He thinks for a moment, then shakes his head. “This world is chaos. The wars. The good and the evil. Love and hate. The guy working a nine-to-five job until he dies. The old woman dying of loneliness in an old age home. There’s more darkness than light. Everyone looks for a purpose, but if you take a step outside of your comfort zone and look at every single thing, you realize there’s nothing but chaos.”
“There can be beauty in chaos,” I say as I turn my body to face him. I lift my hand to his jaw and brush my fingers over the stubble. “A loving touch.” My lips curve up. “A caring smile.” Standing on my toes, I press a kiss to his mouth. “Connecting with someone.” My eyes meet Carson’s. “It’s the little things that make life worth living.”
Letting go of his hand, I pick a flower and hold it out to him.
Carson takes the flower from me and stares at it.
“Everything has a purpose.”
Carson lifts his eyes to mine. “What’s the purpose of a cockroach?”
I let out a bark of laughter, and it echoes through the mountains. Covering my mouth, I glance around to see if I disturbed anyone, but the streets are still deserted. “Oops.” I turn my gaze back to Carson, then answer him, “They take care of the trash. Like flies, the little shits eat anything.”
Shaking his head, his lips curve up. He lifts a hand to the side of my head, his eyes filled with tenderness. “You’re extraordinary.”
“Emphasis on the ordinary,” I joke, and taking hold of his hand, I pull him back to the car. “Let’s go find food.”
We spend the day driving from town to town and gorging on the local foods which I buy for us. Carson and I had an hour-long argument about who will pay for what, and only when I threatened to travel alone did he give in to letting me pay for our food.
Carson parks the car in front of his house, and as we get out, his phone begins to ring.
He answers in Russian, and I listen even though I don’t understand a single word. It’s just hot hearing him talk in his native language.
I enter the code he showed me a couple of days ago, and we walk into the house.
He holds the phone against his chest, and pressing a kiss to my temple, he says, “I have to take care of this. I won’t be long.”
“Sure.”
I watch as he walks to the other side of the house, talking on the phone again as he takes the stairs down to his office. It’s the only room I haven’t seen yet.
I walk to the kitchen and grab a bottle of water from the fridge. I take a couple of sips, and my eyes go to the paper towels. When I found out Carson kept the flowers and he’s drying them out, it made me happy.
I set the bottle down, and lifting the top layer of paper towels, I peek at the flowers. “They’re as dry as they’ll ever be,” I mumble.
I cover them again, and taking the stairs up, I head to the bedroom. I strip out of my clothes, and walking into the bathroom, I open the faucets in the shower. I take my time, and by the time I’m dressed in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, there’s still no sign of Carson.
Going back down, I walk to the stairs leading to his office and glance down at the closed door.
I go curl up on the couch and stare at the pine forest on the other side of the window. Silence wraps around me, and after a couple of minutes, I fall asleep.
I wake up to Carson lifting me to his chest. “Hey,” I mumble sleepily.
“Shh… sleep, baby,” he murmurs as he carries me to bed.
“Are you done with work?” I ask as I rub my cheek against his shoulder.
“Sorry it took so long.”
“You don’t have to apologize.”
He lays me down on the left side of the bed, and before he’s done showering, I’m fast asleep again.
Chapter 14
CARSON
When I come out of the shower and see Hailey’s asleep again, I walk to her side of the bed and pull the covers over her shoulder. Leaning down, I press a kiss to her temple.
I straighten back up and stare at her beautiful sleeping face, and it makes the love I feel for her spread through every part of my body.
I never knew it was possible to love someone so much. She’s become my world, and I’ll do anything to keep her.
I brush a strand of her hair away from her face, and then I walk out of the room. Heading back to the armory, I make sure to lock the door so Hailey can’t get in.