Page 52 of Inevitable

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Sunday, September 10th

Claire sat on the porch and listened to the water of Lake Pontchartrain slosh against the stilts of the cabin. It was so peaceful with the whisper of wildlife moving around in the morning. Lifting her eyes, she saw a bald eagle make a slow pass over the trees to the east, then make a sharp turn and dive into the wetlands. She figured breakfast was about to be served for the majestic bird.

Pushing her feet against the floor, she tipped her rocking chair and let its gentle rocking motion calm her fluttering heart. The things she’d done with Brady last night were beyond anything she’d ever imagined. Which might be saying more about her lack of creativity than she cared to admit. The places he’d taken her when she submitted to him were filled with an intensity she hadn’t known existed. They created their own little bubble and the connection they had with one another made her feel there was no separation between his skin and hers. No line of demarcation that would tell you whose soul was whose.

To think a random act of violence could’ve ended that was unbelievable. Had she not thought her undies needed an upgrade, they never would’ve been in the mall. But she had and that put them smack-dab in the middle of the tragedy. And who’s to say that’s not exactly how it was supposed to happen? After all, Brady’s presence had probably saved countless lives. Who knows what could’ve happened had the shooter been allowed to continue? He certainly would’ve killed his ex-wife and God knew who else.

So, it was like most things: meant to be.

It certainly had put her and Brady in a situation that fast-tracked their relationship. Living with someone told you pretty quickly whether it was going to work or not. And the time she’d spent in his house had been nothing short of terrific. Stretching her legs out, she let out a small laugh. Okay, not completely terrific, considering he’d been hovering like a drone until she asked him to back off. But since last week, it had certainly been one hundred percent amazing. Seemed giving him the green light to fully express his feelings worked out for both of them.

The many, many hours they’d spent in bed had proven that a hundred times over. If they were not at work, then they’d been at home acting like bunnies. Thinking about what happened in the laundry room alone was enough to make her cheeks red. Fanning her face, she cleared her throat and tried to think of something other than Brady’s amazing…ness.

So, here she was, miracle of miracles, in love. With, by all accounts, a very fine man. A man who could easily be described as a hero. Why the whole thing made her slightly uncomfortable was not a puzzle that she couldn’t put together.

Her early years had conditioned her to believe that the people she loved got taken away. By no fault of anyone’s. It simply was. So, having Brady in her life made her wonder when the other shoe was going to drop. When was he going to be taken away?

Thinking like that didn’t do her any good and she knew it. But knowing something in your head didn’t always mean that your heart and soul got the message. There was a lag and she was definitely experiencing it.

As much as she wanted to grab ahold of the man and the love he was giving her, she almost couldn’t. Which was self-sabotage at its finest. There was a little part of her brain that suggested if she didn’t totally give in to it, then it couldn’t be taken away. Which was not how the world worked.

Unfortunately, that was a war in her head that had yet to be won. Didn’t mean that she wasn’t going to continue, but it was a battle nonetheless.

Courage—she needed a ton of it if she hoped to make anything with the man asleep inside the cabin. Hearing the door scrape open, she turned around and saw Brady stretching in his boxer briefs. A blessed event if ever there was one. Watching his rippling muscles move as he pressed his arms against the top of the door frame reminded her she needed to make it to church soon so that she could thank the good Lord for the man who was mere inches away. “Morning.”

“It sure is,” he commented as he stepped out onto the porch. He stood behind her chair and rested his hands against her shoulders. See anything interesting this morning?”

“A bald eagle and that’s about it. I was hoping to see the elusive alligator snapping turtle. But no luck so far.”

“Let’s take a walk through the park before we head back to pick up our dogs.”

“Sounds good.” Standing, she moved around her chair and found herself inside Brady’s arms. About the best place to be in the world, as far as she was concerned. His sleep-warmed skin felt wonderful against the morning chill, so she burrowed in as far as she could. His scent surrounded her and she felt her heartbeat slow down. The worries that floated around when they were apart seemed to disappear when she was holding on, so she figured it might be a good idea to hold on. As best she good.

As tight as she could.

***

Brady held Claire’s hand as they strolled under a canopy of live oaks draped in Spanish moss. They had just finished their picnic lunch and were enjoying the area before they made their way back to Mandeville to pick up their dogs.

“These old oaks are so beautiful with their mantle of decoration dripping off their branches. Kind of reminds me of some of the lessons that the nuns tried to drill into our heads back in grade school.”

“What do you mean?” Brady asked.

“I don’t know. It’s almost sensual the way the moss covers the oaks. Lusty and greedy. Two of the seven deadly sins.”

“Lust and greed get you every time. I know I’m well under their spell when it comes to you.”

Laughing, she squeezed his hand. “I’m going to take that as a compliment.”

“I hope you do. I’m not real reasonable when it comes to you, so I’m probably pretty much stuck with what I’ve got going on. Hell, I should just embrace the damn devil on my shoulder and be done with it.”

“And what is that devil telling you to do?”

“Dirty, delicious things to the woman I love.”

“Yeah, you might want to keep him close and see what he has to say because the things we’ve done in the last week are downright amazing.”

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