Page 41 of Coming Home Country
The world hadn’t felt this right in a very long time, and I was desperate to hold on.
“Okay.”
Curling an arm around my waist, he guided me toward the tree he’d been propped up against earlier. Lowering himself to the ground, he held his hand out to help me down, situating me between his open thighs, my back to his front. Once I was settled, he yanked his sleeping bag over us both before pulling me close.
I let out a contented sigh, my limbs growing heavy along with my eyelids.
My last thought before sleep pulled me under was:I’m home.
Voices murmuring nearby had me cracking an eye open. The sky was just beginning to lighten with the sun rising over the horizon, and the first thing I saw was a pair of boots. Frowning, I shifted my gaze upward to discover Mac with his arms looped around Aspen’s waist from behind, the pair of them staring down at me with loopy grins on their faces.
Then, a shift from beneath me had me remembering last night, and I realized I was sprawled out across Tucker’s prone form.
Heat rose to my cheeks, and my sleep-roughened voice rasped, “Mornin’.”
Aspen playfully elbowed Mac in the ribs. “Told you that you were being too loud. You woke her up.”
Remorse flickered over Mac’s features. “Sorry, Bex.”
Tucker’s steady breathing told me he was still asleep, so I stayed still, not ready to leave the comfort of his arms.
“How long have you two been watching on like creeps?”
Mac checked his watch. “About half an hour.”
I shot a glare at my best friend. “Seriously? Don’t you two have better things to do?”
“Did ’em last night. Why do you think we slept on the other side of the house from the campsite?” Mac tossed me a wink.
“Lord have mercy.” Aspen groaned, rolling her eyes, but the flush rising up her neck betrayed there was some truth to Mac’s words. To me, she said, “I’ve seen this show before, but it was Mac’s first time, so I decided to indulge him.” Gaze softening as it swept over me, tangled up in Tucker, she smiled. “Is this the part where you ask me for five more minutes?”
I snuggled into the man beneath me. “If you don’t mind.”
Threading her fingers with Mac’s, she led him away, tossing over her shoulder, “We’ll get a head start on breakfast. Take your time.”
Their footfalls crunched on the frost-tipped grass as they moved away from our resting spot.
“Thought they’d never leave.” Tucker’s husky voice had my head lifting to meet his blue eyes which were full of life for the first time since my return.
I arched an eyebrow. “And just how long have you been awake?”
His palm found the exposed skin at the small of my back, making heat curl low in my belly. “Long enough to know I never want to let you go.”
It was a good thing I was lying down because those words would have knocked me over.
Releasing a sigh, I closed my eyes, wishing with all my might that we could stay like this forever.
Aspen pulled her horse, Snowflake, alongside mine on our ride back across the ranch toward the barn. Eyes darting behind me to where I knew Tucker was riding, she kept her voice low. “What happened last night?”
I shrugged, attempting to play it cool. “Nothing much.”
She scoffed. “Sure. Looked like a whole lot of ‘nothing much’ from where I was standing.”
Face lifting toward the sun, I basked in the heat it provided.
“Are you seriously holding out on me right now?” There was a hint of indignation in her tone.
My lips curved into a grin. We shared everything, and I meaneverything, with each other. Always had. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy messing with her from time to time.
