Page 12 of Praised By the Mountain Man

I love him.

And it doesn’t scare me one bit.

Chapter Eight

Luke

After our shower, Tessa and I agree I should run home and change, and switch out the box truck for my normal truck, before Ruby came up and wondered why we both had showered in the time she was downstairs. I press a quick kiss to her lips before heading out the door. She watches me with such affection in her eyes, leaning against the doorway in jeans and a simple white tee, I can’t help but wonder if maybe she’s feeling the same thing for me too.

I definitely love her.I think it over and over on the relatively short drive back to my place, as I run around and change into jeans and a clean white t-shirt with a red and blue patterned flannel over the top. I think it as I hope into my regular car, a simple blue SUV, and drive back to her place.

I have to tell her.

I pull back up to Tessa’s curb to find her and Ruby outside as Ruby rides up and down the sidewalk on her scooter, hair in two pigtail braids with pink ribbons on the end, sticking out of her matching pink helmet. Tessa watches her proudly through her aviator sunglasses and greets me with a massive grin from the front step where she’s watching Ruby.

She pats beside her, and I give her a quick peck before sitting beside her. She wraps her arm through mine and I place a hand on her thigh.

This is what all of our days could look like,I think. I’m about to tell her how I feel when we suddenly hear a high-pitched scream. We’re both off and running down the sidewalk where we spy Ruby. She’s fallen off her scooter and has a nasty scrape on her elbow.

“Rubes!” Tessa yells, “You’re okay, honey, you’re okay,” she says, gathering her sister off the ground and pulling her into her lap.

“Let me grab some first aid stuff,” and before she even has a chance to tell me where it is in her house, I’m opening up my trunk and pulling out the first aid kit I keep in there. I never needed it before, but I’m glad I kept it in there for this moment.

I rush back and sit beside them on the sidewalk. “Come here, Rubes,” I say. She still has tears streaming down her face as she sniffles and crawls out of her sister’s lap and into mine. I’m surprised at her comfort with me, but I don’t mind it one bit.

“This is going to sting a little, will you be okay?” I ask her, unclipping her helmet and running an affectionate hand over her braids. I can’t stand to see her upset, and I know Tessa can’t stand it either.

Ruby nods, lips quivering and I know she’s putting on a brave face. I rub the antiseptic cloth across her wound quickly, and Tessa talks to her, hoping to distract her from the pain.

“What do you want to do after this, Rubes?” Tessa asks her gently.

“Could we go get ice cream?” Ruby answers through sniffles. Tessa lights up at that. “Of course! And we can eat it on that bench at the lake that you like?”

Ruby nods as I lace the band aid over her cut. She turns and gives me a hug. “Thank you, Luke,” she says before sliding back towards her sister. They start whispering to each other and with a parting kiss to her forehead from Tessa, Ruby races back into the house. We both stand and I grab Ruby’s scooter from where she fell while Tessa grabs her helmet.

“Thank you for that, you made her feel much better,” Tessa says when we get back to her front stoop.

“No problem, baby,” I say. “I hated seeing her hurt.”

“Me too,” Tessa says, glancing through the door to see if Ruby is nearby. When she says that she isn’t she falls into my arms, and I’m all too happy to take on her weight. “Sorry,” she says through a small stream of tears. “I just never want anything bad to happen to her ever again,” she laughs, “I know that’s ridiculous, but she’s so young and she’s already been through so much.”

“Hey, look at me,” I say, tangling a hand in her blonde waves and pulling her head back to look up at me. “I know how much you love her, it’s clear in everything you do for her. But you don’t need to worry about protecting her all on your own anymore, because I love you too. I don’t know how, but I knew it that very first day I saw you crying at the bar. Knew that a woman as brave and as clearly broken as you were exactly what I needed, because I’m brave and broken too. And I know it’s only been one day, but when you know, you know. This has been the best day of my life, and I never want to spend another one apart. I love you, Tessa,” I say again.

She looks back at me, eyes still welling with tears. “I—I love you, too, Luke. As soon as I saw you making breakfast with Ruby this morning, I knew you were meant to be in our lives… forever. But I don’t want to burden you. I have Ruby to think about and if you think you can’t be involved in her life, then I need to know.”

“I love Ruby too, Tessa. She’s a perfect kid and every second I’ve spent with her has taught me more. She’s pretty wise for a seven-year-old.” We both laugh at that.

I pull her mouth to mine, mumbling how much I love her against her lips as they meet mine in deep, sealing kiss. We break apart, wanting to go in and check on Ruby. When we head upstairs, we find her curled up in her bed with what Tessa tells me is her favorite stuffed bunny. “She came home from the hospital with him,” Tessa says, looking at her sister with nothing but adoration, the same way I’m looking at Tessa.

“Think we have a few minutes?” I ask, not wanting to push her but also desperate for her yet again. I’m insatiable, I can’t get enough. She’s like my own personal brand of heroin and I need her in my veins right this second.

“If you can be quick,” she says, pulling me back towards her room.

“Not a problem, baby,” I say.

The time to worship her will come later, right now, I need her to know that she’smine. We enter her room, and our clothes are ripped off, carelessly thrown around, barely giving me time to appreciate the matching red bra and panties set she’s wearing today.

I lift her onto the bed, hovering over her as I run a hand through her folds, happy to find her wet and ready for me. I don’t waste a second, entering her magnificent warmth in one smooth thrust.

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