After that phone call and Cybil saying last night that she loved my house and would be willing to move to Montana, everything is back up in the air. I thought I had shit figured out, had already mentally started making plans for making this place a little more comfortable, and had put out some feelers to see about opening my own guide business in the area.
“You look deep in thought.” Cybil’s words bring me out of my head, and I turn her way and watch her walk across the grass, looking too beautiful in the early-morning light. Her hair’s a mess, and the long sweater she has wrapped around her barely hides the fact that she’s only wearing a tank top and panties.
“I just got off the phone with Blake,” I tell her, reaching for her hand and pulling her down to sit sideways on my lap. “He called to apologize for being a dick.”
“That’s good.” Her eyes study mine as her fingers skim along my jaw, then over my bottom lip.
“It is.” I grab hold of her wrist and kiss her fingers before holding her hand against my chest, over my heart. “But after talking to him, you and I need to decide what we’re going to do.”
“What do you mean?”
“We need to figure out if I’m going to sell and move here, or if you’re going to move to Montana with me so we can start our life there.”
“Oh,” she says quietly, her eyes going from her trailer to her shop, then the trees surrounding us.
Cupping her cheek, I wait for her gaze to come back to me. “If we decide on Montana, you don’t have to sell this place—you can keep it, and we can use it when we come to visit, or you can rent it out for a little extra cash or even sell it later on down the road.”
“I love you.” She rests her forehead on my chin.
Fuck, I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to or tired of her saying she loves me. Yeah, I’ve had Mav and Blake, along with his family, but until her, I’ve never had anyone of my own, and it feels good, better than good, to have someone to belong to. “I love you too.”
“I know that it’ll take Jade, Maisie, and Bernard time to get used to me being away, but I . . .” She lets out a breath. “But I was happy with you in Montana. It felt like home when I was there, and even though I’m going to miss everyone, I’m ready for a change.”
“You sure about that?”
“Would you sell your house and move here if I told you that I didn’t want to leave?”
“Yes.” I don’t even have to think about it. I never wanted to sell my portion of the business, but I would choose Cybil every single time.
“I know you would, so I need you to have as much faith in me as I have in you.” She lets out a deep breath, then presses her forehead into the crook of my neck and wraps her arms around me, holding on tight. “I trust you.”
“That means a lot, sunshine.” I hold her tight, knowing that no matter what happens, as long as she and I find our way through this together, everything else will be all right.
Hearing the engine of Dave’s plane start up, I look down at Cybil and wonder if I’m making the right decision. Being away from her isn’t something I want, and I know she doesn’t want it either. But after lots of conversations and talking to Maisie, Bernard, and Jade, we decided that I would go back to Montana to work. She would join me in a month—enough time to get the rest of her place packed up and on the market.
That doesn’t mean it will be easy being away from her, especially after spending the last few weeks together, day in and day out. As I look into her eyes, I realize the next month is going to test our relationship, specifically with me being away from my cell and not contacting her while I’m out with clients.
“I love you.” Her chin trembles as she tips her head back to look up at me.
“I love you, too, sunshine.” I brush my lips across hers, trying to force myself to release her when everything in me is screaming to hold on tighter and never let her go. “One month.”
“One month,” she repeats, taking a step back with her fingers still curled around my tee at my sides.
“Be good,” I order, and her lips curl up into a smile.
“I will be.”
I have no doubt, but it doesn’t make this any easier, and it also makes me realize how every taken man I was stationed with felt when they had to leave the lives they had behind in order to go out and fight for the country they loved.
“I’ll see you in a month,” she says.
“You will.” I kiss her once more, this time thrusting my tongue between her lips and dipping her back over my arm. When I come up for air, I look into her eyes, knowing without a doubt that this is going to work, that even if everything else turns to shit, we will be solid. We’ve found something within each other that neither of us was looking for, but it’s impossible to deny, and outside of that, nothing else matters. “See you in thirty days?”
“You will.” She lets me go, then gives me a smile. “Remember, I love your house.”
“I don’t care why you come back to me,” I tell her, and her face softens.
“Call me when you land.” She takes another step back, and I let her. With her out of reach, I turn and head for the open door of the small plane that will take me home, then stop to look at her once more. Seeing her looking so small and unsure, it kills me to hop into the empty passenger seat and wave goodbye to her. I know she’s nervous about what’s to come, and so am I. But I also know this is the beginning of our future.
Chapter 23
CYBIL
Standing in the doorway of my shop, I look around the empty space, feeling scared to death and full of hope for what’s to come. Tomorrow, Bernard, Maisie, Jade, and I are driving my clothes and other personal items to Montana, with all the stuff from my shop arriving a few days after we get there. Tanner wanted me to wait a few days so he could fly down and drive up with me, but I’m over being away from him, and after a month, even one more day feels like too much time.
When I hear a car pull up behind me, I flip off the lights in the shop and close the door before turning to see who’s here. I expect to see Earl, since he said he was going to stop by to say goodbye, but I’m surprised to find Galvin getting out of his car.
“Hey.” He tucks his hands in the pockets of his jeans as he walks toward me. “Do you have a minute to talk?”
Part of me wants to say no, but I know I need to get this over with, because tomorrow when I leave, I want to know that my past is in the past, where it should be. “Sure.” I walk to the deck and take a seat on the edge of it, and he comes to sit down next to me.
“So you’re really leaving tomorrow?”
“I am.” My fingers fidget with a thread on the bottom of my jean shorts. “What about you? Are you sticking around town?”
“I have to finish up a few things here; then Chris and I will be heading to Seattle next month.”
“You always did love Seattle,” I say quietly, and he startles me by grabbing my hand.
“I’m sorry, Cybil, so fucking sorry. I know I said it before, but I want you to know I didn’t want to hurt you. I never meant to hurt you.”
“I know,” I reply as my nose starts to sting.