Page 154 of My Cowboy Freedom
“It’s okay. It’s clean enough.”
I poked my head back out and invited him to hand Maisy up. Once she was in, he joined us.
The space was a bit cramped. A six-foot-by-eight-foot rectangle that wasn’t tall enough for me to stand in. We kept the necessities in there, plus me and Sterling built in some extras, seeing as how it was our special place. We had all kinds of cubbies for snacks, equipment, and first aid. There were folding chairs, but also sleeping bags. A space heater kept us warm enough during hunting season. Sterling had drawn the line at installing any kind of camping commode—which I had seen on the internet and thought was a great idea. Instead, there was a toilet-paper roll hanging on a spindle and we kept a plastic jug for pissing in.
The blind had the usual narrow window for spotting deer. Ours locked with simple eyebolts, and I opened it now, to let in the moonlight. Maybe we’d get lucky and see some whitetails.
“Home, sweet home.” I busied myself laying out bedrolls. Maisy thought we were playing. A moment of awkward silence passed before we gave up trying to lay them out neatly. Sky sat cross-legged, facing me.
“This okay?” I asked. “If we light a lamp, we’ll draw every bug in the county.”
“It’s fine.” Sky leaned against the wall. “You okay?”
“Sure.” Somewhere an owl screeched.
“What happens now?” he asked.
“Good question.” I hadn’t thought very far beyond seeing Sky and Elena again. Well. I had. But you couldn’t just jump a guy—
“Will you fucking kiss me already?” He grabbed the front of my T-shirt and gave a yank.
Or maybe youcouldjust jump a guy.
I leaned in and he leaped forward and our teeth clattered together. After that, we managed a real good kiss, but it was still clumsy as hell.
“You forget how to kiss a man?” he teased, leaning back, pulling his shirt off over his head and tossing it away. “You need me to remind you?”
His pecs... bounced. Honest to God, he could make his muscles jump under his skin. Bounce, bounce...
I bit my cheek to keep from laughing. “You’ve got hidden talents.”
“S’what happens when you’ve got nothing but time on your hands.” He crawled toward me like a cat.
Straddled my thighs.
I stretched my legs to get comfortable with an armful of Sky on my lap. More gentle kisses. Unhurried. Maisy curled up against my side. I went to pet her, and my hand bumped Sky’s.
We laughed nervously at that. Again.
“What did you do while I was gone?” I asked.
“Worked.” Sky shrugged, and then he cupped the side of my face with his hand and ran his finger over the swelling ridge on my cheekbone. “Worried about you. Nobody expected you to confront your parents on your own. We were all trying to figure out the best way to help you when you walked through the door. It was bad, huh?”
“It’s over.”
“Is it? Families can be pretty unforgiving.” Sky let his head rest on my shoulder. I could get so used to holding him like that. I wanted it to be second nature.
No.I changed my mind. I wanted to be surprised by the wonder of it, just like this, every time.
I ran my hand through his hair and thought about what he was saying. His mother hadn’t forgiven him. His mother still didn’t believe his stepfather was abusive. She couldn’t face having a son who’d murdered someone, even in defense of a family member.
Unforgiving families were all he knew. “Have you even talked to your mother since you got out?”
The uncertain shake of his head about broke my heart.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s not for you to be sorry.” He picked up my hand and laced our fingers together. “But what about the boss?”
