Page 41 of Smokin' Situation

With her in mind, I loaded my gear back into the truck bed and headed toward the lodge, breathing easier in more than one way as the smoke thinned out on my way to her.

Since Jay had offered to let me stay at his place while I was recovering, I’d never actually stayed at the lodge, my new place a short walk down a path behind the building, tucked into the forest. But that wasn’t where I wanted to go right now.

I needed to see her.

Feel her again.

Remind myself that my developing feelings weren’t crazy.

That it wasn’t insane to be half in love with a woman I’d known for a few days.

“She’s upstairs in 206.” Marty didn’t even look up from his seat at the reception desk, the grin on his face the only indicator that my situation was providing him with a certain amount of entertainment.

“Not sure if I should pretend I don’t know who you’re referring to, but I feel like you’re on to me, old man.”

“Not so old that I forgot what it was like to fall hard for a beautiful woman, Tristan. But my daughter will have words with you if you step out of line,” he warned, glancing up with an arched eyebrow. “And I would not fuck with that girl if I were you. I made her and she still scares the shit outta me sometimes.”

“Noted,” I replied, fighting back a grin when he shook his head and returned his attention to the papers spread out across the desk. I knew he was probably trying to figure out how this fire was going to affect the ranch, and I hoped I’d still have a job here once this was all over. Because he was going to be missing at least a few weeks of tourist income because of the cancelations falling during our peak season. I didn’t know Charley, since she was almost a decade younger than me, but from the brief impression I’d gotten when I’d left Rhey with her at the barn earlier, you could tell she cared about her friends.

“Nelly took up a tray of food earlier, but Annie was passed out cold when she checked on her. All the guests who hadn’t left yet checked out this morning, and bookings are light this week,” he said with a heavy sigh. “If you’re hungry, the chef left some prepared meals in the staff refrigerator. Anything else you need, I’m sure you can find it on your own. I’ll probably head out in a bit, but the place is yours tonight.”

Pulling off my dirty boots, I left them on a tray by the front doors, taking the steps two at a time until I reached the second floor. The sun had dipped below the horizon, the back windows litup in a kaleidoscope of oranges, pinks and purples, the peaks of the distant mountains barely visible above the haze of the lingering fire.

Soft snores greeted my ears as I slowly swung the door to suite 206 inward, the room cast in shadows. The curtains were still open, so her slight form curled up under the blankets wasn’t hard to make out, her chaotic hair fanning across the pillow she was half tucked around.

Watching her sleep, I wanted to do nothing more than climb into that big bed and curl myself around her, blocking out the rest of the world, but I smelled like sweat, sawdust and smoke, so I reluctantly made my way into the attached bathroom.

The scent of whatever shampoo she’d used in here while I was gone and something that was uniquely her lingered in the air. I closed my eyes, breathing it in before I tiredly stripped out of the rest of my clothing, my filthy, soot covered shirt and jeans discarded into the oversized bathtub.

Turning on the spray in the walk-in shower, I winced, pulling my hand back at the scalding temperature, knowing that’d have to be the first thing we addressed as a couple. I couldn’t bathe in hellfire like she clearly could, so we’d have to come to a compromise, because after having a taste of a wet, soapy, pliable Rhey in the hot spring, I was not willing to give up shared bath time.

Visions of her in my much smaller shower in the cabin, our bodies pressed tightly together, sliding effortlessly as the soap bubbles multiplied between us, my lips on her neck and my hand in between her thighs had my cock thinking it was playtime again, rising to thoughts of her. But I didn’t want to settle for an unsatisfying shower tug.

And when a warm body settled against my back, Rhey’s cheek pressed against my shoulders, her lips grazing the battered skin of my back, I knew I wouldn’t have to.

Annie

Theroomwasdarkas I stirred, slowly opening my heavy eyelids. Falling asleep wasn’t my plan, but once I hit the plush bedding after my shower, the exhaustion had taken over. Food was a secondary need, although a gnawing hunger was making itself known, my tummy grumbling as I sat myself up against the pillows. Trying to regain my bearings, I scanned the room. Something was different.

The lingering scent of wood smoke seemed stronger than when I’d taken off my dirty clothes, but I could’ve just been imagining things.

Sliding my naked body from beneath the warm covers, I walked toward the dresser on the other side of the room, scanning a tray filled with food. Grabbing a bundle of grapes and some crackers, I inspected the pile of clothing next to the tray as I ate, thankful for the soft sweater and terry cloth shorts. A smile drew at my lips when I realized there weren’t any underwear in the pile, but at this point, I wasn’t sure why I bothered worrying about it. Tripp hadn’t seemed to mind my lack of appropriate undergarments.

Squinting as I looked across the room, I tilted my head at the closed bathroom door. I was sure I left it open earlier when I practically sleepwalked to the bed after finally washing my hair with actual water pressure.

When the sound of the shower starting carried through the room, my heart skipped a beat.

He was home.

Well, nothome, per se. Still, he’d returned to the lodge and to me.

As of yesterday, I no longer had one of those, but I was starting to think that maybe home could be a person, and not just where you laid your head at night. That thought had broken open something inside of me that’d scabbed over after we lost our parents and our grandmother died a few years ago. I began to see past all the trials that life had thrown at me, hope blossoming in my chest that maybe the future wasn’t something to dread. Reese was safe. And we’d both escaped from a dangerous situation where things could have easily ended differently, so there was a lot to be thankful for.

While I was not one to jinx things, maybe we’d both escaped the family curse.

Knocking on the wood of the dresser top, I stared at the door to the bathroom, debating whether I should join him.

But it wasn’t a hard decision, and I was across the room within seconds. Careful to enter quietly, I slowly pushed the door inward, but Tripp was facing away from the door, the room shrouded in darkness.

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