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I’m pulled from my thoughts a short while later by the sound of the doorknob clicking.
Footsteps circle the bed. The covers lift. I reach out my hand and connect with a firm, familiar chest.
“Go back to sleep, little sister.” Sawyer slides into bed beside me and kisses the palm of my hand. He strokes my arm, and I’m finally able to relax enough to drift off to sleep. Hoping I won’t wake to discover my dream come true was just that: a dream.
Chapter Seven
Sawyer
I wake up the next morning with a strangeness in my stomach, but that’s hardly the weirdest part. Neither is waking up next to a woman I’ve only known a few days.
No, the weird part is that I’m excited to see her, when normally I’d be thinking,how the hell do I get out of here without waking her up?
Noelle sleeps curled into my side like a baby fox. The bed is empty behind her, which means my dad’s already up.
My dad... Memories from last night come flooding back. The steaming hot tub. Noelle taking her clothes off and putting our hands on her tits. Both of us playing with her pussy, making her come. My dad and I blowing our loads at the same time as she jacked us off.
“Jesus,” I whisper, scrubbing my stubbled jaw.What the hell have we done?
I watch Noelle sleeping peacefully, and I envy her sense of calm. Last night wore me out—emotionally, if not physically, since I’ve proven myself fully capable of going all night on more than one occasion. But last night, I had to leave. It all felt like too much. Like the whole thing was just a setup for drama, and I’ve always made a point of avoiding drama. So I went to Gran’s old room and stared at the ceiling for a few hours.
But the calm I expected to find in my solitude never showed up. Instead, I missed her. And I felt like a grade-A asshole for walking out after she’d bared herself to us.
Honestly, her openness scares the hell out of me. It’s like a mirror that I can’t bring myself to look at, because if I did, we would both see how closed off I am. The glass would shatter, cutting her face, and she would immediately know I was broken.
I’ve been running from anything resembling commitment for so long, I don’t know if I could stick around if I wanted to. But alone in the dark, I wondered if it might not be so bad, sticking around for Noelle. At least till after Christmas.
So I came back, and there she was, reaching for me like she’d been hoping I’d return.
I slip out of bed without waking her to go take a much-needed leak. I contemplate sliding back under the covers after, maybe seeing if she’d be up for a one-on-one repeat of last night’s activities. But all I’d be doing is putting off the inevitable.
I pull on a pair of sweatpants and head downstairs to the kitchen where my dad’s seated at the table, staring out the back window. It’s Christmas Eve, but with every cabin rented, there’ll be no rest for the resort staff. Usually I cook us a big breakfast on Christmas morning that my dad shovels in before heading out to chop wood or plow. The fact that he’s not out doing either of those yet probably means he’s been waiting to talk to either me, or Noelle, or both of us.
“Hey,” I say.
My dad grunts, his nose buried in his coffee mug. I pour myself a cup and take the seat across from him, blocking his view of the window.
“So,” I say, not sure how to go about starting a conversation like this.About that girl we hooked up with last night...“Do you want to start—”
“I've made a lot of sacrifices in my life, son,” he says quietly. “Many of them for you.”
His words hit like a punch to the gut. I’m well aware of the fact that I was the reason his ambitions flew so close to home. “I know.”
“But this time’s different,” he says. “I can't make myself walk away from her. Not even for you. She's gonna have to tell me to stand down if she wants me to back off."
“I'm not asking you to walk away from her.” I can’t believe I’m saying this. "It’s fucking weird, but if it’s what she wants, I’ll find a way to get right with it.”
I’ve never been with anyone long enough to feel possessive. Noelle isn’t mine, but I still feel like the older brother sizing up his sister’s boyfriend. Or a dad waiting on the stoop with a baseball bat for his daughter’s prom date. Except, in this scenario, her date is my father, and we both have dubious intentions for the prom queen.
It’s not my usual style, but when it comes to Noelle, I feel undeniably protective. Guys can be assholes and players. I’ve been the latter since I was her age, and the former more times than I can count.
But my dad doesn’t use women. If he’s interested in Noelle, it’s because he cares about her. She could do a lot worse than a guy like that. I would know.
“She doesn’t want to choose between us,” I say. “Forcing her to choose might push her away, and I don’t want to say goodbye to her yet.”
He frowns. “You say that like it’s inevitable.”
“She’s gotta go back to her own life at some point.”
