“This is different. It’s clearing the way to create something new.”
“I like looking at it that way.”
“Me, too.”
He bent to press a kiss to the corner of my mouth, but I stepped out of his hold. “Hayes,” I hissed. “Your family.”
He grinned. “I think I’m going to try making a habit of kissing you wherever I can and as often as possible.”
My cheeks heated. “I can’t talk about this right now.”
“But we are going to talk about it sometime. And that means you’re going to have to stop running away from me.”
“I’m not running.”
He arched a brow.
I picked up my pace. “I’ve just been busy.”
“Suuuure.”
“Later,” I hissed as we came to a stop where his family gathered.
He moved in close to me. “That’s a promise.”
I tried to ignore the heat coming off him in waves, the promise of safety and comfort I wanted to lean into so badly that it hurt. Instead, I focused on the faces around me. “Shiloh, you get the first blow.”
She didn’t say a word, simply stared at the structure that had taken so much from her. It seemed so small now, yet it had been a prison. She arced her hammer back and swung. As the first plank splintered, it sounded like freedom.
31
Hayes
I leaned back on the couch, kicking my socked feet up on the coffee table. Koda’s exhausted snores sounded from the dog bed in the corner. All of the excitement today had worn him out, but we’d made more than a little progress. More paddocks were finished, and the barn might even be done by the time the mare and donkey were well enough to come to their new home.
The door to the bathroom squeaked, and I glanced over my shoulder to see Everly appear. Steam billowed out of the bathroom, and I instinctively reached for my beer. Her hair fell in loose waves around her shoulders, her tank top hugged each dip and curve, and those damned shorts she wore to bed... They had my mind delving into places that she wasn’t ready for.
Her cheeks pinked. “Bathroom’s free if you need it. Or there’s an outdoor shower on the back deck.”
An outdoor shower. My brain went in all sorts of new and unhelpful directions. “Sounds like a storm’s coming. I don’t think an outdoor shower is a good idea right now.” A crack of thunder sounded as if to punctuate my point. “Come here.”
She stayed put. “Why?”
“Please?”
Everly rolled her eyes. “Because you asked so nicely.” She paused in the kitchen to pull a beer out of the fridge and pop the top. Then she made her way over to the couch, settling herself on the opposite side as me.
“How does your head feel?”
“Fine.”
I arched a brow.
“All right. It’s hurting a little, but nothing a good night’s sleep won’t fix.”
I reached out and tugged one of her bare feet onto my lap and then the other. As my thumbs dug into her arches, Everly let out a moan. The sound shot straight to my bloodstream, making my entire body stand at attention. I ignored it and kept up the ministrations.
“I’ll pay you a million dollars if you never stop.”