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CHAPTER11
Tethered Love~Hunter
“Blue?”I called as I walked into the house. She hadn’t replied when I texted her that things had fallen apart at the site because I dared to take a whole day off. Or to any of the other dozen and a half messages I sent after that, checking in on her and telling her I couldn’t wait to see her.
The lights were off, and there was no answer. I tried again, but I heard only silence in return. I’d called her on the way home, but it had gone straight to voicemail. I pulled out my phone, trying again with the same results.
Worry began to creep in, and I went to the garage. The Jeep was still parked, which meant she probably walked down to the beach, but I doubted she would keep a dead phone for over six hours. The little tickle of a voice in my head began to whisper. Maybe she was mad at me or hurt. But by what? Did I go too far last night? Not far enough? Just the right amount, but she was having regrets and rethinking this whole new dynamic? Or had something bad happened to her?
I needed to find her and find out.
I pulled off my filthy sawdust and dirt covered shirt and work pants. I didn’t even waste time showering before I pulled on a black t-shirt and my favorite light washed jeans. They hung low on my hips with a hole in the knee that was not there when I bought them, but it worked with the current trends, so I kept them.
I made only one more stop inside my house before I walked out the door. Beer in hand, I walked onto the soft sand toward the water. If she was here, I knew exactly where to find her. The number of times I’d tracked down her and Ashley at their favorite spot when they didn’t come home on time was enough that I could get there with my eyes closed.
The sun lit up the ocean and sand in shades of red and orange as it inched closer and closer to the horizon. It was a picture perfect California sunset, and it was only capable of being improved by one thing. Blue was sitting against a boulder at the shoreline, digging her toes into the sand as the ebbing and flowing waves danced around her ankles. Her cinnamon tanned skin was illuminated in the setting sun, making her look like she was made out of gold, and her dark chestnut locks glistened against the sun.
I paused, watching her for a moment before I let her know I was there. She was absolutely beautiful, and if she was ready to end things with us, I at least wanted this last image of her as mine to have forever. She glanced over her shoulder as I approached, and I watched those perfect lips form into a pout that was adorable enough to make me want to kiss it off her face. That, or force it away by giving her mouth something else to do, a thought that had me sporting a semi by the time I sat beside her.
She was silent, and I decided to give her the chance to speak first, not wanting to make an ass out of myself.
After a few seconds, I took a sip of my beer, and then Blue, eyes still on the water, asked, “Who is she?”
I choked on my beer and had to force it down, so I didn’t spray it all over her as I looked at her. She still wasn’t looking at me, but something was obviously not adding up. I reached a finger up to stroke her cheek, hoping it would encourage her to yield to my gaze, but she slapped my hand away and stood.
“Who is she?” she repeated.
When I continued to be wholly confused, her voice went up in volume. “I am not some young, naive, stupid little sex toy or object you can text whenever you feel like it because I don’t know, you want something different for a few days, or maybe because everyone else isn’t available to stroke your ego, among other things. I–”
“Whoa, baby girl,” I said, cutting her off and jumping up to stand in front of her. She turned to storm away, but I caught her and pulled her against my chest. It would never fail to amaze me how perfectly she fit right here, and I was going to clear up whatever miscommunication or misunderstanding had occurred.
“Blue, I don’t even know who you’re talking about. There’s no ‘she’ other than you. You’re my one, my only, and my everything.”
“Tell that to the woman who just walked into your house today using a key to the front fucking door.”
Who the hell had a key to my house?
“Blue, no one has a key but you. What did she look like? Maybe we can narrow it down.”
Blue huffed, reluctant to continue the conversation, but eventually, she gave in. “Gorgeous. Older than me. Way taller than me. Silky blond hair and long legs and a perfect ass and perfect makeup. She looked like the one you should pick. Like you two would be a much more normal looking couple than you and me.”
I didn’t mean to, since I knew how upset she was, but I let out a small noise that was halfway between a sigh and a growl.
“Carter,” I said loud enough for Blue to hear.
For the first time since I found her, she looked up at me, the solution to my confusion being the cause of hers.
“Carter?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I said, placing a finger under her chin to tip her face toward mine, which I was relieved to find she allowed. “I forgot about one other spare key I had under the doormat, which Carter probably told her about. I bet anything that woman was an escort he tried to surprise me with for when I got home.”
Blue looked stunned. “Why would he do that? Did you tell him you wanted something like that?”
“Absolutely not,” I reassured her. “He’s been insisting that I need to get laid for a long time, and he’s willing to do anything to make it happen, as evidenced by an escort walking into my house using a key. I told you I didn’t mention you yesterday because I didn’t want him to judge us before knowing if this was going anywhere.”
Tears spilled down her cheeks, and it was like a hand clenched around my heart. Seeing her sad was unbearable. It was a feeling second only to the pain of losing Ashley, and I would do anything I could to keep her happy, whether she wanted to stay and be with me or not.
“Blue…” I said quietly, holding her tightly against me. “I don’t care who or what Carter or anyone else throws our way. I haven’t wanted anyone else for the last two years. You make me feel like a person again, and even better, you make me feel like a man and one I can be proud to be. You bring out the best in me, and I want to give that to you every day. You are who I want. Now and forever. You will always have a place in my home and my heart for as long as you want to.”
My pulse beat painfully in my chest as I waited to hear what Blue would say. She was silent for long enough that I nearly let go of her, certain she would reject me, but she didn’t. She rose on her tiptoes and put her arms around my neck, pulling me to her for a long, deep kiss, and it was as good as a promise.
I picked her up and spun her in a circle, turning her tears into laughter as she hung on tightly. When I set her down, I looked down at the half-finished beer, then back at Blue, and I dumped the contents into the sand, tucking the bottle into my pocket to recycle at home, then bent down for one more kiss before we went home.
When I pulled away, Blue held me there for just a few more seconds in a long embrace, and then I heard her whisper.
“Is Carter always this annoying?”
I laughed and turned toward the house, wrapping an arm around Blue’s shoulder as she wrapped an arm around my waist.
“Yeah…” I said, starting down the beach. “He is.”
