Page 59 of Forever Theirs

It took her less than ten minutes to get everything packed up and loaded in the back of the truck. Sliding behind the wheel, I gave Jubie’s head a soft pat while shooting Aspen a reassuring smile, then cranked the engine to head home. Shuffling had me glancing over around Jubie’s large body, finding Aspen digging around in the bottom of the satchel that had her laptop and camera. Before I turned back to the road, I caught her pulling out a cell phone, only to stare at the blank screen.

“If your phone is dead, we can plug it in when we get to the cabin,” I offered.

“Oh, I’m sure it still has a charge.”

I shot her an arched brow in question. “So, then, why aren’t you using it?”

“I turned it off when I left Seattle, only turning it back on for a few minutes to get the address Miles texted me and write him back. There were a lot of missed texts and phone calls that I actively avoided before powering it back off.” She blew a raspberry, which drew Jubie’s attention, who took that as an open invitation to lick her face. “I haven’t turned it back on since, and I’m not sure I want to now.”

“Why?”

“It feels like combining two different lives.” She shrugged and draped an arm around Jubie’s massive body in a side hug. “The messages and voicemails that are waiting for me revolve around my life in Seattle. I feel like they might interrupt or burst this happy bubble that I’ve found myself blissfully stuck inside.”

“Then keep it turned off.” I flicked the blinker and slowed to make the turn. “Right?”

She nodded, then shook her head. “This might sound childish or dumb, but after what happened back at the cabin, I want to check in with my parents. I didn’t even call to tell them I quit my job and was headed to Alaska for a week. I don’t know. I just want to talk to them both.”

“Then turn it on and call them?” Confusion had the statement almost coming out like a question. Sure, her mom sounded difficult and unsupportive, but if Aspen wanted to talk to them, then she should, even if she had to ignore the messages from her old life in Seattle.

“It’s just all so damn complicated, and I have no one to blame but myself since I all but sprinted out of Seattle.” With a sharp headshake, she shoved the phone back into her bag and gently set it between her feet. After a few seconds of silence, she poked a single finger at my shoulder. “Distract me from the inevitable. Tell me a funny story about you and Miles growing up.”

A slow, mischievous grin pulled at my lips. If she wanted a distraction, I knew a mutually embarrassing story that would do the trick.

“Okay, so this one time in high school, I convinced Miles that we should go streaking in the dead of winter…”

21

MILES

Muscles bunched, strung tight with the tension pulsing through me, I marched up the steps and paused on the front porch to say hello to the best dog ever. I crouched in front of the sprawled-out mass of fur and drool to give her exposed belly a few rubs, but seeing Jubie and running my fingers through her thick fur did nothing to calm the anger and fear burning in my chest.

We found absolutely nothing in Aspen’s cabin at The Nest to point to who had been inside. Though if you asked the sheriff, he’d tell you we found nothing because nothing had happened. The old fool kept grumbling under his breath that we were paranoid and overly protective of our newest girl.

It had taken everything in me not to snap the bastard’s neck after the first comment. By the time he left to find the idiot general manager, I had plotted multiple scenarios regarding his untimely death, each more creative than the last. Only knowing I couldn’t be with Aspen if I went to prison for murder kept me from following through with the pulsing urge to end the asshole’s life.

However, when the sheriff made the offhanded comment about trouble seeming to find me, all the fight dissolved, leaving me confused and worried that maybe he was right. Which meant whatever was after Aspen could be because of her association with us.

The notion thatweput this amazing woman in danger made panic like I’d never known swell in my chest. But there was no way I would walk away from this, from her. I would just need to set more safety precautions for when she wasn’t with me or Aiden. We could and would handle anything or anyone who tried to harm our girl. It was when she wasn’t with us that had me terrified, which, starting tomorrow, would be most of the day because of clients we already had booked.

Maybe a tracker would ease my mind enough not to be distracted when she wasn’t at my side.

Jubie’s muzzle opened, releasing a disapproving grunt as she lifted her gigantic head off the fake wooden planks when I stood, dusting off the fur now coating my palms. Shooting my special girl a small grin, I headed for the door and slowly pushed it open. After shutting the door behind me, I paused, immediately sensing something different—not off or wrong, just different from the normally empty cabin feel we’d grown used to.

Taking in the room, my gaze paused on the source.

Aspen. A freshly showered Aspen, if her wet hair was any sign.

Perched on the edge of the couch, phone clutched tight in her hand while holding her bent head with the other, her voice traveled through the room as she spoke to the person on the other end of the line. My pulse picked up at the slump of her shoulders. I started toward her, only to pause upon catching sight of a woman on the screen.

“I know what I’m doing, Mom,” Aspen said, her smile tight as she gazed at the phone. She didn’t glance up as I slowly backed away so as not to interrupt the conversation with her mother.

“See, Aspen, I don’t think you do. You actually had a decent job back in Seattle that you just up and left. We didn’t raise you to just walk out on your employer like that. I’m starting to wonder if us giving you the freedom to put the photography dream behind you was best for your future. Look at you—no job, no husband, no prospects. Alone and in Alaska, doing what?”

“Taking pictures, Mom,” Aspen replied, sounding so defeated I almost didn’t recognize her voice.

My fingers curled into tight fists, and a low, frustrated grunt vibrated in my chest. She deserved to be happy, always supported, and loved, no matter what. I didn’t give a fuck if the person on the other end of the line was her mother. I was seconds from ripping the phone out of Aspen’s hand and telling that woman just what I thought about her.

“I don’t understand you, Aspen. I really don’t. And what makes this whole situation worse is you walked away from someone who could’ve supported you, who could’ve given you a family. But you ran away from him and all your responsibilities. What you did was incredibly selfish. I hope you realize that now.”

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