Page 25 of Bryson's Treasure

Chapter 10

Bryson’s alarmsounded too early. He hadn’t slept well throughout the night. His thoughts turned to Lynn every time he closed his eyes. A few times over, he stopped himself from getting out of bed and knocking on her door. He wondered if she was asleep or thinking about him as much as he was about her.

Would she want to stay in Eagle Ridge? How does she feel about having kids?She had mentioned a few times that she missed writing code. Would living on a ranch be enough for her?

The longer he laid in bed, the more his mind wandered to questions he couldn’t answer, and if he thought about her beautiful body, his mind went straight to sex.

Bryson could hear the laughter coming from downstairs. He rose from bed and grabbed a pair of shorts from the floor. He thought about Lynn’s body for a second, and he was hard. A cold shower called his name before he went downstairs. It was the only thing that could get his body back under control.

He needed to start thinking about what would happen next. Kara’s house was a good size, but he didn’t want to stay under the same roof as his brother and Matilda. The way Noah looked at Matilda, it was only a matter of time before he asked her to marry him. The newlyweds wouldn’t want them underfoot. But moving would be hard with Azadeh starting school in a few weeks.

Tonight he would broach the subject of what Lynn wanted to do and where she would love to live.

With each day that passed, he felt the connection growing between him and Lynn. He loved to sit back and watch her play with Azadeh. He knew he wasn’t the only one attached to Lynn. Azadeh sat next to her any second she could. Azadeh was also like a little sponge, taking in any information Lynn told her.

Bozeman wasn’t too far away, and he planned to take Lynn out for a nice dinner. Noah had agreed to watch Azadeh for the day and night. Since her rescue, Lynn hadn’t left Eagle Ridge. He figured a night out on the town would be fun for them both.

He grabbed a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved shirt before heading into the bathroom. His shower was quick and cold. Hopefully he would be able to keep his body in line for the remainder of the day.

Bryson went down the old staircase toward the kitchen. The sound of Azadeh giggling brought a smile to his face. When he rounded the corner, she was doing a silly dance at the head of the table.

Noah stood at the stove, one arm wrapped around Matilda, the other flipping pancakes.

Lynn sat at the table, sipping a cup of coffee. When she heard his footsteps, she turned, and her pretty blue eyes landed on him. She gave him a welcoming smile before pulling out the chair next to her. “Come join us. Azadeh was showing us a dance she learned from a YouTube video.” She pushed Azadeh’s tablet toward him and whispered, “We might need to look at parental controls for what she watches. She’s trying to mimic a rap video she found.”

“I never thought about parental controls.” Bryson logged into YouTube on the iPad and quickly changed the settings. “Fixed.” He sighed. “I really should’ve done that before I gave it to her.”

Lynn touched his forearm, and awareness went through his body. The cold shower did nothing to help with his desire to be with her.

“I wouldn’t have thought of it either,” Lynn said. “But kids seem to figure out technology faster than adults, even ones who use technology every day.”

“I agree.” Noah walked over and set a stack of pancakes on the table. It was enough to feed an army. “The younger guys becoming agents always have the tech figured out within seconds.”

Bryson nodded, understanding what his brother was talking about when it came to the younger generation. Each recruit in his unit would come in eager to add their knowledge to help. Bryson would miss working alongside his brothers, but it was time to start a new chapter in his life. One thing he knew for sure was he wanted Lynn to be part of that life going forward. She looked up at him and smiled before putting a pancake and bacon on Azadeh’s plate. The young girl could eat as much as him some days, and she dug into the fluffy pancake before taking a sip of her milk.

Matilda walked over to the table and handed him a cup of black coffee, just the way he liked it. Coffee was the perfect thing to go with the cold Montana morning.

“Thank you!”

“I still don’t know how you drink it like that.” Lynn smiled before taking a sip of her coffee filled with sugar and milk.

“Some places where I was stationed didn’t have access to all the things you like in your coffee,” Bryson said. “It was easier to drink it black if I had it at all.”

“Right there is the reason I stopped drinking coffee. Most of the time, it tasted closer to motor oil than coffee.” Noah shook his head before taking a gulp of his orange juice.

Azadeh popped the last piece of pancake into her mouth. “More, please.”

Lynn reached over and gave her another one. It wasn’t long before Noah was telling a story about his time in the military and Azadeh was laughing at something he’d done.

Noah rested his elbows on the table. “Azadeh, do you think you could spend a day away from your cat and come with Matilda and me? We wanted to do some Christmas shopping.”

“Yes.” Then she reached out and grabbed Lynn’s hand. “You come with too.”

Bryson didn’t wait for Lynn to reply. “Not today, Azadeh. Lynn and I are going to do some of our own shopping. We can’t get you a gift when you’re along.”

“I don’t need anything. I like living here enough.”

He hated how she always felt she was a burden to him. Over time, he knew she would start to feel like part of the family and not someone he had saved who now owed him.

---