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He cracked open an eyelid. “I don’t snore.”
“It’s more like superheavy breathing.”
He laughed and my head shook with the movement. “That tends to happen when people sleep.” He lifted his arm and looked at his empty wrist. “What time is it?”
I looked out the window. It was still dark. “The birds start calling about half an hour before dawn.”
He knitted his brow. “Everleigh King, how do you know all this stuff?”
“What stuff? About nature?”
“Yeah. I thought that you were just a spoiled rich girl who grew up with servants and went to private school.”
The words should’ve been hurtful, but coming from Gunnar, they weren’t. “That’s all true. But this spoiled rich girl loved exploring the fields. And my mom was an artist. She loved being out in nature. This was actually where she came to paint. I used to catch frogs in the river under the willow tree.” I blushed as I remembered what we had done under the willow tree.
“Tell me more about your mom. I have a feeling you have more of her in you than you think.” Gunnar shifted out from under me and pulled me to him, big spoon style. His breath rasped warm against my ear.
“I haven’t talked about her in a long time. Sometimes I wonder if I even remember what her voice sounds like.”
“That’s why you should talk about her, Everleigh. She obviously meant a lot to you. Talking about her…” I felt him shrug around me, “that keeps her memory alive.”
“She was a free spirit and my grandparents hated her. She was the total opposite from my father, and I think that he needed someone like her – to soften him up a little. He was salty and she was…sweet.” It felt good to talk about her. The last time I’d tried, I couldn’t without crying. But in Gunnar’s arms, I felt safe. And I wanted him to know about my mom.
“She was the one who started the horse rescue. And she started the Sam Strand charity. When she died, I took over for both.”
Gunnar kissed my neck. “I’m sure she’d be proud of you.”
“Sometimes I wonder…” I took a deep breath. “She didn’t want me to get involved in the family business. She thought that I should work with horses and be out in nature.” I smiled, remembering the outfits we used to wear when we would go on our adventures. I’d felt like Laura Ingalls Wilder, exploring meadows and gathering flowers for her portraits.
I held onto Gunnar’s biceps as they cradled my body. “She would’ve loved this.” I laughed. “Me with you.”
“Oh yeah?” Gunnar’s voice vibrated against my back. “Because we’re opposites? Or because your dad says we can’t be together?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “No. She would’ve loved me being with a real man, not some country club asshole with a trust fund. But the opposites thing and the pissing off Daddy – I think that she would’ve approved of that too.”
“I wish that I could’ve met her.”
“What about your family? You’ve never talked about them.”
“Oh.” He inhaled deeply. “There’s not much to tell there. I was raised by my mom. My dad wasn’t in the picture.”
“So we’re not all that different.”
He chuckled. “No. If you take out the billionaire part, we’re practically twins.”
Gunnar’s breath was hot on the back of my neck. “I have to tell you something.”
“What?” I turned to face him.
“I owe my life to your mother.”
“What are you talking about?” I was confused.
Gunnar squeezed his eyes shut. “When you said you were Sam Strand, it didn’t make sense to me. But when you told me that it was your mother behind Sam Strand’s charity, it cleared things up. I was one of the kids that Sam…” he cleared his throat, “I mean, your mom, sponsored. I wouldn’t have made it onto the Laketown Otters without Sam Strand, and if I hadn’t made it onto the Otters, I never would’ve been drafted. Everleigh, you’re saving peoples’ lives. And they don’t even know it’s you.”
A tear streaked down my cheek. “I didn’t realize you had such a hard upbringing.” The kids who qualified for the scholarships were usually the most talented kids with the least amount of money. A lot of them wouldn’t have been able to afford a stick, let alone skates, if it weren’t for the charity.
“Don’t do that.” Gunnar’s voice was strong and he swiped away my tear. “Don’t you dare pity me.”
