Rocky Retreat (8 page)

“The one I had to put down.”

Trevor nodded, his eyes fully engaged on the twisting road ahead of them as he worked to keep them moving forward through the deep snow. “The Angel Colemans’ animals are okay as well. Not that Uncle Ben was any help. Me and Rafael were the ones who got the last of their sheep under cover in time.”

“What about the baby?” Rachel leaned against Lee’s shoulder as she faced Trevor. She was in the middle seat between them, but cuddled up a whole lot closer to his side than his brother’s.

Something about that made Lee want to grin.

“Baby was born just fine. Allison had to stay in the hospital for a couple days’ observation—I guess she bled pretty heavy, but the kid is doing great. Gabe’s somewhere between this proud beaming dad and worried sick at the same time.” Trevor shook his head. “Kids. Nasty things. Squawking, spitting messes at one end and nothing but poop out the other. No sirree, other people can have it.”

Beside him, Rachel was laughing quietly, her shoulders shaking as she fought to hold it in. “And…? Are you going to let us know if it’s a boy or a girl?”

Trevor opened his mouth then shut it, glancing over for a moment, a frown creasing his forehead. “You know, I didn’t ask.”

Lee put a reassuring hand on Rachel’s leg as she went to give Trevor hell. “He’s joking. I mean,
he
wouldn’t have cared, but there’s no way he could get away without finding out, not with all the Coleman women giving updates.”

Trevor lifted a finger and shook it at Lee. “You ruin all my fun.”

It was on the tip of his tongue to snap back
you ruined mine first
.

Resisting temptation—that’s what he did best, it seemed.

“The baby?” Rachel prodded.

“A boy. Micah.”

Her laughter broke over them like a wave of sunshine. She twisted her smiling face toward Lee. “You were right.”

“You say that like it’s a surprise.”

To his delight, Rachel poked him in the ribs and tickled him, her comfort level with physical contact drawing a raised brow from his brother. Miraculously, Trevor kept his mouth shut even though Lee knew he’d get the third degree as soon as they were alone.

“How did you know where to find us?” Rachel asked.

“Stopped off at the café to check if anyone had word of Lee, and Connie told me where you were. She asked if I’d look in on you, and that’s when I realized Lee would wander your direction if he got in trouble. The storm was a nasty one—I hoped he hadn’t gotten stuck making a snow cave to last it out.”

“Lord.” Lee shook his head at the thought. “Three days in a snow cave? Nope. I was lucky I found the cabin—and that Rachel had the fire going.”

Lucky for so many other reasons as Rachel’s hand lay comfortably on his arm, and he had reason to hope for a future.

“Well, it’s a good thing you found somewhere safe to shelter, because there were no spare emergency crews available anywhere in the county to come looking for you.” Trevor’s tone turned serious. “The night you went missing, there was a huge crash at the intersection of 11 and 22. A truck lost control and slid straight through the stop sign, smack dab into full-speed traffic. T-boned one vehicle and started this chain-reaction pileup. Huge mess. All the garages in town were called out along with the RCMP. Everyone was dealing with emergencies.”

“Any of the Coleman clans need extra help?” Lee asked.

His brother mentioned a few things they’d have to deal with, but even as he talked, most of Lee’s attention was on the woman by his side. Fate had brought them together in the cabin, but that wasn’t going to be enough to make this everything he wanted it to be.

As Trevor turned onto the main highway and closed in on town, all Lee could think about was making sure he had a firm date to get together with Rachel again before she got away.

His brother parked in front of her house, and Lee helped carry her bags to the door. He waited on the doorstep as she put the last of her things into the house.

She turned back with a smile, her eyes sparkling. “Of all the people I vote to be snowed in at a cabin with, you’re number one on my list.”

“Good.” He caught her before she could escape, cupping the back of her neck and holding her in place as he leaned in. She joined in willingly as he slipped against her. He got lost for a moment as her taste enticed him to linger. To take one more sip from her lips. She softened against him, his body tightening as—

Beep, beep, beeeeeeep.

Rachel jerked as Trevor laid on the horn and didn’t let up.

Lee pulled away slowly, nipping her lower lip before he opened space between them. “Excuse me while I go break every one of my brother’s fingers.”

Rachel smoothed her hands down his chest, palms hovering before she patted him gently. “You’d have to do extra chores if he was gone.”

“Drat. Okay, next time I’ll duct tape him to the wheel.”

“With extra-strong tape?”

Lee chuckled. “Super strength. Triple layers—”

Beeeeeep
.

Rachel laughed, and Lee swore, and they exchanged a smile that said they had more growing between them than
just friends
.

“See you tomorrow?” Lee asked.

“Call me.” Rachel unlocked her door and slipped inside. She offered another sweet smile over her shoulder. “Thank you, Lee, for everything. Including what we
didn’t
do the past few days.”

He didn’t need to add that they’d get around to everything else on the list damn soon. “We’re going to have a good time, Rachel Malone. Just you wait and see.”

“I’m already having a good time,” she said, her gaze dropping over him, her eyes reflecting amusement and heat. “A better time than you. Sorry about the interruption.”

Lee’s hard-on had been the last thing on his mind until this moment. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it by myself.”

Her eyes widened.

“Or you can call me if you want. Talk me through it…”

He had her blushing again. “Dirty boy.”

Lee shook his head. “You need to get over that. I left being a boy behind long time ago.”

She nodded. “Yeah, I guess you did.”

Back in the truck, Trevor didn’t say anything for all of, oh, ten seconds as he headed the truck down the road. “So. You and Rachel Malone.”

“Hands off, back off, and hell, yeah.”

“Hey, I don’t trespass on other men’s women. I have more than enough of my own to deal with.”

“In your dreams.”

“Sorry for interrupting yours.” Trevor leered at him. “Poor little brother.”

“At some point, you’ll push one step too hard, and it’s gonna come back to bite you.” Lee stared out the window and smiled. Not even his older brother’s taunting could harsh this buzz. They sat in silence for a while before Trevor started again, same topic.

“I like her,” he insisted. “I mean for you. I think you two go good together.”

Not that Lee needed his brother’s approval, in this or anything else, but… “Thanks. Taking things slow for a while, but I plan to bring her around for a family dinner sometime. Try not to act like a jackass.”

“Don’t know that’s possible,” Trevor offered sadly. “By the way, Steve said you should take the rest of the morning to get cleaned up and rested. You can join in for evening chores.”

Lee nodded. “I’m fine. I don’t need much catching up.”

“Which means you struck out. Poor ass.”

“Fuck off.”

Trevor’s laughter drifted after Lee as he jogged toward the house he rented with two of his cousins, Jesse and Rafael. It was early enough in the day both of them were still gone, so when the landline rang, Lee answered out of habit.

“Lee Coleman.”

“Hey, baby, you told me to call.”

He just about dropped the phone as a familiar voice carried over the line. “Rachel? What are you—?”

“I figured your cell would be as dead as mine, but you’re listed in the white pages.” Anticipation rushed back in as she purred into the phone. “Get yourself naked, sweetie. I am, and you need to join me.”

He debated for all of two seconds. “You’re terrible.”

“I’ve been taking lessons from the master of terrible. You in?”

Screw it, why not? He hurried down the hallway to his bedroom, abandoning his rucksack in the front hall. He had his clothes stripped away in record time, lying on the bed and taking himself in hand, the phone pressed to his ear. “Do your worst.”

This was going to be entertaining—since he hadn’t once heard her say any dirty words.

“Are you ready?”

“I’m always ready.” Around her, it was true. But even as he slowly stroked his length, it wasn’t just about the physical pleasure, it was about getting to know Rachel more. Getting to admire her stretching her boundaries.

“What are you…?” Rachel paused, and he could imagine her cheeks flushing that adorable red they turned when she was embarrassed. “Are you touching yourself?”

“Cock. Fist. I think that’s right,” he teased before lowering his voice and letting more of what she did to him rumble out. “I remember what it felt like when your fingers were under mine.”

“Oh.”

Silence hung in the air as if she’d forgotten she was supposed to be directing this. Then she went for it, and he grew even more impressed. “If my hand is under yours, then you can help me. Show me how much pressure you like. And I’ve got my other hand between my legs. Touching myself at the same time.”

Jeez. He was going to be done before they even started. The soft tone of her voice wrapped around every one of his erogenous zones and clamped down like a vise. “You’re wet, aren’t you? Like when I’d touch you, all silky and smooth. Do you feel that?”

“Hmmm. Yeah, and I can feel how hard you are under my fingers. And wet, too. Just a little, on my fingers.”

He swallowed hard, all the blood from his brain rushing below the waist and filling his cock like an impending volcanic eruption.

“That’s what I want,” Rachel admitted, her tone gone breathless. “I want to lean over and put my tongue on you again. Lick up that bit of wetness and taste you. And then, once my lips are slick, and you’re wet all over, I’ll put my mouth over the tip and suck.”

Bright white lights flashed behind Lee’s eyes, his balls contracted and his brain melted, pleasure shooting like fireworks. He must’ve made some noise, nothing that sounded like a real word or her name, but enough that she’d know he’d succumbed to pleasure already.

Damn if there wasn’t some pride in her voice when she spoke a moment later. “I really do think you’re the best person I could’ve gotten snowed in with.”

“Trust me, I’m not complaining, either.”

Her laughter echoed over the line in the moment before she hung up. Lee collapsed on his pillow, arms flung to the side as he stared at the ceiling and wondered it were possible for his life to get any better.

“Your boyfriend is late this morning. Did you wear him out last night?”

After a week of it, the good-natured teasing at the café just made Rachel smile. It was none of the girls’ business what she and Lee were up to in the sex department, but there was no getting around the fact the man had been extremely attentive.

Every morning he found time to drop in at her work, before or after he’d done chores. The typical crowd of farmers would all smile knowingly in their direction as Lee pushed through the front door and made his way straight to the counter. He said hello to everyone, but it was clear his focus was on her.

“Maybe she’s getting tired of him.” Sherry reached around her to grab the coffee, grinning as she headed toward the customers. “But if that’s the case, you be sure you let us know. There are a few ladies who’d snatch that man up in an instant.”

“Especially since he’s been putting such a smile on your face.” Connie winked, passing over an order from the kitchen.

Rachel didn’t feel the need to defend herself. In fact, it was nice not worrying much about what others were thinking after the chaos with Gary. The jerk had had the gall to phone her that morning. She’d taken one look then blocked his number. She didn’t want to ever hear from him again.

She’d moved on.

And no matter how much her friends teased,
this
was between her and Lee. So far they’d been focusing on having a good time. Nothing serious, but lots of quality time. Just like he’d said about taking her on dates and opening doors for her and all of that.

“It’s nice to spend time with a guy who likes to talk,” she shared.

Her fellow employees exchanged knowing glances. “So
that’s
what the kids call it these days. Okay. Sure.”

“Well, if I told you exactly what we’re doing, you’d get even more jealous.” Rachel headed toward a party that had just entered the café. She walked backward for a moment, flashing a smile at her friends. “And it would be terrible of me to gloat.”

She was nearly at the end of her shift before the familiar bell over the door announced he’d arrived. She paused in the middle of wiping down the counter, looking him over from top to bottom. He stomped the snow off his boots, dark blue jeans casing powerful thighs as he walked forward. Her attention rose to his square jaw and the smile he offered seemingly just for her.

The cook stuck her head through the kitchen doorframe. “I’d just about given up on you,” Sarah intoned melodramatically. “The coffee is bitter, and the eggs wouldn’t set, and nothing was right because
you
weren’t here.”

Rachel threw a napkin at the woman who stuck her tongue out and vanished behind the swinging door.

Lee chuckled as he slid a hip onto a stool at the counter. “Sorry about that, Sarah,” he answered loud enough she could hear him in the back. “I had no idea my presence was what made you such a fabulous cook.”

She made a face at him from the other side of the kitchen pass through before getting back to work.

Lee turned his attention to Rachel. “How’s your morning going?”

“It’s been rough. Convincing my colleagues they can operate this place without seeing you first thing every morning.” She put a coffee cup in front of him, filling it as she smiled.

He caught her free hand and stroked his thumb over her fingers, speaking quietly. “And can you operate without me? You’re the one I want to miss me.”