Page 22 of Promise of a New Beginning
“Glad it helped,” Lou said with a wave. Then he climbed into his tent behind Elizabeth.
“You guys did great today,” Jack said. He’d felt Savannah’s presence near him all evening, and at first it had been torture to not be sitting close enough to put his leg against hers or touch her hand, but he’d also been mulling over what Lou had said about family, and that had given him something else to focus on.Arguing to prove your point won’t make it heard any louder.
He caught Savannah looking at him with a smile on her lips but worry in her eyes.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hey.”
“You all right?” he asked.
“Yeah.” Her smile faded. “You looked so deep in thought tonight. Are you okay?”
“I’ve got a lot on my mind, but yeah, I’m fine.” He moved closer to her. “There is one thing I’ve been dying to do all afternoon.” He put his hands on her cheeks and kissed her. Just the taste of her lips and the smell of her fresh skin made his body react. He had planned on one light kiss, just enough to take the edge off from thinking about her so much, but as he deepened the kiss, he couldn’t pull away.
Savannah, however, could. She pulled back and whispered, “We’re in the middle of the camp.”
He blinked away the fog of desire. “Right.” What was he doing? He leaned in closer. “I want to make out with you all night long.” He leaned his forehead against hers. “But I’d really like to talk and get to know you. So it’s probably better if we don’t go anywhere just yet. I can’t be trusted when I’m alone with you.”
She ran her index finger down his chest. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“I’ll get a blanket, and we can hang out here by the fire.” When he returned, he spread the blanket, and Savannah joined him beneath the stars.
She snuggled against him. “I can’t believe tonight’s our last night together.”
“It’s our last night here, but it doesn’t have to be our last night together.” He took her face in his hands. “I can’t help it, Savannah,” he whispered. “I know we’re in the middle of the camp, but I have to kiss you again.” He pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “I’m not very good at small talk,” Jack admitted.Who am I kidding? I suck at small talk.Ever since Linda’s death, he’d been afraid of saying the wrong thing. He worried that his guilt and anger would seep into every conversation, and that was enough to drive him into silence. Luckily, Savannah filled the gap.
“I can talk for hours. My brothers roll their eyes at me, and I know it’s because I say what they think, and it’s not always the most appropriate thing to say aloud. We’re so close, it’s like we can read one another’s minds.” She shrugged. “I tend to call them on things they wish they could keep hidden.”
Jack realized she had been doing the same thing to him. “How many brothers do you have?”
Her eyes lit up. “Five. I’m the typical adoring sister, I’m afraid.”
Jack laughed. “That’s cute. I think my sister is the same way toward me. I have four brothers and a sister.”
“You have a big family, too. Don’t you love it? Gosh, I can’t imagine life without them. We’re all really close, and my brothers are all like you—big and burly, very masculine.”
He could tell by the excitement in her voice that she really did adore them, and it made him long to be close with his family once again.
“They’re also overprotective,” Savannah added. “If I had cell service, they’d probably have called me sixteen times already to make sure I was okay. Are you close to your family?”
Jack thought about lying. It would be easier than admitting that he’d driven them away. But he didn’t want to begin a relationship with Savannah based on lies. “We used to be. I’m the oldest, and until two years ago, we were all very close.” He smiled at the thought. “There are eleven years between me and Siena and Dex, the youngest. They’re twenty-six, twins. Siena’s a model. She’s a firecracker. You’d like her. Dex is a gamer. Well, he calls himself a gamer, but really he’s a game developer.”
“That’s cool, but isn’t it funny that there’s even a career likegamer? I can’t even imagine what that would be like.” Savannah laughed.
Savannah laughed without any worry over what he might think, or if he thought what she said was funny. Her confidence and ease were two of the things he most admired about her, but the sound of her laughter, the uninhibited joy as it left her lips, that’s what brought a smile to his face.
Before escaping to the mountains, Jack used to say the same thing to Dex about his career, and Dex used to tease him about being old.Man, I miss him.
“Not that there’s anything wrong with it,” Savannah added. “It’s just so different from anything I grew up with. We rarely even watched television on my dad’s ranch.” She sighed. “So, eleven years between you and them? Second marriage for your parents?”
Jack loved how easily she reeled off her thoughts, like they’d known each other forever. “Accident,” he said with a smile. “Or maybe on purpose. Who knows with them? Sage is twenty-eight. I’m sure you know of him.”
“Sage Remington is your brother? As in the artist?”
Jack nodded. “The one and only. I can hardly believe how quickly he climbed that ladder to fame. His sculptures are in museums all over the world. He’s a great guy, too.”
Savannah’s eyes washed over his face. “I guess I should have seen a resemblance, but I never put two and two together.”
