Page 28 of Forever Theirs

Aspen leapt up the steps, heading directly for the swing, where she tentatively sat down. The chains groaned when she relaxed back and pushed off the wooden porch with the heel of her hiking boot. As she rocked back and forth, Aspen’s wide smile from earlier softened into one of relaxed contentment, and her lids fluttered shut with a sigh.

“Do you guys have any idea how lucky you are to live here?” Slowly, her lids blinked open. She shifted to stretch both arms along the back of the swing, which only drew our attention to the way her tank top pulled across her chest. “That view every day.” She pointed to the mountains. “A community that accepts you, and cute wild animals running around everywhere.” I moved up to the porch, needing to be closer to the woman consuming my thoughts. The wood groaned beneath my weight, though she didn’t shift her awe-filled gaze from the distant snow-covered peaks. “This place is paradise.”

“You say that now.” Arms crossed over my chest, I leaned against the side of the cabin. “You might think differently when winter comes around and it’s constantly dark and bitter cold, with snow piled higher than the roofs.”

“I bet Jubie loves it,” she remarked, eyeing the front door, following the sounds of said dog’s loud barks. “And you know, I’m almost certain I would, too, despite everything you just mentioned. Growing up, I loved the heavy winter months in Utah. I know it would be a different extreme of cold and volume of snowfall here, but still. There’s something about the cold and snow that is utterly peaceful and makes all the stress in life seem to pause while you watch the flakes softly fall. Give me a warm blanket, a good cup of coffee, and this scenery… I’d probably grow roots where I sat, I’d be there so long.”

Louder, more pitiful barks plus frantic scratching from inside the cabin had me rolling my eyes. Jubie knew we were out here and was no doubt excited to see her new friend again.

Dipping inside my pocket, I dug out the cabin keys and headed for the front door, where an impatient Jubie waited. I barely had the door open a couple of inches before the big bundle of fur wedged her way into the opening with her thick head and bounded out with happy yips. Hopping and spinning in crazy circles, making all of us laugh at her antics, Jubie rubbed against my thigh before running over to where Aspen waited for her turn with the jolly animal.

“Well, hello there, beautiful girl,” Aspen cooed while scratching behind Jubie’s floppy ears. “I missed you last night.” Peeking up from beneath her lashes, she shot me a hopeful expression. “What are the odds that I could convince you to let me borrow Jubie for a sleepover?”

“Or you could sleep over?—”

The back of my hand slammed against the center of Aiden’s chest, cutting off his next words. He shot me an annoyed look, sticking out his tongue like the adult child he acted like most days.

“I’m almost positive The Nest frowns on dogs larger than most children, who leave drool marks everywhere?—”

Aspen gasped and covered Jubie’s ears. “Don’t let her hear you. She can’t help her extra saliva condition.”

Smirking, I shook my head while rubbing at my jaw. “And sheds half her body weight on a daily basis. At least, that’s what it feels like, considering how often I have to sweep our place.” I nodded to the smiling dog, who currently had shoestring-like drool coming from either side of her mouth. “And don’t worry about Jubie. She is aware of her drooling problem and fully accepts it. Even enjoys leaving little drool love puddles everywhere she goes to let us know she was there.”

“Want to see the inside?” Aiden asked, already moving to the door.

Aspen nodded just as her stomach released a loud growl.

“Have you eaten?” I asked, my mind already itemizing what we had in the fridge and pantry.

“Yes and no.” Aspen slowly stood from the swing and stepped around Jubie. “I had a granola bar when I woke up, but don’t worry about me. I’ll figure something out after we’re done here.” I eyed her as she walked past me with a wide, unconvincing smile and slipped into the cabin behind Aiden.

A granola bar? That wouldn’t do at all. Aspen was hungry, and I now had an objective I could fix. Needing to resolve the issue before heading to Caroline’s for the eye mask, I followed them inside the cabin, steering straight for the kitchen.

Even though Aspen wasn’t mine—ours—I couldn’t stand back and not take care of her as if she was. And maybe if she saw how good it could be with us, having someone focused on her health and safety, she’d stay.

With us.

And officially be ours.

10

ASPEN

The paper towel scraped across my lips as I wiped at the smear of mayo from the utterly delicious BLT Miles whipped together after storming into the cottage, grumbling about needing to feed me. Apparently, me being hungry wasn’t an option when he was around. That was perfectly okay with me. I liked to eat and didn’t care what others thought about my healthy appetite. Sure, I was soft in some areas from not watching what I ate, but I never cared.

Until now.

Because was I really okay with these two fit, utterly gorgeous men seeing me, Aspen Carter, who was not gorgeous or fit, naked? Would they care about the love handles or extra padding around my hips and toss me out before we even got to the fun stuff? They didn’t seem like the type, but if they did, I was positive my self-esteem would never recover.

“Thank you, Miles. That was seriously delicious.” I folded up the used makeshift napkin and tucked it under the empty plastic plate. When I said seriously delicious, I meant the foodandwatching him. He was undeniably sexy, with the sleeves of his long-sleeved T-shirt pushed up on his thick forearms, exposing the ink I so wanted to lick, his full focus on cooking for me.

Face resting in a palm with my elbow on the table, I tracked him as he moved around the kitchen, not once complaining about having to do the work or asking me to help. At one point, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end from the sense of someone watching me. With a glance over my shoulder into the living room, I found Aiden studying me as I watched Miles, a knowing little smirk on his kissable lips.

And boy, were they kissable. Or so they seemed. Maybe after I decided on their unique proposition, I would get the chance to see if they were as plump and smooth as they looked.

With a clipped nod, Miles slid the empty plate off the table and set it in the sink. While he scrubbed the barely dirty dish as if the plastic offended him, he and Aiden spoke about their morning, which turned into each man calling the other out about one thing or another. Aiden’s full laughter and Miles’s quiet chuckles filled the small cabin, bringing a smile to my face as I sat back, listening and enjoying the simple moment.

However, I couldn’t help the bit of jealousy that bloomed, tightening my chest. They had this every day: laughter, love, companionship. Living and working with their best friend in a community that accepted and loved them. And as a bonus, they had adorable woodland creatures just running around with cute names like BamBam.

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