Sam shouts something at me that I can’t catch with all the wind and other background noise, but when he starts getting out of the truck as well, I figure he must have said he’ll come up with me.
I step out of the cab and turn to shut the door, impressed with the strength of these winds because I have to use a ton of force to close it.
The entry to the guest suite is up a set of stairs at the side of the garage. Thankfully, there are battery-powered safety lights lining the steps. We run up, shielding our faces from the driving rain. Once we’re at the top, Sam reaches around me and punches in a code to unlock the door, and we step inside the cozy suite.
As soon as he shuts the door behind us, it feels like we’ve been transported into another dimension. Mason and Jax must have turned on the heat because it’s toasty warm in here. It feels amazing since we’re both soaked to the skin.
“Jesus H. Christ on a piece of toast,” Sam says loudly, and I chuckle. He sometimes busts out these silly dad-like jokes and expressions, and they’re super adorable. Not that I would know what a dad is like, but I imagine Sam is the epitome of what a great dad would be. He’s so solid and reliable. You know if you need him for anything, he’ll be there. The man would literally give you the shirt off his back, and he’d do his best to make you comfortable while he did it. All the members of the Campbell family are amazing, and they all have that sort of calm, steady presence, but something about Sam is different… He’s just, I don’t know, more dependable or something.
I wrench myself back from my thoughts as he slips off his Gore-Tex jacket and shakes some of the water off.
“God, I feel like I’ve been standing in a cold shower,” he mutters loud enough that I can hear him. “Want me to text Mason and Jax to let them know you’ll be staying?” he says as we both toe off our wet work boots.
“Yeah, sure,” I say. Walking into the small kitchen area, I flip on the lights. In a testament to the modern electrical grid, the power is still on, even though the wind is blowing like I’ve never seen in my life.
I look around, admiring the small but comfortable space.
“Not bad for a little guest pad, right?” Sam asks, following me into the kitchen as I nosily start checking stuff out. “I’m pretty sure they built it so they can have a live-in nanny,” he says, looking down at his phone as he types.
“Oh, really?” I ask, surprised. I hadn’t really thought about the fact that Mason and Jax might have a family. Although, why wouldn’t they, I guess? They’re both great guys and will make amazing dads someday.
“Yeah. They’ve both always wanted kids. Mason never used to talk about it though. Before Jax, he was more of a ‘play the field and sow my wild oats’ kind of guy. But he told me last year he’s always wanted kids.” Sam gets a funny look in his eye for a second. It looks like it’s… wistful, maybe? But a second later, the look disappears, replaced by his usual sunny expression. He sets his phone on the counter and smiles. “They’ve already started working with an agency to match them with a surrogate, so I guess that could happen anytime.” He shakes his head again, and a little smile appears on his face before he turns around to open the fridge. He bends over to grab something, and fucking hell, I want to hurdle right over this countertop and take a bite of his gorgeous ass. He looks at me over his shoulder, his eyes twinkling as he realizes I’m checking him out.Damn.Caught red-handed ogling the boss.Nice work, Tyler.
“I know you’re not a big drinker, but since you’re in for the night, want one?” he asks but then looks embarrassed, standing up straight. “I mean, unless you want to get to bed? Sorry, that was kind of presumptuous… I can totally head out if you’d rather go to sleep.” His cheeks are flushed, and it makes me want to hug him.
“No, of course, stay for a while!” I say, and I feel a few little butterflies take flight in my belly. Maybe a drink will help me relax, and I’ll lose some of this social anxiety that’s got me feeling jumpy as a jackrabbit.
I have zero idea how a guy like Sam is still single. I know he’s either bi or pansexual since he used to have a girlfriend, but I know he occasionally dates guys. I haven’t seen him with anyone for a while though. By anyone’s standards, the guy is a fucking catch. He’s hot AF, and as I mentioned before, he’s the most steady, reliable person I’ve ever met. He’s like a soft, cozy blanket of a person.
He turns back to the fridge and grabs two beers. He passes one to me, and we both twist off the caps as we head over to the big, cushy sectional. I make myself comfortable, putting my feet up on the coffee table and hoping belatedly they don’t stink too much. I lean forward to take a discreet sniff, and I think I’m in the clear. Leaning my head back against the couch cushions, I let out a breath. It’s such a relief not to have to sit in the car for a fucking hour to get home. Sam plunks down on the far end of the couch, groaning as he puts his feet on the table beside mine.
“Oh, fuck me, that feels good,” he says, wiggling his toes and grinning. “Mason just texted me back. Of course, he wants you to let them know if you need anything or if anything in the house starts acting weird because of the storm. I’ve been instructed to ‘fucking behave myself.’” A laugh erupts from his chest, and my heart gives a little flutter. Sam laughs a lot, and when he does, he throws his head back and just lets go, the joyful sound coming straight from his belly, like his entire body is laughing. It’s contagious, and I let out a chuckle of my own.
We’re quiet for a moment, unwinding. The wind must be insanely strong because my aids are picking up the occasional cracking and groaning of the big trees outside, and the house shudders just slightly with each strong gust. We’re sitting there, enjoying the small pleasures of being warm and dry inside during a storm, when a god-awful cracking sound comes in loud and clear, causing us both to jump. It literally sounds like a tree is about to fall on the house, and Sam and I look at each other wide-eyed. As we jump to our feet, we hear a giant thud that sounds like someone dropped a fucking elephant right outside, and the house shakes like it’s about to come right off its foundation. At the exact same moment, we’re plunged into total darkness as the power cuts out.
“Holy shit,” Sam shouts, and he fumbles to hit the light on his phone. We slowly make our way to the window facing out to the driveway, and thankfully, they must have battery-operated emergency lights that have kicked on outside. They provide just enough light for us to see that one of the towering trees lining the long driveway has come down. It’s fucking huge, and I don’t know how it missed this building because it’s literally right beside us. But thank fuck, it didn’t hit either this place or the main house. Its giant trunk is lying across the driveway, blocking in Sam’s truck and any other cars Mason and Jax might have parked in their garage. Looks like no one is going anywhere tonight.
CHAPTER 6
SAM
“Holy fucking fuck!” I say as we stand at the window, staring down at the driveway. I can see the look of shock on Tyler’s face as he takes in the scene spread out below us. The wind and rain are still coming down, and the limbs of the trees are waving wildly. The emergency outdoor lights are just bright enough to see the ground is covered in smaller branches, tree limbs, and other assorted chunks of vegetation that have blown off. I’m shocked by the size of the tree that came down. And I’m thanking the universe that it fell in the direction of the driveway instead of into this building because I’m fairly certain we would have been goners. As it is, aside from trapping me and everyone else at Mason and Jax’s place until we can get it removed, it doesn’t appear to have caused much damage.
I unlock my phone and text Mason and Jackson, letting them know we’re safe and not to come outside to check on us. This property is so heavily treed that going outside right now isn’t safe, as evidenced by the massive evergreen tree currently blocking the driveway. Within seconds, Mason texts back.
Mason: Fuck, thank god it fell that way. We couldn’t tell and I was about to go out and check. Jax was freaking out.
Sam: well, see, there are these things we call phones now, and you can use them to contact people without having to physically go to be with them. It’s super helpful if getting to where they are is difficult.
Mason: eye roll emoji. Fine, asshole. Maybe I DO wish the fucking tree hit the guesthouse.
Me: Grinning emoji
Me: You love me. But all is fine. Safe and sound other than being without power everything’s normal. Unless something weird happens, we’ll see you in the morning.
Mason: Sounds good. Like I said earlier. Fucking behave yourself. There are emergency candles in one of the kitchen drawers.
“Okay,” I say to Tyler. “Mason was about to come check on us, but I told them to stay put since it’s still blowing like hell out there, and it looks like any damage is minor. That was wild.” I’m a little shaky as the adrenaline that surged through me moments ago starts to fade.
