Page 73 of Raised On It

So I take his hand, and we walk silently to the bedroom.

Waiting to see if I want to sleep on top of or under the covers, he crosses his arms over his chest, letting me take the lead.

Pulling back the bedding, I slip off my dress and climb into bed. He strips down to nothing but his underwear and crawls in with me. He lies on his back, holding his arm open to me, and I rest my head on his shoulder.

My arms wrap around him, and my leg is tangled between his. He kisses me on the top of the head, and we hold each other.

He doesn’t try to keep explaining why he’s different or how we’ll deal with the distance. He simply holds me close while simultaneously giving me the space to think.

The possibility of us.

CHAPTER 21

Miles

The pale light of the morning illuminates the softness of her face while my sweet city mouse sleeps. We’re both lying on our sides mirroring one another, the only difference between us is her peaceful slumber. In stark contrast, I am wide-awake with my insides twisted in knots.

Even if I do have all the confidence in the world that the woman lying next to me is the one I’ve been waiting for, I also know life doesn’t always work out the way we hope. We don’t always get what we want.

The thing is, lying here, watching her sleep, yes, I want her, but more than that, Ineedher. In a few short weeks, I’ve discovered the missing piece of me, and there is no more me without her.

I need her to breathe.

But she’s made it very clear the need does not go both ways. After what she’s been through, she’s learned to compartmentalizeand only need what she can provide for herself. As much as I want her to need me as much as I need her, the strength she’s found in herself is one of the things I love about her, and I wouldn’t want to change her.

But I dowanther to need me.

She’s been burned by those closest to her, and the only person who has ever put Mason first is Mason.

What she doesn’t get quite yet is that she’s not alone anymore. She has me. And I will always put her first. Her best interests and her happiness will always be my priority.

Her slightly parted lips are begging to be kissed, her sun-kissed shoulders are pleading with me to touch them. But I don’t.

I’m frightened to wake her. Afraid to hear what she might say. I know she was awake for quite some time last night because I never did sleep, aware of every breath she took. I felt it when she did finally fall asleep. Her breath grew heavy, and her body almost imperceptibly grew more lax.

With her asleep in my arms, everything was as it should be. Eventually, she grew warm and rolled away, but not long after, she rolled back over to face me and reached for me in her unconscious state.

Did she finally fall asleep because she had thought about us, like I asked her to, and she had come to a conclusion? Or was she so exhausted from it all that her body took over for her brain and let her sleep?

As much as I want to wake her, it’s way too early, but I have to take Reece and Rachel to the airport, and Lou needs to be fed and let out before I pick them up. Reluctantly, I slide out of bed, gather my clothes, and creep into the living room to get dressed.

Looking for a piece of paper and a pen, so I can leave her a note, I stumble upon one of her infamous journals, and it calls to me like a beacon in the dawn. I pick it up but stop myself before I do something I’ll regret. Reading her journal would break her trust on a level I’m not sure she would get over, but I sure as hell wantto. I’ve been dying to know what she’s written about her time in Eastlyn, but most importantly what she’s written about me.

I put the multicolored book down and instead flip over the Eastlyn Rodeo Days flyer sitting on the kitchen table and write my note on the back. I prop it up against the vase of flowers in the center of the table and let myself out. It doesn’t go unnoticed by me that the flowers look like one of the window displays from Busy Bee Flowers. She said she’d be back for flowers, and she did just that.

Hell yes, she did.

Another reason to fight with all my might for her.

For us.

Halfway to the airport,Reece and Rachel start asking questions. Frankly, I’m shocked it took this long.

“So, Mason, huh?” Reece asks without really asking anything, but of course I know what he’s asking.

“What about her?”

“Stop it, Miles. How did it go last night? You didn’t come back to The Verdict, so is that a good sign that you made her see she was making a huge mistake?”

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