AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He shook his head. “He’ll grab a pair from the barn. Come on. We need to get you some snacks, water, and a bottle of juice, in case you hit a low while we’re out. And then find a skull cap to go over your head.”
“Are you always this protective?” I teased, my heart skipping a beat in my chest. Sometimes, he was downright overbearing, and then times like this, he was super sweet.
He glanced down at me. “Only for people I care about, sweetheart.”
I almost stumbled at his words, but he quickly wrapped an arm around my waist, tugging me against his side. My heart thudded hard against my breastbone as his fingers pressed against my side. “I like you in my clothes,” he rumbled, looking down at me with eyes full of liquid heat.
I was pretty sure my cheeks were on fire. I studied the ground as we walked. It took me a moment to find my voice again. “Are you flirting with me?” I bravely asked.
He hummed in response, and when I chanced a glance up at him, he was staring down at me with so much intensity, it made me stop walking. He stopped as well, turning his body to face mine. Reaching up, he slid his hand into the hood of the jacket and cupped my flaming cheek.
“I like you, Ever. I’m just trying to get you to like me, too.”
He leaned down, pausing right before his lips should have brushed mine. The snow came down a little harder, fluttering around us, teasing our skin with cold kisses.
I drew in a deep breath, trying to find even a faint hint of courage inside of me. “Kiss me,” I finally whispered, my words trembling.
With a groan, Tripp closed the remaining distance between us, sealing our lips together.
CHAPTER 10
Tripp
With my arms on either side of Everlee, almost wrapped around her, I loosely held Brewer’s reins in my grip. Ever leaned back against me, scrunching her nose up in the most adorable way when a snowflake fell right on the tip before it melted against her warm skin. We’d been riding silently for a little while, just sort of enjoying each other’s company.
I was, unfortunately, ready to break the silence.
“You never talk about your parents,” I said softly, wanting to know more about her.
She sighed, her breath blowing white in front of her face. She stared up at the sky, her eyes roaming the fields afterward, like she was trying to gather her thoughts or figure out a way to talk about her parents.
I was on the verge of telling her not to talk about it if she didn’t want to when she finally opened her mouth, her words spoken quietly.
“My parents passed away in a car accident when I was fifteen.”
I let go of Brewer’s reigns, letting him freely roam, so I could wrap my arms around my wife. I rested my chin on her shoulder. “I’m sorry to hear that, Ever.” And I meant that. Losing parents, no matter how young or old we were, never hurt any less. And losing them as young as she did, when she still needed steady, parental guidance, could not have been easy in the slightest. At least my brothers and I had been adults when we lost our parents. Very young adults, but adults, nonetheless.
“A drunk driver took them out,” she quietly told me. “They were on their way home from an anniversary dinner. Passed away together at the very same time as soon as they got to the hospital. I like to think they loved each other too much to ever live without one another. And to some, that may be selfish, but I’m still glad they have each other.”
I brushed my lips to her neck. “That kind of mindset takes a lot of strength to have, sweetheart. To not let that bitterness consume you.”
She shook her head with a small laugh. “Charlie would never let me. Her family took me in so I wouldn’t have to go into foster care. My grandparents weren’t fit enough to take care of me, and I don’t have any aunts or uncles. My parents were both single children.”
“How come they never helped when you found out you’re a diabetic?”
Everlee shook her head. “Charlie and I made a pact to never turn to her parents for help once we were out on our own. We were determined to make it. And that stubbornness bled through into my illness.” She sighed. “Charlie did whatever she could for me, though. Did her best to take care of me and look out for me, even if she disagreed with me sticking to the pact we made.”
I pressed a kiss to her cheek yet, so close to the corner of her mouth. Her breath hitched in her throat at the tease. “Charlie sounds incredible.”
A small smile tilted Everlee’s lips. “She’s the best. I would never ask for anyone else to have my back. She’s never let me down, and while I might sometimes get angry with her for the things she does—like signing me up for On the Dotted Line without consulting me—her heart is always in the right place.”
“If not for her, we wouldn’t have met,” I reminded her. And I dreaded a world where I never met Everlee. It was bland. Just black and white.
Everlee was the color that lit up my world.
My wife cut me a teasing side eye, a flirty smile playing at her cold, sweet lips. “I could do without you being so overbearing.”
I chuckled and gripped her chin, turning her head to face me. Her eyes were bright, not a hint of sadness in them from talking about her parents. And it made me realize just how selfless she was. Sure, she could be bratty, and she could definitely whine and complain like nobody else’s business. But her soul was built of pure gold. She would do anything for anyone, even if they’d stabbed her in the back.
