I'm almost asleep when I register his lips against my neck, his softly spoken words drifting over me. "I've never felt anything like that either."
Wes is knockingon my door. I know it’s him because he texted a few minutes ago, telling me he was on his way over. My guess is that he remembered I’m not currently living alone, and thought he might want to announce himself.
Good idea on his part, considering what just happened in the living room. Sawyer and I woke up together, fixed coffee, and when it began to brew, he turned hungry eyes on me. I pretended to run, but he caught me easily, and started by bending me over the couch.
I glance at the living room window, double-checking the curtains are completely drawn, and finish tying my robe.
"Hi," I greet Wes, pulling open the door halfway.
He stands on the welcome mat I added last week, dirt raining off his boots as he wipes them. He says hello and asks to come inside.
I look over at the living room. It's still in a state of disarray, but am I supposed to say no?
"Sure," I open the door and gesture inside. Wes walks in, takes one look at the cushions on the ground and the papers that were so obviously pushed off the coffee table, and blushes. Which makes me blush.
"So," he starts, turning his back on the mess. "It looks like you and Sawyer are getting along."
"Don't lecture me. You have two kids. They are like living sex trophies."
Surprisingly, Wes bursts out laughing. "I had a sergeant who called his kids 'fuck trophies'. But not in front of his wife."
I laugh, too, and at the same time try not to marvel at how this conversation is making me feel more like an equal than I ever have. "I don't think you came here to tell me that. What's going on?"
"I talked with Dad, and I'd like to ask you to join me in running the HCC."
My breath steals away, locking up somewhere else inside me. I palm my chest. "Wes, is this a joke? Because this is… everything. This means everything to me."
"You deserve it, Jessie. I know we all call you Calamity, but sometimes I think that nickname is earned, and other times I wonder if the nickname has given you license to behave certain ways."
"Maybe a little of both,” I admit. He has a point.
"After what happened last night, the way you defended our property and our name, it made me realize we've been selling you short. Maybe what this ranch needs is some young blood. Someone to usher the HCC into a new age."
I want to hug Wes, but I'm naked under my robe, so I settle for a handshake. I think he understands, because he blushes again, which isn't something I can recall Wes ever doing. It’s both odd and comforting, these new things I’m learning about him. I'm getting to know my big brother in a way I was deprived of due to our age gap.
“Oh,” I say, remembering the voicemail I listened to after I saw Wes’s text. “Game and Fish called me back. They’re sending out a hunter to find the cubs. Someone named John Reynolds. He’s going to stop at the homestead to introduce himself before he starts.”
“Got it,” Wes says, nodding. He leaves, and I cover my face with my hands. I want to yell, squeal, jump and dance. I am too overwhelmed to do any of that, so instead I stand here, my excited screams reverberating throughout me.
The HCC. It's everything I've ever wanted.
Sawyer walks into the room. Moisture darkens his hair. He is freshly showered.
I'm trying to wrap my head around how my life is coming together so perfectly, but it's difficult.
So I try not to think about it. I wrap my arms around Sawyer's neck, and I tell him my good news. His grin reaches his ears. Later that night, he takes me out to dinner, stops at the wine store on our way home, and buys the most expensive bottle of champagne.
We get tipsy, and Sawyer does gloriously unspeakable things to my body.
My cheeks ache from smiling.
26
Sawyer
"Where's your head, Sawyer?"Leon backs up, dropping his hands. "That's the fifth time you've made a mistake."
"I'm fine," I grunt, wiping my brow on the inside of my upper arm.
