“You do?” she whispers, almost hopeful.
“Definitely, Sunshine. That’s why I was so upset at the thought of you leaving.
“I do need to go to Denver soon. I was supposed to report there for work,” she says, her eyes dropping down, breaking our contact.
“I thought you could do your job remotely?” I ask, not liking the idea of her leaving. I’m not much on venturing away from home, but if it comes to it, I’ll take her to Denver. That’s preferable to not having her in my arms every night.
“Well, I mean, I can. But, I never came to Thickwood with the intention of staying. I was just soaking in the sun and relaxing before I settled in Denver.”
“Thickwood is a good place to settle down, Ophelia. I thought you liked it here.”
“I did,” she says and then shakes her head. “I do, but I mean, I don’t know anyone here.”
“You know me,” I remind her, her response annoying me.
“Well, yeah. I’m just saying…”
“I don’t want you to leave, Ophelia. You belong here. You belong here with me.”
“I can’t just stay here indefinitely, Braden.”
“Why in the hell not?”
“Well, I mean, this is your home, not mine.”
“Bullshit.”
“Braden—”
“Ophelia, I know what has happened between us has happened fast, but it’s real. I know it is. This place feels like a home now and it never did, not once, before you came.”
“Braden—”
“Not once,” I stress to her, needing to make her understand.
“But what if—”
“I want you here with me, Sunshine. Hell, I need you here with me.”
“This has happened really quickly,” she responds, looking at me, and I don’t like that I can see fear on her face.
“It has, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s real, or that you belong here in Thickwood with me.”
“I guess, I mean I like it here.”
“Then, why would you move to Denver?”
“I meant here by the creek? Maybe I could move the van out here when it comes back and we could—”
“Fuck no,” I growl, making her head jerk up in shock. My hands move to hold her face, forcing her to look at me in a way that she can’t look away, even if she wanted to.
I have to make her understand me.
“Braden—”
“I don’t want you living in a damn van in my back yard, Ophelia.”
“Maybe I could live at the base of the mountain for a while longer,” she suggests her brow creasing and disappointment spreading on her features.
“You belong in my house. You belong in my bed. This may have started quickly, but it’s real and you belong here.”
“Braden,” she breathes.
“I know that you belong here, Ophelia. I was barely living before you got here, Sunshine. You make this place a home. I know, you know it, and hell, even our damn animals know it.”
Finally, a smile move over face and her voice softens. “They are happy together,”
“And so are we, aren’t we, Ophelia? Don’t I make you happy, honey?”
“You do,” she replies.
“And, honey, you make me happy. You give me peace. I don’t care how quick it happened or anything else. I just know you belong with me.”
“I feel. like I might too,” she agrees, her lips so close to mine, I know I have to kiss her.
“So, you’re staying. No more talk of leaving me.”
“I’ll stay if that’s what you want.”
“It’s definitely what I want,” I growl, taking her mouth and kissing her, intent on showing her just how much I love her. When the kiss finishes, I pick her up in my arms and head back to the house.
“Where are we going?” she asks, her fingers teasing my chest, while she places small kisses along the side of my neck.
“I’m taking you back to our bedroom and I’m making love to you,” I respond.
“What about Rascal and Bogo?”
“They’ll follow when they want, honey. I just need the woman I love alone and in my arms.”
“You love me?”
“Definitely and don’t try to tell me that it’s too soon, Ophelia.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”
“Good.”
“It’d be silly to do that, when I love you, too, Braden.”
I stop walking to look down at her.
“Say it again.”
“I love you too, Braden.” I let her slide to the ground as her words soak deep inside of me, healing places I didn’t realize needed healing.
“What are you doing?”
“Strip, Sunshine,” I tell her, my voice quiet and solemn as I realize that this woman has somehow completely changed my life and I never want to experience one day without her.
“Strip?” she laughs. “I thought we were going to the bedroom,” she complains, but she does it while unbuttoning her shirt.
“I can’t wait that long, Sunshine. I have to be inside of you,” I tell her honestly, yanking my shirt over my head and throwing it down on the ground.
Ophelia stops to look at me and then she starts undoing her pants.