21. River
Chapter Twenty-One
RIVER
I ducked my head for what seemed like the hundredth time.
It was a teeny-weeny kiss, and I was acting like some blushing schoolgirl instead of a grown woman.
I was pathetic.
Every time I took a peek at the man eating breakfast at the table across from me, my heart fluttered just thinking about his sweet lips touching mine. And then, my pulse raced with anticipation of it possibly happening again.
Bre had been eating quietly but kept looking back and forth between me and her hero, studying us like a bug under a microscope. While she and the rest of us were still shaken over the incident the evening before, it was the undercurrent between Huntley and I that was grabbing her attention more.
My daughter seemed to be picking up on the change between us. But Lennon, more worried about his food, was shoveling his heaping plate of eggs, bacon, hash browns, and toast down like it was his last meal, oblivious to it all.
That was until Huntley opened his mouth, shocking the crap out of us all .
“I need to run something by you kids,” he said, grabbing not only their attention, but mine as well.
What was going on?
When we all looked his way, he briefly glanced at me and smiled, before focusing on Bre and Lennon. “I wanted to take your mom out on a date and was hoping to have both of your guys' permission?”
Gah, this man was killing me. He had so many amazing qualities but thinking of my kids the way he did now, and always had, made me believe that honorable men truly existed.
Lennon and Bre whipped their heads in my direction, both clearly thrown a bit for a loop. My guess because he was asking them and also maybe because I hadn’t immediately protested. There was a small smile playing on my daughter’s face, where my son wore a completely serious expression.
Always the one to take the lead, Lennon asked me, “Do you want to go with him on a date?”
If I thought they’d been thrown for a loop when Huntley asked his question, I knew my answer was going to send them spinning. My eyes flicked to the man who kept changing my life one day at a time, and I bit my lip.
I may know my answer. I mean I’d already given it to him the night before, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t nervous.
Huntley gave me a grin. “It’s always your choice, sweetheart.”
How is it that I found someone like him?
At the start I’d wanted to push him away, thought he was irritating, but that was the fear talking. He’d shown me so many times that he could be an exceptional friend, protector, and more if I let him.
Huntley was beyond patient too.
Looking back at the kids, I nodded. “Yes, I do.”
Bre relaxed, her smile blooming bigger at my answer. Lennon still looked a bit worried, but I knew he liked Huntley and while he was always trying to look out for me, he still respected me as an adult. One who could make my own choices.
My son glanced at his sister who was shaking her head up and down before looking back at the large man sharing breakfast with us. “If that’s what mom wants, then we approve.”
I thought that was the end of it and then of course my son had to add more.
“But don’t you dare hurt her in any way.”
“Thank you. And you have my word that I would never do anything to hurt her,” Huntley said. “Your mother is special and you two are too. I will never hurt any of you.”
The man was slowly killing me.
With kindness.
“Thank you,” Bre whispered, and her brother returned her sentiment.
My gaze caught him again and he winked, sending goosebumps rippling across my skin.
Before I could digest the monumental reality of what I’d just agreed to, again , someone knocked on the door.
“That’s probably Bronson or a few of the guys here to put in the security system. I’ll grab it,” Huntley said, before getting up to check.
After the unsettling night before that scared not only my daughter, but the rest of us as well, something in place for safety purposes sounded indeed like the best plan. I just couldn’t believe how fast they put the plan in motion to get it done.
I was beginning to understand I had a family who cared, new friends in high places, and a man who might just do anything to take care of me, along with my kids.
And I asked myself…
How did I deserve this?
There had been men in and out of my house for the last couple of hours.
It just wasn’t the man I wished was there in my space.
Huntley had to leave for work almost the moment the men of No Surrender had shown up. He’d asked me numerous times if I would be okay with them in my home, worried I’d feel uneasy.
But low and behold, I didn’t fear any of them.
Deep down I knew my brother-in-law was an exceptional guy who took great care of my sister and niece. And I’d watched all the ladies with their men on a few occasions.
It also helped that I wasn’t alone. Lennon, Bre, Lake and Stormi were all hanging around too. Lennon popped in and out, soaking up some of whatever the guys were doing and Bre was keeping Stormi happy as a clam. Which, I guess, left Lake alone to grill me.
“So, is there anything or anyone you want to talk about?”
“Hmm, not sure what you mean,” I replied, playing coy.
I knew she was itching for any details about Huntley’s sleepover last night.
“Smartass,” she said.
Pulling open the fridge to grab the pitcher of iced tea I’d made earlier, my lips kicked up in a hidden smile. It was kind of fun teasing her. I’d seen Lennon and Bre do it as siblings constantly. It was still crazy to think I had that too all of a sudden.
Schooling my facial expression, I turned back around toward my sister just as Stormi came running into the room like her butt was on fire, my daughter right behind her.
“Mom,” she said, running up to Lake and bouncing in place in front of her.
Lake smiled at her daughter. “What, sweet girl? ”
In a silly, gleeful voice, Stormi told her mom, “Auntie River has a date with Uncle Huntley.”
My sister glanced at me, raising her brow, before looking back at her daughter. “She does, does she?”
Stormi’s bouncing continued. “Yup. Uncle Huntley asked Lennon and Bre if it was okay and they said yes.”
The biggest grin crossed my sister’s face and she looked at me once again. “Seems your Auntie River has been holding out on me for the last few hours.”
My daughter and Stormi seemed to be in cahoots because both their grins were huge.
Little buggers.
“When are you going?” Stormi asked, waltzing over to stand in front of me.
“Yeah, inquiring minds want to know,” my sister teased.
Shaking my head at the silliness, I squatted down in front of Stormi. “I think next Saturday.”
Slanting her head, she stared at me for a second and then said, “Don’t forget to wear something pretty. If you do, maybe he will marry you.”
An absurd burst of laughter flew from my mouth.
I glanced at my daughter who stood back, watching all of this and tried to gauge her expression. Amusement played at the tips of a small smile; I was sure due to her cousin’s antics. And with it, something maybe like a blip of hope hung in the balance too.
Knowing she liked Huntley and almost wishing he was part of the family seemed to be two extremely different things when you were talking about Breland. She came from a dark place like me and even the thought of putting that much trust in a man seemed absurd.
Yet I’d been doing it.
And I didn’t want to stop.
Maybe it was time to have a big talk with my kids .
Because no matter what, they came first.
With that comment hanging in the air, Stormi turned and ran back to Bre. Grabbing my daughter’s hand, she pulled her from the room, leaving Lake and I alone.
“Spill, sis,” she said, wasting no time.
I thought about the night before and the kiss. My cheeks heated and my body quivered slightly. And of course my sister didn’t miss the reaction to my thoughts at all.
“Oh, this might be better than I thought from the look on your face,” she chanted.
“Hey, looks like we are…” Bronson stopped abruptly, looking from his wife to me. “Am I interrupting something?”
“Yup,” Lake told her husband, popping the P for emphasis. “I was just about to get some dirt on her and Huntley’s sleepover last night.”
First my brother-in-law looked at his wife, flashing her a look of amusement. He and the other guys knew exactly what a bunch of big gossips the ladies in their lives could be. Then his face turned serious when he set his gaze on mine.
“He better have behaved. I’d hate to have to kick my friend's ass.”
I couldn’t help the giggle that escaped. I’d been the one to crawl on his lap even if it was only for comfort. But I’d also been the one to ask for a kiss. Thinking about Huntley’s lips touching mine had a tingle shooting through me and my body physically did a little shudder.
Bronson’s eyes narrowed and that only made me laugh harder.
“He was the perfect gentleman,” I told him.
My brother-in-law pointed at me and then at his wife. “Something’s going on here you girls are not telling me.”
Lake raised her hands in surrender. “All I got so far, and it came from your daughter, was that our sister has a date with the hunky fireman next weekend. ”
“What’s this about a hunky fireman?” Lyric asked as he and Gyth walked into the kitchen.
With all three men in the space, it suddenly felt a whole lot smaller.
Normally, I would be hyperventilating in seconds, but the panic never came. Maybe because I knew these men and also quite possibly because they were funny as hell sometimes. Their banter was a good distraction.
Bronson shot Lyric a glare. “Don’t get them started, my wife is already in trouble for saying another man is a hunk.”
Gyth walked over and smacked Bronson on the back. “Don’t sweat it, man. It’s clear to see that the hunky fireman only has eyes for one woman.” The big guy shot me a smile, instantly causing me to blush.
Then he winked at me. “And from the way her cheeks just turned that pretty shade of pink, I’d say she only has eyes for our guy Huntley too.”
He wasn’t wrong.
Now that I’d let my guard down a little with these men who were slowly becoming friends, I could admit they were a good-looking group of guys. But nobody held a candle to Huntley in my mind.
And I hadn’t even seen him naked.
Shit, my whole body flamed at the thought. That shouldn’t even cross my mind, but lately, I didn’t seem to have complete control over myself when it came to him.
He was changing me.
But that didn’t mean the fear was gone.
Lake’s laughter dragged me back to the scene going on around me. I clearly missed something that was said by the look of humor that lined everyone’s faces.
Curious, I asked my sister, “What did I miss?”
“I said whatever you had just been thinking must have been a dirty one by the way you went from pink to bright red and the look of lust on your face.”
Too embarrassed to do anything else, I simply looked at my sister and with my tone filled with playful exasperation, said, “Oh shut up.”
The guys chuckled as Lake stuck her tongue out at me as if we were five instead of in our twenties. She got up out of the chair, one hand on her cute baby bump, and walked over to her husband.
“Just to be clear, nobody is as hunky as you babe,” she said to him.
“I beg to differ,” Lyric said. “I think Ruby would agree I am far better looking.”
I am pretty sure I saw Gyth roll his eyes. “Are we done with the whole, my dick is bigger than your dick contest, so we can do what we came to do?”
There was no controlling the unlady-like snort that came out of me. The guy was like a giant with legs as large as tree trunks, but he had edge, humor, and I knew he could be a big teddy bear when it came to his wife and son. His wife, Summer, found a good one.
I used to think a good man didn’t exist, but I was beginning to believe that it was my past driving me and the men in the group were all good guys.
But again, nobody compared to Huntley.
“That’s probably a good idea,” Lake said. “Did you guys finish the installation?”
Bronson looked at the guys and then over at me. “That’s why I originally came in here—to let you know we were ready to show you how to work the system and tell you that we took a look around outside now that it was light out.”
His tone sounded a bit grim and my stomach turned to knots .
“We found one set of footprints and they led all around the house. It could just be someone camping on the other side of the lake being nosy, but it was smart to get the cameras up. I’m sorry I hadn’t done it before,” Bronson said in a guilt-ridden tone.
Lake rubbed his arm, soothingly.
I hated that he felt bad. I wasn’t sure who was kicking themselves more, him or Huntley.
“It’s not your fault,” I told him. “Now, someone please show me and the kids how to work this system.”
Lyric nodded and we all followed him out of the kitchen.
Even though we knew someone had been out there, knowing they had been all around the house now that they got a better look at things, gave me the creeps. I knew Huntley was going to lose his shit all over again.
My hope was it was an isolated incident, but I felt better having an alarm and cameras in place.
What would make things even better was if Huntley was with us all the time.
Where did that thought come from?
It was silly thinking.
Even if I felt the safest lately when he was near.