Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Willow
I wake up tangled in Cal’s sheets with the birds chirping outside the window, just like every day I’ve woken on the mountain.
Only today, it’s different because Cal’s arm is draped heavily across my waist.
He didn’t sleep on the chair in the living room.
I didn’t lock the door behind me when I went to bed.
Instead, I’d invited him in. And after I assured Cal it was exactly what I wanted, he’d joined me.
I roll, so I can look at him properly without disturbing him.
Even in sleep, he doesn’t look relaxed. Not completely. It’s as if some part of him is always standing guard and waiting for the next thing.
Morning sunlight spills through the curtains, streaking his naked chest with gold.
Sensing me watching him, he groans in his sleep and shifts, pulling me close as if I’m going to slip away.
I’m not.
A soft sigh escapes my lips with the realization.
For the first time in longer than I care to remember, I feel like I belong somewhere. With someone. And not because I can take care of them or clean up their messes. But because I’m wanted.
Beyond these four walls, there’s a whole world of trouble, but at least for this moment, I don’t have to think of any of it.
Cal’s hand flexes against my waist, and a smile tugs at my lips as he opens one eye to check on me.
“I’m still here.”
Apparently, he wasn’t sleeping nearly as deeply as I thought.
“Good,” he mutters, his voice rough with sleep as he pulls me closer. “Because I think Murph would be pretty disappointed if you’d left.”
“And you?” I laugh.
He responds by pulling me easily on top of him. His cock is rock hard, pressing into my belly. “What do you think?”
I bend and press a kiss to his lips as I shift myself over his hips, lining up my center, already wet for him. “I think you’d miss this,” I say as I lift myself just enough before lowering onto his shaft with a groan.
The size of him steals my breath.
“Fuck, woman.” His eyes are still shut, as his hands come to my hips, holding me in place for a moment before I start rocking back and forth. Just enough for Cal to open his eyes and stare directly into mine.
“You were saying?”
“Damn,” he growls. “If I knew we’d be waking up like this every morning, I—”
“Wouldn’t have been sleeping in the chair outside my door?”
His eyes flash.
“Oh no, darling. That wouldn’t have changed.”
“No?”
“Not a chance.”
A smile tugs at my lips. “Even knowing what you were missing?” I roll my hips, pulling a groan out of him.
His grip tightens. “You needed to know you were safe with me more than I needed to be in your bed.”
Something deep inside me unclenches. I’m momentarily speechless.
“And now?” I whisper.
A slow grin spreads across his face.
“Now, you’ve made that a whole lot harder on me.”
I laugh, but he catches my chin before I can look away. “Just so we’re clear, I’d sit in that damn chair every night all over again if that’s what it took for us to get here.”
“Careful,” I tease. “Or I might not think you’re such a rough and gruff mountain man after all.”
Done with talking, I lean back so I can feel every hard inch of Cal’s cock inside me as I pick up the pace of my hip rolls.
“Christ, woman, you are the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.” His hands leave my hips, sliding up over my sides before cupping my full tits, his thumbs grazing over my nipples, sending sparks racing through me as my climax builds quickly.
“Come for me, darling.” His voice is rough. “Come all over my cock while I fill you up.”
His dirty words are all it takes to send me over the edge. I drop my head back and scream out his name while I let my orgasm rip through me.
“So. Fucking. Hot.”
Cal punctuates each word with a thrust, and then he, too, is lost to his climax. As promised, hot, thick spurts of his seed fill me up as he shudders beneath me, and I collapse in a satisfied heap on top of him.
Cal
I’m not sure how much time has passed with Willow lying on my chest, a welcome weight. I have one arm wrapped around her, keeping her right where she is while her breath returns to normal.
Outside, the birds are still carrying on like nothing in the world has changed.
But inside, for me, everything has.
I’m not sure what to say or how to tell her what I’m feeling, or even if I can sort out those feelings in my own head.
But I have to say something. I know I can’t let this moment pass without telling Willow that having her here, in my house, in my bed, and hell, in my arms, has shifted something fundamental for me.
Something I can’t ignore.
I take a breath and open my mouth, but Murph chooses that moment to bound up onto the bed next to us.
“What the—” I twist my head and find myself staring directly into his dark eyes. “You know you’re not allowed on the bed.”
Willow laughs softly against my chest and lifts herself up, and off me, so she’s lying with her back next to me, facing the dog.
“Good morning, buddy.”
I watch while she scratches the dog, and he rolls over on his back to get belly rubs.
“Traitor,” I murmur with a shake of my head.
“He’s so cute,” Willow says over her shoulder.
“He’s not supposed to be in the bed.”
“Nonsense,” she says to the dog. “You’re way too sweet to stay on the floor.”
I watch while she nuzzles her face into Murph’s fur, and I can’t help but laugh at the way she’s managed to turn my tough mountain dog into a giant suck in only a few days.
“He met you five minutes ago and immediately decided I was the backup human.” I kiss her on the shoulder.
“He's a smart boy.” She turns and gives me the brightest smile I’ve ever seen on her pretty face. Only a few short days ago, she was nothing but scowls and a wall of toughness. Now…
She belongs here.
With me.
With us.
The thought pops into my head so quickly and unexpectedly, it almost slips out of my mouth.
I almost tell her how much I like all the tea mugs she leaves scattered around my cabin.
How her laughter fills the emptiness I’ve felt for too long.
How all of it should be driving me crazy, should have me counting down the minutes until I get my quiet existence back.
Instead, I’m dreading the end of whatever this is.
Because it doesn’t feel like an intrusion. It feels right.
Dangerously right.
Willow catches me looking at her. She tilts her head and asks, “What?”
I almost tell her.
Almost tell her how I don’t want her to leave at the end of all this. How I want her to stay.
But then I remember why I can’t. There’s a damn good reason I’ve never let anyone in. And until I’m sure I won’t fail her the way I failed before, I keep my mouth shut.
“Nothing,” I lie, and then add, “Why don’t you take him out to play fetch while I get breakfast started?”
Willow
Murph tears after the ball and disappears into the trees.
Again.
He could catch the ball all day, and I think I’d probably be as happy throwing it for him.
I shade my eyes against the morning sun and wait for him to come charging back, but a flash of movement behind the woodshed catches my attention instead.
Instinctively, I take a step back, ready to go running for the shelter of the house. And Cal.
And then I see him.
My brother steps from the shadow, and my breath catches in my throat. The fear is instantly replaced by a flash of anger, followed quickly by concern.
He looks terrible.
His clothes are filthy and torn. It’s only been about a week since I’ve seen him, but he looks like he’s lost weight. Even from a distance, his eyes look tired and are no doubt bloodshot.
I take three quick steps toward him and glance over my shoulder at the house.
The kitchen’s on the opposite side of the cabin, so with any luck, Cal hasn’t seen him yet.
I know without asking, Bryson’s not likely to be welcomed with the same warmth that Cal offered me.
Not after everything he’s done to put me in this position.
“What are you doing here?”
My brother winces. "Good morning to you, too, sis.”
“Are you kidding me right now?”
I close the rest of the distance between us and punch him hard on the shoulder. He barely reacts. Probably because he knows he deserves it. Hell, he deserves a lot more than that. Still, he looks awful, and I can’t bring myself to hit him. No matter how much I want to.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I demand. “Do you have any idea what you’ve put everyone through this time?”
He nods.
“No,” I stop him before he can speak. “You don’t. You have no idea what I had to…what I almost had to do to pay off your debt this time.” I swallow hard, not wanting to think about that night at the Rusty Nail when Ronnie and his buddies actually played for me.
I don’t even want to think of what could have happened if Cal hadn’t stepped in. Thinking about Cal, I spin around and take another glance over my shoulder before facing my brother. “You can’t be here.”
“I have nowhere else to go.”
“How about going back to town and handling your debts so I don’t have to?” I cross my arms over my chest. “Have you thought about doing that, Bryson? Because I can’t keep cleaning up your messes for you. And Dad…have you even thought about what Dad’s going through?”
He nods.
“I don’t think you do. “
Because if that were true, he wouldn’t even be here right now. He’d be down on his knees apologizing to our father and to me, and to the mountain man whose property he’s currently trespassing on, who spent thousands of dollars to clean up a mess he never created for people he’d never even met.
“Willow.” He glances at the cabin. “Please.”
My stomach drops. My anger fades.
“How much trouble are you really in?”
His silence is answer enough.
“Shit, Bryson.” I can’t help but think of the missing truck. “What did you get yourself into this time?”
“Willow, I…I just need a place to sleep for a few hours and maybe something to eat.” He talks faster when I shake my head. “I need a chance to think so I can figure out what to do,” he continues. “I can fix this. I can figure it out. I just need a bit to—”
Murph appears and drops his ball at my feet before baring his teeth and snarling at Bryson, who takes a few steps backward and raises his hands.
“It’s okay, buddy.” I pat the dog, who doesn’t seem convinced.
Behind me, I hear the door of the cabin open, and I make a quick decision.
“Okay,” I tell Bryson. “You can rest in the garage. But you have to stay out of sight, and it’s only for today,” I add when he opens his mouth. “I’ll bring you some food and a change of clothes. But you need to be gone by tomorrow, understand?”
My brother nods. “Thank you.”
I shove him toward the garage before he can say anything else.
“And Bryson?” He turns. "Fix this,” I tell him. “Once and for all. I can’t keep doing this. I won’t.”
I turn back toward the cabin.
Murph lingers for a second, watching Bryson disappear into the garage before reluctantly following me.
Every step toward the porch feels heavier than the last.
Because I’m keeping something from Cal, and I never have before.
And it’s not small.
It’s the kind of secret that poisons everything it touches. Which terrifies me, because somehow in the last few days I think I’ve gone and fallen in love.