Chapter 8 - Marley #2
Tucker's already lying back on the bed, one arm behind his head, looking thoroughly satisfied. "Take your time. I'll be here."
I smile at him and step into the hallway, closing the door behind me. And nearly collide with a woman standing right there.
She's beautiful. Long dark hair, curves for days, wearing jeans and a flannel shirt that's clearly too big for her. And her face is bright red, eyes wide with embarrassment.
"Oh my God," she says. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to—I was just coming to find Wade and I heard—" She stops, her face getting even redder. "I heard everything. I'm Sierra. Wade's girlfriend. And I'm mortified right now."
I stare at her, my own face heating up. "You heard everything?"
"The walls are... not thick." She covers her face with her hands. "I'm so sorry. I should have left, but I was frozen in place, and then it got to a point where leaving would have been even more awkward than staying, and—"
Despite the mortification, I start to laugh. I can't help it. This is absurd. Standing in the hallway of Tucker's house, having just had the best sex of my life, talking to a woman who apparently heard the entire thing is too much.
Sierra peeks through her fingers. "Are you... laughing?"
"I'm sorry. I just… This is so embarrassing."
"Tell me about it." She drops her hands and gives me a sheepish smile. "For what it's worth, Tucker's a great guy. The best, actually. And if he brought you here, to his bedroom, then you must be really special."
"You think so?"
"I know so. Tucker doesn't do this. Doesn't date, doesn't bring women around. From what I’ve gathered, he's been focused on Emma and the ranch for a very long time." She pauses. "Wade told me Tucker went to your clinic yesterday to ask you out. That's huge for him."
"He told you about that?"
"Wade tells me everything." Sierra grins. "We're kind of disgustingly in love. It's new and terrifying and the best thing that's ever happened to me."
I adjust my glasses, feeling a kinship with this woman I just met. "Tucker said you're the one who invested in the ranch. That you're helping save it."
"Trying to. We've got a long way to go, but we're making progress." She tilts her head. "You're the vet, right? The one who saved Butterscotch?"
"That's me."
"Emma won't stop talking about you. She drew you a picture with a unicorn in it."
"I know. She gave it to me this morning. It's beautiful."
Sierra's smile widens. "She's a great kid. And if Tucker's letting you into her life, into their life... that means something. So, whatever just happened in there—" She gestures toward Tucker's bedroom. "Don't freak out about it. Don't run. He deserves someone who stays."
Tears prick at my eyes, unexpected and overwhelming. "I'm not going to run."
"Good." Sierra steps aside, clearing the path to the bathroom. "Now go clean up before Tucker comes looking for you and we all die of embarrassment."
I laugh again and head down the hall, but before I reach the bathroom I turn back. "Sierra?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you. For not making this weird."
"Oh, it's definitely weird. But in a good way." She winks. "Welcome to Promise Ranch. Something tells me you're going to fit right in."
I slip into the bathroom and close the door, leaning against it for a moment. My reflection in the mirror shows a woman with messy hair, swollen lips, and a smile she can't quite hide.
I just had sex with a client. With Tucker Hayes, a forty-year-old single father who makes me feel things I haven't felt in years. Maybe ever.
And instead of feeling guilty or scared or worried about professional boundaries, I feel... happy.
For the first time in a long time, I feel like I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be.
I clean up quickly and head back to Tucker's room. He's still on the bed, but he's pulled on his jeans and is sitting up, looking at his phone.
"Everything okay?" he asks when I come in.
"Yeah. Just ran into Sierra in the hallway."
His face goes pale. "Oh God. Did she—"
"Hear everything? Yes." I climb back onto the bed and curl up next to him. "But it's fine. She was actually really sweet about it."
Tucker groans and covers his face with his hands. "I'm never going to hear the end of this from Wade."
"Probably not." I pull his hands away and kiss him softly. "But I don't care. Do you?"
He looks at me for a long moment, then smiles. "No. I don't care at all."
We lie there together, his arm around me, my head on his chest, and I think about destiny and second chances and how sometimes the best things in life come from taking risks you never planned to take.
"Marley?" Tucker says after a while.
"Yeah?"
"Stay for dinner? I'll make something. Nothing fancy, but—"
"I'd love to."
"And maybe... stay the night? Emma will be back soon, and I'd like her to see you here. To know that you're part of this now."
My chest tightens again, but this time it's not fear. It's hope.
"I'd love that too."
Tucker kisses the top of my head, and I close my eyes, breathing in his musky scent.
I came to Blackwater Falls to start over. To escape my mistakes and build something new. I never expected to find this. To find him. But now that I have, I'm not letting go.
Not for anything.