Chapter 10
JOSH
It’s nearly eleven by the time I climb the steps to Thea’s front door. The lights are still on in the front window, so I hope I won’t wake her and Ruth.
I pause on the top step and take in the wreath on the front door, the lighted plastic gift boxes arranged by the front door, and the multi-colored lights strung along the gutter and the front railing. They’re falling down on one corner, and I make a note to fix that in the morning.
And for the first time, I wonder where Ruth’s dad is.
Not that Thea isn’t capable of putting up and fixing Christmas lights on her house.
But she’s a single mom who owns her own business in her small hometown and clearly has a big family that she sees often.
She’s clearly doing a lot. How long has she been single?
Is he around to help at all? Does he regret letting her go?
I only know the answer to one of those questions. That last one. He definitely regrets it.
Either that, or he’s an idiot.
I pause at the door. Should I text and let her know that I’m here? She didn’t give me a key, and I don’t want to knock or ring the doorbell.
Josh: I’m here. Front porch.
I wait a few seconds, but get no answer.
I try the door. It’s unlocked, which I don’t love, but Rebel is small and she seems to know most of the town, so she knows better than I do if that’s safe.
I still don’t love it.
I push the door open and poke my head in. There’s a small foyer with a pile of shoes on one side and several hooks on the wall full of jackets and sweaters. There’s a staircase straight ahead, and light is spilling from a room ahead and to the right.
“Thea?” I call softly.
No answer. I step inside, shutting and locking the door behind me. I kick my boots off, adding them to the heap, and shrug out of my thick outer flannel, hanging it over the blue puffy jacket on the third hook.
I set my bag at the bottom of the staircase and take a deep breath. The house smells like cinnamon and caramel. Exactly like the caramel rolls my grandmother makes.
As if I didn’t already have multiple reasons to want Thea Chabert.
I step into the living room. The TV is mounted on the wall facing me, and the movie playing isn’t familiar but is clearly a Christmas movie.
The actors are walking along a path with drifts of snow on either side, bundled up in coats, gloves, and hats.
They’re laughing as they pass park benches where people sit, sipping from paper cups, and there’s a snowman in the distance.
That looks a lot more like a Nebraska winter, than Louisiana.
The living room windows are to my right and are partially blocked by the Christmas tree, which glows with multi-colored lights, like the ones on the porch. The back of the sofa is directly in front of me, but I don’t see Thea and Ruth.
Until I step around the end of the couch.
They’re stretched out on the cushions under a big red fleece blanket with white snowflakes, facing the television, fast asleep.
My heart does a weird flip in my chest. That’s such a sweet, peaceful sight and a thought flits through my mind. Wish I could see this all the time.
Followed immediately by fuck, she’s beautiful.
Thea’s face is devoid of makeup now, and she’s pulled her hair back with a hairband.
I’m not sure what to do here. But I have to wake her up, don’t I? All the lights are on, and I don’t know which bedroom I’m supposed to use upstairs.
I lean over the back of the couch and brush a hand over her forehead. “Thea?” I say softly.
I drag the back of my fingers down the side of her face. Her skin is so soft. I want to run my thumb over her lips, but I resist. When I touch her lips, I want her awake.
“Thea?” I say again.
Her eyes flutter open, and she looks up at me.
“Hey, it’s Josh.”
Her eyes widen for a moment, then she blinks rapidly and looks around. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”
“No worries. I just got here.”
She looks down at Ruth and then shifts, sliding her arm out from underneath her sleeping daughter. “What time is it?”
“Just after eleven,” I say. “I’m sorry it’s so late.”
“It’s fine.” She pushes herself up, the blanket falling away from her shoulders.
She’s wearing a soft-looking cotton T-shirt. And no bra.
It’s not my fault for noticing. The evidence is right there. Two perky breasts, pressing against the front of thin, pale-yellow cotton.
She’s clearly not aware of the eye-full I’m getting, and I straighten as she sits up on the couch, shifting around Ruth in a maneuver that says she’s done this many times before.
I’m grateful to see she’s in long pajamas and socks.
The pants are loose and tied at her waist, but they cover her legs, giving me less bare skin to become obsessed with.
But they’re also thin, and as she twists and bends, adjusting the pillow under Ruth’s head and tucking the blanket around her, the pants cling to her hips and ass.
I admit to myself, however, that it wouldn’t matter.
I’d be appreciating her shape no matter what she was wearing.
She and I definitely need to talk.
“Do you want me to help you get her upstairs?” I could easily carry Ruth up to her room.
Thea smiles down at her daughter. “I told her she could sleep on the couch by the Christmas tree tonight.” She moves around the room, shutting off the other lights and the television, leaving only the glow from the tree illuminating the room. “Come on, I’ll show you to your room.”
I follow her out of the living room and grab my bag before climbing the stairs behind her, stubbornly keeping my eyes off of her ass in those pajama pants.
She probably thinks they’re not appealing at all.
She probably didn’t even think of me when putting them on before curling up on the couch.
If she did think about me showing up later, she probably thought washing off her makeup and dressing down would quell the flirtatious undertone and feeling of camaraderie we’d built tonight.
Maybe some men don’t find blue, yellow, and white plaid sexy, but I find a woman in her element, completely relaxed and comfortable, and willing to let me see that side of her extremely hot.
Anyone can look good with enough makeup, hair extensions, and other adornments.
Being herself, in her own space, doing things her way is exactly how I want Thea.
“Since I don’t know what time we might get a text in the morning, Ruth and I already showered tonight, so the bathroom is all yours tomorrow.” She motions toward the door two doorways down. “Towels and stuff are in there. Help yourself.”
“You think that we’re going to have a surprise challenge tomorrow morning?”
“I saw the glint in Nora’s eyes. I’ve seen that before. For sure, we’re going to have a challenge before the scheduled one at ten a.m.”
“Okay. I’ll be ready.”
She tips her head. “You’re probably used to being called out at all hours. Your job isn’t very predictable, is it?”
“That’s for sure. I’ve always got my phone ringer on, and I can be up and ready to go in minutes, no matter what I’m doing.”
She hesitates as if she wants to say something more. I would love it if it was something flirtatious and teasing about my ability to get ready to go.
Instead, she says, “I made some caramel pecan rolls for us to eat quickly if we have to leave in a rush. I hope that’s okay.”
I groan. “I’d hoped that’s what I smelled. I could kiss you right now.”
Her eyes widen slightly. “Probably not a great idea, everything considered.”
“Everything considered?”
“My sister? Violet? You do remember her?”
I grin. “Of course.” I have to come clean here. “I need to tell you something.”
She shakes her head quickly. “No. You don’t. I don’t need details about you and Violet.” She turns and starts down the hall toward, I assume, her bedroom.
“Violet and I are not dating.”
Thea stops. Then turns back slowly. “Excuse me?”
I take a step towards her. “We’re not dating. We barely know one another.”
Thea frowns. “What are you talking about?”
I take another step. “I met Violet the night of her accident. That was the first time we ever talked. I agreed to come and do Merry Mayhem with her and pretend to be her boyfriend so that Sam didn’t think she hadn’t moved on after all these months.”
Thea takes a moment, and I let that sink in.
Then she nods. “That makes more sense.”
“It does?”
“Yeah. I’ve been annoyed that you’re dating my sister because of Sierra. But if you’re not really dating, that makes sense.”
I take another step forward. “Hold on. What about Sierra?”
She hesitates. Then she crosses her arms. “I asked Ami about you. After we met, I found out you had visited Harley.”
Ami, Amelia, is married to Michael, my Chief and one of my best friends. And, she is Ellie’s granddaughter. That makes her Harley’s great-grand niece. And some kind of cousin to Thea.
But I focus on my favorite part of what she said first. “You asked about me?”
“I did.” She frowns. “And Ami told me that you followed a woman to Louisiana from Nebraska, changed your whole life for her, and were totally hung up on her, so I didn’t go any further.”
My heart thumps. I had no idea. Thea had asked about me and wanted to know more about me. “And what did you want to do?”
She shakes her head. “It doesn’t matter. Ami said you were madly in love and not over Sierra.”
“Ami was misinformed.”
“Was she?” She looks completely skeptical.
“I was hung up on Sierra, yes. I did follow her here. That’s all true. But she told me it was over. She moved on. I did too.”
“Ami said you hadn’t been with any other women.”
Okay, well, there’s that.
“I haven’t,” I admit. “But I…” I clear my throat. “I had plenty of that before.”
“Plenty of ‘that’?” Her brows are nearly to her hairline.
“Women.”
“Ah. And before what?”
“Before I decided to get my shit together.”
“What does that mean?”