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As she lay on his chest listening to the river whisper softly over the stones of the riverbed and Pike’s heartbeat slow, Tulsi knew she was where she belonged. And that was all that mattered. From here on out she was living in each perfect moment and the past could stay in the past.
CHAPTERFOURTEEN
Pike
Pike wokeup Friday morning the happiest man in the world. When he emerged from his tent to see Tulsi pouring coffee for Mia by the campfire, it was all he could do to keep from pulling her into his arms. He was already dreaming about the day when he would wake up and Tulsi would be standing in his kitchen, looking just like this—sleepy and beautiful and so happy she seemed to glow.
“What’s up with you this morning?” Mia asked, eyes narrowing at Tulsi over the rim of her tin mug. “You’re way too perky for someone who spent the night sleeping on the hard ground.”
“I didn’t mind it,” Tulsi said. “I slept like a rock. How about you Pike?” She glanced over at him, lifting a teasing brow.
“I slept like a baby on Benadryl,” Pike said, grinning as he accepted the cup of coffee she offered. “For some reason I was worn the hell out.”
“Canoeing, probably.” Tulsi bit her lip as she fought a smile. “I mean, you did most of the hard paddling yesterday.”
“Don’t sell yourself short, you did your share,” Pike said, blood pressure spiking as a vision of Tulsi riding him in the moonlight flashed on his mental screen. “You’re good at paddling. Really good.”
“You two are weird.” Mia shifted her glare from Pike to Tulsi and back again. “What’s up with you two? You have some sort of evil secret, don’t you?”
“What? Us?” Pike asked in a falsely innocent voice, not caring if his sister found out the truth. He and Tulsi had agreed to tell everyone they were dating after the wedding anyway. He didn’t see how a day made any difference.
“If you’re planning some kind of secret bachelor and bachelorette party, you can forget it right now.” Mia pointed a firm finger in their direction. “I do not want any of that nonsense. Especially the night before the wedding. We are going to paddle home, take naps, go to the rehearsal dinner tonight and then we’re all going to bed at a decent hour so we look pretty in the wedding photographs. I paid a gazillion dollars for the photographer and I refuse to tolerate puffy beer face from any of you.”
“When have I ever had puffy beer face?” Tulsi asked with a laugh.
“Never, but the last time you drank more than a shot of whiskey you almost put Sawyer’s eye out with a pool cue,” Mia said, expression growing even sterner. “And my husband needs his eyes.”
“Okay, yes, that was bad.” Tulsi’s cheeks flushed a pretty pink that made Pike want to kiss her even more. “But it was an accident and now everyone knows better than to let me hold sharp objects after I’ve been drinking. A little celebration would be fine. You deserve to cut loose and have fun the night before you get married.”
“No,” Mia insisted. “And you are not allowed to use my love of fun against me, do you hear me Tulsi Renee? I’m serious about this. I will wrestle you to the ground and sit on your tiny body if you try to make me party against my will.”
“Okay, okay!” Tulsi lifted the hand not holding her coffee into the air in surrender. “I’ll head home after the rehearsal and go straight to bed like a good girl. I swear.” She lifted her coffee, shifting the cup before it touched her lips so only Pike saw the wink she shot him over the rim.
He fought the urge to laugh. She was the sweetest temptress in the world and he couldn’t wait to help her make that “straight to bed” promise come true. He was going to take her directly home from the rehearsal dinner and keep her in bed until they had to get dressed to go to the wedding the next day.
He was so eager to be alone with Tulsi that he expected the rest of the day to drag, but the float trip back up the river was even more fun than the day before. The morning was filled with easy conversation, lots of laughs, and so many charged looks between him and Tulsi that he couldn’t believe no one else noticed they could barely keep their hands off of each other. The group parted ways when they reached the trucks, and everyone returned home to rest and get ready for the wedding rehearsal. But two hours later he and Tulsi were under the trees in his parents’ yard, standing beside the wooden pulpit the preacher had set up in the center of the path leading into the woods, watching Mia walk down the aisle toward her future husband.
Pike kept stealing glances at Tulsi as the preacher walked Sawyer and Mia through the different portions of the ceremony, hoping it wouldn’t be long before she’d be the one in white. He didn’t want to rush her, but they’d already wasted so much time.
“How long until you’re wearing my ring?” he whispered later as they sat around the crowded table in his parents’ house, his words muffled by the noise of all his friends and family talking at once.
“A month maybe,” Tulsi whispered behind her wine glass. “That sound good?”
“As long as we pick a date not long after.” He found her hand under the tablecloth. “I already know I don’t like being away from you. And the sooner we’re married, the longer we’ll have to enjoy each other during the off season.”
She took a bracing breath and nodded as she squeezed his hand tight, the excitement he felt for the life ahead of them reflected in her eyes.
Later that night, they made love in her big bed, then lay holding hands, staring up at the stars through the skylight, talking dreams the way they had when they were younger. Pike promised Tulsi he’d have all her horses brought to the ranch in Montana and help her set up another equine therapy business there if she wanted. She said she’d prefer to homeschool Clementine for a year or two, instead, so that they could travel with Pike and watch the games. Pike—who loved the idea of never being apart—promised that the other wives would love her and Clem and make them both feel right at home.
“It’s no picnic traveling as much as we do, but the families stick together,” Pike said, running his fingers up and down Tulsi’s bare shoulder as she rested her cheek on his chest. “And even if I make a full recovery and am back on the mound in a few weeks, I don’t see myself lasting into my forties. I’ve got five or six more years, maybe seven if my rotator cuff holds up. By the time our third baby’s born, we should be ready to retire to the ranch and raise kids and horses.”
Tulsi propped up on her elbow and stared down at him with a bemused expression. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“Dead serious,” he said, reaching down to squeeze her bare bottom. “It’s this primal thing we alpha males suffer from when we’re in love. We can’t wait to get our women knocked up.”
Tulsi giggled. “Take it easy, Mr. Alpha Male. Let’s wait and see how much you enjoy three months without sleep with the first baby and then we’ll talk about two and three. I’ve been through this once you know. I’ve still got battle scars on my soul from rocking Clem from two to four every morning while she screamed bloody murder.”
“Our kids won’t have colic,” Pike said, pulling her on top of him, groaning when he felt her wet heat brush against where he was already hard again. “Our kids will be perfect specimens of health like their father.”
