“Tripp?” she mumbled, her sleepy eyes slowly opening. I moved a little so I could hover over her just a bit. Her pretty eyes squinted at me through the dim lighting in our bedroom. “What time is it?”

  A shiver wracked her frame, and I tugged her tighter to me once I laid back down. “Like three in the morning, sweetheart,” I rumbled, pressing a kiss to her neck. She shivered again, but I was pretty sure it wasn’t from the cooler air of the room that time. “Go back to sleep.”

  She rolled onto her other side so she was facing me, her sleepy eyes meeting mine. Unable to help myself, I reached up and tenderly brushed her dark hair back from her face before running my fingers over her cheek. She cuddled closer to me, her hands brushing my chest. My body came alive at her touch, and I prayed she didn’t notice. Or if she did, I hoped she didn’t freak out.

  “Kiss me, Tripp?” she quietly asked.

  She was going to snap my restraint. Completely demolish it. Especially when she asked it in that sweet way. She was asking me to kiss her as if I didn’t dream of kissing her every second of every day lately.

  I groaned and leaned forward, molding our lips together. She was warm and pliant beneath me, her lips soft and welcoming. Sighing, I drew her closer, no longer caring if she could feel how badly I needed her. Wanted her.

  I desperately wanted to consume her. It was an all-consuming need—one I could barely think past.

  I forced myself to pull back, my chest already heaving. A low whine left her throat as she pulled my face back to hers, her tongue slipping into my mouth. I groaned, my fingers digging into the soft flesh of her thigh. She hitched her leg on top of mine, and a guttural groan crawled up my throat.

  This had to stop now. She may be my wife, but I couldn’t do this to her. I couldn’t have her hate me come morning.

  “Ever, you need to rest. Your concussion—”

  “Please,” she begged me. I swallowed thickly. “I’m your wife, and I think I’m falling in love with you, Tripp,” she murmured. My eyes snapped open. The light of the fire flickered in her eyes and over her flushed skin.

  God, she was beautiful.

  And wrecking my restraint.

  “Baby—” I rasped.

  She slid her palms under my shirt, and I trembled as if magic had burst from her fingertips. “I’m asking you to make love to me, Tripp Walker.”

  Groaning, I covered her mouth with mine again, rolling her to her back. She parted her thighs, allowing me to settle between them. Our breaths mingled together as I raised up to look down at her. “Are you absolutely sure?” I could only deny myself for so long. This was her last chance to put an end to this and let us just go back to sleep.

  She nodded, her hands sliding into my hair to tug me back down to her. Her lips brushed mine as she said, “Right now, you’re the only thing I’m absolutely sure of.”

  And damn if that didn’t undo me.

  CHAPTER 15

  Everlee

  It took two days, but the blizzard finally passed. And during that time, Tripp made love to me—a lot. My body was pleasantly sore. I liked that I could still sort of still feel him hours after we’d gotten up.

  He pressed a kiss to my cheek and grabbed his thermos of coffee off the counter in front of me that I’d just finished making for him. It was going to be so weird to not have him in the house with me all day after we’d been holed up together for the last couple of days.

  “I need to go help my brothers. No doubt, we’ve got a bit of clean-up to do. I probably won’t be back until tonight. Make sure you follow your schedule, and text me every time you eat, check your sugars—”

  I turned and cupped his cheeks. “I know,” I assured him. No one was staying with me today, and I knew it had his nerves on edge. But like he said—there was clean-up to do. It was all hands on deck.

  Leaning up on my tiptoes, I pressed my lips to his. “Be careful out there.”

  He flashed me a grin that warmed my insides. “I will. I promise.” He pecked my lips like he couldn’t resist having one more taste before he stepped back and headed out of the kitchen. A moment later, I heard the front door shut, announcing his departure. I sighed and grabbed my phone.

  I needed to check in with Charlie. It had been too long since I’d talked to her. I knew she was busy, so I was hoping I could catch her on a break or before she headed to her first job of the day.

  “Everlee?” she asked when she answered. “Girl, I miss you soooo much,” she groaned.

  I smiled, my chest squeezing. God, I missed her. Not having her near was like missing a limb, honestly. We’d been attached at the hip since the day we met. “Everything okay?” I asked her.

  “Yes.” She sighed. “Working a lot, but everything’s going smoothly,” she assured me. “How are things with you and that hot cowboy?”

  I laughed, my cheeks warming. “We’re great,” I assured her. “We just got snowed in by a blizzard. Today is the first day he’s been able to go outside.”

  “Ooooh,” Charlie teased, and my cheeks flushed. “And what did you and Mr. Hottie get up to while you were snowed in together?”

  I sat on the couch and wrapped a blanket around me. My cheeks were on fire even though it was just me in the house and no one could overhear our conversation. “We, um, kind of…had sex?” I said, though it came out as more of a question.

  “Oh, my God!” Charlie squealed so loudly, I had to pull my phone away from my ear until she stopped. I was pretty sure I had a little bit of hearing damage now. “I knew you couldn’t resist him! How was it? Give me all the juicy details.”

  Blushing, I began to spill everything—how I wound back up in the hospital two more times, how he’d been there with me the entire time. The strict schedule he and his brothers had me on. How well Tripp was taking care of me and how easy it was for me to fall in love with him. And then, I told her about the night he made love to me for the first time.

  “I am so jealous of you right now,” she confessed, her voice revealing she was swooning on the other end. “But I am so happy for you, Everlee. You deserve everything good in your life after everything you’ve been through.”

  My cheeks warmed, and my chest tightened at her sweet words. “Thank you,” I murmured. “It means a lot to hear you say that.”

  She sighed a moment later. “Crap.” I could hear her fumbling around. “I need to get ready for work. I promise I’ll try to call more often. I’m just always exhausted.”

  I frowned, worried for her. “Charlie, I don’t need you to reach out to me if it means you lose out on sleep or a meal. Always take care of yourself first.” I wished she would let me and Tripp help her. She shouldn’t be handling all the bills on her own, but she kept refusing.

  “You, too, girl. No more hospital trips, you hear me? I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  I set my phone down on the coffee table and sighed, leaning my head back. I really missed my best friend. I just hoped she eventually found someone who would take some of the load off her back. I knew Tripp had tried numerous times to help pay for some of her bills since I wasn’t there anymore, but she wasn’t having it.

  Stubborn woman, she was.

  I heaved myself up from the couch and headed into the kitchen to make a breakfast of scrambled eggs and gluten-free toast. Once it was made, I sent a picture of my plate of food as well as my sugar levels to Tripp before digging in.

  Good girl. Proud of you.

  Good Lord. Be still, my heart.

  One day, his praise was going to make my heart explode.

  CHAPTER 16

  Everlee

  There was a lot of storm damage on the ranch, and I was growing increasingly bored by the day since I was by myself from sun up to sun down. I’d read all of the books Tripp and his brothers had gotten me on their last run into town. Charlie was too busy with work to really talk. There was only so much baking and sleeping and TV-watching a woman could do.

  My phone rang on the coffee table, and I quickly leaned forward to grab it, smiling at Tripp’s name on my screen. I quickly lifted the phone to my ear. “Hey,” I greeted him.

  He chuckled. “Hey yourself, sweetheart. Nash did a peak-in on you.” I scoffed. Of course, he did. I hadn’t even noticed. “He said you look miserable.” His voice softened, making me feel all fuzzy inside. “You okay?”

  I sighed. “Just bored out of my mind,” I told him honestly.

  He hummed, and that sound went all the way down to my chest and burrowed into my heart, soothing me. It was one of the little things he did when he was thinking, and I loved it. “Can I trust you to drive into town and still take care of yourself?” he asked me. He didn’t ask it condescendingly. I knew he was just worried about me. I’d had a ton of scares since I’d been here.

  “Yes,” I promised him, almost giddy at the prospect of being able to go into town and explore. I hadn’t really been well enough to do so since I got here. “I’ll be extra careful, and I’ll check in with you just like I’ve been doing.”

  “Okay. Drive safe. My keys to the truck are hanging by the door.”

  “I will,” I promised him, jumping off the couch to go get dressed in warmer clothes. I couldn’t wait to see what the town down the mountain had to offer.

  Tripp

  I hummed under my breath, tapping my fingers on the steering wheel as I made my way into town to pick up a couple of new fence posts and some new fencing…and to also check in on Everlee because I was overbearing and overprotective. But at least I could admit it.

  She’d checked in with me when she ate lunch, and the last text I got said she found the bookstore. I hadn’t bothered her, wanting her to enjoy herself, but I was hungry, and I was hoping she would be open to giving me her company while I ate at the local diner.

  My newer truck was easy to spot, parked in front of the bookstore. I swung into the space beside it before shutting my older truck off and swinging out, quickly making my way to the door. I could see Everlee sitting in a plush chair in a corner, a cup of coffee in front of her, her nose buried in a book.

  The bell above my head jingled, and Mrs. Tristan, the bookstore owner who was in her sixties, smiled warmly at me. “Hello, Tripp,” she greeted. “Here to pick up some more books?”

  I shook my head. “Just here to see if I can steal away my wife for a little while.”

  Her mouth dropped open in surprise. “Wife?” she asked in astonishment. Guessed the gossip hadn’t spread to her yet. It was slow moving considering I hadn’t been seen in public with Everlee yet except trips to the doctor and the hospital.

  I just smiled at her before I headed toward Everlee. She still hadn’t looked up at me, engrossed in whatever romance novel she was reading. A soft smile tilted my lips. She was so beautiful like this, wrapped up in a book. In her element.

  “Hey, baby,” I murmured as I approached. She jerked her head up in surprise, and then a wide, beaming smile spread across her beautiful face, momentarily knocking me breathless. She had me wrapped around her pretty little finger, and she had no clue.

  “Hey,” she breathed. She grabbed a bookmark resting on her thigh and placed it in her book before closing it. “Checking on me?” she teased.

  I laughed and shook my head, lying without saying a word out loud. I hadn’t come into town just to check on her, but she was part of the reason. “Had to come into town for supplies, but I’m also starving. I know you’ve already eaten, but care to join me anyway?”

  I held my hand out to her, and my chest warmed when she placed her hand in mine. “I’d love to.”

  I gently pulled her to her feet and grabbed her coffee for her before leading her out of the bookstore, nodding once with a smile at Mrs. Tristan. After I opened the passenger door of the truck I drove into town in, I helped her into the cab before closing the door and crossing around the hood to get in on the driver’s side.

  “You enjoying yourself so far?” I asked her.

  She nodded. “The bookstore is my favorite, but the town is very quaint. Personable, too.”

  I reached over and grabbed her hand in mine once I backed out of the parking stall onto the street. “Everyone here knows me and my brothers. My parents were well-liked here, and in turn, we are, too.”

  She looked over at me, her pretty, dark eyes latching onto mine for a brief moment before I looked back at the road. “What happened to them, if you don’t mind me asking?”

  I sighed, that familiar ache blooming in my chest when I thought of my parents and the car accident that took them out. Just like Everlee’s parents.

  “They died in a car accident when I turned eighteen,” I quietly told her. “I took custody of my younger brothers. Finished raising them. Of all things, it was one of our own cows that caused the accident.” I shook my head, laughing quietly at the chances. She squeezed my hand in hers. “The fence line was broken. None of us knew it. And it got out and walked right in front of them. Dad should’ve hit the damn thing, but he didn’t. He tried to swerve, and it was snowing, so he lost control, and they smashed into the tree line.”

  “Oh, Tripp,” she said quietly. “I’m so sorry.”

  I shrugged. “I’ve had a lot of years to come to terms with what happened to them. And I know they lived long, happy, full lives despite the accident. I had to grow up fast. Finish raising my brothers while also trying to finish college and run a multi-million dollar ranch, but I never gave up.”

  She leaned over and pressed her lips to my cheek. I shivered. “Of course, you didn’t.” She cupped my cheek and turned my head to face her once I slid into a park in front of the diner. Her eyes were wet with tears as she gazed at me, making my heart ache. She always felt everything so strongly—and so beautifully. “You’re one of the strongest people I’ve ever known, Tripp. It’s one of the reasons I love you so much.”

  I released her hand and clasped her face, brushing my thumbs over her cheeks. “You mean that?” I rasped.

  A tear slid down her cheek, wetting my index finger. “I do, Tripp. I love you. I think, despite how much you got on my nerves at first, I’ve been falling for you since day one. I know I’ve been a lot of work, and I can be extremely stubborn at times, but you never gave up. You never walked away, and you never let me walk away either.”

  I crushed my mouth to hers, unable to help myself. I couldn’t believe she was giving me this amazing gift, but I’d cherish and protect her love for as long as I lived.

  “I love you,” I rasped against her sweet mouth. “I’ve loved you since the moment I laid my eyes on you,” I swore.

  She sighed and pressed her lips to mine again, and just like that, we were making out in the front seat of my truck like a couple of teenagers, giving the entire town a show.

  I couldn’t bring myself to care.

  CHAPTER 17

  Everlee

  Ibeamed at the FaceTime call, my best friend’s goofy picture lighting up the screen. Not wanting to miss this opportunity to finally actually see her, I quickly swiped to answer. “Hey!” I exclaimed. My smile immediately dimmed when I saw how tired Charlie looked. “Charlie?” I questioned, my voice softening.

  She burst into tears. My eyes widened in shock. Charlie wasn’t one to get teary—not unless something was really bothering her. I hated being halfway across the country and unable to wrap her in my arms and hold her. She was alone right now, and that knowledge settled in my gut like a stone.

  “Charlie, whatever it is, tell me, and I’ll get it fixed,” I swore.

  She sniffled and shook her head before wiping the sleeve of her long-sleeve shirt under her nose. I bit back my grimace. I hated when she did that, and she knew it. “I have something I need to tell you, and you might want to be sitting down before I do.”

  Tripp walked into the kitchen, and when Charlie didn’t even say anything about finally seeing what he looked like, I knew it was going to be bad. Nerves swirled in my gut, coiling tightly like a rattlesnake. I quickly slid onto a barstool, my hand shaking so badly now, Tripp had to take the phone from me and lean it up against our paper towel holder. Then silently, like the perfect husband he was, he placed his hand on my lower back, his heat burning through my sweatshirt, settling me a little.

  But who was there to help Charlie?

  “I, um…” Her voice trailed off. “God, this is hard.” She sniffled again, another tear running down her cheek. She wiped it away before staring at me with glassy eyes. “I joined the army, Ever.”

  For a moment, I couldn’t seem to process her words. I stared at her, unmoving, for a good minute. But when her words finally settled into my brain, every muscle in my body locked up tight. Tears burned down my cheeks as I silently began to cry.

  “Charlie, whatever is happening, we can help,” I cried, desperate for her not to join. The military was dangerous. It didn’t matter what contract she’d signed, what job she chose to do, it was dangerous. “Charlie—”

  “It’s too late, Ever.” She hiccuped. I shook my head, my bottom lip trembling. “I knew you’d try to talk me out of it—and might even accomplish it—so I did everything before telling you. I ship out to basic training in a couple of weeks.”

  I dropped my face into my hands, my shoulders shaking. Tripp rubbed his hand up and down my back but otherwise remained silent. After a moment, I lifted my head to look at her. “Why didn’t you ask for help?” I croaked. “I—we—would’ve helped in a heartbeat.”

  She shook her head at me. “It’s time for me to figure things out, Ever. This might hurt to hear, but I didn’t want you to save me this time.” My lips trembled because it did hurt. “You’ve bent over backward for years to make sure we had everything we needed. Because of you, I was able to attend online classes for college. You’re the reason I’m going into the military with a degree rather than starting out as an E1.” A wobbly smile tilted her lips. “You finally got your happily-ever-after, Ever, and you deserve it so much.” I sobbed. “Now, it’s time for me to go find mine.”

 

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