Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 144435 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 722(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 144435 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 722(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
I brush my lips across her shoulder, holding her close.
"Mm," she hums. "If I own you, I guess that makes me the boss now."
I chuckle quietly. "Baby, you've been the boss."
"And don't you forget it, Mountain Man."
"What the hell do you think she's doing?" I ask Tyr, watching from the porch as Cordelia marches back and forth outside with her phone held high over her head. She's been out there for the last half hour, muttering to herself and marching around like she's practicing for the damn band.
The dog looks at me, his tail thumbing the wood.
"Damned if I know," I mutter to him.
He huffs and lopes down the porch, heading in her direction.
"Ha!" she shouts, scaring a bird into flight from a tree overhead. "It worked! I found signal!"
I shake my head, laughing to myself as she dances in a gleeful circle. God, I love her crazy ass. I'm so in love with her it's ridiculous. I never thought I'd fall. Never wanted to fall. But with her, it was inevitable. From the moment I saw her photo, I knew I was fucked. When she stepped out of her car, there was no fighting it. In the four days she's been here, she's changed everything. She's changed me.
I watch her for another moment, and then slip inside the house to make a phone call of my own. She asked me yesterday why I hadn't left, and I didn't lie to her. For six years, all I wanted was peace and quiet. Now, the thought of not having her voice ringing out fills me with dread. The thought of not hearing her laughter every day makes my stomach twist into knots. She belongs with me, bringing sunshine into my life. That's the future I want. Not solitude in the mountains, but a lifetime of arguing about ridiculous shit with her. A lifetime of laughing with her. Nothing else will suffice.
When she leaves here, I'm going with her. After the fire, the department's insurance paid the three of us who survived a hefty settlement. I haven't touched mine. Haven't touched most of what I make from renting out the cabins either. It all sits in the bank, accruing interest. It's enough to hire someone to take care of things out here. Hell, it's enough to never have to work again if that's what I decide to do.
There's time to figure that out later. But I saw the look in her eyes yesterday…the glimmer of fear, the first inkling of heartbreak. She's preparing to lose me. I'll be damned if I stand by and let that happen. If I let her feel that fear or watch her heart break little by little until her time here is up, thinking we end when she goes. I'm solving the problem now, and then I'm telling her how I feel about her.
We're not spending another fucking day without her knowing that she owns my heart just as much as she does my body. I wanted to tell her last night, but I stopped myself. Today is Valentine's Day. It's probably cheesy as hell to tell her today, but I'll be cheesy for her. Hell, I'll be whatever she wants me to be so long as it ends with her in my arms for the rest of my damn life.
That's all that matters to me.
I grab the phone off the kitchen island and dial Nell's number.
"Deacon! How's your new assistant working out? Is she awesome?" she asks as soon as she answers. "Are you calling to tell me that I'm a genius and you're sorry for being a grouch about it?"
"You're a genius and I'm sorry for being a grouch about it."
Her silence speaks entire tomes. "Holy crap," she finally whispers. "She is awesome. What happened? Why do you sound so happy? Oh my gosh. You like her!"
"She is awesome," I say softly, striding down the short hall toward my bedroom. "And she'll be your sister-in-law if I have my way."
Nell squeals in my ear.
"I need you to find someone to look after shit up here for me, Nell."
"Seriously?" she gasps. "You're leaving?"
"Yeah, I go where she goes."
"Oh, Deacon," my baby sister whispers. "I'm so happy for you. I'm going to miss you so much!"
"I'm not gone yet," I say dryly.
"When are you leaving? Do I get to meet her first? You wouldn't let me meet her the other day," she complains. "You said I'd scare her off. Rude, by the way."
"Yeah, I was wrong about that. She's crazier than you are."
"I am not crazy."
"Whatever you say. Can you deal with the problem or not? I can't live like this. It's driving me insane. I want it done now. I can't wait a week."
"The cabins are a problem?"
"They are when she's leaving in a week and they're standing between me and my future," I growl. "I need to get someone hired to look after them so I can start making plans."