CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Evangeline
I wake up to moonlight slanting across my bed.
A hot shower did a lot to restore my equilibrium.
Sitting at the table with my brothers and the twins and chowing down on a late lunch of tacos with guac and salsa, Jonah and I told the story of our weekend.
The poachers, the storm, hiking through the wilderness.
I can’t believe everything that happened.
Elias got nods of agreement to his point that the line shacks need to be better maintained and stocked.
Brooks shocked me when he said, voice serious, “Don’t think I don’t respect you, Evangeline. I do. You’re good at your job and you pull your weight. But that doesn’t mean I won’t look out for my sisters.”
“Maybe you could find a way to do that without smothering us,” Remi commented.
Aury agreed. “We love you, but you guys are a lot.”
The twins have their own issues with our overbearing brothers.
I doubt things will change overnight, but we made progress.
We’re clearing the table when Brooks gets a call from the sheriff’s department that Abel is under guard while recovering at the hospital, and Denny’s behind bars. Charges are pending against both men.
The danger has truly passed, and the wildlife in the Sierras is a little safer.
I glance at the clock on my nightstand. Past midnight.
I ease out of bed and cross my room, opening the door a crack. The coast is clear. I dart across the hall and slip through the door before closing it soundlessly behind me. Despite everyone showing up today, not all my siblings live at the ranch. Jonah crashed in Wes’s old room.
I reach the edge of the bed and peel back the covers. I’m about to slide in when a hand snakes out to grab me and I tumble onto the bed with a yelp. Jonah pins me flat on my back, his hard body pressed deliciously into me.
His mouth covers mine in a scorching kiss that has my toes curling into the sheets. He releases my lips to nuzzle my neck.
“I missed you. Hoped you’d find your way to me tonight.” He nips my earlobe. “But if one of your brothers finds you with me, they’ll shoot me at dawn.”
“No, they won’t. Not after I’ve caught them more than once smuggling in their own girlfriends.” Jonah is shirtless and I trail my hands down his back.
“Doesn’t matter. I’m willing to risk it.”
Another sizzling kiss, then he’s reaching to turn on a lamp. I blink in the glow. “Why’d you do that?”
“Because I want to see you.” He pauses. “You told them we’re together now.”
There’s a flash of uncertainty and I push it away. “That’s because we are.”
“Damn straight. We’ll take all the time you need and go through all the steps, but understand this, Angel, you’re it for me, the one I’ve been waiting for. I’ve waited too damn long for you to be mine, and I’m not letting you go.”
I grin at him. “Hold on as tight as you want, Jonah Cooper, because I’m in it for the long haul.”
The tone shifts, his eyes glowing in the reflected light. “I love you, Angel.”
“I love you, Jonah,” I whisper.
He clicks off the light and pulls me close, and I think I could stay here forever and it still wouldn’t be long enough.