Chapter 13 Emily
emily
It took me a moment to remember where I was. Yesterday, I’d gone home with Mason.
We’d even gone back for Smokey, taking a small horse trailer and bringing her back with us.
It felt right, seeing my mare stabled up next to Mason’s strong, brown stallion.
My heart had fluttered at the sight. At some point, we’d take them for a ride together.
I already had goosebumps, thinking about riding side by side on the trail with Mason. We hadn’t done that since we were kids.
Reaching over, I yawned, but the spot beside me was empty—the man himself no longer in bed with me.
His cabin was so cozy and warm, and I could see little touches of him everywhere I looked. Secretly, I loved it. I loved being in his space, that smelled like him—juniper berries and pine and musk. It felt like I was surrounded by everything he loved, surrounded by him. I loved it.
Probably because I was falling in love with him.
In every little action, every little way he showed he cared about me.
I could smell the scent of coffee and eggs in the air as I rolled out of his bed, found his discarded forest green henley from the night before and pulled it on over my head.
There was no point in trying to find my panties—God knows he’d just take them off of me again, anyway.
I’d never had this much sex in my entire life. There had to be some limit, didn’t there? Mason’s stamina was insane. Maybe it was because of all the manual labor he did out on the ranch. God, there was something about cowboys. Though maybe it was just this cowboy.
My cowboy. That thought brought a smile to my face as I found him in the kitchen, wrapping my arms around his waist as he stood in front of the stove. He’d put on a tight t-shirt and boxers, leaving those delicious veiny forearms bare for me to admire.
“Good morning,” I mumbled against his muscular back.
“Mornin’, darlin’,” he said, letting out a deep chuckle. “Didn’t know you’d woken up. I was gonna bring you breakfast in bed.”
“Oh.” I unwound myself from him. That was sweet. “Well, I woke up, and the bed was empty, so I came looking for you.”
He leaned over, kissing my forehead. “It’ll be done in a moment. There’s a mug of coffee for you on the counter.” He tilted his head, and I followed the motion, finding a mug waiting for me.
“So… what do you want to do today?” I asked him, leaning against the counter next to the stove.
Mason grinned. “I was thinking we’d go into town since the roads are all pretty much clear.”
“Into town?” I repeated, raising an eyebrow. “Why?”
“Come on, baby. You don’t want to go back to Giddy Up and have a do-over of our first night?”
“Hmmm.” I pretended to think about that. And while that sounded fun—especially because we hadn’t gotten to dance together that night—I thought spending the day here in his cabin sounded even better. “No.” I stuck my tongue out at him.
He laughed as he plated up the food. “Nah. Was thinking we’d go to the tree lot and get a tree. Jonah owes me a tree.”
“A tree?” I looked around his cozy cabin.
“But you already have one?” I pointed to the corner.
It was a smaller tree, nothing like the giant ones my mother used to get, but it was beautiful, decked out in ornaments.
I wondered if his mom had decorated it for him.
Though knowing him, he’d probably done it himself.
“Sure. But you don’t have a tree. So let’s go get you one. ”
My mouth dropped. “Really?”
He turned to face me. “Why not? It’ll make you happy.”
I didn’t even bother with words. Just wrapped my arms around his stomach, burying my face in his chest and giving him the biggest hug I could muster. “Thank you,” I whispered.
“Don’t have to thank me, darlin’.” His finger brushed under my chin, tilting my head until my eyes met his. “Now, let’s eat, and then we’ll go find you a tree.”
We were walking through the Cassidy’s tree lot, fingers interlaced, a steaming hot cup of hot chocolate—with whipped cream—in both of our hands. Honestly, this felt like a dream.
And I knew everyone was looking at us. Most people knew who we were—me, because of my parents being surgeons, and Mason, because of his family’s ranch.
I looked up at him, wondering if we looked right together.
He was a lot taller than me, and yes, he was older, but the eight year difference didn’t bother me. Not at this point in my life.
Besides, we wanted the same things. Knowing that had made a lot of my fears melt away. Mason asking me to come home with him, to be with him, that had made the rest.
I didn’t know exactly what we were—we hadn’t labeled it, but I was happy.
Waking up next to him, the way he rested his hand on my thigh as he drove, even the way he held my hand.
All of it was new, and yet, we’d slipped into it as easily as breathing.
Honestly, this felt like our first official date, and the thought had me giddy.
“What about that one?” He asked for the fifth time, sipping from his cup. “Shape looks nice.” Before we’d left the house, he’d pulled on a red flannel button-up that had hugged his biceps, as well as a pair of Wranglers that made my pussy weep.
Yeah, it was unfair how attractive he was. Especially when he topped it off with a Carhartt jacket, boots and cowboy hat.
I hadn’t packed my entire wardrobe, but I’d grabbed my thick, fleece-lined tights, pairing them with my favorite turtleneck sweater and skirt, throwing on a thick plaid pea coat overtop and a pair of pearl earrings.
It felt like me. But somehow, it also felt like the old me.
Like I was trying to be the girl that I’d been—the influencer who hundreds of thousands of people followed on social media, instead of just… Emily.
I paused for a moment, frowning at the blue spruce. “I don’t know. It just doesn’t feel right.”
He just nodded, and we continued strolling along.
There were tons of varieties of trees on the lot—all kinds of firs, pines and spruces, but I was looking for the perfect one.
Luckily, Mason didn’t seem to care how long I took, wandering down the aisles.
Maybe because this was our first time out in society in almost a week, neither of us was in a rush to go back inside.
His buddy Jonah had been there when we’d gotten to the lot, patting Mason on the back before he officially introduced himself to me.
It felt good to have him introduce me to his friends.
Like he really was in this for the long haul.
“Emily?” A voice called out. Turning, I found Hannah and her husband, Anthony, all bundled up and walking towards us.
He had their son, Brandon, strapped to his chest. Anthony was tall, at six feet.
Not as tall as Mason, of course, who practically towered over my five-foot-nine.
At six-four, he was a giant. In more ways than one.
“Hi, Han.” I grinned. “Didn’t expect to see you here.” I looked up at Mason, who squeezed my hand. “You remember Mason, right?”
My best friend smiled at him. “Of course. How could I forget?” He quirked an eyebrow, and I just shook my head. “Mason, this is my best friend Hannah and her husband, Tony. And their little boy, Brandon.”
“It’s good to meet you both. Wow. Look at this little cutie, huh?” Mason said, grinning down at her baby. Brandon had brown eyes, just like Antony’s. “How old is he?”
I could see in his eyes how badly he wanted that. He’d told me, but I hadn’t felt the longing until now. God, this man would be an incredible father. I knew it just from the way he took care of me. I squeezed his hand, just letting him know I was there. That I saw him.
“Seven months,” Hannah beamed, tugging on Brandon’s tiny hat. “And thank you. We’re both so obsessed with him.” She booped his little button nose.
“Me too,” I agreed. “I’m going to need more godmother time in the new year,” I said to Hannah.
“So, you’re staying?” She asked, looking between us expectantly.
Mason curled an arm around my hip almost possessively.
My face flushed, and I was grateful for the cold that most definitely had already made the tip of my nose pink.
“Um. Yeah. I don’t have any travel plans anytime soon.
” Sure, I’d had offers, but I was burnt out.
I didn’t know what was next, but I was ready for something more…
stable. “What are you two doing here? I thought you already had a tree?”
“We do,” Anthony said, grinning down at his wife. “But after being cooped up with the storm for so many days, we thought some fresh air would do us some good, so we took a walk around downtown.”
“And that’s when we spotted you,” Hannah added. “I was going to text you to make sure you were alive this afternoon anyway.”
“Well, here we are.” I knew she noticed how I said we, and I tried to hide my blush.
“So, you two are…” My best friend trailed off, waiting for me to finish her thought.
I looked up at Mason. “We’re—”
“Together,” he answered, no hesitation.
My heart swooned at the declaration. “Yeah,” I confirmed, leaning into his side and squeezing his hand back. “We are.” Not a label, but it was even better, somehow.
Hannah grinned. “How’d that happen?”
“Mason came to check on me when the snowstorm hit, and we sort of… hit it off, I guess.” I looked at him, wondering if that was an adequate answer.
“Took one look at her in that bar and knew I had to make her mine,” he confirmed.
“Mason,” I said, blushing harder.
He dropped his lips, brushing them against my cheek. “What? It’s true. Just had to get out of my head first.”
Hannah just smiled. “Well, we’ll leave you two lovebirds to it. Have fun picking out your tree.”
We exchanged hugs, promising to hang out more after the new year, and then it was just Mason and me again. He interlaced his fingers through mine once more, pressing a kiss to the back of my hand.
“So, together, huh?”
Mason grinned. “Better get used to it, darlin’. Because I’m not lettin’ go of you.”