I looked at the time the message was sent. I’d received it ten minutes ago. Not knowing if Quinn was still awake, I quickly typed out a reply.
Me: Yeah, baby. You okay?
I held the phone in my hand waiting for a reply. After a couple of minutes nothing had come through and I guessed she must have fallen asleep. Lying back down, I heard soft tapping on the door.
“Brody?” Quinn’s voice called through the door, before the handle turned and the door eased open. “It’s me,” she whispered.
“Hey, come in. Are you okay?” I watched her nod as my eyes fell to her in my shirt again.
“I couldn’t sleep. Do you think I could sleep in here with you?” she asked shyly, biting down on her bottom lip.
“Of course, you can. I can’t sleep either. Maybe we’ll do better together,” I suggested, pulling the comforter back as she crossed the room toward me. She climbed in and immediately pressed her body into my side. Raising my arm, she tucked her head onto my chest, her hand resting on my abdomen. Looking down at her, I saw her eyes were already closed, and she sighed contentedly. Kissing the top of her head, I too closed my eyes falling almost instantly asleep.
Quinn
The next couple of weeks passed by quickly, and I’d started work cleaning the cottages. While there were no guests staying on the ranch, Claire and Ryan had been pretty laidback about what time I started. When the season began, I’d be needed from early morning until mid-afternoon, cleaning the cabins in rotation. Claire had explained that when they were at their busiest there were another two cleaners on the payroll that I’d also be working with. While the work wasn’t the most interesting, and it wasn’t something I’d dreamed of doing, for now it was perfect.
When I wasn’t working, I spent every spare minute with Brody. The more time I spent with him, the more my feelings developed, and I think he was feeling the same. I was a little worried to start with that he might get sick of spending all of his time with me, but he was always the one who would seek me out when I’d finished work. He’d be waiting outside whichever cabin I was cleaning. I had no idea how he knew where I was. I always meant to ask him, but he’d wrap me up in his arms and kiss me until I was breathless. When he did that I couldn’t remember my own name, let alone remember to ask him how he'd known where I'd be.
It was Friday afternoon, and I was just finishing up cleaning the kitchen of the final cabin on my list. Wiping the back of my hand across my forehead, I stretched my side. My ribs were sore, and I was glad it was the weekend. Collecting my cleaning stuff, I headed outside. Brody wouldn’t be waiting for me today. He’d gone with Ryan to buy a couple of horses from a breeder about an hour's drive away. Since two horses had died in the fire, they needed to replace them before the holiday season started in a few weeks.
After putting my cleaning stuff away in the small closet at the back of the barn, I headed over to the ranch house. As the house came into view, I saw Savannah pacing up and down in front of the porch. Frowning, I walked faster, hoping everything was okay.
“Hey, Sav,” I called out. She stopped pacing and looked over at me, a grimace on her face. “Are you okay?”
“My back is killing me. I’m hoping walking will ease the pain,” she said, her face pale.
“Do you want me to call Josh?”
“God, no! He’ll think I’m in labor and go into full-on panic mode. I love that man more than life itself, but he’s become so protective over me since the fire,” she explained, her hand rubbing her back.
“Savannah, are you sure youaren’tin labor? You look pretty uncomfortable to me.” She waved her hand and shook her head.
“Nah. It’s just a backache. It’s easing a bit now.” She reached for my hand and tugged me up the porch steps. “Come on. I bet there’s some cake in the fridge. You can tell me all about you and Brody, take my mind off it.” She looked over her shoulder at me and grinned. I couldn’t help but smile back. She’d been itching to get me on my own to grill me since she’d found out Brody and I were dating.
Dragging me into the kitchen, she dropped my hand and swung the fridge door open. She turned to face me, triumphantly holding up a cheesecake. “Want some?” She placed it on the counter and reached into the drawer for a knife.
“Definitely,” I told her, my stomach choosing that moment to rumble. “I missed lunch today.” I crossed the kitchen, grabbing two plates from the cupboard.
“How’s the job going?” she asked as she cut two huge slices of cheesecake.
“It’s good. I’m glad to actually be doing something.”
She handed me my cheesecake along with a fork. “Let’s sit in the den. I need a comfy seat.”
I nodded and followed her out of the kitchen. As we sat down my phone chimed with an incoming message. Pulling it from my pocket, I smiled as I saw it was from Brody.
Brody: Hey, baby. What you up to?
“I’m guessing by the smile on your face that message is from my brother?” she asked, wiggling her eyebrows at me.
“Might be,” I teased, quickly typing a reply.
Me: Hey, you. I’m eating cheesecake with Savannah.
Brody: Nice! Has she asked you a million questions about us?
Me: Not yet but they’re coming!