18. Birdie
18
BIRDIE
Another yawn escapes me from where I'm snuggled into Will's side on the couch. On the other sofa, Case and Sutton are bent over a big computer tablet between them as they argue over a new cabin design, and Jude is in a one-seater chair by the fire reading a book on deciduous trees.
The twins cooked dinner for everyone. It was steak with a garlic butter sauce, Hasselback potatoes, and some frozen fresh vegetables they found in an outside freezer.
I did have a giggle when Will mentioned that it was turned off when he first arrived. Cue me imparting some good ol' Alaskan wisdom to the four city Cooper men. Lesson number one - why use power when the temperature outside is probably colder than inside the freezer. So you turn it off in winter.
The next lesson came when Sutton mentioned how the kitchen pipes kept threatening to freeze over. That's when I had to explain the need for extra insulation and how sometimes, just keeping the kitchen cabinets open can make all the difference. Either that or leave the faucet dripping just enough to keep the water going.
After Will and I did the washing up–after much argument from everyone since I'm a guest–we all retired to the living room and Will and I started watching Dirty Dancing on his grandfather's VHS player. Yes. Apparently, they do still exist.
Closing my eyes for a minute, I tell myself that I'll just take a few deep breaths before opening them again. Sometime after that, my pillow–aka Will–starts shaking, his arm around my shoulder gently squeezing me tight as he laughs.
I burrow my head into his chest and sigh. "Just five more minutes," I murmur sleepily, which starts the rest of the Coopers off too. Without opening my eyes, I scowl, hoping they all see me. "Some of us worked all day."
"Yeah, we all did. That's why we're stayin' up to keep y'all company," Case says, sounding more than a little amused. "If I had my way, I'd have been laid out in bed an hour ago."
My back goes ramrod straight as reality seeps in. "I'm up. I'm up. Awake. Wide awake," I rush out before turning to Will who's wearing the most puzzled look on his face.
"Honey," he says, cupping my cheek with a soft smile. "He's not tellin' you to go, honey.:
"I should though, right? It's late." Looking outside the front window, I can't see anything but darkness and a smattering of stars.
"It's not that late." Will's gaze is all melty and hot and without realizing I'm doing it, I start swaying toward him. "Do you want to go home," he murmurs for my ears only, his voice sending delicious shivers down my spine.
I shake my head. Every cell in my body feels like it's screaming at me to stay. These physical manifestations of the Call are something else.
"Then stay, honey," he murmurs against my lips. "I'll take the couch, you take my room. And I'll get you back home in the mornin'." I'm so engrossed in the sound and feel of Will, it's easy to forget there are other people in the room.
Sutton clears his throat, shattering the illusion, my cheeks burning hotter than the fireplace. "Just to say, it's late. Y'all have had a long day, and you've earned a good night's sleep," he says to me before pinning Will with a stare. "And as for you, I get you're bein' a gentleman and all. Believe me, Mom would be proud. But you need a bed more than the couch. Just stay in Wyatt's room and use one of the sleepin' bags.
Will nods but my frown deepens. Turning to look up at Will, I shoot him a challenging stare. "Do you not trust yourself to share a bed with me, Will?"
"It's not that. I–"
"Do you not want to share a bed with me then?" I press, keeping my face as neutral as I can when inside I'm feelin' giddy at the prospect of spending the night with this man, even if it's only to sleep. Play it cool, Birdie.
"There's nothing else I'd rather do, honey. Bar none," he says, his intense eyes leaving me with zero doubt he's speaking the truth.
"OK," I whisper.
Dipping his chin and swiping his lips over mine in a barely there, teasing kiss. "Good."
"I don't have anythin' with me though…"
"That's fine. I'll sort you out," he says, like it doesn't even matter. He doesn't hesitate. Doesn't even blink.
"You can do your 'buddy' readin' in person tonight. Maybe you'll get to one of those good scenes you were tellin' us about, Will," Case teases.
Will drops his head and groans. "Damn big mouth," he mutters, glaring over at his now smirking twin brothers.
"What?" Case says, feigning innocence. "Was it a secret? The way you described it, I was even tempted to pick up the book and start readin' my first ever romance," Case continues, earning quiet laughter from the others.
"I'll read it if you do," Jude shoots back. "Can't have you two readin' somethin' I haven't."
"Yeah, OK. Leave me out why don't ya," Sutton says with a pout.
Honestly, seeing these big burly men argue about reading romance books makes me feel like I'm in a twilight zone. I nod to the tablet in Case's hands.
"Wait… are y'all tryin' to steal my buddy reader here? Get your own," Will says, sounding just a little possessive and a whole lot adorable. He wraps his arm around my shoulders and turns me fully into him, holding me tight. "She's mine. Find your own, Birdie."
"Ah, the ancient ritual of a man claimin' his woman. Never thought I'd see the day our Will here did it, and on the same day he claimed a donkey too!" Jude teases. "Guess stranger things have happened in these Alaskan mountains."
I freeze, Will stills, obviously not missing my reaction. Except now all I can think about is telling him about the Call and the prophesy. How I think I'm his soulmate and…
"Breathe, honey. Just breathe for me, yeah?" Will says before turning his head away and growling out some indecipherable words to his brothers. I can't hear them though because it's like I'm having an out-of-body experience. It's like everything is buzzing and I can do nothing but wait it out.
What feels like moments later, Will is gently pushing me down to sit on a bed, keeping a hand on my knee while he reaches over to turn a light on.
"Just wait there for me, honey. Yeah?" he says softly, stepping away and closing the blinds and then curtains.
The room feels warm and cozy, and despite the fact there's only a queen bed and wooden frame, one set of drawers, and a big closet in here, looking around–albeit in a bit of a daze–it feels like Will's space.
Next thing I know, Will's sitting down next to me. But before I can say anything–or even try to comprehend whatever just happened with me–he's lifting me and putting me in his lap, repositioning my legs so that they're around his hips and I'm straddling him.
His hands smooth over my jean-covered legs back and forth, back and forth, in long sweeping strokes. His gaze roaming over my face but never once looking away.
"Ah, that's better. There you are." A slow-growing smile curves his lips and his relieved expression just about takes my breath away. So much so, I can't help but smile back at him.
I spot some clothes of his set down on the mattress next to us. "Are they for me?"
"Yeah. But that can wait. You sure you want to stay?"
"I do," I answer without any hesitation, flexing my fingers against his shirt. "Were you goin' to change me? I promise I'm OK, Will. I can dress myself."
"Dammit. You're takin' away my opportunity to feel you up a little," he teases with a cheeky grin that melts my heart.
"You can still do that, but how about we save some time for now and get changed ourselves" I say with a wink before carefully hopping off his lap and standing in front of him, holding out my hand for him to join me. I still feel out of sorts but it's got nothing to do with Will and how safe and comfortable I feel around him. It's about all about me .
"I'll turn around," he says roughly, dropping a barely-there kiss to my forehead before releasing me and rounding the bed, both of us giving the other our backs as we change.
"You can turn around," I say cheekily. "Although it would take away the chance for me to check out your butt." That earns me a sexy laugh for my troubles and buys me time to wrack my brain over what the hell happened back in the living room.
It was like my body and brain kind of glitched. I also felt so overwhelmed with happiness and relief when Will was being perfect and saying things like 'she's mine.'
While running this over and over in my mind and sneaking a peek at Will's butt at least once, I change into a pair of his boxer briefs and a T-shirt so big it falls to my mid-thigh before sliding under the sheets and blankets and not stopping until I'm plastered against Will's side.
He slides an arm under my pillow as I rest my head against it, bringing us face to face. My hand comes to rest on his chest, over his heart, while his fingers start tracing sweeping circles on my back.
"What happened out there, honey? One minute you were fine, then the next it was like you were panicking and blacked out. I've got to be honest. It scared the hell out of me."
I snuggle just that little bit closer, needing the reassurance of his warm body against mine. "I don't know," I say quietly, running my fingers through his chest hair. "Not really, anyway. It's never happened before."
He narrows his eyes and I wonder if he thinks I'm hiding something. I'm not, not really. It's not like I have proof that there's a mountain spirit pulling our romantic strings. I sure am hoping though.
I honestly do not know why I zoned out/blacked out/had a brain glitch. Thankfully, he doesn't call me out. Instead, he surprises me by reaching up and smoothing my hair away from my face, making all my worries vanish into thin air.
"I was wonderin' if you got a bit overwhelmed after workin' this mornin' then again here. Then maybe there were some nerves since my brothers kind of railroaded us into sharin' a bed? If that's the case, I'd like to apologize." My whole body jerks at that, and although there's no way he missed it, he keeps going. "You don't have to spend the night if you don't want to. I know things have been goin' fast between us, but we can slow it down at any time. The very last thing I want is to scare you off, Birdie. You mean too much to me already."
"I don't want that," I say firmly, hoping I have left no room for confusion. Unfortunately not, it seems.
He goes completely still, even the circle drawing on my back stops. "OK. Just let me down a strong coffee, and then I'll get you home," he says, starting to move away from me.
"No!" I say, sounding like a petulant child as I grab hold of him, clinging like a spider monkey. "Will, I trust you. Really, I do. And the very last thing I want is to slow down. So no, I don't want to go home. I want to stay here… with you ."
He eyes me cautiously… carefully. "You sure, honey? It's no problem."
That's when I grab his face between my hands, making sure I have his full attention before laying it out for him. "I've never been more sure about anythin' in my entire life, Will. Maybe ever."
The smile that gets me is one I'll never forget, just like the words that follow. "Thank god! Cause I like you, Birdie. A lot . I like spendin' time with you and I like the idea of spending the night with you. There's no rush, though. No pressure. Never that. I'm not that kind of man. Besides, we've got time...right?" Except maybe you once you've served your time here, I think but not say.
As quick as I think that, I chastise myself. That's my issue, not his. It's not fair to keep worrying about what may or may not happen. I need to focus on the now, and Will proving yet again that he's perfect. Perfect for me, anyway.
"Out there," I say, tilting my head toward the door. "I think it was because you claimed me. You called me yours."
His whole body stills. "What?" he gasps.
I look deep into his eyes, holding my hands to his beard-covered cheeks. It was short stubble when I first met him, and with a little encouragement and maybe some acclimatizing to the mountain life, it's now about a quarter inch long and perfectly even across his jaw, chin, and top lip.
"I feel the same way. I want you to be mine. But for some reason, my brain short-circuited when I heard you say it. I could hear you and feel you holdin' me, but I didn't know if I was dreamin'. One moment I was so happy and my heart was racing, then poof, I was out of it."
Will eyes melt as a soft smile slowly curls his lips. "You sayin' you feel the same way?" His voice is as smooth as molasses now. "That you wanna be mine?"
I try to wave it off with a shrug and drop my gaze to his chest. His hand on my back moves up and down in soothing strokes, calming me and driving me crazy in equal measure. A tease and a comfort, a total conundrum for my still-sensitive brain.
"I mean, I suppose I could be?"
Then his hand is gone, but not for long, because then his knuckles are pressing under my chin, tipping my face up, bringing my eyes to his hooded hazel gaze. Suddenly my whole body feels like it's coming alive all over again. Damn, this Call is kind of creepy with its intensity.
"Birdie…"
"Yes," I blurt out. "I want to be yours and I want you to be mine." This time my voice is strong, firm, sure . Then again, if he keeps holding me like I'm a precious treasure he can't believe is his, I'll say anything he damn well wants me to.
He treats me like I'm special to him. I mean, the man was going to give up his bed and sleep on the couch! If that's not all the proof I need that he's a man who says what he means and means what he says, then what is?
He sighs and it's like the biggest weight has been lifted off him. "Was startin' to think I was goin' to have to talk you into it," he muses, but before I can sass him back, his lips are on mine, capturing my startled gasp then proceeding to give me one of his signature spine-tingling, mind-bending kisses. All I can do is hold on and enjoy the ride.
We make out for a bit—and yeah, there's some feeling up too—but having talked about it, and knowing there's no pressure, no rush to do more, we just enjoy each other.
When we finally pull apart, I lay there watching him watching me, my mind, heart, and soul now feeling completely at ease.
Do I wonder about whether he will stay in Timber Falls forever? Absolutely.
Do I believe everything Will said about the way he feels? That's a big yes.
What's holding me back from telling him about the Call then? Cowardice. Plain and simple. And maybe a little birdie—yes, ironic—in the back of my mind reminding me that Will is only obligated to be here for two years. He says he's staying, but two pesky words keep popping up in my head… what if…?
I will tell him, he needs to know, and before we go any further, before things get any more serious between us, I will. But a woman's allowed to protect that last little bit of her heart, even when she knows who it will always belong to…
Until then, all I can hope is that he figures it out for himself. I mean, he did say Riddles had left gifts and notes for them around the ranch. He did say he wanted Will and his brothers to find out about the prophesy themselves.
Maybe Ridley will help me out one last time.