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Chapter twenty-one
MattandGagecomeinto the clearing from the woods, and Lilly straightens away from the rough barn exterior. They had been having a tete-a-tete, and her curiosity is piqued.I wonder what they’re talking about?
As they draw closer, her stomach dips. Matt’s face is drawn, worry lines crease his brow, and she doesn’t see his usual, quick smile. The man has a lot on his shoulders, and it’s starting to show.
She turns to Gage, whose jaw is set. Had their topic of discussion been a difficult one? He returns her uncertain smile with a reassuring grin and pulls her to his side. Lilly basks in his warmth, in his love. Her heart flutters, and she feels slightly better. Gage loves her.
“I’ll talk to you guys later,” Matt says with a quick two-finger wave.
Turning to Gage, she asks, “Do I want to know?”
He looks down, raking his hand through his hair before raising concerned eyes to her. “Yeah, we need to talk about April and Maverick.”
Shit.
She slowly nods and takes his hand. “Come on. I have a feeling I’m going to need my happy place for this conversation.”
Gage raises an eyebrow but doesn’t question her as she leads him to the Jeep. Once settled in the seats, she revs the engine and starts driving in the direction of the lake.
Lilly taps the steering wheel with her fingers as a million questions that she isn’t sure she’s ready to answer play out in her mind. The wind through the open window blows her long hair in all directions. She uses her knee to steer as she reaches for a leather string on her console and ties her hair back. Gage’s warm hand slides to her thigh, and he gives it a gentle squeeze.
“You good?”
She smiles at him. “Yeah, just overthinking.”
Lilly turns off onto an obscure road that would be easy to miss for anyone who had never been there. She puts the Jeep in four-wheel drive on the fly. Deep ruts and overgrowth of forest line the barely-there road.
She catches Gage’s look of surprise when it opens up to a clearing, and she parks. Boulders jut out from the surrounding hot springs, their outline shadowed by the full moon overhead. As they climb out of the Jeep, Lilly pauses to take in the beauty of the springs, cocooned by the rocks and ferns of the forest.
Taking Gage’s hand, she leads him to a flat surface and begins undressing. “Join me?”
Without a word, he strips, folding their clothes neatly before following her into the soothing water. There is a natural stone underwater ledge, and Gage sits and pulls her naked body to his, his chin resting on her shoulder as she leans back into him.
Staring out at the view of the mountains in the distance, the warm water lapping at her shoulders and Gage’s solid chest behind her, Lilly murmurs, “This is my happy place.”
“Having you in my arms is my happy place,” he says and kisses her temple, making warmth settle in her belly.
She looks at him over her shoulder and rolls her eyes. “Okay. What did you want to discuss?”
His grip around her waist tightens. “You know how even with the extra accommodations we made today for everyone, it’s still a tight fit. I told Matt about more clones coming, and he agreed that more space is needed.”
“And?”
“And with all of the preparations for fortifying the farm, we’re spread pretty thin on manpower and materials for rebuilding the houses that were destroyed.”
He’s hedging his words, and she lets out a weary sigh. “Just say it.”
“He asked if you ladies would pack up April’s belongings,” he rushes out. “We need the housing. I volunteered to pack up Maverick’s.”
Lilly let his words sink in. There's a logical part of her, the strategist, who knows this makes sense. They can't allow unused space to remain when demand is so high for housing. But that doesn't stop her stomach from twisting at the thought of finally putting her friends to rest. Is she ready for that? Her panther stirs within her, sending her soothing waves, trying to quell her emotional turmoil.
“You still with me?” he asks, giving her a gentle nudge.
“Processing,” she replies.
They sit in silence, and Lilly tries to sort the emotions coursing through her. Anger at being put in the position to have to let go. The grief of never seeing her friends again. Longing for those moments that they should have had in the future. The finality of knowing that her friends would want them to carry on. They may be gone, but she’ll always hold them in her heart and memories.
She turns in Gage’s arms and kisses him gently. “I’ll do it. I’ll get the girls to help. We’ll give April a proper send-off. Thank you for taking care of Maverick's place. Clearing out his house would be complicated for most of us, considering what happened.”
