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Exactly why she just might ruin me a whole lot faster than a brush with that tiger would.
11
Mating Call (Willow)
Whatever it is that’s happening right now, I can’t put it into words to save my life.
We had...a moment.
No other word fits for an occurrence that isn’t meant to be put into language.
It’s supposed to be felt, deeply, and this mysterious thing with Grady positively rocked me to my core.
My toes are still curled in my drenched sneakers.
He’s so, so...
I don’t even know.
All man, I guess.
Power. Muscle. Good looks. Heart.
A walking cliché of alpha goodness pressed into the skin and bones of a hero who could hold up the whole sky without breaking a sweat.
I’ve never been this attracted to anyone else.
Even when he’s soaking wet, covered in mud and grass, and afraid Bruce was about to eat me up, he’s so flipping handsome. My insides stick like a melted sundae.
Let’s be real, they’ve been doing that for hours. Days. Weeks.
Yes, I’ve got a major case of hot single dad-itis and I’m not ashamed to say it.
While watching him work, laugh, and play with his girls, my admiration only grows. It swells like this steady rising flood. I’m terrified for the onslaught when the dam breaks and I can’t hide it anymore.
Yes, that’s coming.
Despite the fact that I’ve done nothing but detonate his life.
He’d protect either of his daughters as fiercely as Bruce guards me, no doubt about it. He’s a hero in their eyes. It’s sad that he has to be a bigger one ever since I showed up to stomp around in their world.
But he’s become a big snarly savior in my eyes, too.
Not just because he’s helping me, but because of the way he loves his girls, his town, his little kingdom of this farm.
Even with the door to the barn shut, I hear Bruce let out a low growl, another whirlwind of a yawn, and I smile at the girls.
“Time to let him get back to sleep,” I tell them.
“He sure sleeps a lot,” Avery says.
“Tigers do that. You know how much a domestic cat likes to nap? They’re lightweights compared to big cats. Bengal tigers will sleep eighteen to twenty hours a day sometimes,” I say. “House cats sleep about twelve.”
“Really?” Avery asks, rubbing her eyes like the sleepy talk might be infectious. “Wow.”
I nod, gesturing to the door behind them.
Grady joins me, standing patiently by my side, his huge shadow enveloping me.
“But humans only sleep eight hours, and we still have a lot of work to finish!” I say, swiping at the mud covering my shirt. “At least we’ll be cooler now that we’re all wet.”
The girls race back to the house, and Grady shakes his head.
“You’re gonna work them to death, or at least to a good night’s sleep,” he grumbles.
I bump him in the arm with my shoulder as we walk side by side.
“Is that a bad thing? Are you saying I’m bossy?”
He looks at me, and the undercurrent that sears the air between us is undeniable.
“Don’t know, what do you have in mind, Miss Bossypants?” he asks.
Trying to hide just how deeply he’s affecting me, I cover my smile and mumble, “That’s for me to know and you to find out. Later.”
I speed up to a power walk, hurrying into the house.
His laughter makes my body tingle, and so do his words.
“Woman, you’d best not be foolin’.”
Holy crap.
It’s pure insanity to think anything could ever happen with us...
...isn’t it?
He’s still mourning his dead wife. I have a tiger needing a permanent home. But outrageous complications aside, I have to admit I wouldn’t mind a frenzied romp or two with Grady McKnight one bit.
I mean, what person with a pulse would turn down pure heaven?
Hours later, the four of us stand back to examine our handiwork.
Bluish-grey granite stepping stones encircle the house, spaced neatly and almost as good as new. The nearby flowerbeds now host a wild bloom of irises, wild roses, and tiger lilies.
We were careful where each one was planted, allowing the older roots of past plants room to begin their rebirth in safe new homes.
“Those tiger lilies are going to look awesome when they start blooming on both sides of the steps,” I say, pressing my hands to my hips.
“Yeah, they will!” the girls agree in unison.
“I can’t wait to draw them,” Avery says, a slow smile curling across her face.
“I can’t wait to take a shower,” Sawyer says, yawning.
Grady laughs. “Now I know you’ve hit your limit. Don’t think I’ve ever heard you say that before, babe.”
“Well, you just did,” she answers. “Can I go shower now, Dad?”
She’d wanted to earlier, but Grady said not till all the tools were put away. He’s such a dad nothing ever slips by, or maybe it’s just the military discipline.
Whatever it is, it makes Grady a big fat spoonful of alpha-sauce, and it’s getting harder by the instant not to sneak a taste.
