Page 39 of Claiming Ours
I blew out a slow breath, hoping it would keep the trembling out of my voice. “Very happy.” Liam’s hand gave my leg a reassuring squeeze. “I still have bad days when I miss Dean so much that it physically hurts. But thankfully—” I shot Liam a smile. “—those days are few and far between lately.” I chewed on my lip and peeked over at Memphis through my lashes. “You apologized for not being at the funeral. Why weren’t you there?”
Memphis ran a hand through the long section of his hair and turned to look out the window. “Besides being too fucked up to travel or even remember the date,” he bit out, his anger and frustration at that clear, “Dean and I had somewhat of a falling-out.” He shook his head. “I really thought I’d have time to make things right with him, thought we’d work it out and go back to being best friends, but we never got that chance. Three years later, after our split, he was gone, and in some ways, so was I.”
“I know what it feels like when that time you thought you’d have later is taken away.” His misty green eyes met mine. “Not regret but also not guilt, more just sad to your core that all the stuff you thought you had time for would never happen.”
My voice broke at the end, and it was Memphis’s turn to lend a comforting touch. He laid his hand on top of mine that still rested on his jeans-covered thigh and threaded our fingers together.
“I’m sorry you had to go through that alone,” he rasped. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you when you needed a friend, that I was too fucked up to even show up.”
I could only manage a nod in response. Because I had needed a friend, anyone besides my parents, to lean on in my grief and as a buffer to the words and looks from Dean’s mom.
The rest of the drive to our compound was quiet, the three of us lost in our own thoughts. When Liam parked the truck and cut the engine, no one moved.
“What was it about?” Liam probed, twisting to lean against the driver’s door.
Memphis blew out a breath, sealing his lids shut and tapping the back of his head against the headrest with a frustrated groan. “It’s a long fucking story. One that started way before that night when our friendship ended.” He turned to me with a forced smile and pointed to our community out the windshield. “Ready to show me around?”
I eyed Liam, whose features were tight, clearly not liking Memphis’s response. It was curious for sure, but nothing that needed to be uncovered within the first few hours of Memphis being back in my life. We had time to figure out his evasive answer later.
With a smile and nod, I stretched across Memphis and pushed the heavy metal door open.
“A tour of the compound will happen, but first stop, the cabin so you can drop your stuff off and meet BamBam if he’s around.”
“BamBam?” Memphis questioned as he stepped out of the truck and stretched his arms high into the air, exposing a sliver of his inked abs.
I slid across the bench seat and followed him. “Yes, he’s an ermine that I rescued?—”
“Kidnapped,” Liam cut in around a fake cough as he rounded the hood.
Once he was beside me, I gave his shoulder a hard shove. “I did not kidnap a wild animal. I would never. BamBam would’ve died out in the elements, so rescuedisthe perfect word for how he came into my life.” I scrunched my nose and stuck my tongue out.
Liam’s thick fingers gripped my jaw, holding me in place. “Little Bit, don’t show me that tongue unless you’re planning to use it.”
I snapped my lips shut. Renewed heat filled my veins, shooting straight between my thighs and making that insistent pulse return. Behind me, Memphis grumbled a string of curses, but I didn’t dare break Liam’s intense stare.
“Say you understand.” I nodded, but his grip on my jaw tightened. “Words, Baylee.”
“Yes, I understand. I’ll only show you my tongue if I plan to use it.”
“Good girl,” he praised.
With a goofy sigh, like I was made of wax and he was the blistering sun, I melted against him.
Movement out of the corner of my eye drew my attention to Memphis helping Elvis out of the truck bed, his lips moving like he was talking to himself or the dog.
“Come on.” Liam interlaced our fingers and lifted my hand to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss to each knuckle. “If it’s okay, I’ll head to the barn while you show him around. I put off some chores earlier to come see you at lunch.”
My cheeks burned with the wide, genuine smile I angled up at the considerate man. “See, you’re the sweetest.” Pushing up to my tiptoes, I wrapped both arms around his neck and pulled him down to me. “Thank you for being cool about this, about him being here.”
His gaze scanned my face. “He seems to make you happy. Does he, or do I need to kill him?”
Rolling my eyes at that last part, I gave myself a moment to come up with the right response. “At first, I was shocked that he was here and looked so, so different. I’ll have to find pictures of him from high school. You’ll be surprised at the difference. Then I was confused why he was here, then excitedandconfused. I guess that’s where I am still, confused but loving that my old friend is here meshing with my present.”
“What’s your take on his explanation of coming to Alaska to see you? Did you two talk about that before I got there earlier?”
I pressed my cheek against his hard chest, allowing his steady heartbeat to soothe my nerves. “Yeah, I honestly think he’s lonely and needs a friend.Lostmay be a better word. I don’t think he came with malicious intent. And, Liam.” I pulled back to gaze up at him so he could see my sincerity. “Nothing will happen with him, between him and me. I know what happened with your late wife is a trigger, so I want you to know and bereassured that I wouldn’t do that to you. Go behind your back, I mean.”
His lids fluttered closed, and he released a heavy sigh. “Thank you, Baylee.” A slow smile pulled at his lips. “And yeah, he doesn’t have any malicious intent. I would’ve made him disappear if I sensed that,” he remarked offhandedly. “I’m just not buying his being here for just a friendship.” I angled my head to the side in confusion. “Based on what I’ve heard from those stories of you three, I think he wanted you back then and is here to see if there could be an opportunity now.”
