AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Jessica
July, Present Day
Maple Ridge
* * *
Troy’s front door opens. The man who already has my heart beating fast flashes me a smile, and my heart flutters into overdrive. Bailey pushes past him to find her friend. She’s getting a break from her service-dog training.
“Hi,” I say, barely getting the word out, my voice soft and husky.
Troy grabs my hand and pulls me to him. I loop my arms behind his neck and loosely grasp my wrist. His arms go around my waist, and his mouth finds mine.
His tongue plunges into my mouth, hot and ready, and my legs go wobbly. God, I feel…feel so. My body…I’m…damn, I’ve missed him. I’ve missed this.
Sure, I saw him for a short while at work, when he dropped by between meetings and before he left for his PT appointment. But my no-kissing-at-work rule, which I seriously need to rethink, kept me from getting to enjoy more moments like this.
Troy maneuvers to the side and shuts the front door. My back is pressed up against it, and nothing else exists outside the bubble we’ve carved for ourselves. His lips pull away from my mouth, and I release a needy whimper.
His mouth finds my neck and his teeth gently scrape my skin. The sound that slips from me this time is a down-and-dirty moan. If his shoulder wasn’t healing and if I wasn’t recovering from bruised ribs, I’d climb him like a maple tree.
Butterscotch barks from the direction of the living room. We keep kissing.
The intensity of it slows, easing away to tender kisses. The brushing of lips. The gentle touch of our mouths. My breath comes out on a stuttering sigh.
“I’ve made the popcorn.” Troy’s breath coasts my lips.
We head for the living room. Bailey and Butterscotch are playing with some of Butterscotch’s squeaky toys. Troy opens the door leading to the backyard so they can play out there, and he and I get comfy on the couch. I lean into him. He puts his good arm around my waist. The bowl of popcorn sits on the coffee table in front of us.
“What did you do today?” Troy asks as he skims through the movie options.
“Trevor Dumas asked me yesterday if he could move the interview to today for the PTSD articles I’m writing. He and his family decided to go to Seattle next week. So I talked with them.” I look up at him. “Thanks for setting that up with them. It went great. And I also started the online wedding photography course. So nothing too exciting. What about you?”
On top of all that, I spent more time reading and transcribing Iris’s journals. For Anne. And, well, because I’m curious to find out what happens next. How the hell did Iris escape back to England? She never told her great-niece about her time as an SOE agent. Did the Nazis capture her, and that’s why she was silent about the war? Did she end up in a concentration camp like so many SOE agents who were captured? From what I’ve read, few survived.
I don’t mention that part of my day to Troy. I still haven’t admitted to anyone, including Anne, about the journals, the heart pendant, and the medal. Once I’ve finished transcribing the journals so Anne can easily read her great-aunt’s words, I’ll give everything to her. And she’ll learn about that part of her great-aunt’s life she never knew about.
“I had the meeting with Anthony Bell yesterday.” Troy grins like a little kid on Christmas morning after Santa left him the bike he asked for.
“And?” I knew about the meeting, but when Troy didn’t say anything about it, I thought maybe Anthony wasn’t interested in helping sponsor the festival.
“He’s donating the rest of the money we still needed.”
I didn’t think it was possible, but the grin on Troy’s face grows wider.
My own smile matches it, even with the scar between my mouth and jaw trying to keep it from forming, and I squeal. I throw my arms around his neck. “I’m so happy for you. This is incredible news.”
After the movie, Troy and I go outside and sit on the wicker love seat in his backyard. A fire burns in the firepit, but even then, the air is on the cool side. I snuggle deeper into Troy’s soft sweatshirt that smells like him.
Bailey and Butterscotch have opted to stay inside. Both were snoring from Butterscotch’s bed in the living room when we stepped out.
“I still can’t get over how amazing the stars are here,” I say, glancing up at the dark sky. Stars and sunsets and flowers are a few of the things I missed while locked away. But I don’t remember the stars ever being this breathtaking.
“That’s one of the best parts about living in a small town. Nowhere does The Great Cock Constellation look as spectacular as it does from Maple Ridge.”
“The wh-what?” I know I’m not a wiz at astronomy, but even I know there’s no such thing as The Great Cock Constellation. Or at least I don’t think there is.
Troy points to a cluster of stars. “There it is. The Great Cock Constellation.” The corners of his mouth quirk and his eyes have a wicked gleam. But otherwise, his tone is that of an astronomy teacher telling his students the name of a constellation.
