Chapter 15
Sutton
“Ithought I was treating you tonight?” Blair asks from her perch at the kitchen island. When I arrived with a bag of groceries, I sat her down, poured her a glass of wine, and took over the small but well laid out cabin kitchen.
Over the past week or so, we’ve been switching between cooking together here and having dinner with the family in the main house. As much as I enjoy spending time with my brothers, I especially like my nights alone with my One.
I shoot her a lopsided grin. “That was before I saw you tonight and decided I’d much rather watch you sit there and while I cook for you.”
“And when did you decide this?” she asks, a wry smile playing on her lips.
“The moment you opened the door wearin’ those cute as hell pajamas again.” I had to swallow my tongue when I laid eyes on that pink polka dot set again.
She frowns. “When did you—oh.” Her cheeks blush the same color as her sleepwear and I can’t help but chuckle. “Well, if it makes you feel any better, I’m not wearing everything the same as that day…”
I slowly run my eyes down her body and back up again to meet her dancing eyes. “Considerin’ I’ve only ever seen the pink ones Grumps took a shinin’ to and the replacements I bought, that’s not that hard.”
“Play your cards right, doctor, and one day you might get to see more of my collection.” Her hooded eyes watch me intently and if it wasn’t for me wanting to impress her with my cooking prowess, I’d be tempted to take her up on that offer right here and now.
“Especially if dinner tastes as good as it smells,” she says.
I return my attention to the stuffed chicken breasts, slipping them into the small oven to finish cooking before turning the vegetables on so they’ll be ready at the same time.
“Well, I hope so.” I chuckle. “It would be a bit embarassin’ to take over cookin’ and serve up somethin’ horrible.”
A gorgeous smile touches her lips. “One might think you’re tryin’ to downplay your skills in the kitchen.”
I drape the kitchen towel over my shoulder and lean a hip against the counter, taking a sip from my wine glass. “I like it. It’s somethin’ I do when I need to forget about my things and distract myself. It helps get me out of my head and stops me from gettin’ overwhelmed.”
Blair nods. “I can see how that would work. I’ve been known to go a bit wild in the kitchen on occasion. Especially after watching too much Food Network. I start thinking I’m just as good as those famous chefs and chaos ensues.”
“Maybe from now on we can both try new recipes that fool us into thinkin’ we’re better than we are.” I watch her closely as she tugs her bottom lip between her teeth.
“I’d like that,” she replies.
I shoot her a smirk. “Look at me go. I don’t even get nervous about askin’ you out anymore,” I joke.
She stares at me and despite the same soft warm look she’s had all night, there’s also something in her gaze that gives me pause.
Is this about the Call? Has she read Isla’s book and has questions?
Since the whole plan for tonight was to wine and dine her before telling her about the mountain’s Call, I’m just about to ask her what’s wrong when the timer goes off. By then, the moment has passed.
“What’s next?” she asks as I grab my glass and come to a stop in front of her.
“Now, we sit down and eat.”
After devouring the meal and doing the washing up, I lead her over to the couch after topping up her wine. Once she’s comfortable, I take the opposite end and pull her bare feet into my lap.
“What are you—“ She doesn’t finish her question because when I slowly circle my thumbs against the arch of her foot, her eyes flutter closed with a soft moan that surges straight through me. “How did you know they were sore?”
“I’ve seen the heels you wear around the hospital, gorgeous, but the giveaway was when you moved to the kitchen earlier like you’d been walkin’ on hot coals.”
Her lips twitch the moment my hands still mid-arch. “What you’re saying is that you still watch me?”
“It’s hard not to. It’s still one of my favorite things to do.”
She sighs. “That might be one of the sweetest things someone’s ever said to me.”
“If that’s true, it’s a crime.” I say, resuming my foot rub.
“I already told you I haven’t given myself time for anything except my career.”
“Yeah, and that’s another crime. Though, I’m not mad about that one since it means I get to be here with you right now,” I say quietly.
Blair rests her head against the couch cushion so she’s looking my way. “Do you ever think how crazy it is that it was me who booked this cabin and you just happen to be here too?” I would if I didn’t know why you’re here, I think to myself. “Like it’s such an uncanny coincidence.”
“A good one I hope.”
Her answering smile is one of my favorites, a slow growing heartfelt one that makes my heart flip. “Yeah, of course. Still, what are the chances?”
“Hmm,” I say, hoping she can’t see how my mind is racing right now. I really wish I knew if she’d read the book Isla gave her. Or has someone else let it slip? Is she testing me to see if I’ll tell her? Ugh. Is the Call supposed to make you crazy? Because I sure am feeling that way right now.
She pushes herself up so her legs are draped over my lap and her body is close to mine. “Hey, what’s wrong? You just went tense.”
This is it, the moment of truth.
Since the ranch is going to be full of our family and friends tomorrow for Saturday’s wedding, many of whom have already experienced the Call, I’d already decided that I needed to tell her before someone else could.
The worst thing that could happen would be for Blair to find out about the prophesy from anyone else.
“I have somethin’ to tell you, and I don’t know how to do it,” I say, scrubbing my face and meeting her eyes, “or how you’ll take it.”
“Considerin’ you’re the poster child for open and honest communication, I’m a little worried that you’re worried about telling me.
” She places a hand over my heart, and it instantly starts pounding against her palm.
Thump. Thump. Thump. It feels like it wants to jump out of my chest. “Whatever it is, Sutton, I promise everything will be fine. I hope you know you can tell me anything.”
I huff out a breath. “I don’t even know where to begin.”
She smiles. “At the start usually helps.”
I gently grab her hands and cover them with mine before placing them between us on her lap. “You said it’s a coincidence that you ended up where I was.”
Her brows furrow. “Yeah…”
“OK,” I sigh, deciding it’s probably best if I just come out and say it. “I don’t think it’s by chance that it happened.”
She stills, her confusion deepening. “What do you mean?”
“There’s a Cooper family lore. It goes that there is a mountain spirit livin’ within these ranges that has been rewardin’ our bloodline for generations by calling their soulmates to them.” I let that hang between us, watching her expression morph from surprise to uncertainty.
“I don’t understand. You think a mountain brought me here… to you?” I nod, cradling her hands in mine and relishing in the warm buzz that suddenly feels stronger than before. Her gaze drops down which makes me think she can feel it too. “How did it start?”
“The prophesy?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s believed to have started when the Cooper family first settled on Moose Mountain.
That’s a day’s travel away, near the town of Woodward Valley.
Anyway, they made it their home, and so it goes that the prophesy was activated.
After that, the spirit would gift the protectors of her lands with their One–their soulmate. ”
“I don’t…” She scrunches her nose up before her eyes widen. “Isla said something a few weeks ago about the mountain making people all gushy once they’ve found their One. Is this what she was talking about?”
I nod. “She thought she’d let it slip and you’d figure it out. That’s why she gave you the book to read.”
She gasps, lifting one of her hands to her mouth. “I haven’t even started it yet,” she whispers. That answers that question then.
I let silence fall between us, wanting to give her time to process everything before I continue.
“How do you know? I mean, how are you supposed to know if someone is your soulmate? Is it like some lightning bolt coming down from the sky or…”
I lace my fingers with hers and lift our hands between us so that her knuckles are resting over my sternum.
“Can you feel that?” Her eyes turn from unreadable to curious.
At least she’s not completely rejecting the idea.
“The tingles. The heat whenever we touch. The way our hearts beat in sync. The way I feel you even when I’m not with you. That’s the Call.”
She slowly pulls her hand free, fisting them in her lap. “I don’t know, Sutton. This is almost too much to believe…” Her gaze doesn’t leave mine, but I can see she’s struggling.
Hell, if I hadn’t seen it happen time and time again, I’d doubt it too. In the beginning, it was almost too much to hope that it was true.
“I think I need to read that book,” she says quietly.
I sense her pulling away from me before she physically moves back over to her end of the couch, taking a healthy gulp of her wine when it’s within reach.
Then her eyes jump to mine. “Alex and Cate have been trying to get me to read those books for years,” she whispers.
I can’t help but smile at that, but I’m still on edge.
Now that Blair has been brought back into my life, I’ll be damned if I let her slip through my fingers a second time.
The first time was because of my anxiety and waiting too long.
This time, I’m prepared to wait however long it takes for me to prove to her that she’s my One. My soulmate. My heart.
“I think I might go,” I say, pushing up to my feet. “You need time and space to process this.”
She opens her mouth to say something but shuts it again. “Yeah. I think you’re right.”
I nod. “I know it’s a bit out of left field.”
“Just a bit,” she snorts before she cocks her head and looks me dead in the eye. “But you believe it, this prophesy.”
“I think I would’ve struggled with it had I not read the books and seen it happen with Will and Birdie, and then Case and Isla.
It’s happened too many times now for it not to be true.
Besides, I can’t think of anythin’ better than knowin’ that the mountain has brought me the one person put on this earth for me to love. ”
“I just… you think that’s me? How can you be sure?”
This is it. It’s time to lay my cards on the table and put myself out there, something I couldn’t do back in Boston.
Bracing my arm on the back of the couch, I lean in close so that she’s all that I can see.
“Gorgeous, a decade ago I wasn’t ready for you and missed my chance.
I’ll be damned if I let myself make the same mistake.
Not with you, not again. Believe me when I say I’m ready for you now.
I made it my mission to work on myself so that when you came, I’d be the man you deserve when you found me. ”
“Sutton…” she says softly.
“I’ve been waitin’, Blair, and I’ll keep doin’ it for as long as it takes for you to trust me when I say you’re right where you belong.”
Her lips part, her breath hitching as wonder and curiosity cross her features. I can work with that.
Closing the distance between us, I cradle her jaw with one hand and wait until she melts her cheek into my palm the same way she always does.
Dipping my chin, I brush my lips against hers and pour every ounce of my certainty and assurance into the kiss, loving the soft moan that escapes her as my tongue darts out to touch hers.
“I’m not sure…” she whispers honestly.
That’s when I let myself smile. “That’s OK, gorgeous. I’m sure enough for both of us.”