Page 23 of Comforted By The Mountain Man
"Just until the cabin is fixed?"
The hope in her voice tells me she wants this as much as I do, but she needs the safety net of a timeline. "As long as you want to stay. Could be a week, could be a month. However long it takes for you to feel secure again."
"Asher..."
"Think about it practically," I continue, sensing her wavering. "Grace is right up the mountain at Beckett's place if you need another woman to talk to. Ryder would have space to run around safely. And you wouldn't have to worry about every sound in the night."
Tears well up in her eyes. "You really want this? Even knowing how complicated it could get?"
"Especially knowing how complicated it could get." I bring her hand to my lips, pressing a gentle kiss to her palm. "I want to wake up knowing you're safe. I want Ryder to have a place where he can just be a kid. I want you to have time to breathe without constantly looking over your shoulder."
"What if whoever was watching finds us there?"
"Then they'll have to go through me first. And I promise you, Sierra, that's not going to be easy for them."
She looks up sharply. "Asher, no. I can't ask you to put yourself at risk. You barely know me."
"I know enough." I lean forward, both hands covering hers now. "I know you're a good mother who would do anything to protect her son. I know you're stronger than you realize. I know you bite your lip when you're concentrating." Her eyes widen at that observation. "I know you deserve better than what you've been given. And I know that somewhere along the way, you've become important to me."
The admission hangs between us, more honest than I intended to be. But seeing her sit here, finally trusting me enough to share her story, I can't hold it back.
"Important how?" she whispers.
"In ways I'm still figuring out." My heart is hammering now, but I push forward. "I know it's fast. I know you have every reason not to trust another man. But Sierra, what I'm feeling for you... it's real. And I think you might feel something too."
She's staring at me like I've just offered her something she'd stopped believing was possible. "I haven't let myself feel anything for anyone in four years."
"Maybe it's time to start."
Tears well up in her eyes, but she doesn't pull her hands away. "I don't know how to do this. How to let someone close. How to believe it could actually work."
"We'll figure it out together. One day at a time." I keep running my thumb back and forth over her hand. "You don't have to have all the answers right now."
"What if I'm too broken? What if I mess this up?"
"You're not broken," I say fiercely. "You're surviving." I pause, making sure she's really hearing me. "I'm not going anywhere while you figure it out."
She nods slowly, a tear sliding down her cheek. "I want to try. I want to be brave enough to try."
"You already are," I tell her, and reach up to brush away her tear.
The touch is gentle, innocent, but it charges the air between us. Her eyes flutter closed for a moment, leaning into my touch, and when she opens them again, I can see something new there. Trust. Hope. And something that looks a lot like longing.
"Asher," she breathes, and I can hear everything she's not saying in that one word.
I lean forward slowly, giving her every chance to pull away. But she doesn't. Instead, she tilts her face up toward mine, her eyes fluttering closed again. The space between us shrinks to nothing, and I can feel the warmth of her breath against my lips.
Just as I'm about to close the final distance, Tony's cheerful voice breaks the moment.
"How's everything tasting? Need more wine?"
Sierra jerks back, her cheeks flushing pink as we spring apart. Tony's standing beside our table with a wine bottle, completely oblivious to what he just interrupted.
"Everything's perfect, Tony," I manage, my voice rougher than usual. "Thanks."
He beams and tops off our glasses before disappearing again. Sierra won't meet my eyes, suddenly very interested in cutting her meat into precise pieces.
"We should probably get going soon," I say, checking my watch even though I know Grace isn't dropping Ryder off until four. "Get you settled at my place before Ryder gets back."
