Bounty (Colorado Mountain 7)

Cartel members?

Did that mean Tony belonged to a drug cartel?

Holy shit!

“Set that up, brother. And thanks for comin’ out,” Deke cut in. “Tell Emme she gets bored, she can come and help me lay Jussy’s floor.”

Decker gave Deke an annoyed look which, incidentally, made him no less hot (in fact, it made him hotter). “That’s not gonna happen, man.”

“She crawlin’ the walls, pregnant and you sittin’ on her not lettin’ her do shit?” Deke asked.

“She doesn’t need to do shit except take care of herself and give me a healthy baby boy,” Decker returned.

“True enough,” Deke muttered, his lips twitching.

I listened to this exchange wanting to meet Emme.

“Right, gotta hit it,” Decker stated and looked to me, the irritation sifting out of his eyes. “Again, good to meet you.”

“You too,” I replied. “Take care.”

He nodded, gave me a small smile, Deke a chin lift then he turned on his mountain man uniform boot and walked to and through the door to the house.

I watched him through the windows as he made his way to the front door the millisecond Deke gave me to watch this before he shifted so his big bulk blocked me, putting him smack in my space.

I looked up at him.

The instant he got my eyes, he asked, “You on the phone with your mom when we came out?”

Deke didn’t miss much.

“Yep.”

“Let me guess, you filled her in about us,” he stated.

“Uh…yes,” I replied.

“And that look you got earlier is about your mom comin’ out here to give you her feedback before you get in deep with me.”

I blinked.

“Um…how did you guess that?” I asked.

“’Cause you told me that shit went down with your girls and you talk about your mom like she’s one of your girls and she knows about us so I figured one, the other, or both of them would be out to look me over.”

Nope.

Deke didn’t miss much.

“I think I’ve delayed her,” I assured him.

“How long?” he asked.

“Maybe twenty-four hours,” I said hesitantly, only half joking.

He lifted his eyes to the heavens and kept them there.

I pushed closer, pointing out, “Deke, we are where we are, you’re eventually gonna meet both of them.”

He lowered his eyes back to me.

“For the record,” he began, “just in case you missed it, which I figure you haven’t but layin’ this out anyway, you’re already in deep with me. I don’t give a shit about them lookin’ me over as long as I know you know that’s where we’re at.”

I suddenly was having trouble breathing mostly because I wanted to laugh, cry, shout and maybe do a girlie happy jump all at the same time and the effort of not doing one (or all) was winding me.

So it sounded breathless when I said, “I know that’s where we’re at.”

Though my response was more truthfully, That’s where I was hoping with all my poet’s soul that was where we were at.

Deke stared into my eyes. It took a moment before his warmed.

But when they did, he murmured, “Good,” bent and touched his mouth to mine but didn’t move too far away when he finished doing that. I knew why when he asked, “You okay with all Deck said?”

“Do I have a choice not to be?” I asked back.

“You can be anything with me,” he returned.

At his words, I melted into Deke.

“And because of that, honey, I’m okay with what Deck said.”

His arms gave me a squeeze.

I kept talking.

“But for the record, if I had the chance to look over Anca’s guy and knew he was a member of a drug cartel, my feedback would be negative to the point of taking action, such as kidnapping and brainwashing just in case she didn’t feel like listening. And I say that even liking Tony.”

“Good to know you’re not down with havin’ a felon in the family,” he remarked.

It was good to know that Deke understood the concept of friends being family.

I shared that thought with a big smile.

Deke enjoyed my smile for another millisecond before he kissed it off my face.

He went to work.

I went back to my phone, leaving a message for Lacey, doing this thinking I was glad she was on her tour. She couldn’t drop anything to come and look Deke over.

Then again, I didn’t want them to come not because I thought they’d see something I didn’t see.

It really was just that I wanted time, just Deke and me.

I suspected I wouldn’t get it.

So the time we did have, I was going to make the most of it.

Totally.

* * * * *

“Can I ask…?” I started, trailing off because with what I wanted to ask, I shouldn’t have started in the first place.

It was late, after dinner of leftover Steph’s chicken (just as good, maybe even better). After zoning out in front of the TV. After great sex. Deke and I were in his bed in the dark, me lying on his chest, Deke’s hand playing in my hair.

It was mellow.

It was good.

I should leave it that way.

“Can you ask…” Deke prompted when I didn’t go on.

I turned my head, putting my cheek to his chest, muttering, “Nothing.”

“Baby, you can ask,” he said quietly. “You can ask anything.”

Yep. So falling in love with Deke.

“We’re in a good place,” I noted.

“What you’re gonna ask gonna take us out of it?”