“Come to my house.You’ve had a long day, and you need to get some sleep.”
“I think I should just go back to Atlanta.”
“Maybe, but you need to get some sleep first.Decide in the morning.”
She nodded.“He’s just going to come back here once we drive off.”
“I have a deputy at the end of the driveway to keep watch.You can speak to Pops’s attorney first thing in the morning.”
“I don’t even know who that would be.”
“It’ll be Declan Shaw if I had to guess, and if not, he can help you figure it out.”
“Your best friend from high school?”
“Yep, he’s a family attorney.I’m pretty sure he did house calls so Pops wouldn’t have to drive into town.”
“Oh.I really should have come home sooner to help him.”
“Don’t do that.”Wesley reached for her, but she opened her car door instead.
“If he sees us together now it’ll only make things worse for you.”
Wesley sighed.“Fine, follow me to my place?”
She nodded, closed her door, and immediately put her truck in reverse.Leaving Pops under these circumstances felt like exactly why she avoided coming home.Her own father was so worried about his inheritance that he would forfeit any small chance left for them to have a relationship.Fatigue made her body feel twitchy and her shoulders slumped forward as she waited for Wes to pull his SUV out of the driveway.After a day of riding horses she just needed sleep.But if she was leaving town tomorrow, tonight would be her last night with Wes.
She followed his taillights to his industrial-style building and parked next to his SUV.He appeared at her driver’s side door as she turned the engine off and when she stepped out, she walked right into his waiting arms.Wes enveloped her with a warm hug, his strength protecting her, comforting her from all the hurt.She could feel him kiss her head and she gripped him closer.Walking away from him would be the hardest part of leaving town, but she would have to.There was no place here for her.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Wesley
Prove Me Right
Wes hated thereason he finally got Shelby back in his bed but was also grateful for the opportunity to hold her close again.She’d been so vulnerable with him, sobbing after the loss of her grandfather and betrayal by her father.Now the steady sound of her breathing told him she’d succumbed to the exhaustion of the day.Her head was buried in his neck, one leg flung over his right side, and his arms wrapped around her.Exactly where he wanted to be.He knew in the morning she may decide to leave, but he was going to do his best to get her to stay because he needed her.
He woke up in the morning, in the same position, with Shelby’s body draped over him and his arms wrapped around her.There was no way he was going to risk waking her, so he just held her and waited.As the morning light started to cascade in through tall windows in his open living room she started to stir.He could feel the moment she remembered what had happened the day before and heard her breath catch.Then she looked up at him with fresh tears sparkling in her brown eyes and he kissed her.It was the only thing he could think of to get her to stop thinking about her recent loss.And her body responded.
She moved over him, straddling his hips, pulling at her own clothes, and neither of them denied they each wanted this, needed it.Within another few moments she was naked on her back, writhing under his attention as his mouth traced his path back up her body.And he drove into her on a mission to make her feel everything he wanted to say.She belonged here, with him.They were made to fit perfectly and he knew she could feel it too.As her eyes closed and her head arched back on a scream of ecstasy, he was certain he would never get enough of her.
After they’d both caught their breath, he walked her to the bathroom and started a steamy shower.She followed his lead like their routine had been developed over months together when in reality it’d been only a few days they’d shared such intimacy.But everything with her just made sense.
“I need to go see your lawyer friend this morning.”Her voice was scratchy and distant-sounding.Even as he soaped her hip and ran his hands up her back.
“I can go with you.”
She shook her head no.“I think I better do this alone.You can’t rescue me from this part.I need to find out Pops’s wishes and make sure they’re met.”
“And then?”he asked, turning her to face him.
She looked up, meeting his eyes.“And then I need to go back to Atlanta.”
He nodded, knowing it made sense, knowing there was next to nothing for her in Sandy Point now.
“Or you could stay longer, with me.For me,” he said, unable to not ask.
“But even if I stayed, in the end I’ll have to return back to my normal life at some point.And staying would only make it harder to leave.Instead of going home with two heartbreaks, I’d leave with three.And I don’t want to regret you when this ends.”
