Page 19 of Taming the Wild Mountain Man

And this couldn't feel any more right.

If Tenley is prepared to give me a chance, I'll do everything in my power to give her whatever her heart desires. Including children.

"So, does this mean I'm your girlfriend?"

My stomach swoops with joy, and I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "It sure does, sweetheart."

She leans in toward me, flashing a smile. "In that case, that makes you my boyfriend."

I wince. "You sure I'm not too old for that word?"

"Nah, it's fine. I mean, yes, you'reooold…" She exaggerates the word, then giggles as she adds, "But I am not calling you my manfriend, that's for sure."

"Boyfriend, it'll have to be, then."

I close the remaining distance between us and fuse my lips to hers. As we kiss, I make a silent pledge. If this thing between Tenley and me turns out to be as right as I know in my heart it is, I'm not going to wait long before I stop calling her my girlfriend…and make her my wife.

I know, I know…Waaaytoo much,waaaytoo soon.

As though sensing my runaway thoughts, Chewy bounds into the room, as if to save me from doing something stupid like actually uttering them aloud. Tenley and I break apart, and I take her hand in mine again, Chewy's arrival reminding me of the thing I need to show her.

The three of us go back to my place. To my backyard. To under a certain tree in my backyard. Chewy catches on to what's happening and scampers away.

"What's all this?" Tenley asks.

"Discovered it this morning," I answer before crouching down and sifting through all the scraps of paper a certain someone has been chewing on and bringing to her secret hiding spot.

Tenley kneels down next to me and picks up a piece of relatively un-chewed paper. I watch as she reads my note. Yep. The very note I left her on the porch the day after we met.

"This explains everything," she says, after reading it.

"Tell me about it."

No wonder Tenley didn't get my note, or any of the others I left her. Chewy's been getting to them first and having a field day. I stand and look around for Chewy, but she's conspicuously absent, so I suggest, "How about I help you finish painting the yellowest room to have ever existed, and then I can take my girlfriend out to lunch?"

She grins and slides her soft hand into mine. "I like the sound of that."

As we head back to her place, arms swinging, my happiness is interrupted by a familiar twinge in my ear.

Oh no.

Not now.

I haven't had any pain or dizziness or hearing loss for a few weeks, so I thought that whatever it was had cleared up on its own. I throw up a silent prayer that this is nothing more than a niggle, a slight discomfort that won't escalate to anything more

By the time I'm standing next to Tenley, painting the walls of her guest room, the nausea is back, big time. I feel like I've just done ten back-to-back rollercoaster rides, and the fullness in my ear is making it hard for me to hear what she's saying. I nod and makeI'm listeningnoises every so often, but just remaining upright is proving to be a challenge. The half-painted yellow wall starts to spin.

"Are…you…okay…Hume?"

Tenley's question comes out muffled, my brain spacing the words apart.

She stops painting, and I turn to face her. All three of her.Whoa. "I'm fine. Just got an ear thing."

"An…ear…thing?"

"Yeah. It plays up every once in a while. I'll be fin?—"

My knees give out from under me, and I barely manage to hold onto the wall before my vision blurs completely. The last thing I hear is Tenley scream my name.

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