Page 78 of His Old Lady

Chapter 27

Faye

The heater kicked onin the silence of the night. The slight hum in the bedroom gave Faye the courage to move Curley's hand off her stomach and slide out of bed. She couldn't sleep.

Sex seemed to have the opposite effect on her than it had on him.

He continued snoring softly in bed. Grabbing one of his T-shirts off the top of the dresser, she slipped the top over her head and walked out to the living room.

Usually, she'd be waking up in an hour. Taking her coffee out to the greenhouse, she'd enjoy the humidity while she started her morning, caring for the plants.

But that wasn't her life anymore.

It would take her time to get used to sleeping with him. Especially since he seemed to want sex if she made the tiniest of wiggles. She bit down on her lip, containing her contentment. Being with him all day and all night was better than she'd ever imagined.

It was as if all her teenage fantasies about him came true.

He showered her with attention, always touching her. She loved how the others took notice that they were together.

She opened the drapes a few inches and stood in front of the window. While she had neighbors on each side of her house and across the street, Curley lived a mile out of Missoula on acreage. The only neighbor was far enough away, and around a slight bend in the road, there were no houses in sight.

She crossed her arms, cupping her elbows. It was too easy to get swept up with the change in Curley that she became distracted from the greenhouse fire. Curley made it easy to lean on him, but it was her responsibility to figure out what she was going to do.

She had counted on selling Grandma June's place once she saved more money, and then purchasing more land—a small cabin would suffice for her since she spent most of her time outside. The plan was to have enough fertile land, two greenhouses, and the right equipment to expand her business, allowing her to work full-time in the nursery.

Uncle Walker had helped her come to the conclusion that she needed to move, even though she was hesitant about selling the house. To be fair, the house was intended to go to him.

As it was looking now, she had no idea if the insurance company would require her to rebuild in the original spot or if she'd be allowed to take the money and start over somewhere else. Would she regain the value of what she'd invested or fall short?

Muscular arms wrapped around her from behind. She leaned her head back. "Did I wake you?"

"Not having you in my bed woke me." He yawned, holding her tighter. "Why aren't you sleeping?"

"Too much on my mind, I think." She relaxed in his arms. "So much has happened, I was hoping I could find two minutes to myself to figure everything out or at least understand what I'm supposed to do going forward."

"That's what I'm here for."

She rubbed his hand, where it cupped her upper arm. "I'm used to doing things for myself."

"But you don't need to anymore. I'm here."

"Hm." She stared out the window, a glow peeked over the farthest ridge, promising the sun would rise.

He turned her around and raised her face. "You don't believe me."

It wasn't a question but a realization. She swallowed. It wasn't her intent to hurt him by continuing to strive for her dreams. She couldn't hand things over to him to take care of. While they weren't strangers, they were two people who lived different lives.

It was only a short time ago that Curley decided to honor his relationship with her. He couldn't expect her to jump in blindly. What if he changed his mind and wanted to go back to living apart and not see each other?

"Grandma June and I spent a lot of time before she died talking about how to expand the nursery. Looking back, I believe she knew what I wanted before I did."

"You were young and shared her love of flowers with her."

She nodded, looking at his neck. He was the only man she knew who wore necklaces. Not one or two, but four of them. When she was little, she used to play with the one chain when he carried her. Through the years, he'd added more.

"I'll figure things out. I'm sort of reeling from everything that has happened." She straightened the necklaces. "You never take these off, do you?"

He grunted, not answering her. "I'm going to start a pot of coffee. Want a cup, or are you going back to bed?"

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