AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He flashed me a grin that warmed my insides. “I will. I promise.” He pecked my lips like he couldn’t resist having one more taste before he stepped back and headed out of the kitchen. A moment later, I heard the front door shut, announcing his departure. I sighed and grabbed my phone.
I needed to check in with Charlie. It had been too long since I’d talked to her. I knew she was busy, so I was hoping I could catch her on a break or before she headed to her first job of the day.
“Everlee?” she asked when she answered. “Girl, I miss you soooo much,” she groaned.
I smiled, my chest squeezing. God, I missed her. Not having her near was like missing a limb, honestly. We’d been attached at the hip since the day we met. “Everything okay?” I asked her.
“Yes.” She sighed. “Working a lot, but everything’s going smoothly,” she assured me. “How are things with you and that hot cowboy?”
I laughed, my cheeks warming. “We’re great,” I assured her. “We just got snowed in by a blizzard. Today is the first day he’s been able to go outside.”
“Ooooh,” Charlie teased, and my cheeks flushed. “And what did you and Mr. Hottie get up to while you were snowed in together?”
I sat on the couch and wrapped a blanket around me. My cheeks were on fire even though it was just me in the house and no one could overhear our conversation. “We, um, kind of…had sex?” I said, though it came out as more of a question.
“Oh, my God!” Charlie squealed so loudly, I had to pull my phone away from my ear until she stopped. I was pretty sure I had a little bit of hearing damage now. “I knew you couldn’t resist him! How was it? Give me all the juicy details.”
Blushing, I began to spill everything—how I wound back up in the hospital two more times, how he’d been there with me the entire time. The strict schedule he and his brothers had me on. How well Tripp was taking care of me and how easy it was for me to fall in love with him. And then, I told her about the night he made love to me for the first time.
“I am so jealous of you right now,” she confessed, her voice revealing she was swooning on the other end. “But I am so happy for you, Everlee. You deserve everything good in your life after everything you’ve been through.”
My cheeks warmed, and my chest tightened at her sweet words. “Thank you,” I murmured. “It means a lot to hear you say that.”
She sighed a moment later. “Crap.” I could hear her fumbling around. “I need to get ready for work. I promise I’ll try to call more often. I’m just always exhausted.”
I frowned, worried for her. “Charlie, I don’t need you to reach out to me if it means you lose out on sleep or a meal. Always take care of yourself first.” I wished she would let me and Tripp help her. She shouldn’t be handling all the bills on her own, but she kept refusing.
“You, too, girl. No more hospital trips, you hear me? I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
I set my phone down on the coffee table and sighed, leaning my head back. I really missed my best friend. I just hoped she eventually found someone who would take some of the load off her back. I knew Tripp had tried numerous times to help pay for some of her bills since I wasn’t there anymore, but she wasn’t having it.
Stubborn woman, she was.
I heaved myself up from the couch and headed into the kitchen to make a breakfast of scrambled eggs and gluten-free toast. Once it was made, I sent a picture of my plate of food as well as my sugar levels to Tripp before digging in.
Good girl. Proud of you.
Good Lord. Be still, my heart.
One day, his praise was going to make my heart explode.
CHAPTER 16
Everlee
There was a lot of storm damage on the ranch, and I was growing increasingly bored by the day since I was by myself from sun up to sun down. I’d read all of the books Tripp and his brothers had gotten me on their last run into town. Charlie was too busy with work to really talk. There was only so much baking and sleeping and TV-watching a woman could do.
My phone rang on the coffee table, and I quickly leaned forward to grab it, smiling at Tripp’s name on my screen. I quickly lifted the phone to my ear. “Hey,” I greeted him.
He chuckled. “Hey yourself, sweetheart. Nash did a peak-in on you.” I scoffed. Of course, he did. I hadn’t even noticed. “He said you look miserable.” His voice softened, making me feel all fuzzy inside. “You okay?”
I sighed. “Just bored out of my mind,” I told him honestly.
He hummed, and that sound went all the way down to my chest and burrowed into my heart, soothing me. It was one of the little things he did when he was thinking, and I loved it. “Can I trust you to drive into town and still take care of yourself?” he asked me. He didn’t ask it condescendingly. I knew he was just worried about me. I’d had a ton of scares since I’d been here.
“Yes,” I promised him, almost giddy at the prospect of being able to go into town and explore. I hadn’t really been well enough to do so since I got here. “I’ll be extra careful, and I’ll check in with you just like I’ve been doing.”
