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Love

Lacey Weatherford


  I couldn’t help but laugh. “That was really lame. Now who’s blaming the baby? Besides, it’s all your fault that he’s here to begin with.”

  Smiling, his features softened as he placed his hands on each side of my face. “You’re the most gorgeous pregnant woman I’ve ever seen. Thank you for deciding to stay with me after our crazy wedding.”

  “There was no choice.” I couldn’t look at him without loving him more. “You were always the one for me. Ever since that day in class when you labeled me Little-Miss-Goody-Two-Shoes.”

  Leaning forward, he kissed me gently on the lips. “And you were so incredibly offended.” His eyes twinkled with humor.

  “I thought you were making fun of me.”

  “How could I possibly make fun of perfection, Goody?” he asked, kissing me lightly, again.

  “I’m far from perfect.”

  “You’re perfect for me, and that’s all that matters. I wanted you for myself, even before then. It killed me to think I’d never have you.”

  “Well, I think you’ve conquered that fear. I can’t count how many times you’ve had me.”

  He kissed me, laughter rumbling through him. “Now who’s turning the conversation back to sex?” he asked, his lips brushing mine as he spoke.

  “I know what you’re trying to do,” I said grinning.

  “What’s that?”

  “You’re trying to distract me into forgetting about breakfast so you can have your way with me.” I rubbed my hands over the sides of his shirtless waist.

  “Is it working?”

  “Not even a little. I’m starving and that food smells really good.”

  Sighing, he released me. “Can’t blame a guy for trying.”

  I laughed and moved toward the stove to dish up our food, but he grabbed my shoulders and turned me toward the table.

  “Sit. I’m taking care of you this morning.” Walking me over, he pulled out a chair for me.

  “Wow. I’m liking the service at this place.”

  “I bet you are,” he replied as I rolled my eyes, even though he wasn’t looking. “You just rolled your eyes at me, didn’t you?” he added.

  I merely laughed instead of answering him. He carried our plates to the table and placed one in front of me.

  Smiling, he handed me a fork. “Dig in, honey. I don’t want you to starve to death.”

  “Have you seen me lately? I’m as huge as a barn. I hardly think there’s any danger of starving to death.”

  “You look amazing. Now eat.”

  “Thank you for making this.”

  “You’re welcome.” He took a bite of his eggs, staring at me the whole time. “How are you feeling today?” he asked when he was finished.

  “I’m okay, why?” I nibbled on a piece of bacon, eyeing him suspiciously.

  “I was thinking we could go for a walk. Maybe hike around a bit and explore the property. I’d like to get a little better lay of the land. See if there are any close neighbors we don’t know about, things like that. Plus, it’s just a nice day. I thought you might enjoy getting out and into nature. I have that backpack I bought yesterday when I got the binoculars. We could fill it with a few picnic items. What do you think? I don’t want to wear you out.”

  “Honestly, I think that sounds fabulous. Maybe we’ll see some elk.” I paused for a moment. “Do you think there are bears?” That idea didn’t thrill me at all.

  “I have no idea if this is bear country. I’d imagine it’s always a possibility, though. And maybe even some mountain lions or bobcats.”

  “You’re not making me feel any better. That kind of makes me want to stay put right here.”

  He laughed. “Tell you what. I’ll bring my gun and an extra clip. Will that make you feel safer?”

  “Much,” I replied.

  “So you’ll do it?”

  “Yes, but you have to let me get showered, first. I won’t take long.”

  “I still need to shower, too. We can do it together to conserve water.”

  Shaking my head, I stared at him. “For someone who is so hell bent on conserving water all the time, why is it that every shower I take with you lasts ten times longer than normal?”

  Chuckling, he stabbed at his eggs. “Come on, Goody. It’s not that bad.”

  Quirking an eyebrow at him, I took another bite of bacon. “I’m just thinking you may not make it out on your hike if you shower with me.”

  Reaching across the table he grabbed my hand and squeezed it. “I’ll be a good boy. I promise.”

  “Mmhmm. I’ll believe it when I see it.” A ringing phone broke the silence, making me jump. “I wonder who that is?”

  “There’s only one person it could be,” Dylan said. “Chris is the only one with this number.” Quickly rising, he ran up the stairs to retrieve his cell phone. “Hey, Chris,” he answered. “What’s up?”

  I held my breath, trying to listen to the conversation, hoping desperately that everything was all right. A million different scenarios were running through my mind.

  “Okay. I figured as much.” He finally spoke up. “Yeah. Sounds good,” Dylan said, and I relaxed a little. He didn’t seem concerned. “Everything is great so far. The place you got us is really nice. Gorgeous views, too. Cami’s been freaking out over all the elk that come into the field near here every morning.” He laughed loudly. “No, I haven’t been shooting them, but I did buy a pair of binoculars. We plan on hiking around today and seeing the area.” Another pause. “Yeah, it’s beautiful here. You and Sheridan should come check it out someday. How’s the family, by the way?”

  I continued eating while I waited for him to finish the call, listening as they spoke about his parents and how badly his mom was concerned for him. Truthfully, I could imagine her tearing the police department apart trying to find her son. She was probably pretty hard on Chris, trying to get information from him.

  I was finished by the time Dylan made it back to the table. “Is everything okay?” I asked as I rinsed my dish and loaded it into the dishwasher.

  “Yeah. He was calling to tell me they had finally received the files of all the arrests I made or assisted in, and cases I testified on. The department is going through them one by one to see if they can find any leads that way. So far, everyone they’ve looked into has checked out, but they’re still working their way through.”

  “Is that really going to help?” I asked, still worried. “I mean, really, if you were stalking someone or harassing somebody else, would you be doing stuff out in the open where others could tell?”

  “No, but they can cultivate a list of people who were living in our area during the attacks. They can also check and see if anyone has recently violated their parole, too. If they get a hit on someone, they can get a court order to delve deeper into things, like checking credit card usage, and track people that way. You’d be surprised how many people aren’t where they’re supposed to be. They’ve also pulled all my EMS and Fire Department files. I’ve testified on a few cases there, too.”

  “That will take forever!” I exclaimed. “You’ve been on lots of calls since you started working for the fire department.”

  He shrugged. “They’re doing the best they can with what they have to go on.” He sighed. “The fire investigation on the house came back as arson, as well. Gasoline was used an accelerant and they believe the explosion people heard was actually containers of gas that were ignited.”

  “How does no one notice someone carrying around a bunch of gas cans?”

  “I don’t know, but it was later in the evening. How often do we pay attention to what’s going on at the neighbor’s?

  “That’s true.” Giving a dejected sigh, I sat back down at the table. “We’re going to be here a while, aren’t we?”

  “It’s looking that way. But don’t let it get you down. We’ll make the best of it.”

  “I just want to be married and not have to hide it. I hate pretending you’re my brother.”

  “S
o do I, but we don’t have to mix in with society that often. We can stick together out here and be ourselves, if that’s what you’d like.”

  “We need some books and movies or something, or we’re going to go crazy.”

  “Well, maybe we can go look for a library, or better yet, we can order you an eReader and you can load it up with books. There’s a wireless keyboard and a modem under the television, there.” He gestured toward the entertainment center. “I’m assuming that means there’s Internet access here, as well. If it’s not on, I’m sure we can get it turned on. Then you can watch movies or read to your heart’s content.”

  “Okay,” I said. “We can check it out after our hike. At the rate we’re moving this morning, our picnic is going to be more of a late lunch or early dinner.”

  “I’ll hurry,” he said, digging back into his cold food.

  “Do you want me to heat that up for you real quick?”

  “Nah, it’s fine,” he replied.

  “All right. I’m going to get in the shower, then.”

  “I’ll join you shortly.”

  Standing, I slowly made my way toward the bedroom that held my things.

  “Cami?” he called after me, and I sighed, knowing it was useless for us to try and keep up our aliases when we were alone.

  “Yes?”

  “Are you sure you’re okay? You seem upset.”

  Going back over to him, I bent to kiss his head. “I’m fine. I just hoped we’d be able to go home sooner is all.” I laughed wryly. “I don’t know why. It’s not like we have a home to go home to.”

  “You will, honey. I promise,” he replied. “I give you my word, I’ll make things right again, somehow.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Dylan-

  “I’m glad we did this,” Cami said as she stood on the rock beside me, staring out at the view.

  “Here. Look through the binoculars.” I handed them to her, but my eyes didn’t leave her, watching as the breeze ruffled her hair, causing a few strands to blow around her face. The sun hitting it made the red tones underneath the dye job come out, allowing me a glimpse of the color I loved so well. She looked strong and beautiful. I knew she was missing home, but I could totally get used to living with her in an environment like this. I enjoyed hearing her “ooh” and “ah” over different discoveries we’d made. “If you check down the hill there, it looks like there’s a pretty nice stream. Would you like to go sit there for a while and eat?”

  Lowering the glasses, she followed to where I was pointing. “Yes! That looks amazing!”

  Offering my hand, I helped her off the rocks and we carefully made our way down the hillside. I’d taken things extra slow today because I was worried about her getting tired and falling, but so far she’d done pretty well, going almost full circle around the property. We now knew we didn’t have any neighbors who were close enough to see us on the property, though we could easily see a couple houses in each direction across the meadows. However, they were probably still a mile and a half away from our cabin. We’d also seen some fenced fields in the distance that looked to have horses and cattle. Apparently ranching was still going strong out here.

  While portraying this outing as something to do for fun, I’d mainly wanted to know what was going on for security reasons. As near as I could tell, the house was on the ridge of a hill covered in pine trees that sloped down into vast meadow valleys. There were other rises, like ours, around us, and I was pretty sure there were houses I couldn’t see hidden within the trees. This could be both a good and bad thing. Good because we were remote enough to be able to retain our privacy, but bad because if we needed help of any kind, it would take a significant amount of time for anyone to arrive. To that extent, I was happy about being reinstated and knowing I had some legal recourse to fall back on if needed, even if I wasn’t in my jurisdiction.

  “That place looks good over there,” Cami said, pulling me out of my musings. “It’s grassy and shady under those trees, but still close by the water.”

  “I agree,” I replied, following her. Shrugging off my backpack, I unzipped it, removing a couple bottles of water and handed one to her. I sat in front of a big pine tree and she sat between my legs, leaning back against my chest.

  She started laughing and picked up my hand, placing it on her stomach. “The baby is moving.”

  A hard knot formed beneath my hand. “What do you think that is? A foot? An arm?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe it’s his baby bottom.”

  I patted her there. “Does that mean I’m spanking the baby?” I laughed. “That’s such an incredible thing. Sometimes I roll over in the night and you cuddle against my back and I can feel the baby kick.”

  “Really?” she asked, seeming surprised. “I had no idea. I guess I sleep through it.”

  “Yeah, it caught me by surprise the first couple of times it happened, but I enjoy it. I like having you both close to me like that.”

  She ran her hand over mine, linking our fingers. “I think you’ll be an amazing dad.”

  I chuckled. “I hope so. My dad was always good to me. I know I definitely have big shoes to fill.”

  “You’ll be a natural. You’re already so caring and aware of other people and their needs. I love how compassionate you are.”

  I laughed. “You make me sound like I’m a saint or something.”

  “To me, you are.” Letting go of my hand, she reached up to pat the side of my face. “You’re amazing and I love you.”

  I set my water bottle down and wrapped my arms around her. “I love you, too.” I kissed the top of her head. “So, have we decided what we’re naming this kid of ours for sure, yet? What if you have him while we’re still here? Is Hunter going to be a confusing name?”

  “I don’t think so. I’ll call you Dylan when we are alone.”

  “I know; but if we are in public, it might be a little weird to say you named your baby after your brother.”

  “Hmmm. I didn’t think about that. What if we use Hunter for his middle name then, like yours? We can pick a different one for his first name.”

  “That’s fine with me. What names do you like?”

  “What if we did “D” names so he can have the same initials as his daddy?”

  “Okay. Give me some.”

  “Well, there’s Darren, Daniel, or Drew.”

  “Hmm. I don’t know if I like any of those with Hunter. But I do like the names with more than one syllable.”

  “There’s Dalton, or Denver. How about Dennis?”

  “If I had to pick one of those it would be Dalton, but it’s not my favorite, either.”

  “How do you like Devon?”

  “Not sure.” I was thoroughly enjoying myself as she spouted off different names. It was very relaxing and peaceful sitting here and talking about our future and the baby, as I held her in my arms. “Not to be difficult, but I have to say I’m not really digging any of the “D” names. How about “C” names instead, like his pretty mom? That way he can be named after you and me. Something like Cameron?”

  “Cameron Hunter Wilcock,” she said, testing it all out. “I love that, Dylan! I really do!” Turning in my arms so she could face me and kneeling, she stared at me, joy radiating from her face. “Do you like that?”

  “I think it sounds nice. Is that it then?” I stroked my hand over her back.

  “That’s it! I love it!” She grasped my face, planting a kiss firmly on my lips. “We just named our baby.” She kissed me, again, and I pulled her closer, deepening it. Knowing she was so excited made me excited, too. I loved her so much.

  “Here,” I said, shifting my legs so she could straddle me, making her more comfortable.

  “Did you bring me into the woods to seduce me?” she asked with a giggle.

  “Is it working?”

  “Yes. This is all very romantic.”

  “Well, I’m glad you’re enjoying it. Now kiss me, again.” Doing as I asked, she wrapped her arms aroun
d my neck and pressed her mouth to mine. Her lips parted and I dipped my tongue inside, tasting the sweetness that was uniquely her. Pulling away, she tipped her head back and I trailed my mouth is a series of sucks and kisses down her neck.

  “No hickies,” she whispered. “I’m a single woman, remember.”

  I chuckled and commenced with lightly sucking on her neck anyway, before drifting down to her collarbone. “What if I put it where no one can see it?” I teased.

  “Oh, well that’s different, then.” She laughed again, as I opened the first couple buttons of her shirt, kissing closer to her cleavage. Her soft moan signaled that she was enjoying it.

  A distant sound caught my attention and immediately I stiffened—all my senses on high alert. “Cami, get off me.” To her credit, she moved without asking why, quickly redoing the buttons on her shirt as I reached for the backpack that held my gun.

  A cow came tromping through the trees, followed immediately by someone on a horse cursing at the animal. Cami scrambled behind the tree and the rider drew his horse up when he saw us.

  “Sorry! I didn’t know anyone was out here.” I recognized him instantly and had to fight not to groan. “Hey, Camri; and Hunter, right?”

  “Yeah,” I replied. “Nice to see you again, Mark,” I lied. “What are you doing way out here?”

  “My grandpa owns a cattle ranch down towards the end of the meadow. I come here on my days off to help him out. This cow got out of a broken part in the fence and I’ve been chasing her for about an hour now. Damn cow. Grandpa said he’d heard someone had rented the Miller’s vacation place. I’m assuming that’s you two?”

  “Yes,” Cami said. “We’re just out hiking around today and enjoying the scenery. Hunter has been seeing lots of elk in the field in the morning, and sometimes in the evenings. He went and bought some binoculars so we could try and see some of the wildlife.”