“You actually heard him say he wouldn’t come after us with the rifle?” Linc asked as he drove them through town on roads that had become familiar to him over the last couple of months, during which Butler had begun to feel like home.
“He promised,” Molly said with a lighthearted laugh that made him smile.
“I appreciate you thinking of that detail ahead of time.”
“I wanted to change your memories of this day, to give you something else to think about other than what happened earlier.”
“You certainly succeeded. I’ll never forget what you did for me today, Mol. Not for the rest of my life.”
“I did it for both of us.” She looked over at him, flashing the saucy grin he loved so much. “Selfishly, I couldn’t wait until January for us to be married or to be able to sleep together every night.”
“Mmm, that’s the best part of being married, or so I’m told.”
“I guess we’ll find out.”
“Starting tonight.” Despite the trauma he’d endured at the hands of his father earlier, Molly had made it so that incident wasn’t the headline of their day. She’d stepped up to give him exactly what he hadn’t known he needed, and now they had the freedom to be together all the time. Nothing had ever made him happier—or more certain that he’d done the right thing when confronted with his father’s ultimatum—than that did.
Linc drove them over the one-lane covered bridge, took a right turn onto Hells Peak Road and pulled into their driveway a few minutes later. “Home sweet home,” he said of their ramshackle barn that would someday be a showplace his wife would be proud of. He was determined to give her everything, including a home unlike any other where they could raise a family and make a life.
October was chilly in the mountains, and they didn’t yet have heat in the barn. That was the next thing on their endless to-do list to make the barn habitable for the winter. “What do you think of a campfire at the tent?” he asked.
“I think that sounds perfect.”
“It’s going to be cold out there tonight, Mol.”
“No, it won’t.”
“They said on the radio it’s supposed to get down to the low forties.”
“We won’t be cold.”
The certainty in her words sent a shiver of anticipation down his back. They used the bathroom inside and headed out to their backyard campground, where Linc built a fire he hoped would help keep them warm during the night.
Molly had acquired extra blankets somewhere and had brought them with her to add to their bed.
“My wife is always thinking ahead, isn’t she?” Linc asked, loving the way the word wife sounded.
“She does her best to take good care of her husband.”
“She’s the best wife he’s ever had.”
As always, her laughter lit up her face and sent another shiver of delight through him. Knowing he had the rest of his life to spend with her, that he had her to lean on when the going got tough, made the rest of what had happened that day worth it, or so he told himself. He wasn’t under any illusions that the days to come would be all sunshine and roses, or that the breach with his family wouldn’t hurt forever. But having her to help him through the loss would make it bearable. At least he’d still get to see his siblings. He’d make sure of that.
“Where’s my husband?” Molly asked from inside the tent.
“Right here.”
“Your wife is lonely.”
“We can’t have that.” He tossed two more logs on the fire and went to find his wife, nearly swallowing his tongue when he saw she was already in bed, under the quilts, her hair loose around her bare shoulders as she held herself up on one elbow.
“What’s going on under there?” he asked, tipping his head for a better look at his beautiful wife.
“Come find out.”
“Don’t mind if I do.”
“Just in case you didn’t get the invitation, the dress code for this party is naked.”
Linc was definitely going to swallow his tongue before she was finished with him. “Good to know.” He pulled and tugged at clothes and buttons and zippers with gleeful haste that had his beloved laughing her ass off.
“Quit laughing at me.”
“Quit being funny.”
He couldn’t believe this was actually happening, that after months of longing, he was finally going to be naked in a bed with Molly Stillman. That was when it occurred to him that she was Molly Abbott now, his precious wife, the love of his life, and this was one of the most important moments he’d ever have with anyone. They’d come close the other night, but had held off, mostly because he felt she was still upset after telling him about Andrew. Tonight, he had to make it as perfect for her as she was for him, and he had to keep in mind that this act was tied to grief for her.
Hopefully, that wouldn’t always be the case, but her loss of Andrew was part of the equation tonight.
The cold air had him scooting quickly under the covers, where he encountered her warm, naked body. Groaning from the pleasure of her skin against his, he pulled her into his embrace. “This has to be what heaven feels like.”
“Mmm,” she said. “For sure.”
They fell into a deep, sensual kiss that had him dying for more, for everything, in a matter of seconds until he recalled that he’d given no thought at all to birth control since he hadn’t known this was going to happen tonight. “Uh, Mol?” He eased back from the best kiss he’d ever had, even with her.
“Yes?”
“We forgot something.”
“What?”
“Birth control.”
“We’re all set. I saw my doctor a month ago and got on the pill.”
“You… A month ago. Oh.”
“I had a feeling we might not make it until January, and correct me if I’m wrong, but we’re not exactly ready to have a baby.”
“You’re not wrong.”
“We don’t have a stall for him or her yet.”
“Very funny, and just so you know, our children will not sleep in stalls.” He kissed her again, with even more desire than he’d had a minute ago, before he’d known she was protected.
“Whoa,” she said, breathless after a kiss that went on for what seemed like hours. “I need to go on the pill more often.”
“Once is enough, and thank you for thinking of that. I’m glad one of us was making sure we didn’t get too much too soon.”
“You thought of it,” she said, caressing his face with a loving touch that made him crazy for more of her. “Maybe this time next year, we’ll be ready for a baby.” She’d told him she wanted to be a young mother so she could fully enjoy the experience—and then fully enjoy her grandchildren someday.
“That sounds about right. I want you so bad, Mol. More than I’ve ever wanted anything in my whole life.”
“More than the Beatles?”
He laughed. “They can’t hold a candle to you.”
“Wow, you must really love me.”
“I really, really love you.”
“Show me, Linc.”
He was more than happy to, taking his time to kiss her until she was squirming under him, pressing against him, asking him for more. Moving down, he kissed her breasts and ran his tongue over the tight tips of her nipples.