Page 12 of Courage of the Mountain
Well, she knows that now. At the very least, she knows I’m here for her tonight. I have more work to do to get her to trust me completely, but I don’t mind a challenge. Something tells me my sweet Lily wants me, but she’s afraid of needing me. I can work with that. It’s only a matter of time before she realizes I’m not going anywhere.
Pushing away from the bathroom door, I focus on getting myself dried off so I’m not just dripping water all over Lily’s carpet. I toe off my shoes and slip out of my socks beforewringing them out in the sink. I do the same for my shirt, then drape all three clothing items over the back of a dining room chair.
My jeans are also damp, but I can’t exactly take those off. Instead, I find a towel in her linen closet and do my best to soak up the worst of it. I see a few cleaning supplies in the closet as well, and I get to work cleaning up the soggy footprints and drips of water on the carpet.
By the time I finish, Lily is stepping out into the living room. She has on a pair of black leggings and an oversized sweatshirt that she somehow manages to make look sexy. Her hair is swept to the side in a long braid that falls over one shoulder, and I suppress the need to wrap it around my fist and guide her lips to mine.
Not the time, I scold myself.
“Hey,” I greet her in a warm tone. Her eyebrows lift in surprise, and I wonder if she thought I wouldn’t be here when she got out of the shower.
“Hi.” Lily nibbles on her bottom lip and twists her hands in front of her. I motion for her to follow me to the couch, though all I want to do is carry her over there myself. I don’t want to overwhelm her, however.
I sit down and pat the spot next to me, then realize I still have on my damp jeans. “Damn, I’m sorry,” I rush to say as I hop up. “I didn’t mean to get your couch wet.”
“Please don’t apologize. You’ve done so much for me already. A little water won’t ruin my couch… but I can’t say the same for my store.”
Lily deflates onto the couch, and I join her. “Look at me, Lily,” I encourage. Her blue eyes find mine, searching for an anchor in the storm of emotions she’s fighting through. “We’ll get through this. You and me. It must feel impossible right now, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel.”
“How can you be so sure? I don’t even know what happened, just that some awful noises rang out downstairs, and when I rushed to find the source, the place was already flooded.”
“There’s more to the story, though, right?”
“Why do you say that?”
“That pipe didn’t burst on its own. It was smashed with a crowbar. I found it lying about three feet away.” Fuck, it could have been so much worse. They could have come at Lily with the crowbar instead of the pipe. I swallow back a possessive growl, knowing that I’m here now and my girl will never be put in this situation again.
Lily presses her lips together, but eventually lets out a defeated sigh. “I hoped I was wrong,” she starts. “But this can’t be a coincidence. The letters, the handwritten note, the shadowed figure…”
I gather her trembling hands in mine, hoping to infuse some of my strength into her being. She’s strong all on her own, but it’s not a weakness to need a little extra from someone else.
“Start with the letters. You mentioned a real estate company was harassing you?”
“Yeah. Top Spot Reality. They’ve been on a mission to buy up everything in Hope Mountain so they can turn it into a mountain resort town. No one has bowed under pressure, so I guess they’ve taken the threats up a notch.”
My blood boils at the thought of someone threatening Lily, let alone acting on it. “There were threats?” I ask in as calm a tone as I can muster.
“Kind of. I mean, nothing that would have indicated all of this. But yeah, some of their letters were rather… aggressive. I didn’t really pay them any mind until that note showed up in my store late one night after closing.”
“When was that?”
She shrugs, and I know I’m not going to like the answer. “A couple of nights ago. Remember I told you I couldn’t sleep?”
I nod as Lily proceeds to tell me about the note she found. True, the police probably couldn’t do anything with such a vague message, butIcould have done something. Namely, scoop Lily up and cart her back to my place, where I can properly protect her.
“I wish I had known,” I tell her.
“I’m sorry,” she murmurs. Lily takes a few short breaths and then hiccups out a soft sob.
My heart can’t take any more. I pull her into my chest, needing to touch her in some way. Lily lays her head on my shoulder, and I tuck her further into my side, not wanting any space between us. When her hand comes up to rest on my heart, she gasps and sits up.
“Oh! Um, your shirt…”
Shit, I forgot I took it off. I was so concerned with getting my woman bundled up against me, I didn’t even think about it.
“I took it off to dry, but I can put it on if you’re uncomfortable.”
She looks me up and down, her eyes trailing over my chest and torso. “I… I don’t mind.” It’s barely a whisper, but there’s no missing the spark in her clear blue eyes.
