Page 47 of Handling Skylar
I thought about the way she took me into her, the galvanizing instant when I was deep inside her. I tipped my head back and closed my eyes, fighting the urge to draw her against me. I waited for the thick, heavy surge to ease a little, then took a deep steadying breath and glanced at the clock on the bedside table. I didn’t want to do her quick and then have to leave, disturb her sleep. Something that also surprised me. I usually did as I pleased, took care of my own needs in isolation, but with Sky, I wanted to savor her response. It was time to get up and get going.
She stirred when I eased away from her, and I leaned over and brushed a light kiss against her temple. “It’s okay, sugar,” I whispered gruffly. “Go back to sleep.” I lifted the hair off her face, then drew the comforter over her shoulders. I waited until I was sure she was asleep, then eased my weight from the bed. Making as little noise as possible, I collected a set of clean clothes and headed for the shower. Under the hot water, I sort of lost it, feeling uneasy. It was as if some inner defense had been stripped away with my love now realized, leaving me exposed. I wasn’t sure how I was going to handle that exposure. After all, I had spent my whole life keeping my guard up. I wasn’t sure I knew how I would handle it now that Sky had brought it down.
***
At the store, I walked in to find a transformed and expanded space. The floor had been laid, the new displays were all done, the whitewashed walls and weathered wood achieving the effect I had envisioned. In the middle stood my brother. He turned when I walked in, the contractor smiling and nodding.
“Hey,” he said coming over to me. “This is something. Your vision was spot on. Momma, Daddy and River are going to love it, too.”
The praise from my brother touched a chord in me. My defenses had already been lowered this morning with my discovery that I was deeply in love with the woman I’d left sleeping so peacefully in her—our bed. I had been so bitter and hurt when he’d left that I couldn’t see it wasn’t him I was so angry at, taking my emotions out on him had been wrong.
He peered at me, and I couldn’t speak for a moment. “Come over here,” he said, taking my arm and leading me away from the contractor and into the spacious and redone storage room. He shut the door. “Are you all right?”
I looked down and swallowed. “I know I’ve already said this, but I’m sorry, Chase. Truly sorry for what happened in the past. I was lost and scared. Worried about you and being out there by yourself. It was strange to hear Momma and Daddy fight, Momma crying, River as upset. I wanted to be strong for all of them, and I ended up being a jerk.”
“Jeez, Jake, you were a kid. We all were. I handled it wrong, too. I should have been more honest and discussed my plans with them before I left. It wouldn’t have changed me leaving, but it might have made it easier to understand. I know that now thanks to Samantha. I’ll accept your apology if you accept mine.”
I nodded and he grabbed me by the back of the neck, and I grabbed his forearm and squeezed as we pressed foreheads and reconnected as the brothers we were. “Never again will we be at odds over this. Agreed?”
I had enough with handling Skylar, so I nodded, unable to speak as he squeezed me tighter. “I love you, Jake.”
“Ditto,” I said. Now all I had to do was deal with all the crap dredged up over mending my relationship with Chase and sort out my “daddy” issues. As a family, we would be strong, but as far as the business went, I didn’t know how that would pan out.
The contractor barked out my name as we parted and gathered our composure. “Be right there,” I shouted. “I want to accept your invitation to be your best man. I might not have been one in the past with all the shit between us, but Chase, I don’t want to be at odds anymore.”
He bowed his head, rubbed at his eyes, and I spent a silent moment letting all the baggage, pain, anger and resentment against my big brother go and it felt so fucking good.
His voice unsteady, he clamped a hand to my shoulder and smiled, swallowing hard. “Momma and River will be over the moon Samantha and I set the date, but when they hear you’re going to be my best man…” He looked away and we were back in the “gathering our composure” business again. He cleared his throat. “We’re all going to be sucked into the whirlwind. You’d better warn Sky.” He smiled, and it was infectious.
“When are you going to tell them?”
“After the Harvest Festival is over. That Sunday. We’ve got enough craziness right now. Samantha has begun planning and getting her ducks in a row so Momma doesn’t steamroll over her.” He reached out and opened the door. “Let’s get going. We’ve got a lot to discuss today.”
***
As Saturday dawned bright and sunny, the temperature in mid-October comfortably in the eighties, we headed to the back of her house and her small dock. At the shore we settled into our kayaks and started to paddle out into the river.
“Do you miss home?” I asked, wondering about her life on a ranch. We drifted along.
She shook her head. “I haven’t regretted a moment moving here from the West. I needed to get away from the memories of growing up there, with my parents, my brother. Suttontowne has become my home, and I feel grounded here almost more than I did in Jasper Gulch. Does that make sense?”
“A sense of place, of home, I believe comes from the heart. Cambridge never felt like home to me. I couldn’t imagine not living on the bayou.”
“I love it here, especially the people, the food, the atmosphere. Influences of the French and Spanish who settled here.”
I nodded. “Abundant natural resources usually dictate the lifestyles, culture, and social and economic development of the people residing in a particular area. You see the impact of the swamp here, the rich cultural diversity of the people who inhabited the area. It gave us delicious food, amazing music, and an attitude when it came to hurricanes.”
She laughed. “I’ve only been to New Orleans once since I moved here.”
I tapped her kayak with my paddle. “That’s terrible. We’ll have to fix that. Booker and Aubree have a place in New Orleans. They love to have visitors, and Brax’s Huckleberry Café isn’t to be missed, not to mention the Garden District, the French Quarter and Bourbon Street.”
She tapped my kayak with her paddle and gave me a grin, her eyes dancing. “I’d love to experience that all with you, Jake.” I had to take a deep breath and let it out slowly. This woman made me feel so good all the time. I found myself grinning like a fool again. My days of dark brooding had dwindled. Not that I didn’t drive myself crazy, but now, my world was filled with her. My love for her growing every minute I was in her presence. I had no idea how she felt about me, but I was certain she cared.
The sun climbed and we paddled along, the banks on either side of us filled with the color of autumn in the Bayou, gold, red and orange. Giant trees surrounded us as we pulled over with plans to eat lunch.
She pulled out the rice salad with chicken, and we shared the container, munching on the cucumbers, savory chicken and citrus rice flavors, washing it down with lemonade. When we were done, I pressed my back against the big willow and, after reaching for a container and prying it open, she snuggled into my arms.
She offered it up to me, the delectable smell of cinnamon and apples strong. I grabbed a few cubes and tossed them in my mouth and made a humming noise after chewing.
