Crushing her mouth to his, she kissed him hard. He held her in his arms as they watched the stars.
“Thank you for telling me about your doubts. It’s the only way we can get this to work,” he whispered. “Never be afraid to tell me. We’ll talk this through.”
Leslie slid her hand over his taut muscles. Fate tore them apart and brought them back together again. She planned to make the most of it. Rising, she unbuttoned her shirt, and Owen slid it down her shoulders, kissing her bare skin.
“Come here,” he whispered.
She cuddled into him while he covered her with the blanket. Their hands fumbled while they removed each other’s clothes. They giggled and laughed like their former selves and made love under the tree. They fell asleep with their bodies entangled together and waited for the sunrise.
CHAPTER 28
Owen snuckthem into the house and into the downstairs bathroom. They showered and dressed before anyone woke.
Entering the kitchen, Leslie went to work making breakfast. A few minutes later, JoJo and Rucker joined her.
“Can we help?” Rucker asked.
“If someone can start the coffee. We’ll need to put some in a carafe and make another pot,” she directed. “Then, someone can start the bacon.”
Gunny made his way down and started making biscuits.
Owen patted him on the shoulder. “If you keep making biscuits from scratch, I may have to steal you away from Rucker and Jake.”
“Pfft,” Gunny said, rolling out his dough. “Theywon’t even miss me. They can run the place with their eyes closed.”
“Never, Dad,” Rucker said, kissing his cheek. “You make the best steaks in town. Plus, I like it when you give Jake the stink eye. It keeps him in line.”
“I heard you,” Jake said, coming around the corner and kissing her.
Owen poured them coffee as Dillon and Elias entered. With the first stack of pancakes finished and the bacon ready, Leslie set it on the table.
Mason joined them a few minutes later with Nathan and Noah. Leslie set a pancake in front of Noah, cut it into pieces, and handed him a fork. The little boy ignored it while Mason added butter and syrup, making Leslie frown.
A few minutes later, Noah put his hand to his head and cried out.
“What’s the matter?” Leslie asked Mason.
“He gets headaches,” Mason admitted. “I have to pick up his meds in town.”
Something in his voice made Owen turn and glance at him as he made another pot of coffee.
Elias pulled out a map and spread it in front of him, showing Jake, Max, and Gunny.
“If we start here, we can get the cameras set up around the house. At least then Dillon and Cade won’t have to sit outside in the dark.” Both brothers glanced at each other and rolled their eyes.
“It’ll take some time, but we can add camerasalong the mountain and the road leading up to the house,” Elias continued. “We can store the equipment in the cellar.”
“We can start after breakfast,” Jake offered. “Max and I’ll be ready in a jiffy.”
“I have a mind to check the cabins if you don’t mind. Jeremiah did a few things differently, and they might work back at our place. May I nose around?” Gunny asked.
“Be my guest,” Owen said. “We’ll let Cade sleep a bit longer since he took the night shift.”
“What about us?” Rucker asked. “We can help.”
“After all, I know as much about this mountain as you do,” Leslie argued.
Owen smiled. “I’ll take as many hands as we can get. Until we decide on what to do, I don’t want us burned out of our home.”
