“Just think of how much I’ll miss you while you’re gone,” I tease, my hands full of one very fine ass.

“I don’t want to leave you,” she breathlessly confesses against my lips.

Figuring any argument to that is futile, I opt to give her a sendoff kiss she won’t forget anytime soon.

I start to stand about to pull her up with me, but she slides off my lap before I can. A month ago, she wouldn’t have done that and it burns. I avoid her eyes, tense from her unspoken declaration of my inadequacies. Did she think I was going to stumble with her in my arms, or worse, that I was going to drop her all t

ogether?

She goes to grab her suitcase but I stop her, my hand on hers. Our eyes, hers more brown than green, wage a silent struggle in which she relents and lets me win. I’m extra careful as I carry her bag so I don’t drag my toes and trip by mistake. We’re both tightlipped as we make our way out to my truck.

The tension in the truck lessens when she reaches for my hand. Lifting her hand to my mouth, I hold her gaze as my lips caress her knuckles. When her mouth falls open, I have to shift in my seat as my body reacts. She’s been handling me with kid gloves since I got out of the hospital. My guess is she’s scared it’ll hurt me. Not something you want your woman thinking about you when it comes to sex.

It’s a bit of a haul to the airport, but these days I’m more relaxed in my truck than anywhere else. You can’t trip if you aren’t walking and I don’t look like a gimp when I’m driving. We’re almost at the airport when I sense her tensing up.

Trying to keep her mind from worrying about me, I give her hand a squeeze. “Promise not to get into any trouble.”

She huffs, “I’m more worried about you.”

“I’m a big boy, darling.” I pull up to the curb. “Don’t you worry about me.”

She gives me a shaky smile before we both get out. I hold up my hand to stop her from grabbing her suitcase from the back. It’s already bad enough I’m dropping her off at the curb and not walking her in. Carefully, I set it down in front of her and pull the handle up for her.

Her eyes soften, and I pull her to me for one long goodbye kiss. When my mouth leaves hers, she stumbles slightly as she steps back, my hands lock onto her waist to steady her. She presses her fingers to her lips, her cheeks flushing prettily.

“I’ll call you when I land.” The husky lilt to her voice makes me want to kiss her stupid all over again.

Watching her walk away from me is harder than I thought it would be. It’s just a week, I remind myself. We’ve fallen into this undefined relationship so easily. Dinners turned into overnights that became days that evolved into weeks of being together. Am I what she wants because there’s nothing else better around? She’s only had a taste of country living. Will it still be as idyllic after she’s had a chance to be back in a city again?

“It’s time for you to move along, son.” A police officer gestures to my truck.

“Yes, sir.” I nod before glancing at the doors Bethany disappeared through one last time.

It’s a tossup between overthinking things and blasting some tunes on the way back to the farm. I opt for Metallica. I’ve been in my head enough already. The drive back is strangely invigorating. When I get back to the farm, I’ve almost forgotten about my foot, until I stumble and it all comes back to me.

I’m still jacked up; what in the hell can a girl like Bethany see in me now? I’m never going to be a rich man; that’s not the point of the farm. I’m no slouch, but now with my foot, I can’t even guarantee I can walk across a flat service without tripping. I’m an embarrassment. Maybe she’ll figure out that she’d be better off without me.

“Take Bethany to the airport?” Bess asks as I slowly make my way to the main house.

“I did.”

“You gonna sulk the whole time she’s gone?”

Frowning at her, I reply, “I might.”

She makes a face at me. “Don’t make me take you over my knee.”

I laugh at her idle threat. “You never spanked me when I was a kid. Why would you start now?”

“To get your head out of your butt.”

Gripping the railing tightly as I work my way up the stairs, I say, “My head is not up my ass.”

Her head twists, as she looks around her. “Language, Beau, what if one of the kids was around.”

“I don’t curse around kids, Bess.”

She pats my cheek as I near her. “Cause you’re a sweet boy. Please try and remember that and not get so annoyed at that nice girl for worrying over you.”

Tags: Heidi McLaughlin Romance
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