34. Cord
34
CORD
T here was a new furnace in the cabin that heated up quickly, but I still lit a fire. Once the kindling sparked, I turned around and looked up at Juni.
“God, you are beautiful,” I said, taking in her body that was draped only in a blanket. “How’d you get undressed so quick?”
“I’ll show you.”
When I stood, she pulled my shirt from my jeans and unfastened it while I lowered them to the floor after toeing off my boots and socks.
“You promised me that, when you got back the night I thought I’d lost you forever, we’d spread out on a blanket in front of a roaring fire and do nothing other than learn the feel of each other’s bodies.”
“I’m sorry, Juni.”
“Don’t be. Make it up to me instead.”
We had three perfect hours before we decided we couldn’t ignore my cell phone any longer. When I checked, there were three messages from Buck and one from Decker. I read his first, then checked the time.
“We have fifteen minutes until Decker shows up here.”
Her eyes opened wide.
“At least that was his threat when he reminded me he vowed to get me back to the Lilacs inside of forty-eight hours.”
“I thought he said we’d have time to stay the night if we wanted to.”
I pointed to the window. “I think the storm is making him nervous.”
Juni nodded. “Every storm will make me nervous.”
I lay beside her and pulled her into my arms. “I’m going to make you a promise.”
“Cord—”
“Let me, Juni.”
She nodded.
“I’m not putting myself at risk like that ever again. Even if someone didn’t try to bash my head in, going out in that weather wasn’t smart. I promise I’ll never put you through something like that again. Not intentionally. Now, will you promise me something?”
“Of course.”
“No walking home from restaurants by yourself late at night. Especially in the middle of winter.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yes, Cord. I promise never to do that again.”
“Or have dinner with ex-boyfriends.”
She raised a brow.
“What?” I asked.
“Your ex-girlfriends are worse.”
I held up both hands. “Hey, I blocked her.”
“Maybe you should consider blocking all of them.”
“How about if I change my phone number?”
She smiled. “That’s an even better idea.”
We were teasing each other, but what I had to say was something I’d never joke about. “You’re the only woman I’ve ever loved, Juni. The only woman I ever will.”
Both of us jumped when my cell phone rang rather than vibrated. “Think you can get dressed in less time than it took you to get naked?”
“I’ll race you.”
I shook my head.
“What? I told you I was competitive. ”
“Who do you want to tell first?” I asked on the drive from the cabin to the main house, where Decker said he was waiting.
“Do you want to tell your brothers and sister?”
“Eventually.”
Her eyes scrunched. “My parents and Grayson. Uncle Pete too, I guess.”
I chuckled. “You guess?”
“He’d be crushed if we didn’t. So, there isn’t anybody you want to tell right away?”
“There is—Sam.”
Juni leaned up and kissed my cheek. “I love that idea, Cord.”
Rather than risk not returning to the Lilacs in time, I decided not to meet with Kingston West. There was nothing I could do about the roughstocking business until the end of my year in East Aurora anyway.
The one thing I had wanted to do that I wasn’t able to was see Porter. As Buck had said when I asked where he’d disappeared to, there was no telling where he’d gone. Given the Roaring Fork’s security system was designed the same way the Lilacs’ was, we knew he hadn’t returned to the ranch. And when I tried to call him, his phone went straight to voicemail.
Maybe he’d already gone to Parlin, and if that was the case, there wasn’t time for me to track him down.
“I’m gonna trust that you can get your ass from the Buffalo Airport to the Lilacs on your own,” Decker said when he drove us to the airfield in Gunnison.
“I can ask Pete to pick us up,” Juni offered.
“Good idea. Arrange for backup too.”
I didn’t know whether he was joking or not, but I’d learned a while ago not to ask. I also knew better than to question why we were being transported in his plane and he wasn’t going with us.
Once we were in the air, I told Juni the story of what had happened the night my mother shot my father, and how, in the aftermath, she’d said she hoped that one day, when I learned about the decisions she’d made, I’d forgive her.
I also told her we’d learned the trust wasn’t our father’s, like we’d thought.
“Is it your mother’s?” she asked .
“It appears that way. It was drafted two years before she died.”
“I think it was. Or is.”
Her response intrigued me. “I’m leaning that way too, but why do you believe it is?”
“She wanted Buck to return to the ranch, but not until after your father died. She wanted you to go to the Lilacs, but not until after her brother died. Those are two things she could’ve decided on before she passed away.”
“What about Porter?” I asked.
“That one is harder to figure out.”
“I told Buck I thought whoever the trustee is must have had something on Roscoe while he was still alive. Not that it kept him from being an asshole.” I scrubbed my face. “The other thing I said was if our mom hadn’t left East Aurora, if her brother had succeeded in forcing her to have an abortion, none of us would be here.”
“If only Miss Cena was still alive,” Juni murmured.
“I wondered if it might be her doin’ all this.”
She nodded. “Me too. But your point about Porter is a good one. His accident happened after she passed away. ”
“Only Holt and Flynn are left. I hope there isn’t anything they’re forced to do. Unfortunately, I think there will be.”
“Look at it this way. Buck returning to the ranch had a happy ending. He and TJ seem so in love.”
“I wondered if traveling to East Aurora was just so I could meet you. I still think it’s part of it.”
Juni smiled. “I hope Porter finds happiness.”
“Me too.” While I nodded and said the words, I wasn’t convinced it was possible. It had taken time away from him for me to realize how he seemed to carry a weight on his shoulders that he couldn’t bear. So he drank—just like my father had.
“I pray he can exorcise his demons. That may be the best we can hope for.” When I reached up to scrub my face, Juni caught my hand and kissed the back of it.
“I love you, Cord.”
“And I love you.”
By the time we landed, both Juni and I had received a message from Sam saying she and Beau were already at the airport and would give us a ride to the Lilacs .
“So, um, you might want to take your ring off,” I said when we deboarded and were walking from the private terminal to the public one.
Juni shook her head. “Nope. I’m never taking it off.”
“Sam will notice.”
“I’m okay if she and Beau know first. We already invited my family to meet us at the Lilacs later.”
As I’d anticipated, Sam spotted the ring immediately, and soon, she and Juni were both in tears, hugging.
“Many congratulations,” said Beau, shaking my hand. “When’s the wedding?”
“We haven’t figured that out yet. What about you?”
“Initially, we were talking about Christmas, but I’m a wanker and pushed Sam to move it up.”
“When and why?” I asked.
“Mid-May, and don’t you want to marry Juniper as soon as she’ll agree to it?”
“I guess so. I hadn’t really thought about it.”
“I have. No way I’m giving Samantha the chance to change her mind.”