Page 46 of Worth the Wait

He responded again, but I was already back on the road, my phone tossed onto the seat next to me. Glancing over at Jasper, I realized that I should probably drop him off at the house. Who knew how long I’d be drowning my sorrows at the bar for? And Bella had yelled at me the last time I brought him inside.

“Gotta take you home, boy. Sorry,” I apologized to my dog like I was hurting his feelings somehow.

I actually hated leaving him behind. It was rare when Jasper couldn’t go with me to wherever I was going. And whenever I was gone, all he did was sit on the couch and stare out the window the entire time, just waiting for me to come back. Nothing made him happier than having me home.

I wondered if that was how I looked to Addi. Just a boy, waiting for his owner to come back and play with him again.

And now, I’m comparing myself to my damn dog.

But I couldn’t ignore the similarities. Hadn’t I been basically staring out the window the last few years, waiting for her to pull into the driveway so I could wag my proverbial tail once more and give her kisses to welcome her home?

I rolled my eyes and shook my head in some vain attempt to stop from sounding like a fool. Even if only to myself. But seeing Addi in pictures over the last few years had been one thing. Having her here in the flesh took my damn breath away.

I’d planned on playing it cool, like her dad had suggested, but when it came right down to it, I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t sit back and wait. I couldn’t stay away from her. And when I saw her for the first time in almost four years, I sure as hell couldn’tnottouch her.

My lack of self-control shocked me at first. But the second she was in my arms, my skin felt like it was on fire, our chemistry igniting like it had been simmering on a stove the entire time we’d been apart. All it took was one measly touch to bring it back to life in full force, the inferno inside of me raging out of control once more.

I’d thought I had every single thing about Addi committed to memory, but the mind was a funny thing. It could be tricked, warped, and manipulated. It could be lied to, exaggerated, or just plain wrong.

I’d forgotten things. Like the way she avoided eye contact whenever she was nervous. Or the exact shade of her eyes when the sun hit them and the way they lightened or darkened depending on what she wore.

Or how perfectly her body melded into mine. She’d always fit there like she had been made for me, but I’d grown since she’d been gone, filled out in ways that might have made her not fit me anymore. But she still did. Our bodies curved and sloped and dipped perfectly together.

Seeing her reminded me of just how badly I wanted her in my life. I’d thought I knew. I’d thought I had it figured out, but being in her presence blew it all to hell.

I needed to be buried inside of her the way I needed all of my internal organs to work in order to stay alive. Without Addi, I was existing on some kind of life support… alive, but not really living.

After filling up Jasper’s food and water bowls, I headed back out to my truck and over to the saloon, where I knew my brother was waiting for me. Glancing up at one of my second-story windows, I spotted Jasper’s head as he watched me drive away, looking somber.

This dog and I were the same.

When I pulled into the gravel lot at the saloon, I tried to find Matthew’s giant truck before spotting it, away from all the other cars toward the rear. The guy did not like getting his precious vehicle dinged. I maneuvered next to his monstrosity and parked, noting the vast differences between our two trucks as I hopped out.

When I pushed through the door, Matthew leaped off of the barstool where he sat and pulled me in for a hug. “Everything okay?”

He was so damn affectionate sometimes.

“Addi’s here.”

His arms dropped to his sides as he leveled me with a look. “Here, here? Like in Sugar Mountain?”

In all the chaos and rush of Jeremiah getting hurt, I’d forgotten to tell either one of my brothers that she was coming home. Or maybe I hadn’t forgotten so much as kept it to myself for the time being, which had been all of twenty-four hours.

Matthew grabbed me by the arm and tugged me toward the row of barstools. I hated that he was taller than I was. When he plopped back down on his seat and I did the same next to him, Bella appeared.

“Thanks for not bringing the dog this time.” She grinned, and I knew I’d made the right decision by leaving Jasper at home, even if I hated doing it. “So, to what do I owe the pleasure? You’re never here, Patrick. Well, rarely,” Bella added.

Matthew stared at her like he might climb over the bar and mount her in front of everyone. Either that or piss all over her leg to mark his territory.

“Addison’s here,” Matthew whispered, and Bella’s eyes grew wide.

Every single person in Sugar Mountain knew my and Addi’s history. And apparently, they all had an opinion on it. Even Bella, who was years younger than we were, knew what her being home meant to me.

“So, beer or something stronger?” Her expression was filled with sympathy, like my heart might roll right out of my chest and onto the bar top if she didn’t help me numb it.

“Stronger,” Matthew and I both answered at the same time.

“Do you have a preference?” she asked.

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