He yanked me forward, capturing my lips in a kiss that I was not expecting. I gasped as he pushed his tongue inside of me. He kissed me hard, devouring me and leaving no question to whom I belonged to. Forest pulled away and Sam kissed him quickly before they both pulled me towards the exit.
I heard a whistle, seeing Iris hootin’ and hollerin’. My face grew hot as I noticed other people watching us. I guess I got my wish, we were no longer a secret and while I was embarrassed, I loved that they claimed me like this. The information would spread like wildfire and soon everyone would find out.
“Get it, Jude!” Iris yelled, as one of her co-workers yelled with her.
My ears grew hot with the attention as Sam chuckled. I looked at Iris one last time before we left, noticing she didn’t have a ring on her finger. I must have imagined a wedding ring.
22
forest
November brought in a big cold front and our first big snowstorm that lasted a few days. We spent days getting ready for it, making sure the herd would have enough feed to keep them warm and then making sure the troughs stayed thawed. The temperatures were also going to dip into the single digits at night, so we needed to make sure everyone had sufficient water.
I made sure I stayed very busy, but I felt Theo’s stare as we worked, and I hated that I was so foolish to let myself be careless with Jude and Webber. Seeing Jude pout after the rodeo made me uncomfortable, and I knew it was because of what we discussed about his sister keeping her relationship a secret.
You had to be an idiot not to see that Jude wore his heart on his sleeve. He cared deeply and loved with everything he had in him. Webber and I were no exception. I saw right through him, but this was supposed to be fun, and I wasn’t going to stay in Sterling Ridge. My time here had an expiration date, so why had I kissed them in public? Why had I laid my claim, made things even more complicated?
It felt right though. Nothing had ever felt more right than them. That terrified me.
The bed was cold as I rolled over, searching for one of the men that made me feel things I was trying so hard not to feel. I groaned, stretching towards my nightstand that had my phone. It was nine-thirty in the morning, which meant Jude had left for work, but where the hell was Webber?
I rolled out of bed quickly, throwing on some clothes cause it was cold as hell. The storm broke yesterday, but we were supposed to have cold temps and some snow the next couple of days. I walked to the living room to see the fireplace on, but no sign of Webber.
He had made coffee and knowing him, he probably went to go check on the herd. For a city boy, he loved the herd as much as I did. I quickly changed, throwing on my warmest clothes, grabbing an extra thermos of coffee to give to Webber to warm him up. I left the house, heading to my truck when I noticed that tracks led to the right of the house, instead of to the left towards our cars.
His car was still parked by my truck, but his footprints were going the opposite direction. I followed his trail through the trees, getting a little worried when I realized he was heading to the lake. What if he fell in? I rushed towards the lake, fear making me rush when I stopped suddenly.
I worried for nothing as Webber skated over the lake gracefully. He didn’t look bundled up nearly enough, but he moved so fluidly that he had to be warm enough. His reddish hair was peeking out underneath a beanie, along with his rosy cheeks and the biggest smile I had seen on his face that still continued to take my breath away.
Sam Webber was so damn handsome.
He raced across the lake before skating backwards and then skating forwards again. I pulled out my phone suddenly, needing to capture the moment and send it to Jude. We worried about him, but this made me feel like he was going to be alright. Itseemed visiting the college hockey team had done some good for him.
I recorded and took too many photos of him, sending them to Jude. I sat down on a rock admiring him a little more.
Princess: Damn, he looks good.
Princess: I swear, he’s always looked the happiest on the ice.
Me: I don’t think I've ever seen him smile so big.
Princess: He has, lately his smiles have been coming easier. Take more pictures before he notices and make sure our man doesn’t overexert himself.
Me: Will do. Have a good day, miss you already.
Princess: Miss you too, Daddy.
My face grew warm at reading his text and I realized I was smiling like a goof. I looked up to see Webber looking at me. He had a goofy smile too as he skated to me. My heart flipped as he came closer and I loved seeing him like this.
“Hey, stalker,” he said, coming to the edge.
“Hey, Peaches. Lookin’ good out there,” I said, tipping my hat to him.
“I feel good,” he said with a grin. “I’ve skated a few times with the team and each time it's been getting better. I knew I had to see if the lake had frozen over, so I couldn't miss this opportunity.”
“Well, I’m glad you didn’t,” I said, handing him a thermos. “Don’t overexert yourself, please.”
“I won’t, maybe another ten minutes,” he said, taking a sip of the coffee.
