Page 22 of These Reckless Hearts

“We’re completely safe,” Stone repeats. “I wouldn’t let us stay here if I didn’t think that. Hey.” He walks up to me, concern filling his eyes. “It’s been a long day already, and it’s not even 10:30am. Let me draw you a bath.”

“A bath? I only have a shower.”

“You haven’t been in my bathroom yet, have you?” He tugs on my hand, and I follow him into his room. He opens his bathroom door, and off to the side, is a jetted tub surrounded by windows that overlook the mountains.

He turns the faucet on, checking the temperature before allowing it to fill. He drops in a round, blue circle, and the water starts to fizz. “What’s that?”

“A bath bomb.”

An intoxicating aroma fills the air, and he shows me how to turn the jets on, then brushes a kiss across my forehead before leaving the room. I peel my clothes off, stepping into the humongous, oval tub. The warm water caresses my tired skin, and the scent of the bath bomb overwhelms my senses as well as tingles along my skin. “This is nice,” I say aloud, leaning my head against the back. Then, I remember to turn the jets on and that’s a whole different experience. It’s like heaven in a bathroom.

I don’t know how long I spend in the bath, but by the time I get out, the entire house is back in order. It’s as if the whole thing never happened.

11

Ifind Stone in the living room with his laptop across his knees, typing away. When he hears me coming, he sets it aside and jumps up. “Wyatt made you something. He thought you’d be hungry.”

He saunters into the kitchen, a pair of sweats on. Even the lazy look suits him. He has a way of making thrown together clothes sexy because he knows he looks damn good in them. “Where is he?” I ask, figuring he’d be out here, too.

“He went with Lucas to the store to pick up a few things for our next trip up the mountains. We were thinking we should go as soon as possible, and since school won’t be a factor, we can go for as long as we want.” He retrieves a plastic-wrapped plate from the fridge, placing it on the granite countertop in front of me. Turning toward the cupboards again, he grabs a bag of chips while I peel off the stretchy film. “It’s turkey breast. He whipped it up while you were taking a bath.”

“That bath....” I sigh. “It’s divine.”

He smiles as he empties some chips onto my plate. “You’re welcome to use it whenever you want.”

I pull the sandwich toward me. “I think I lost track of time watching the mountains. Sometimes I stare so long thinking they’ll give me a sign or something.”

Stone chuckles. “Wouldn’t that be nice? I’m all for a big X somewhere.”

I take a bite and chew slowly. This is way better than the lunch meat sandwiches we used to eat at home. It’s got some substance to it. Wyatt never goes half-assed with food.

Stone places his elbows on the counter and leans toward me, worrying his lip. “I was also thinking we should take reinforcements into the mountains with us. Dad’s not going to just let us find the treasure, and we can’t let him find it because it’s yours.”

I blink up at him and swallow hard before I choke. “We can’t let him find the treasure because he doesn’t deserve the money and power it would give him.”

Stone shakes his head. “The treasure is yours, Dakota. It was always meant to be yours. We’re going to find it, and you’re going to get everything you’ve ever wanted.”

My heart fills, expanding until it feels as if I won’t be able to hold it in my chest any longer. “What if I’ve already found everything I’ve ever wanted?”

Stone pulls back, eyes widening. It only takes him a second to recover. “We could drop everything right now.” He moves around the island, stopping in front of me. I turn in my chair, and he grasps the back of my neck, pulling me out of my seat. “We could leave this behind. Go to school somewhere else. Clary would only be a memory. Outside of its shadow, we could find out who we truly are.”

His words weave a dream that’s easily attainable. I could pluck it out of the air, nod, and Stone would make it happen. He’d build my fairytale for me from the ground up. I know he would.

“I could work full-time on you forgiving me.”

“I’ve already forgiven you.” His fingers squeeze me tighter, biting into the base of my skull. “I just need to bleach the memory from my subconscious, that’s all.”

“You already know I dream of you.” His breath falters. “I dream of little girls who look like you in overalls and curls hidden in braids, freckles spackled across their noses from the sun. They’ll give me those same eyes you used to when you were a little girl, and I’d be a goner for them, too. Just like with you, I’ll give them every damn thing they’ve ever wanted.”

Heat pricks the base of my spine, echoing out to wrap flames around my core. “Will the boys resemble you?”

“Me.” He drops his stare to my lips. “Or Wyatt. Or Lucas.”

I step off the seat and into his space. “You’re talking about something very unconventional.”

“Screw people’s limited minds. I don’t care about that, and neither do Wyatt and Lucas. All we care about is that we get to have you every day, and that our house is filled with the love we never got when we were small.”

“Is that why you want kids so badly?”

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