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“Wow.” I was literally floored and felt like a chump. He’d preserved his home exactly like it had been when I left him, so it wouldn’t be tainted on the off chance I returned. Now that was devotion, genuine, endearing love.
“Are you still going to shower?” He issued me a knowing crooked smile. He still deeply affected me, and he knew it.
“Yes.” I turned on my heels and went to the dresser in his room. I hadn’t known I’d be whisked away by masked men and put on an airplane, so I hadn’t packed a bag. Should’ve gone to my parents’ farm to borrow some of Liv’s clothes. But one of Cade’s shirts would do.
I’d actually missed sleeping in his large band shirts. The easy access they’d give him during the night or any time I wore one had made me feel sexy and desired. I’d gone commando back then, and I would again tonight.
Rummaging through his neatly folded clothes, I found his and my favorite, Chris Stapleton, from the last concert we’d gone to together. Was it weird to be thinking of the past so much? Was it possible we’d changed too much and would work like we used to? I’d left the love of my life. I honestly questioned my sanity.
Something, a curious niggling in my soul, made me open the fourth drawer where my things used to be. Sure enough, everything I’d left behind, including a pair of bikini underwear, was just where I’d left them.
Christ, this man. Talk about enduring love. He was healing my broken soul and probably didn’t know. Nah. Cade Norris was an expert on all things, Shelby Smithfield. He knew me better than I knew myself, and it was clear he knew one day I’d come back to him.
And I had, but I couldn’t stop worrying about Jake finding me and destroying everyone I loved.
23
Cade
My dream girl, the love of my life, was finally back—just not how imagined. I could tell she’d been traumatized or else she wouldn’t have tried to harm herself. What happened to her had to have been horrific, because Shelby was one of the strongest people I knew. She was a fighter and obviously trying to process all kinds of shit.
Her ex would rue the day he hurt a hair on her head.
It took all my strength to block images of her with any man, but Jake had hurt her, and I was terrified to hear how.
That bastard could come after me all he wanted. I could deal with anything he did to me, but harming my Honeybee was unforgiveable, and I wouldn’t be merciful.
I poured tequila in our empty shot glasses and stared at the gold liquid. Today fucking sucked. The worst I’d had since I lost Shelby, and I could’ve lost her again.
“Fuck,” I hissed. Unable to wait for Shelby, I drank mine down, then refilled it. My skin felt like sharp nails were clawing every part of my body as I waited for her. We just needed to talk, get everything out in the open, so I knew how to help her heal.
A noise I couldn’t make out made my ears perk up. I stalked around the cabin to pinpoint what it might be. After a beat, I went to get a fire going in the wood stove to warm the roomfor Shelby. The low temperature would drop into the thirties overnight, and I didn’t want her to be cold.
As I finished stoking the fire, I heard the shower turn off, then sobs bled through the door. Frantic gasps followed.
“Shelby!” I rushed to the door, banged on it, and twisted the knob. “It’s locked!”
Her crying grew louder. “C, C, Cade.”
I busted the door off its hinges with a forceful kick. The bathroom overflowed with steam and enveloped me. “Damn, it’s foggy in here.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize.” I opened the shower door and found my beauty on her knees in the shower. The fear and pain in her eyes sent my heart thundering like a spooked herd of cattle.
“Baby, what happened?” I plucked a towel off the bar and covered her naked body, then lifted her out of the stall.
I carried her to the living room. Her desperate gasps were the worst I’d heard as she fought to take in air. I set her down in front of the fire, grabbed the paper bag off the coffee table, and put it against her mouth.
“Shelby, calm down. Please, baby. Inhale. Exhale. Breathe.” I repeated my words over and over until she was breathing normally.
At some point, I’d sat with her between my legs. Time froze with her curled against my chest. I listened to her breathing and felt her tense muscles relax. I could stay like this, just her and me, warm by the fire forever. We didn’t need to talk about anything that happened before now. It was in the past for me. The future would come tomorrow, and I had my Honeybee right where she was meant to be, in my arms.
But I understood she might need to purge herself. When she was ready, I’d listen, support her, and love her.
And eventually, she’d be under me as I drove my aching cock into her warm pussy. We’d love each other, body and soul, and I wouldn’t ask for another thing. My happiness hadn’t ever come from possessions or cattle. Yes, I enjoyed being a rancher. It ran in my blood and as the only son, I’d needed to continue my great-granddad’s legacy. I didn’t regret staying and setting my girl free to pursue her dreams. Her happiness had meant more to me than my own. But I never stopped grieving and hurting.
Shelby Smithfield had been andwasthe sunshine in my day and the stars at night, my reason for living, my everything. If her heart stopped beating, mine would too. If she stopped breathing, I would too. I’d only kept on living after she left because she had kept on living, and that had been enough for me.
