Page 9 of Her Mountain Man's Christmas Lie
“Five minutes.”
“Cady, do you think they would hurt you?”
I look up at him. “I honestly don’t know.”
“We need to make sure they know that if something happens to you, the money comes to me. That should help keep you safe. Sheriff Harker is a friend of mine. I’m going to call him and let him know what’s going on and what we found out today. I also want him to know that you’re safe with me. And I’m not letting you out of my sight until this is resolved. Are you okay with that?”
My heart does a happy dance. “Yes. I do feel safe here, and there’s no place else I’d rather be.”
I clock back in but hear the soft drone of his voice from the other room. A peace settles over me. I hadn’t realized the stress I constantly carried because of my mother and sister’s games. Here I feel cared for, safe.
Now if he could only love me like I love him.
The sheriff asks that I send him all my mother’s and sister’s texts and messages, which I do once I’m off. He texts me that he’d like a few minutes to review and we set a time for him to call. As expected, he wants to record our conversation. I agree something has changed with both my mother and sister. It started before Chris died but has escalated since his passing.
Clay isn’t shocked by anything I tell him. He says the two women, in his opinion, have become unstable themselves. Based on reports and comments in town, they aren’t paying their bills and have been shut out at a few places. He thinks they’ve squandered all their money and are living on the edge. Some rumors say drug usage but as of now he has no proof.
“I can tell you that they have started to party together,” I offer.
“Can you elaborate?” the sheriff asks.
“Since husband seven left, Noelle and Mom have started to bar hop together and have friends from both their groups over to the house to drink, eat and party. Somedays I feel like I live in a frat house.”
By the time I’m off the phone, I’m exhausted. Is it too much to just want to live an ordinary life, to love and be loved like a normal person?
Shea steps behind me and massages my shoulders then asks if there’s anything special I want for dinner. He laughs when I say pancakes and bacon.
CHAPTER 7
Séamus ‘Shea’
She’s off work until the day after New Years. Since we’re basically snowed in until the snow stops, hopefully she’ll be able to unwind and relax now. We clean the dishes together and go sit before the fire. Again, she insists on rubbing lotion on my scars. She doesn’t seem repulsed or disgusted by their appearance or the feel of the disfigured skin.
I have noticed how much her massages and the lotion have helped. The skin isn’t as itchy and seems to give more when I move and doesn’t pull as much. More than that, it’s her touch. Gentle, caring, bonding. The human interaction I crave… from her. Only her.
She asks me to turn on music. We both relax on the couch, my feet propped on the coffee table, fire crackling, snow still falling. A scene right out of a Christmas movie. Soon she’s half on my lap, cuddled against my chest, fast asleep. Just like she use to do when she was little, and I was spending time with Chris at their home. So sweet, so fragile. Yet spunky. I adored everything about her then and do even more now. Now I couldn’t love her more. She’s my one.
Noelle was manipulative even as a child. I knew it but being with her kept me close to Chris and Cady. That made me feel like I had a family. Cady was sweet, caring and always ran to me like I was special. Then she started growing up. Her letters were smart, fun and made me laugh. The photographs she sometimes sent proved how beautiful she was growing up to be.
Something in me started to shift in the way I looked at her. My feelings scared me. I worried I was turning into a perve. After all, I’m ten years older. The more the years passed, the more I was attracted to her. I held back because she thought of me as a brother.
When Noelle made a play for me, I knew what she was doing and that she didn’t love me. I didn’t love her. But I let her use me for the things I bought her, the money she borrowed, the status it got her with her friends by dating a military man. I didn’t care about any of that. It was an excuse to be with the family. With Cady.
I’d decided to end the farce and started pulling back. Then Noelle hit me with the baby scare. No one would believe me if they knew we only had sex three times. And I sure as hell wasn’t her first. Noelle was always more tease than anything.
Now she and her mother are going after Cady. Not on my watch. That I won’t stand for.
The music ends and I glance at the clock on the mantel. Almost midnight. “Come on, Cady. Let me help you to bed. It’s late.”
Shifting, I stand then scoop her into my arms with most of her weight on my good arm. “Bed or bathroom?”
“Bathroom,” she mumbles.
When she’s done, I walk her back to the bed and tuck her in. “Good night, love.”
“No. Stay with me.” She clasps my wrist. “Please. I don’t want to be alone tonight. There’s too much going on in my head and my heart. I need you to hold me.”
She doesn’t know what she’s asking. She doesn’t realize how much I want her. How difficult being close to her like this is. How much I long to make her mine.
