Cyrus doesn’t even acknowledge the sheriff. “Calling in reinforcements won’t help. I have my ways. Just ask your new gal pal.”
“Sheriff, I’ve asked this piece of shit to get off our property.Repeatedly. He also showed up at my house where he was uninvited and unwelcome. I think he’s approaching stalker territory.”
“Well then, friend,” he says to Cyrus, “looks like you just earned yourself an escort out of town.”
“You can’t make me leave the town,” Cyrus scoffs.
“He’s a lawyer,” I inform the sheriff. “Thinks he’s above the law.”
Niles laughs, then his face hardens as he glares at Cyrus. “Iamthe law in this town, boy. Now get in your vehicle and start driving.”
“This isn’t over,” Cyrus sneers at me.
I know he means it, which is why my skin crawls as I watch him walk away, tossing me a venomous stare over his shoulder.
He gets into his car and Niles follows him out of the parking lot and presumably out of town.
I shut my car door, follow my brothers back inside, and put the CLOSED sign in the window. “We need to talk,” I say, knowing exactly what I need to do and how I need to do it. I turn to Christian, “This involves you too. And Aunt Mia.”
I sit all four of them down in the reception area, telling them what’s been going on and why I called this meeting. With slack jaws and wide eyes, they listen as I make them privy to everything I know about Kenna and Cyrus. Well, almost everything. I leave out the bit about the escort gig. Then I tell them my plan.
Mia sheds a few tears. Christian, being the smart, resilient kid he is, upends my plan and comes up with his own. My brothers think I’m crazy but are willing to go along with it simply because we’re kin and they would do anything for me.
Me—I have a sense of peace for the first time in weeks.
Chapter Thirty-six
Kenna
This entire night has been like living in a dream. We cooked and ate dinner together. Played games with Amelia. And then—and this is what really brought me to my knees—Carter read no less than five books to Amelia while we all snuggled in the blanket fort that we never broke down.
Not only didn’t we pack up the fort, Carter altered it so it’s open to the fireplace. The unexpected bonus to setting it up that way is that the back of the fort faces the bedroom, which should give us a few extra moments to cover up should Amelia come out for a glass of water. Not to mention the door to the bedroom squeaks—a built-in early warning system.
When I come out from settling Amelia into bed, I take in the room. In addition to starting a fire, he lit a dozen candles, arranged them on the mantle, and has a bottle of wine and a plate of dessert waiting.
It’s all so very romantic. Nobody has ever done anything like this for me.
I look down at my nothing-special shirt and jeans and sigh. “You’ve gone through so much trouble, and here I am looking like Plain Jane.”
He crosses the room, hunger in his eyes as if he’s been waiting all day… allweek… for this very moment. He pulls me into his arms. “You look amazing.” He cups my chin. “Youalwayslook amazing.”
“Carter…”
“Shhh,” he whispers against my lips. “There will be time for that later.”
That.
Talking.Serioustalking. About what Amelia said this morning. About my being here. About what’s going to happen tomorrow. Next week. The future.
Leading me to the new mouth of the fort over by the fireplace, he guides me down onto the air mattress just inside. He pours us each a glass of wine, then spoon-feeds me bites of cheesecake. When a piece of graham cracker crust sticks to my lips, he leans in and kisses it away.
Never has a man fed me before. I didn’t realize it could be so… erotic. He looks into my eyes with each bite. He teases the spoon against my lips. He watches my mouth as I chew. He licks the spoon after it comes out of my mouth. Everything he’s doing makes this a sensual whole-body experience that has me tingling from head to toe. Yet I know this is just a precursor of things to come.
It’s been over a week since we’ve been together. With us being at the cabin and then Amelia and me getting sick, there just hasn’t been an opportunity. And I get the distinct idea he’s making up for lost time.
“God, you’re sexy,” he says as he pulls the spoon out of my mouth. “Do you know how hard I am right now just watching you eat?”
I grin, push the plate away, and climb on his lap, straddling him. “I don’t know.” I wiggle my hips. “Care to show me?”
