Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 143842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 719(@200wpm)___ 575(@250wpm)___ 479(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 143842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 719(@200wpm)___ 575(@250wpm)___ 479(@300wpm)
She took his hand again, swaying at his side while she gazed up at him in that sweet, sweet hope. “Because you love us, right?”
And if anything could bring this rough, rugged man to his knees, it was my little girl. Because he knelt in front of her and brushed a wild ringlet from her face and whispered, “That’s right, Maddie, because I love you.”
Then he turned those honey eyes on me and said, “With every part of me.”
Cody - One Year Later
It was just after nine that night when I stepped out onto the back porch. Rain was pouring down, a deluge from the sky. It was a summer storm that had built for the better part of the afternoon, the clouds gathering high and thick, before it’d finally unleashed its fury just as the sun had begun its descent toward the horizon.
I fucking loved storms.
Loved the energy.
Loved the blinding flash of lightning before the crack of thunder followed.
Loved the way the earth smelled afterward, like it was promising something brand new.
It made me think of that night a little more than a year ago when I’d been driving back to my house with plans to kick my boots up on the railing of the porch and toss back a couple beers as I took in that storm.
Instead, I’d found my drenched, hot as fuck new neighbor running through the rain.
My new neighbor who’d held my past and my future.
Popping the cap on the beer bottle, I sank down on the wood rocking chair. I kicked my boots up on the railing, just the way I liked to do.
A satisfied sigh pilfered from between my lips as I sank into the comfort.
Into the beauty.
Into this life that I never could have anticipated.
We’d moved into the cabin two months ago. A cabin I’d built myself.
Blood and sweat, but there hadn’t been a single fucking tear.
Not when I was cherishing every second that I’d been given.
My chest squeezed. For so long, I’d thought I’d been living on borrowed time, and it just turned out my life had been set to pause.
Waiting on her to return to me.
From behind, the screen door opened then clattered shut.
Hailey’s presence washed over me.
Wave after seductive wave.
Strawberries and cream.
All things sweet.
Sex and sin.
My heart’s completion.
My perfect match.
Her footsteps were light as she shuffled across the porch, and I blindly reached out for her, even though I would be able to find my way to her in the pitch of dark.
She eased around the chair and slipped onto my lap, and the woman shifted to her side and curled up against me. I wrapped my free arm around her and tugged her close.
The rain fell around us, a soft, constant pattering at the roof. A whinny echoed from the barn where we kept three horses, one for each of us, though I supposed I’d have to add another soon.
“Is my Button asleep?”
I could feel the press of Hailey’s amused smile. “After she read the same chapter to me four times.”
A light chuckle rumbled around in my insides. “She read me the same one at least seven times before you took over.”
“She’s pretty proud of herself that she can read it.” Hailey shifted so she could tuck her face up under my chin, and she pressed those full lips against my throat. I inhaled the warmth of her breaths.
“Seems right. I’m pretty proud of her, too.”
So proud.
My little girl was as smart as a whip. Funny and kind. The life-beat within these walls.
Satisfaction swam like we were suspended, floating on a tranquil breeze.
Quiet contentment.
A blanket of ease.
“I’m so happy,” Hailey finally whispered, so low I felt it inscribed on my skin rather than heard it with my ears.
I set my beer onto the porch beside me then splayed my hand over her protruding belly.
I felt my little boy kick.
Joy ricocheted back at the connection.
“So fucking happy,” I muttered low.
I dipped in for a slow, lust inducing kiss.
You know, since it turned out that kissing Hailey Cooper was my favorite thing to do.
I nuzzled my nose into her hair, breathed her in. We stayed like that for forever, me sipping at my beer and my girl in my arms. When the rain tapered off, Hailey stood and took my hand, and I followed her back into our cabin.
It was rustic, all exposed woods and rugged stone, a perfect blend of luxury and comfort. Large enough that we’d have plenty of space to fill the rooms but small enough that we’d never lose touch.
Humble enough that we’d never forget how we got here.
I followed her upstairs, and we hit the landing of the big loft that overlooked the great room below, and I started to follow her to the right toward our room before a little voice hollered from the opposite hall, “Daddy! I hear your big boots. You’re forgetting something important!”