Chapter 26
SUMMER
ONE WEEK LATER . . .
Ican’t stop staring at Daniel. Not that it’s a chore. But it is bordering on creepy tendencies . . . if I’m caught.
I’m starting to wonder if it wasn’t a coincidence that he came to Mountain Laurel Cove, that the pipes broke, and that we ended up shacking up, which led to love.
Dots connected. I think my mom had a hand in this. It’s all just a little suspicious how well it’s worked out. Almost like it was planned. I look up at the ceiling of the cottage with my hands in prayer. “Thank you,” I whisper, hoping my mom hears me.
“Everything?” Daniel asks, hovering over the plumber in the bathroom. “The entire bathroom, Willie?”
Willie replies, “The plumbing for the entire house. Whoever did the work the first time didn’t seal the pipes properly, and if I’m being honest, used the cheapest supplies they could. I’m sure you were charged a pretty penny for it, though.”
I dipped into the hallway when the guy’s pants hung lower in the back than I was prepared for when you hear “plumber’s crack.” But leaning against the hall, the view from here has been incredible.
Six-four.
The thick hair he combs his fingers through when something’s on his mind.
Those shoulders that held me like I weighed nothing.
That smile . . . If I have a say in when and how I leave this earth, that’s what I’d take to my deathbed.
Willie hands him a card. “Get other estimates. I bet I can match it if they’re using the same grade materials I would. My work will last you the rest of your days in this place. I guarantee it.” That shouldn’t make me laugh. Easy guarantee to toss out if we’re no longer here to make the claim.
Daniel rights himself and looks at me, giving me that smile I know has broken a million hearts. Not mine.
When he turns back, he says, “Thanks for taking a look. We’ll talk and get back to you.”
Daniel walks him out, leaving me to feel a lot like we’re playing house.
I like it. I like having someone around to help me out, especially when it comes to contractors.
I sit on the couch, tucking my legs under me and listening to the sendoff, and watch as he shadows the windows when he passes by.
He shuts the door behind him. “What do you think?”
“I like him. My gut trusts him. And,” I say on the verge of a sigh, so tired of dealing with this plumbing stuff. “I don’t think there are many others qualified who can do a job out here in the Cove.”
Sitting too far from me on the other end of the couch, he says, “I agree. And you said he came recommended? Seems like a safe bet. We can get a few other estimates, but I think it’s going to lead you back to him to do the job.”
I stretch my legs out, my heels pressing against his leg.
He picks up my feet, setting them on his lap, and rubs.
The man knows the way to my heart. “I’m not doing anything until I own it, but he said his schedule has an opening on August first. Starting the day after I buy it isn’t too soon.
” I laugh, scooching lower on the couch, resting my head on a throw pillow.
“Should we go back before Roman gets up from a nap?”
“I’m still surprised he took one.”
“The swimming did him in.” Tossing my arm above my head, I’m here wishing we had time for a nap without the sleeping and definitely naked together.
His hand moves to my leg, rubbing over my shin and higher to the knee.
“We have a little time.” I love when we’re on the same page.
That’s more often than not these days. Daniel loves waking up and sliding into me when the house is still asleep.
An unhurried meeting of our bodies while the birds sing outside and the sun rises makes a beautiful start to the day.
Nighttime holds so much romance for me. The reconnection of slipping under the covers to come back together after a long day.
The moonlight helps me relax, and the calm quiets my mind, allowing me to experience our bond on a deeper level.
A little forbidden and a lot sexy, and love that’s flourishing so fast I can’t always hold off as long as I want, and the release hits hard.
His hand slows over my thigh as his eyelids wane, a tell that he’s not in such a hurry either. When his fingers dip under the hem of my short dress, I let one of my knees fall to the side, allowing more access to where I want him most.
My heart beats heavier in my chest, my lower belly winding tighter. It’s the tingling between my legs that has me closing my eyes and only wanting to feel him. We’re rarely alone, and when we are, it’s in my room with my entire family home.
“The door is locked,” he says, the tone matching the mood—naughty and like we’re getting away with something. “Why don’t you take off what you got under there?”
Not a question, which is good because I took it as a request and already have my fingers hooked around the sides of my underwear.
He’s undoing the button and zipper of his jeans and sliding them down his thighs.
Daniel still looks at me like it’s the first time, never wavering from complete adoration.
I come to him and straddle his lap. Lifting, I feel him positioned and slowly slide down his length.
How I feel complete every time we do this reminds me of how empty I feel when we’re not entangled together.
Resting my arms on his shoulders, I put my head to his cheek, breathing through the stretch and acclimation.
I love this. I love this with him so much, any pain washed away by the pleasure.
He kisses my cheek, whispering against my skin, “I will never take you for granted, my love.”
My love. I drink in his words, rolling them around my tongue to see if they taste as good as they sound.
The softer edges and sweet centers of those two words slip past my stomach and head straight for my heart.
The urge to please him, to give him everything courses through my veins, revealing the need to tell him, “I love you.”
Rocking slowly on top of him, I lean back to keep my eyes locked on his as the sensation of owning him as much as he owns me takes hold. He sits up, taking control of my hips and moving me faster as he whispers, “You’re so good to me, baby. Fuck me just like that. Yeah, keep going.”
His words encourage, filling me with a boldness I didn’t have before. “You’re so big, so full inside me.” I lift and devour, rock and embrace, squeezing so hard to push him closer to his release just to watch him fall for me all over again.
Watching his mouth fall open and his eyes close because of me weaves into my veins, tying us together.
I betray myself. The feel of him claiming my insides as his gaze hooks me into the daze of deep breaths and darkness, the chase and reaching the peak, before the simplest touch of his fingers to my clit induces my orgasm.
A wave of tremors swims through me just as he grabs my hips, lifting me before dropping me back down to an eruption of moans and swears, Sunshine and him coming.
And when my body has no bones left to keep me upright, I collapse onto him with my head on his shoulder and him tucking me into the fold of his arms.
He kisses my head and temple, my nose, and the sweetest of kisses is brushed against my lips while he tries to regulate his own breathing.
Our connection is otherworldly, kismet, nothing I’ve ever felt before or knew existed before Daniel. Our love, that’s eternal, greater than either of us has ever experienced.
Time is a bitch, though . . .
“We should go before someone comes looking for us,” I say, not moving a muscle and wishing we could stay like this. At least a little while longer.
Using a bottle of water to clean up on the side of the house is not one of my best moments. That the water is French makes me feel a little fancier as I get the dirt off my legs after it splashed me.
“Shortcut through the woods?” I ask, ten steps ahead. I’m now convinced that whoever said shame should be a part of the aftermath of intercourse when walking home wasn’t having great sex.
Just on this side of the special place where my parents are buried, Daniel asks, “What’s that?”
I stop and look back at him. “What’s what?”
“That sign on the tree?”
I look in the direction of his gaze, but there are a billion trees to sort through. “What kind of sign am I looking for? An animal, a bird, a wanted sign for someone on the run from the law? X marks the spot? I’m going to need more information here.”
Chuckling, he says, “No, it’s not treasure.
At least, I don’t think it is. I’m talking about that carving.
” He steps over brush and brittle branches that are crushed under his shoes when he deviates from the path.
I follow, figuring there’s not a foot of this property I haven’t stomped through at one time or another. He taps a tree. “This.”
Looking up at it, I’m stumped. “I haven’t seen it before.
Doesn’t look new since the bark is healed.
Lift me up, so I can see it.” He picks me up from under the arms, holding me so close to the tree that I push back just so my eyes can focus.
“CS #7. Huh. Down please. It’s extra odd because it’s so high.
Who would carve a message that most people will never see? ”
“No clue.”
“No idea,” I hum under my breath. Reaching up, I run the tip of my finger along the scraped letters. “C-S. Charlie Season.” This makes no sense. “Is it a marker?” I look up at the treetops only to find leaves and branches, and nothing out of the ordinary.
“Number seven? It’s got to mean something. It’s too specific not to.”
“Seven trees? The seventh from the ocean? Or the road?” Even from where I’m standing, I can tell there are more trees than that in every direction.
No signs of tampering or other carvings, no markers or anything that would give us any indication to what this means.
Glancing back at Daniel, I say, “It’s here to mark something, to signal to someone.
Or do you think it’s random?” I turn my gaze back to the carving.
Reaching over my head, he touches it as if it will help him come up with ideas. He moves his arm around my lower back. “C-S. Charlie Season.”
Hearing him say my father’s name shouldn’t overwhelm me as much as it does. A lump clumps in my throat, leaving me unable to repeat the name out loud.
Daniel squeezes my shoulder. “My guess is that those are his initials. It’s not some teenage crush with a heart though. So I’m curious what the number seven stands for. A pointer.” He laughs and waggles his brow. “To buried treasure and it’s located seven paces from the tree?”
“Could be.” I finally clear my throat. “Since there’s nowhere else to look but down.
Maybe we’ll find another hint on the ground.
The issue is, would it still exist after all these years?
Wind. Rain. Storms. Floods three years ago.
Snow and ice. The landscape changes with nature.
If my dad carved this, it’s been too long to find other clues he might have left.
” I don’t know why I feel like I lost something I never had.
It’s probably nothing. But why does my gut tell me otherwise? “I don’t know what it means.”
Daniel’s eagle-eyeing the surrounding trees when his hand slips away from me. The absence of his touch bothers me more than not knowing what this carving means. I step over some brush and bump up against him. “Yeah. It meant something to someone.”
I’m not sure we’ll ever know, so I leave the mystery for another day.
We walk back to the house holding hands after the adventure. I’m not ready to return to reality after having sex like the cottage was ours. I need a shower, and I know he wants one, too. “We could shower together?”
“You? Naked? Count me in.”
“Dad?”
Daniel’s eyes shoot to mine as his smile falters, but it brightens his cheeks again. “Duty calls. Rain check?”
“I’ll hold you to it.”
He kisses me. “I’ll make it up to you two times over.” Stealing another kiss, he says, “I’ll see you later, baby.”
I feel so grateful and live with a smile on my face. When did life get so good? I might owe those pipes an apology for bringing Daniel into my life. If they hadn’t broken, I don’t know if we would have seen each other again, much less fallen madly in love.
Luckiest girl ever.