Page 43 of Unbroken

“Hey, I’m happy to hear you’re staying.”

“Why?” There was a smile teasing around her lips.

“I feel like you belong here, with your family on this land. You really seem to have blossomed here. And everyone is happy to have you back.”

She nodded, staring at the ground. “I ran to Denver to escape losing my parents. I didn’t want to be here because everything reminded meof them.” It came out in a pained whisper. “I mean, I loved my life in Denver—the hustle and the excitement of working on the latest, hottest trends, but you’re right. I belong here. I just want to slow down and feel, you know?”

The urge to tune into feelings again was a familiar one.

“I get it,” I said. “And I’m happy to help you with that.”

“While you’re here,” she shot back. “Because you’re leaving, right? Did you hear back yet?”

“How about we focus on the here and now,” I said softly, pulling her close and kissing the top of her head. “Speaking of now, what time is it?”

Fiona pulled her phone out of her back pocket. “Five forty-five.”

“Shit, I’m gonna be late to get Patrick. He’s with my dad because my mom was busy today with her quilting group. I’m sorry that I have to …” I gestured between us awkwardly.

“What? Fuck and run?”

I laughed. “Yeah, that.”

“Go get your monkey, I understand.”

I rested my pointer finger beneath Fiona’s chin and raised it up. I kissed her gently on the mouth, and it was so delicious that I could feel more stirring below my waist. I groaned and pulled away, not wanting to have to deal with blue balls during my drive.

After saying goodbye, I sped out the door still in a haze over what had just happened. Obviously, something had changed between us when we’d made love, but it was more than that. Fiona seemed different. More grounded, like her decision to stay had trickled over into every part of her. Sure, she’d been over-the-top at the fundraiser, but thatwas an act. When it was the two of us—when it was real—everything felt …perfect.

I hopped into my truck. There was no denying it, I had feelings for Fiona. But I’d mapped out my future with Patrick, and Poplar Springs wasn’t a part of it.

As I sped down the road toward my father’s house, I had to ask myself … was it the right decision?

TWENTY-NINE

FIONA

Igrabbed the bag with some of the feral apples I kept from the ride and wandered into the house, suddenly feeling ravenously hungry. We’d eaten a light lunch out on the trail, but horseback riding all day followed by three orgasms meant I’d burned a lot of calories and I needed to eat. Now.

The house was quiet, and when I looked outside, I realized I was alone. Shannon’s car wasn’t parked next to my Nissan and Josh had already left for the day. I had the house to myself. I opened the fridge hoping to find something easy to eat. Finally, I grabbed an apple, biting into the sweet, juicy fruit as I headed upstairs to take a shower. Maybe once I was clean and comfortable, I could think clearly enough to figure out a full meal instead of just a snack.

In the bathroom, I turned the water on, twisted the temperature control to hot, and waited for the water to start steaming up while I stripped down. It’d been sweet of Eli to use a condom without me even having to bring it up. Everything had happened so quickly, I hadn’t had the chance to tell him I was on birth control. I wondered if he would have stopped if he didn’t have one with him. As much as it would havepained the both of us, I was sure he would have tried to step back if he thought that that was what he needed to do to protect me. Thankfully we were covered both ways.

The bathroom mirror was steamed over when I stepped into the shower, hissing at the scalding water at first until my body got used to it. Standing under the pelting flow, I closed my eyes, reliving our time in the tack room. It was rare that I had more than two orgasms in one session, but Eli had managed to drag three almost-screaming ones out of me and if we hadn’t been at risk of getting caught, I probably could have had more.

Leave it to Eli to make sure I’d received my pleasure before he had his. Even when we were functioning as frenemies in school, he was always looking out for me. I rubbed my chest to sooth away the sudden angst that hit me at the realization that I hadn’t been nearly so considerate back then. I’d always been more concerned about the prank’s delivery than the recipient.

“Wow, way to be a jerk, Cafferty,” I said aloud as I washed my hair.

“What did you say?” someone asked and I shrieked, wobbling on my feet and grabbing the shower curtain to cover my body. I peeked out to see Shannon using the toilet.

“What the hell? You know we have more than one bathroom, right?” I shouted at her.

My sister shrugged where she sat. “Toilet seat is broken in mine and I had to pee too badly to go back downstairs.”

I rolled my eyes and made a shooing gesture. “Okay, fine. You’ve peed, now get out so I can finish my shower in peace.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Shannon pulled up her pants and washed her hands. Before she left, she gave me a mischievous look right before she flushed the toilet. I gritted my teeth as the water instantly got hotter.She laughed as she opened the door and cool air wafted in, making me shiver. “Hurry up before you empty the hot water heater. I brought back takeaway from Charlie’s Pride. You up for some chicken and ribs?”

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