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My mom nods. “Boundaries are important, Jolie. That will help you in a marriage.”
I can’t tell, but when she chews her next bite, she might just be smiling.
Sam leans on her elbows. “Teaching can come with some of the same problems. It’s one of the reasons I was glad to settle into a much smaller school. Nobody in any profession should be on tap.”
Colt clears his throat. “What about”—he clears it again to indicate exactly what he wants to say without saying the word euthanasia while his daughter is next to him—“what about the other thing we talked about? The ups and downs? The roller coaster?”
“I’m a ranch girl. I’ve seen it. I don’t like it. None of us do. But I’ve had time to think now and I hope setting boundaries will go a long way to making this better.”
“And if it doesn’t?” my mom asks.
“Then hey… we all have to pivot in life sometimes, don’t we?”
She reaches out, her soft, warm hand on my forearm. “We’re here for you, Jojo. I’ve said this many, many times and I’ll say it again. In this family, we catch you when you fall.” She glances over at Sam, and they share an affectionate smile.
“I know, Mom.”
“I don’t want you disappearing again. It feels like I haven’t seen you at all lately.”
“Yeah…” My voice trails off as I consider how if Ashton and I don’t tell everyone about us soon, she won’t see much more of me as I live out my secret relationship.
And even though everything isn’t ironed out and I’m still not entirely sure if my shiny new mindset will help me at work, a sense of wholeness fills my chest.
I go to bed super early that night in an attempt to get extra sleep while Ashton is gone, and I’m so full of calm, I hardly even notice my eyes close.
Tink.
Tink.
Tink.
I wake up only a couple of hours later to the sound of a branch or something at my window.
Tink.
What the hell? My window echoes out the sound and I squint. It’s not a branch. Stones hit the glass. I race to the window and there he is. A rush of prom night memories swirl around me in the winter breeze as I gaze down at Ashton with a handful of stones. I throw open the window, and my bare nipples tighten both at the cold air and the prospect of his tongue flicking them… sucking them.He’s here…
“Oh my God, I couldn’t have asked for more…” he says, clearly referring to my boobs.
I glance down at my breasts and give him a sideways glance. “Told you I like sleeping naked.”
“When are you going to cut me a key?”
“What are you doing here? I thought you were staying in the city?” And why am I having a discussion out the window when I could… “Just a minute.”
I run down the stairs, my tits bouncing up and down because why would I dress to open the door? Moments later, I open it in nothing but panties. He’s tall, gorgeous, and throws a large duffel and a hockey bag down.
He glides his hands down my waist and slips fingers through the sides of my panties. “What are these?” He pulls them up high so they press firmly against my core, igniting that fire between my legs. He then lets them slap against me with a subtle sting. “I thought you slept naked.”
He gathers me into his giant, cool embrace. We kiss like we didn’t just do it yesterday, and my heart flutters at the thought of him driving just to see me.
When we finally come up for air, I ask, “What happened?”
“Practice. PT. Then Logan asked me for dinner because he was staying overnight, too, and as soon as we finished, I said I was hitting the hay and drove back. Sorry, you’re in bed a lot earlier than I thought you’d be.”
“I thought I’d catch up on sleep while you’re away. What about tomorrow, you’ll have to leave so early? You need sleep, too.”
“You’re worth it.” He cups my breast and rolls my nipple between his fingers, sending shivers down my torso.
