Page 14 of An Unfinished Memory

When was the last time I’d slept until ten in the morning? It’d been even longer since I’d done it with Wilder.

“Shit,” he grunted. “I didn’t think to set an alarm.”

I rushed to the hallway and spun to close the door. “Stay here and don’t you dare breathe a word. She can’t see you or hear you.”

He only cocked a dark brow as I shut him in my bedroom.

I mentally reassured myself as I scurried to answer my front door. His pickup was in the garage. His clothing and boots were on the bedroom floor. We had come inside, gone to the bedroom, and got right down to business. I hadn’t wished to rehash whether this thing between us was the biggest mistake of my life, and I doubted he wanted to take the chance either.

Fucking Carla Bosworth.

I opened the door with a sunny grin, blinking at the onslaught of summer morning light. “Oh my gosh. I’m sorry—I slept in.”

Oreo tried to rush past me, but I blocked the German short-haired pointer. Then blocked him again. I had to hold on to his collar, or he’d run right down the hallway and stand point when he smelled Wilder was here. Oreo had been sleeping in the small shed that was more a giant dog house I got with the land when I had pulled in last night. My healing heart couldn’t take seeing a reunion between him and Wilder today.

A tiny whine snuck out of him as it was. He was sniffing every square inch of me his brown nose could reach.

“Are you feeling okay? Do you need to cancel?” The worry on Aggie’s face didn’t dissipate. Her hair was pulled back in a clip that let the ends spray out in a fluffy bouffant. She had on a billowy, blush-colored blouse and beige linen shorts with sandals. The clothing wasn’t her farm wear.

Residents in Crocus Valley and nearby small towns were having rummage sales this weekend, and local businesses were in on it. Aggie and I were going to hit up some sales and partake in the coffee shop samples and restaurant deals. Aggie had offered to pick me up.

Her goals were to find balls for the horses, old rugs and blankets for her rescue cats and dogs, and any supplies that she could put to use without having to spend money on brand-new equipment that’d get covered in animal poop or chewed apart.

I wasn’t missing a day with her because I let an ex-husband hijack my body for several pleasure-filled hours. “No, I’m not canceling, but I need to get ready.”

Aggie waited, expectant. I was frozen, wondering if I should invite her in or would that be too risky?

She narrowed her eyes. “Are you sure you’re okay?” She waved at my neck. “Did you hurt yourself?”

“No.” Damn Wilder and his epic scruff. The guy knew how to use it. “It started pouring in the middle of the street dance, and I think I scraped myself when I ran to my pickup.”

She nodded, buying my story completely. Guilt heated the back of my neck. She was my first real friend, and I was lying to her.

I was stuck now, hiding what I was doing. My skin grew itchy like I was allergic to lying to my best friend.

“Come in. I’ll get dressed.” Anxiety fired a furnace in my stomach, but I couldn’t make her wait outside because I had her brother in my bedroom. When she was inside, I managed to shut the door without letting Oreo slip past me. He wasn’t a house dog, but he smelled Wilder and wouldn’t care.

“Mind if I grab some water?” she asked. “Nursing hasmade me a thirsty bird lately.”

“Help yourself.” Even better if she made noise in the kitchen.

“Is Berry hiding?”

My new but old cat. The gray tabby had been dropped off at my clinic to euthanize. Her owner had to move and didn’t want to bring a high-maintenance cat with her. Berry wasn’t high maintenance, but the long-haired cat needed regular grooming and had been a matted mess when she was dropped off. The owner had only stayed long enough to tell me Berry was twelve, had been an indoor cat most of her life, and hid most days from the new rambunctious kitten the person had gotten.

So, Berry got a shave and came to live with me. “She probably hid as soon as the doorbell rang.”

I slipped into the bedroom, my heart racing. Wilder was dressed and sitting on the edge of the bed, his elbows propped on his knees. Heat kindled in my belly, hoping for another night of intense pleasure.

His sister was in my house and clueless. This was so messed up.

I leaned against the door and closed my eyes. “She’s in the kitchen,” I whispered. “You can leave after we do, but wait a few moments until we’re out of sight.”

I opened my eyes to find his neutral gaze on me. He ducked his head to let me know he understood. He wasn’t one to panic, and I appreciated his mellowness at the moment.

“Okay.” I glanced around the room. He’d also picked up my dress and bra and put them in the hamper.

He’d always been fastidious. The house had been clean and orderly—and even emptier when he wasn’thome. I bit the inside of my cheek. I had no business asking him for more, but I hadn’t woken up early enough to get everything done. “If I feed Berry?—”

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