Once they were hidden from the group at the foot of the hay bales, Memphis lowered Ty to the ground. They took a seat on the bale serving as a bench where a leather pelt covered the surface.
Ty, seeming to sense that they’d come to do more than just hide the acorns, turned to face him. “So, now that you’ve got me alone…what do you plan to do with me?”
The mischievous question, along with the teasing lift of her eyebrow, caused heat to pool into his belly. He grinned, searching her face as a rush of emotion swept in. It was all piling up now. As if, after all these years, life was finally handing him everything he could ever desire.
“I’m the luckiest guy in the world,” he said, taking her hand in his. He slid his fingers through hers, enjoying the sensation of skin on skin. “This has been the best few months of my life,” he said. He considered how he might share a bit of what he was feeling without giving anything away about the relocation program.
“After my parents died, my siblings and I all went our separate ways. Of course, Maverick and I stayed close. But, um…we weren’t the closest family to begin with, but had we not come together to buy into this place…had we not committed to staying here and building our lives around it, who knows when I’d have seen Emmitt, Richard, or Andie again?
“It’s already been, like, this awesome thing to be here with them and to get along as well as we do. But to have you come into my life, and to see how well you and Lucas fit into our family…it seriously feels like I’ve won the lottery.”
Ty’s hazel eyes widened. She gulped, holding his gaze as moisture welled in the corners of her eyes. “I feel like that too,” she said in a whisper.
The nerves picked up suddenly, his breath turning jagged as he exhaled.Come on, man. You can do this.Memphis rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand, his eyes dropping to the action before he looked back up at her. The look in her eyes gave him the confidence he needed to continue.
“I realized something recently, and I figured it was time to say it.” It felt like a jack hammer had kicked up in his chest. “So here it is,” he added with a nervous laugh. “I love you, Ty.” He gulped as a wave of heat swept over his skin.
Now the welled-up tears trickled down her cheeks. Ty bit her lip. “I love you, too, Memphis.”
Memphis grinned wide as he wrapped his hands around her waist and brought his lips to hers. She loved him too. Sure, he’d hoped as much. But he hadn’t known for sure. A part of him had even feared the conversation might scare her away. The relief that it hadn’t made the moment all the sweeter.
“Look,” came a tiny female voice. “They’re kissing!”
Laughter ensued, Lucas’s recognizable among them. Memphis and Ty broke the kiss and darted a look in the kids’ direction.
“You’re supposed to be hiding eggs, sillies,” Lucas said.
“I tried to tell your mom that.” Memphis shot to his feet and offered Ty his hand. “She just didn’t want to listen.”
“Very funny,” Ty said as she put her hand in his. “Now come on, kids. Help us find a good place to hide these acorns.”
Ty cuddled deeper into Memphis’s side and breathed in the smoky scents of the bonfire. Talk about a perfect day. Across the way, both Emmitt and Maverick had a lady at their side. Emmitt was helping his date roast the perfect marshmallow, while Maverick showed his date how to make a dough boy.
After eating their fill of roasted hotdogs and gooey s’mores, Lucas and Dominque had dozed off to sleep. They lay curled up in a double camp chair, blankets stuffed around them to keep them in place.
A quick glance in that direction said Ty had missed a spot while cleaning his face after he ate. That, or he’d snuck a bite of Dominique’s s’more, which was likely the case, she mused with a grin.
Ty was still floating on the cloud of Memphis’s confession today. She’d be lying if she said she hadn’t enjoyed his alcohol-induced confession last week as well. Sadly, that one had been shadowed by something else he’d fessed up to—his worry that Ty wished Eric was back in her and Lucas’s lives. He’d been wrong about that, but Ty still hadn’t found a way to assure him of that fact. It wasn’t a conversation she wanted to bring up randomly. And perhaps, Ty told herself, her actions would speak louder than any words on the subject. Could he really have any doubt after their exchange on the hay bale today?
A delightful wave of warmth fluttered through her entire body. She was just so happy. Soon she and Lucas would move into the lodging area. Luckily, the school bus came out this way. She’d already made arrangements for him to start taking it after their move-in date. Life was as close to perfect as it could get.
With that blissful thought moving through her, Ty nudged her nose against the side of Memphis’s neck. She breathed in the heavenly scent of his aftershave, then planted a teasing kiss just beneath his earlobe. “I love you,” she reminded.
Memphis turned his head to kiss her in return. “And I love you,” he breathed, pressing a kiss to her cheek, the corner of her lip, and then to her waiting mouth at last.
Mmm…so good. The succession of his slow and lingering kiss caused a thrilling dart of heat to shoot right through her center. Memphis’s lips were full, warm, and oh, so soft, which made the strength behind them all the more satisfying.
She tipped her head, weaved her fingers through his hair, and sank further into his kiss. Always the perfect balance of pressure one moment, countered by that euphoric pull the next. She was glad they’d scooted to a dark spot further back from the fire. Here, in the shadows, they wouldn’t draw any attention.
As her mind often did, Ty found an inner part of her looking for the flaw in all of this. The tiny crack in the perfectly sailing boat that would, if unchecked, threaten to sink its passengers. So far, there weren’t many. Sure, he’d gotten wasted on Halloween night, but that was a harmless accident, not a lifestyle. But then another recollection came to mind. The time she’d asked him about living on the east coast. That was when her parents were in town, the night they learned to square dance together.
A spark of fear kindled at the recollection. His response to that hadn’t been normal. In addition, Ty could swear she’d caught him in another moment of uncertainty when she was asking him about his old job. He used to buy hurting businesses and sell them for parts. But when he’d talked to her about it, he slipped and mentioned a well-known property in New Jersey. He was quick to explain it when she brought it up, reminding her that he and Maverick spent a bit of time out there, but did that mean that he’d been licensed in two different states?
Stop, Ty, she said to herself.Stop looking for red flags that aren’t even there.
Ty curled into his heavenly scented sweater and vowed to obey that more rational voice. Memphis was an incredible man. He wasn’t hiding anything from her, he wanted to be a part of her life, and, as he’d told her today, he was in love with her.
She would enjoy those truths, and try very hard to forget about the rest.
