a little drool running down her chin.
“Okay, that’s enough ogling Tag, Sunshine Francis.” Piper went over to her friend, picking up the discarded flowers from the kitchen floor. “You can stop staring at him now.” Piper snapped her fingers in front of her friend’s face, and Sunny blinked as if being woken from a trance.
“Hi, Tag,” she squeaked, taking the flowers from Piper.
Sunny mouthed, “Oh. My. God,” at Piper as she spun back around to face the sink to finish arranging the wildflowers she had picked.
Piper looked back at Tag, who seemed to be amused by the whole scene.
She shook her head and started to gather her stuff.
Her little house suddenly felt way too small.
The sooner they all got on the trail, the sooner she could be alone with Tag, and they could pick up where that kiss left off.