Page 99 of The Rest is History

Asher sets his coffee down, coming close to slip his arms around Reece’s waist. “How’s your ass?” he asks. His voice has dropped to a low drawl.

Reece rests his head against the side of my face. “So fuckin’ sore in the best way.”

I chuckle into his nape. “You have a sensational hole,” I murmur, kissing his neck while Asher kisses his mouth. He writhes between us as if we hadn’t drilled his ass to near extinction the night before.

His ass rotates against my groin, and he reaches up to slink his arm around my neck, turning enough so that I have more of his neck to nibble on. His kiss with Asher is soft and easy, his still-warm body pressing back into mine and then shifting to press into Asher. Then, he turns, pressing his ass against Asher and pulls me in for a kiss.

I love how he’s become more and more confident over the last few months. He’s no longer in a constant state of shock over what’s happening between us.

He pulls away reluctantly, saying he needs a shower and if anyone has seen his phone. I tell him it’s on the kitchen counter.

I watch him carefully when he goes back inside. He checks his phone and the dismay on his face is impossible to miss.

Something is going on. If he doesn’t talk in the next few days, I’ll ask him about it. Whatever it is, it doesn’t look good.

Chapter 47

Reece

The spray of the shower does nothing to calm my mind. I turn the faucet to cold, hoping it will give my mind a severely needed shock for it to keep working.

I don’t want to retreat. I don’t want to ignore this anymore. I want to face it head-on. My father told me I always run away from things – just like my mother. Always burying my head in the sand when things get tough. I don’t want to be that person.

I get out of the shower, reaching for my phone to read the messages again.

Buddy Carter: Answer your goddamn phone.

Buddy Carter: You’re just like your mother. Such a fucking disappointment.

Buddy Carter: And I need the address of where you’re living. You can’t just disappear off the face of the earth like that. I’m your father, for God’s sake. I didn’t abandon you like your mother did. At least have the decency to return my calls.

Buddy Carter: Call me back.

I scroll to Elaine’s texts. The sale of the house has gone through. I respond with, thank you. One less thing to worry about.

Dressing quickly, I exit the bathroom. Sawyer is in the bedroom. He looks at me curiously. “Everything okay?” he asks.

The mood feels off. There’s an unfamiliar heaviness between us. I give myself a mental shake. No. It’s just me.

“What’s on the other side of the back porch?” I ask. Maybe I need a walk.

“Just the woods. Why?”

I shrug. “Just thinking, maybe, I need a walk.”

“Sure.”

I give him a cautious look. “Nothing’s wrong. I just—”

Sawyer comes up to me, resting his hands lightly on my hips. “You just need a walk. You don’t need to explain. Just be careful of the wolves.”

“What?”

Sawyer laughs softly. I love his laugh. He’s so beautiful. How did I get so lucky? “Just kidding,” he says, bending to press his lips to mine.

The woods feel like the woods Asher and I played in as children when we lived in Arizona. The noise inside my head begins to fade the further in I go. I walk slowly, listening for the crunch of dry branches beneath my feet, tilting my head to listen more closely to the evening bird sounds I don’t recognize – flute-like songs and melodies that feel haunting. I think I hear the hoot hoot of an owl.

As I walk, inhaling the humid air, feeling comforted by it, I think about how much things have changed since I came to Iowa in March.

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