Chapter 42
Everett
A few weeks later
Iwalked into the kitchen, checking my phone. On the counter was Piper’s handbag. It had spilled open and I saw her wallet, keys, her ID card for work. There was also a pretty bracelet and the carving of Maple I’d made for her.
Smiling, I looked around my townhouse. She’d left little touches everywhere, from the vase of flowers on the table, to the stack of magazines on the coffee table, to her cashmere sweater tossed over the back of the couch.
She’d officially moved in a week ago. I’d lugged all her suitcases upstairs and she’d taken over most of my closet.
I smiled. I liked it. I liked having her here, liked the signs that she was settling in and making my home our home.
I was happy.
It was funny how you could think you knew exactly what you wanted from life. Have a path charted that you sure was exactly what was best for you.
Then life went and knocked you sideways. It gave you what you didn’t expect and sent you on a detour. Then you suddenly realize that unexpected thing is what you can’t live without.
Life gave you exactly what was perfect for you.
A part of me still worried that Piper would wake up one day and realize small mountain-town life wasn’t for her. That I wasn’t for her.
But so far, she woke up in my bed every morning, and smiled at me like I was the best thing she’d ever seen. She seemed happy and was diving into renovating the offices at the Windward with glee. It didn’t mean I didn’t piss her off sometimes, but even then, making up was spectacular.
Every day, she showed me that she loved me. That she loved our life, her work, our friends.
“Get a move on, big city, or we’ll be late,” I bellowed.
I had learned that it took her a damn long time to get ready, especially when she washed and blow dried her hair. The results were worth it, but I’d learned to factor it into our schedule.
I heard the familiar click of her heels. She appeared, wearing dark-wash jeans, an emerald-green sweater that looked impossibly soft, and she looked a million bucks. She was wearing a set of heels I didn’t recognize.
My cock noticed. “New shoes?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll enjoy fucking you in them later.”
She shot me a sexy smile. “I’ll enjoy leaving heel marks on your ass.”
I felt my cock twitch, but kept it under control. “Come on. We need to get on the road.”
There was a knock on the door and Dad poked his head in. “You guys ready? If we don’t leave now, we’ll be late to the airport to collect your mom and grandmother.”
Piper’s mom, grandmother, and brother were arriving from Chicago. We were picking them up at Denver Airport, then heading for a family dinner before we dropped Chance at his rehab center in Boulder.
Time would tell whether Piper’s brother would put in the hard work to get better, but he was on the right track.
Piper’s mom and Gram were spending a week with us in Windward.
Bear loped in and headed straight for Piper. She was now the love of his life. She gave the dog some love, petting his head. “I’m ready.” She headed for the door, giving dad a friendly hip bump as she passed.
I grinned. Dad already adored her. She was the daughter he’d never had, and he was the father she’d missed out on growing up.
Things they’d never had, now they’d always have them.
Dad went to the truck, Bear with him.
I grabbed my woman and hauled her close. I kissed her in the fresh mountain air.
“I love you, big city. Always.”
“And I love you, Everett Murray. Always.”
I hope you enjoyed Piper and Everett’s story!