Page 19 of Claimed By my Best Friend

I glance around, taking in the rustic charm of the place with old tools hanging on the walls and stacks of hay bales in the corner. There is a faint sound of animals stirring in the nearby stalls. “Dane didn’t tell me that,” Paula whispers at my side as I gesture toward the corner of the room where one hay bale is dropped down.

“Knowing him, he wanted to let me be the one to tell you.”

Paula sits down on the hay bale and pulls her cardigan tighter around her shoulders, and I figure it’s intentional since the barn is not cold. The barn is heated, but still not quite warm. I almost wish the place was colder though, so Paula would lean into me for warmth. I hate the distance I have caused between us. “So…?”

Right.

I pull another hay bale from the stack and take a seat as close to Paula as I expect she’ll allow. I take a breath, then let me the words come without thought. “My parents separated when I was six. They had me young, and my mother didn’t really want to take care of a child, so she skipped town and never looked back.”

Paula’s eyes widen as if the thought of a parent abandoning their child is inconceivable. There is pity in her eyes, and I can tell she wants to hug me but forces herself to stay still. “I’m sorry, Darrell.”

“Me too.” And I am, but it’s something I have long since moved past. At twenty-nine, I haven’t thought about the woman who left. Not when she left me under the care of a bitter drunk of a man. “My father was an alcoholic. He’d always been one, so I can’t blame that on my mother leaving. He and I constantly fought, and I spent more time away than at home.” I am quickly transferred back to those moments where we’d fight over the smallest thing. He’d accuse me of drinking the alcohol he’d downed the previous night, and our fights would stem from that. “Most families in Valor Springs are stable, and I was envious of that, so I started doing things like stealing out of spite. I didn’t need most of the shit I stole.”

“You were caught?”

“Most of the time, no,” I say truthfully. “I got away with it for a while until I was arrested when I was sixteen for stealing amountain bike. This kid kept bragging about it at school, how his parents bought it for his birthday, so I stole it and skipped town. I managed to get to the next town over, but I didn’t have money on me, so I used my sticky fingers to my advantage. Except this time, I was caught and arrested. Spent a few weeks in juvie before I was sent here for community service.”

“That was the first time you were arrested?”

“Yeah, so the sentence was light.” Getting a light sentence didn’t do what they thought it would. No, it only proved I could get away with mischief if I was more careful, and if I did get caught, I could make up for it by tending to some horses. “I was arrested next when I was seventeen for the same shit, and again at nineteen. But all the sentences were light. A fine, community service, it was all nothing I couldn’t handle.”

“What changed?”

The long arm of law finally caught up with me, and it wasn’t as forgiving once I was an adult. “Nine years ago, at twenty, my friends at the time dared me to break into a store. I accepted the challenge, but I was arrogant and sloppy. And when I was arrested, I didn’t think much of it. They were going to give me a slap on the wrist, fine me, and then order me to do more community service is what I thought.”

“But you went to prison?”

“Yes, I was sentenced to serve four years, and after that, I was placed on parole for six months.” I could have gotten a lighter sentence, but the previous convictions were all the judge needed to hear. “Prison was hell, but I decided to change when I realized most of the people in there were repeat offenders, each new charge worse than the last, and I didn’t want that to become my life.” I get up and move to kneel in front of Paula, crouching down so we’re on eye level. “I’m not the same person I was attwenty, Paula. I haven’t gotten into trouble with the law since my release. I have been living an honest life and making an honest living without troubling anyone. Your father… He doesn’t know me. Not really. He saw the rap sheet and made his own judgment based on that.”

“Okay, I can understand this. I know you are not the person my father described, but…” Those green eyes burn into me when they lock on mine. “Why did you hide this from me?”

“I was terrified to lose you,” I admit. Until Paula, no one else mattered. I cared about nothing but keeping my head down and living an honest life. I was content to live the rest of my life in solitude, and I didn’t hate it. At least I didn’t realize how lonely it fucking was until Paula popped into my life. “I was going to tell you about my past at some point, and I should have known you wouldn’t judge me for it. Even so, I didn’t want to risk losing you to the truth.”

Before her, I could have gone on living an empty life, but sheismy life now, and I don’t see a life for me without her in it.

“I’m upset and hurt,” she says, bringing her cool hands to my jaw and cupping the sides of my face, making my heart race. “But I am not going anywhere, Darrell. I believe you when you say that part of your life is over.”

God.A man like me is undeserving of such a precious gift after the life I have lived, but I can’t imagine a moment in my life without her in it.

“Fuck, angel, I thought I lost you,” I breathe, my tone heavy with panic. “I have no fucking idea how I could have gone on without you. I’d probably camp outside your uncle’s property every day for the rest of my life until you forgave me.”

She sighs. “I just needed time to myself to sort out my feelings.”

“And did you sort your feelings out?”

“Yes, with some encouragement from my uncle, of all people.” She laughs, leaning down and pressing her lips on mine. It’s a chaste kiss, a simple brush of lips meant to solidify our bond, but the second her mouth is on mine, I don’t let her pull back. I comb my fingers through her hair and lightly grip her nape, deepening the kiss. A rough grunt climbs up my throat, and Paula whimpers as our tongues wind in a long, desperate kiss.

Mine.

Every inch of this girl is mine. Damn her father and his preconceived ideas of who I am. Paula is mine. To love and protect. She’s my entire world. The one thing in my life I refuse to give up.

“You belong to me, Paula. Only me,” I say roughly, tracing my hand over the slope of her shoulder and down to her breasts. The cardigan falls open, and I fondle her perfect tits over the little dress she has on while devouring her lips like a starved man. Fuck, she’s not wearing a bra under the dress, and I damn near lose my mind as she pushes her tits into my greedy palms. “Marry me, Paula.”

“Uh!” she gasps, pushing back to look at me, but I don’t let her get too far, dropping my forehead down on hers. “Did you just ask me—”

“To spend the rest of your life with me? Yes. I’ve been thinking about it all fucking day.”

Those beautiful greens fill up with tears, and her breathing is unsteady when she speaks. “I will call my uncle to kick your ass if this is some kind of a joke.”

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