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“You moving in right away?” she asks, slipping onto a barstool as she watches Juniper gather her last batch for the day. It smells… off, but I’ve smelled this scent before so maybe it’s just the specific recipe. I don’t comment, though, because everything Juniper’s made that I’ve tasted has always been incredible.
“I hope so. I’m waiting for him to call or come by. He wanted to talk to Bear about us.” I twist a lock of hair around my finger. “I don’t think I can stay away for too long.”
A silence settles between us as Juni hits the fan over the stove, circulating air to suck out some of the steam. Ivy works on a sketch, and I peer over her shoulder.
“Hey… is that…” I pinch my eyes on the sketch. A knife swinging above a man, like a pendulum waiting to decapitate him. The man drawn in graphite bears a snake tattoo on his throat, a nose ring, and tall black motorcycle boots.
“Is that Trace?” I ask, snickering a little when I realize it is.
“Yep. And I haven’t even had my first day.” She sighs, slipping her pencil through the spiral of the notebook. “He’s such a womanizing pig.”
I nod. “He seems like it.”
She shakes her head. “I hate him.”
I nod. “I bet.”
She groans. “I can’t stand him.”
I smile. “Sure you can’t.”
Her eyes, rimmed with blue liner, slide to me. “I can’t.”
I lift my palms in mock defense. Ivy’s never drawn a man who she hates. She’s only ever drawn men she’s… well,drawnto. “Okay.” I chew the inside of my lip, glancing at Juni to gauge the situation. But she’s engrossed in her final jar of jam, so I rise from the table, taking a few steps toward my room. “I’m gonna go take a nap,” I tell them, sparing them the reasons why I’m so tired.
I slept great, but my body is exhausted. Wanting Hudson for years was tiring, but finally having him in the flesh? As soon as I lay eyes on him, I can’t stop shaking until I taste or feel him in some private way. I swear, I’m more addicted to him than before.
As soon as my bedroom door is closed and I’m one step away from flopping down in my bed, hopefully for one of the last times, my phone rings.
The screen saysFuture Husbandand I smile. “Hi, Hud,” I answer sweetly, my body warming.
“Pick up the binoculars in the left-hand side of your windowsill, and find me,” he whispers, his voice hoarse. He’s whispering. Heat flashes across my skin, and Igreedily snatch the binoculars up, pressing them into the window immediately.
First, I check his kitchen window, where he usually stands over the sink, washing dishes, listening to the news. He’s not there. His breathing in the receiver sends a rush of heat to my pussy.
Next I look to the small window in Bear’s bedroom, and smile when I see him there, waving. “I never looked in his room,” I reply, feeling the need for him to know that.
“I believe you,” he says quickly. “Look,” he breathes. “Look down.”
My eyes veer to the bottom of the window, where Bear’s little hands are pressing a small painting into the glass. “When you’re done watching us, you little perv,” he whispers, his teasing voice smoky and low, “come over. We need you.”
We need you.
Tears spring to my eyes and my heart races. “I’ve been waiting to hear you say that,” I admit, slipping my feet into my sneakers, when Hudson says, “No.”
I bring the binoculars to my eyes again, and find him in the window across from me. He’s watching me with binoculars of his own, tiny little red ones that came with the explorer set I got Bear for Christmas last year. “I like it when you’re barefoot.”
“Hmm,” I breathe, slipping my foot free from my sneaker. “Who’s the perv now?”
He laughs. “Maybe both of us. But I wasn’t lying. Get your ass over here, Dolly. We need you. Now.”
“On my way,” I say, hanging up and immediately storming through my house to get to his. I call goodbye tomy sisters, but don’t wait for their reply. I’m knocking on Hudson and Bear’s front door in less than a minute.
He answers, his dark hair hidden by his hat. I look down to find him wearing his boots, too. “You going out to pasture? Need me to stay with Bear?” I ask, wondering why he’s dressed for being outside. I look down at my feet but Bear appears in the doorway, grinning from ear to ear.
“Daddy says I can’t say nothing till we go to your barn!” he says, taking off down the porch steps, doubling back behind the house toward my barn. I follow after him, loving the feel of the cool dirt against my bare feet as I chase Bear’s laughter beneath the open California sky. It’s the first moment of my new life that I’ll remember forever. I know that for sure.
Out of breath, I push into the barn after Bear, who is standing right at the center canvas, his hands moving over the painting of him and Hudson.
