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I grinned over my shoulder. “Decorating the tree is my work?”
“Pretty much. You wanted it.”
“Well yeah but forusto decorate.”
“I’ll watch and stay out of your way. Can’t say I’m any good at it. That’s always been my mother’s deal. If I learned anything worthwhile from my father about Christmas, it was to stay the hell out of my mother’s way or get cursed out for doing things all wrong.”
“I can speak from experience about you knowing how to do thingsright…” I lowered my eyes from his, doing a slow crawl down his body and back up. “But I don’t think that’s what you were talking about, was it?”
He groaned deep in his throat. “Careful, Boston, or that damn tree is gonna have to wait.” His large hand found its way to my chin which he lifted just a bit and dropped a kiss on my appreciative lips before he stepped around me. “I’m gonna go start dragging the boxes out of storage.”
I watched Wilde gait down the hall, enjoying the view before I followed him. “While you do that, I’m going to shower and change into something comfy.”
“Make sure you put some damn pants on this time,” he tossed over his shoulder and my smile expanded with the memories of last night. Me in my t-shirt and panties at his door and the way he’d thoroughly enjoyed my minimal selection of clothing below the waist.
Maybe I’d revisit that again later but for now I had a naked balsam fir waiting on me to decorate. As soon as I made it to my room, I pulled out my phone to ensure I kept my promise to my sister by sending my daily voice message. This one I had a feeling she would be overly excited about, but it was still early and there was no way Summer was awake so I wouldn’t get her reaction until later today. I hit the microphone and began my message.
I took your advice and rode a cowboy. You’re right it’s exactly what I needed.
I think I finally have my mind right and am ready to get back to life. Hiding isn’t helping. I know what I want now. I love you and I’ll call you soon.
With a tap of my finger I sent the voice message then swiped out of my texts, going back to the site for the B&B where there was a job listed for activities coordinator. On the ride home last night, I’d searched for dates after Christmas because I was already considering staying for a while. In the process I stumbled on a link that led to the job opening.
The salary was decent enough and considering the job, I felt it would be a perfect fit. With all the years I’d worked as a lawyer, I made good money so I had quite a bit saved. I could see living off the salary the B&B paid and only digging into my savings if absolutely necessary. I couldn’t imagine it would take much to survive here in Miller’s Pointe. Everything here had just the right feel, right pace.
Simple life.
I wanted that. I wanted a simple life with Wilde, but even if he wasn’t thinking about entertaining one with me, I still wanted to stay here in Miller’s Pointe. This town was perfect. The people were nice and Wilde Reeves was everything I never knew I needed in my life.
ChapterEleven
One by one I scanned the boxes containing all of my mother’s Christmas decorations I was about to lug to the living room for Shore. I should have had some reservation about handing over family heirlooms that held priceless memories for not just me but my entire family to a woman I barely knew but there were no reservations at all. Not an ounce of hesitation existed about allowing her the privilege of bringing Christmas into my home. Honestly, I welcomed the idea of Shore and I creating our own memories. I had surely cataloged plenty since she’d stepped foot in my house.
The most notable was making her cum in my bed last night.
I possessed such comfort and ease at the thought of every inch of my home being filled with holiday memories centered around Shore. Acknowledging that comfort was a bit alarming, but in a good way. I wanted this, I wantedher. I had an intense urge to call the woman who would tell me exactly what I needed to hear, which was to let things be and stop overthinking, but she was somewhere in the middle of an ocean with no service. However, that didn’t stop the whisper of her voice in my head.
“Life is gonna happen whether you want it to or not. Your job isn’t to make sense of things, son. That’s your problem. You always want things to make sense but life rarely ever does. You simply have to saddle up and enjoy the ride. Embrace the good stuff and do the hard work to survive the rough patches.”
I chuckled at how laidback and easygoing my mother was. She never let anything stress her. She accepted things for what they were and made the most of the hand life dealt, taking it all in stride. She also had never been one to believe in forcing a fit. Another one of her famous sayings had been…
“When things are right, they just work out how they were supposed to and there isn’t a damn thing you could do to mess it up besides denying your right to happiness.”
That was exactly what I was doing. Letting things be what they were. I wasn’t going to force a fit but I didn’t have to because Shore damn sure fit. She felt right and not just physically. All I had to do was make sure she didn’t deny herself the opportunity for all the happiness I was more than willing to provide.
She wasn’t happy with her life back in Boston and seeing how easily she settled in here on the ranch gave me hope that this would work with us. As crazy as it was to feel connected to someone after only a few days, I did. If I was reading Shore right, she and I were on the same page. The problem was, whatever this thing was might not be enough to convince her to stay. No matter how complicated and unsatisfying her life was back in Boston, she still had one there that didn’t involve me or my ranch. I planned on making sure she understood that given time, we could make this enough for both of us.
With the first box in my arms, I traveled from across the hall to the room Shore was in, pausing when I heard her voice. I shouldn’t have imposed, but the words caught my attention so I listened.
I took your advice and rode a cowboy. You’re right it’s exactly what I needed.
I think I finally have my mind right and am ready to get back to life. Hiding isn’t helping. I know what I want now. I love you and I’ll call you soon.
Ready to get back to life…
I know what I want now…
Well fuck? Maybe I read this all wrong which meant I had some convincing to do if she planned on leaving. I had never been a man who didn’t go after what I wanted and IwantedShore Manchester.Allof her, here in Millers’ Pointe, on my ranch, in my life, in my bed. I needed to put that option on the table so she understood just how I felt which had me dropping the box to the floor and pushing her door open.
