Chapter Three
Amelia
“Walk me to the truck,” Delilah tells me once she says her goodbyes to Colton and the kids.
“Sure.” I bring Lily with me since she’s falling asleep on my shoulder. She’s normally so active that I never get a minute to sit, but she didn’t sleep well last night or during the drive up here.
“Don’t hesitate to text or call me, okay? Day or night. I’ll keep you updated too, but I need to know that y’all are safe, so make sure to check in with us.”
She wraps me in a hug as best she can with Lily in between us.
“I will, promise.”
She hovers near my ear and lowers her voice. “By the way, I snuck some condoms in your toiletry bag.”
I pull back. “What? Why?”
Her eyes lock with mine. “You’re hot, he’s hot. Why not take advantage of the situation and get dicked down while you’re here?”
“What the hell are you talkin’ ’bout?” I whisper-hiss so I don’t startle Lily.
She crosses her arms, looking amused. “Raven told me y’all hooked up on our weddin’ night.”
My mouth pops open. “That little snitch!”
She nearly doubled over with laughter when I told her they were taking me to Willow Branch Mountain, but had I known it was Colton he was talking about, I could’ve mentally prepared myself before we arrived.
“I’m glad she did, or I would’ve almost bought that little act of yours in there. Pretendin’ you didn’t remember his name or meetin’ him. You’re evil!”
“Oh my God…” I groan, mentally slapping myself on the forehead. “Do you think he knows I’m lyin’?”
“Girl, please. Even Wilder could tell somethin’ was up, and he’s clueless about everythin’.” She snickers. “And don’t think I didn’t see you droolin’ over him in a towel.”
Well, that’s fucking great.
“Not that I blame ya. His arm sleeve and nipple piercings are sexy. But don’t tell Wilder I said that!” I’m tempted to laugh at that since Wilder’s also an attractive man.
But honestly, his answering the door half-naked caught me off guard. I purposely blocked the image of his body out of my mind so I could leave our one-night stand behind.
“Now what do I do?”
“You either come clean or double down on havin’ a foggy memory.”
“There’s no way he’s not gonna bring it up, eventually. Maybe I can plead temporary insanity?”
She leans against the truck door. “Was it bad or somethin’? Is that why you’re actin’ like he was forgettable?”
I wish that were the issue.
Memories of sliding my tongue over his nipple piercings send a phantom ache between my thighs. Never realized I’d be into that, but on him, I couldn’t help myself. Not just one, but two barbells. And the way he moaned when I did it had me doing it more than once.
His tongue piercing is new, though. It was impossible not to notice him flicking it and licking his bottom lip like a mousetrap tempting me to take the bait.
But sober me knows better than to let a six-foot-plus tatted, pierced man lure me to my death.
“Not at all. I mean, I hadn’t slept with anyone in years before him, so the expectations were low, but it was…he was…good. N-no complaints.” He folded me like a pretzel, hit my G-spot over and over, then had me coming like I never have before.
My cheeks heat when she cracks up at me stumbling over my words.
“So what’s the issue, then?”
“Since I knew it couldn’t happen again, given the distance and not trustin’ men, I bailed before he woke up.
Posey was in the hallway, so I asked her to take me home.
I didn’t leave my number, and he never asked for mine, so given the circumstances of being here, it seemed easier to get a fresh start between us as acquaintances. ”
From the moment he opened the door in only a towel, fresh out of the shower and smelling like sandalwood and something citrus, my brain short-circuited.
Wilder and Delilah didn’t tell me he was the cousin they were talking about, so I panicked when I saw him.
I didn’t need him to figure out my secret and that I’d thought about him more times than I wanted to admit over the past several months.
Pretending I didn’t remember meeting him made the most sense.
Basically strangers. Why make it awkward when he was only here to get us settled in?
But then I find out, far too late, that it’s his house. So there went my brilliant plan.
“Acquaintances who’ve exchanged orgasms,” she quips, brushing her blonde hair out of her face when a gush of wind sweeps past us. “He gave up his bed for you, so I’d say he hasn’t forgotten about y’all’s night.”
“That doesn’t make me feel better,” I deadpan.
Worse, actually.
She smirks, pushing off the truck. “Just momentarily, let your guard down. You’re safe here, and Colton’s a great guy. The whole family is, so given the situation, try to enjoy your time.”
“That’d be a lot easier to do if I didn’t have a stranger lookin’ in my window in the middle of the night and uprootin’ my kids to avoid someone kidnappin’ ’em.”
“I get it, I do…but you gotta trust Wilder and Maddox on this. Colt, too.”
“I do.”
It doesn’t erase my fear that something might happen to them or my children.
“Everythin’ okay?” Wilder approaches when Delilah swarms me in another hug.
“Please be careful,” I plead, facing him. “I’m gonna worry ’bout you.”
“I appreciate your concern, but he’ll be the one sorry he messed with y’all. When we find him, I’m puttin’ his head on a deer mount like a huntin’ trophy.”
“Thanks for the graphic visual.”
Delilah nudges him. “Stop freakin’ her out.”
If what they told me earlier about how their family handles dangerous situations is true, then I don’t want to know the details. Ignorance is bliss and all that.
Lily starts to fuss in my arms, so I say my final goodbyes and wave as they drive away.
“You wanna find a snack?” I ask, walking up the steep deck stairs and wincing at the pinched nerve in my back. Sleeping halfway off the bed last night and sitting uncomfortably in a truck for two hours wasn’t kind to my body.
She nods, tightening her arms around my neck. She needs food and a nap.
Me too, girl.
When I walk in, Colton’s at the kitchen counter with Remy on one side and Sam on the other, standing on a chair.
“Sam, get down,” I order. “You know you can’t stand on furniture.”
“But Colt said I could help! We’re makin’ fish tacos!”
“Oh, really?” I ask because he’s never had seafood a day in his life, except for the breaded sticks version.
“Colt says eatin’ protein will make me big and strong like him,” he states matter-of-factly, then shows off his little bicep.
“Is that so? Well, be careful up there, please.”
“Sorry,” Colton mouths. “He said he was hungry, but when I offered beef or chicken tacos, he said he didn’t like those meats, so I suggested this.”
“It’s fine, but don’t take it personally if he doesn’t eat it,” I say, standing on his other side so Sam doesn’t overhear us.
“Mom, guess what!” Sam squeals excitedly. “Colt said I could come with him when he goes fishin’ next time and he’ll teach me how to catch a big one!”
I raise my brows at Colton, sucking in a deep breath so I don’t say anything I’ll regret—like how I don’t want him getting my son’s hopes up by promising him things or him getting too attached when we’re only here temporarily.
“Only if it’s okay with your mom,” Colton clarifies when he notices me struggling to respond.
“Can I, Mom? Please? I wanna ride in his canoe!”
“A canoe?”
I want to wrap him in a bubble burrito and protect him, but since this should be harmless, I push my fears aside.
“That sounds…” I swallow down the anxiety threatening to consume me. “Fun.”
“Yay! Can we go tomorrow?” Sam asks Colton.
“They bite the best in the early mornin’, so maybe this weekend when I don’t have work?”
“Cool!”
Colton glances at me, and when our eyes lock, a full-body flutter rips through me.
He’s going to be impossible to resist if he makes my son fall in love with him within the first twenty-four hours of being here.
Sam never met his father, so I appreciate any male role model he can have in his life, but with Colton, there’s a higher risk of both our hearts breaking when it’s time to leave.
The distance alone wouldn’t make it feasible to maintain any kind of stable relationship, and moving up here wouldn’t be an option either.
Taking Sam away from his school and friends when he finally made some wouldn’t be fair to him.
And after everything Wilder and his family have done for us, they’re mine now too, and I love living at the ranch with them.
Not to mention I’d miss Raven, Bailey, and Mattie, too.
So, I need to keep any thoughts of wanting more out of my head. Friends, we can be platonic friends.
“Is it okay if I make somethin’ for Lily? She needs to take a nap but should eat lunch first.”
“You don’t gotta ask permission, darlin’,” Colton responds, lowering his gaze to my mouth for a split second before he lifts them again. “Think of my house as yours. Eat whatever you want and use anythin’ you need. I want y’all to be comfortable.”
Darling. The last time he called me that, I nearly melted into a puddle at his feet.
He knows exactly what he’s doing.
Nodding appreciatively, I move to the fridge. After listing a few options, Lily picks a hot dog and some fruit.
“I didn’t get the chance to get a booster seat, but I’ll have Bellamy bring one up so she has one for dinner tonight.”
“It’s okay. She can sit on my lap and eat,” I tell him, not wanting to inconvenience anyone else.
Colton sets Sam’s plate in front of him at the table, then sits across from me with his.
“It’s not a burden to get whatever y’all need,” he says as if he can read my mind. “Plus, it’s kinda her job. She’s the resort concierge.”
“What’s that?” I’ve never heard of that job title before.
“She manages guest services, so she’ll do the shoppin’ when they have specific needs or wants, bring ’em extra towels, sheets, or if anyone needs a crib or carseat, she’s the one who coordinates it. We keep a ton of supplies stocked at the Branch Haven of anythin’ and everythin’.”