The line, p.9
The Line, page 9
I smiled and ignored the burn behind my eyes. “I was the first one to hold him. He cried for just a moment, and then he stopped and just stared up at me. He had these big, wise eyes, and I knew he was going to change my life forever.” I let out a shuddered sigh, so overcome with emotion.
It was devastating—how one of my happiest memories had become one of my saddest.
I wanted to get up off that blanket and go hide. I’d never talked to anyone about Grey like this. Not even Joe. It hurt too much, but in the darkness, with Everly’s arm pressed to mine, I had wanted to tell her.
Everly’s small hand wrapped around mine on the blanket, our arms still pressed together. “Who is he, Cole?” she asked.
“Greyson. He was my son. I call him Grey. Named after my great-grandaddy,” I said so quietly that I almost didn’t hear myself. I didn’t know if Everly had heard me or not, but I hadn’t needed her to hear it. I’d just needed to say it.
She squeezed my hand tighter with her tiny one. “What happened?”
I let out a hard chuckle. “He wasn’t mine. Turns out Marla liked to sleep around. She especially liked it if your last name was Briggs. Grey’s not mine. He’s my brother’s—Austin’s,” I finished. God, my chest was heavy, like every bit of the night’s darkness was resting on it.
Everly rolled to her side and covered the top of my hand with her free one. She cradled my big, rough hand in her small, soft one. “I’m sorry, Cowboy,” she said quietly, laying her head on my shoulder. “For what it’s worth, I think she’s a damn fool.”
I smiled. Marla was that and more.
We lay there in the hot, humid night for who knows how long before Everly eased off my shoulder and rolled onto her back again, bringing our hands with her and resting them together on her stomach.
She took a deep breath, like she was readying herself for an important conversation. “But tell me something in all seriousness, Cole?”
“Yeah?” I asked, studying her while she gazed at the stars.
“Do you want me to kick her ass?” she asked, not even cracking a grin. “Because I can totally do that,” she deadpanned, finally giving me her eyes.
Throwing my head back, I laughed deep and hard like I hadn’t in months, and all the weight on my chest lifted away. With Eve there, it was like I could breathe for the first time in a long time. It was pretty stellar to have someone at my back.
“You cuss like a damn sailor, you know that, right?” I said, still laughing.
“Meh.” She shrugged, gazing back up at the stars, and smiled. “You like it.”
She was not wrong.
“Momma Lou,” I said, grinning into the phone.
I was lying in my giant bed with the prepaid phone Momma Lou had given me before I’d left pressed to my ear. I’d spent all day helping Missy clean the big house, and I was exhausted. The good kind though. The accomplished kind of tired that made me feel all blissed out and lazy. This kind of tired was my new addiction. I lived for it.
“It’s been three weeks, Little Bird,” she returned in that matter-of-fact way she did, but I could tell she was still happy to hear from me.
But it had been three weeks. Time had flown by, and I’d meant to call sooner, but days passed like minutes in this place. We were all busy from sunup to sundown, and by the time I hit the sack in the night, I was so exhausted that I tuckered off almost immediately.
I frowned. “I know. I’m sorry. It’s just so busy here that I barely have a moment to myself. I’ve been meaning to call—”
“Stop. Just tell me how things are there. Do you like it? Are they good to you?”
I grinned. “It’s amazing here, Momma Lou. This farm. It’s beautiful. You would love it. I get up real early almost every morning just to watch the sun rise from my rocker on the front porch. And Joe—he’s so awesome. He and Cole show me new things every day. I’ve been taking care of the horses, and eventually, I’ll get to ride. They make me feel like family. This place…” I paused, swallowing hard to gather my emotions. “It’s just special. I don’t know what I’ll do when the summer is over.” I got quiet. It only hit me then that the summer would end and I’d have to leave.
I didn’t want to think about leaving Joe, Cody, or especially Cole—who I could tell I was helping more and more every day. He was happy. My cowboy was coming back to me. It was a slow process, but I saw him. His smiles over dinner. Our rides around the property, his head thrown back in laugher.
Sometimes, anger or resentment or sadness would cloud his eyes, but I could almost always snap him out of it with a joke or sass. That man loved my sass, and I adored making him happy.
I was beyond shocked to learn that Marla had lied to Cole about her and Austin’s baby. And to hear Cole talk about it, well, it broke my heart because Cole clearly loved that baby. My fix-it personality wanted to help Cole, but I quickly realized there wasn’t a thing I could do to help him get back a son who wasn’t his. This wasn’t the type of situation one could make better. Only time could fix this. He’d have to heal from the loss before he could move past the bitterness of her betrayal.
Our night under the stars, with his hand in mine, was my best memory yet, even better than our day on the train or our day spent exploring the farm with my arms wrapped around his waist. I was making plenty of memories with Cole.
“I’m so happy you love it there, baby girl.” She sniffed, and her voice wobbled with tears as she continued. “You deserve every bit of happiness. You know that, right, Little Bird? That place. Those people. They’re lucky to have you. Just as lucky as you are to be there.”
Smiling, I held the phone a bit too tightly in my hand. I missed her. So much. And maybe Joe and Cole were thankful for me, but nothing compared to how thankful I was for them—and this place. Nothing had ever been as good as my mornings on the big house’s front porch, watching the sunrise, or dinners crowded around the table with Cole, Cody, Missy, and Joe. These people had quickly wormed their way into my heart.
Joe, with his big, kind, open heart, had made me feel so safe and at home. Long chats with Missy at night had eased some of my fears about being in a new place, and Cody, with his hilarious antics, always kept me laughing, and his selflessness was so endearing.
Even Beauty had somehow managed to steal a little of my heart. When I’d first seen her, she’d been so big—so intimidating. But, now, I literally had her eating out of my hands, and I’d grown to love her over the last couple of weeks. Every day, I went out to the barn, fed her, and brushed her. Just like Cole had told me to. Sometimes, it was just me, Beauty, and Beast, but most days, Leo was out there, putting out hay and cleaning stalls. He usually talked to me while I brushed Beauty. I liked Leo, and he seemed to be about my age, but I could tell he might be interested in more than friendship. And, even though I knew that Cole wasn’t interested in me like that, I couldn’t help but only have eyes for him.
“So, tell me what’s going on there? Any new kids?” I asked, quickly changing the subject. I didn’t want to share any more with Momma Lou. These people. This place. I wanted them as mine alone, especially if I only had them for one summer.
She went on and on about the shelter and the kids at home, letting me know who had left and who had come while I’d been gone the past three weeks.
After a heartfelt, “I love you,” I hung up and lay back on my bed, wishing someone would come undress me because I could hardly move.
I was still lying there, thinking I might just have to sleep in my clothes, when there was a small knock on my door. I grinned, hoping that Cody was bringing me ice cream or a movie.
“There better be ice cream or a crane behind that door!” I yelled from my prone spot on the bed. I couldn’t even be bothered to lift my head.
“A crane?” Cole smiled, peeking his head in between the door and doorjamb.
I blushed. “Sorry. I thought you were Cody.”
“That still doesn’t answer my question,” he said, coming into the room. “A crane?”
I laughed, lifting my head a little to glance at him. “Ice cream and a crane are pretty much the only two things that are gonna get me out of this bed right now. I’m wiped.”
“Ahh. Missy had you cleaning all day?” He took a seat at the end of my bed.
“Yep. She’s like a damn drill sergeant, that woman.”
We both laughed.
He scooted over closer to me on the bed, surprising me. Positioning himself behind me, he grabbed me under my shoulders and pulled me up until I was leaning back against his chest and sitting snugly between his legs. His hands made their way to my shoulders and rubbed hard.
“Oh, God,” I groaned. My body melted into his. I had been sore everywhere all the time since I’d arrived here. I didn’t mind though. I loved the hard work and the fact that there was always something to do.
Cole and I had fallen into an easy friendship, but still, his touches lit me up. I bit a moan back as his fingers skimmed my spine. My nipples pebbled beneath my bra, and I fought the urge to turn towards him so I could run my hands down his chest, towards the abs that I knew hid under his shirt.
Cole motioned with his hand to the phone that was now in my lap and went back to rubbing my back and my shoulders. “Did I interrupt?” he asked.
“You are never, ever, interrupting if you are coming to give me a massage,” I said loudly, and Cole laughed. “And, no, I was just talking to Momma Lou.”
“Momma Lou?” he asked, and it occurred to me that, in all of our days spent together there on the farm, I’d never told him about her.
“Yeah. She’s the one who found me this job. Said Joe was an old friend of hers who needed the help,” I answered.
Cole’s eyebrows furrowed, and his lips got flat.
“Something wrong?” I asked, turning around to get a good look at his face.
His face eased. “Nah.” He showed me his pearly whites and went back to massaging my back. “How’d you meet Momma Lou?”
I frowned, thinking about that night. How desperate I was. How close to just giving up I’d been. I’d been right on the cusp. “She worked at one of the shelters, cooking. She found me outside one night in the cold and took me in. I’ve been with her for the last three years. She saved me. She saves a lot of kids,” I finished quietly.
I still couldn’t quite believe I had Momma Lou in my life. She made me one of the lucky ones. It might have taken a while for her to find me, but she had, and I felt like the luckiest girl in the world for it.
“She sounds amazing,” Cole said quietly behind me.
I turned towards him again. “She’s more than amazing. She’s my very best friend in the whole world. That woman means everything to me.”
“Oh, you wound me, baby girl!” Cody said loudly, standing in the doorway to my room, a carton of ice cream in one hand and using his other to dramatically clutch at his chest.
His shiny, rhinestone-studded belt buckle caught my attention. This time, it read Cocky and had a picture of a shiny rooster on it. He noticed me staring at it and winked.
“I think me and my ice cream are gonna have to find a new best friend to hang out with,” he said, mock sadness all over his face.
Every bone in my body protested, but I sat up off Cole and pointed a finger at Cody. “Do not even think about leaving this room with that ice cream. Bad things will happen, mister.”
Cole laughed behind me. “Sounds like she means business, man.”
Cody’s face lit up like he hadn’t seen Cole behind me. I rolled my eyes.
“Oh, I didn’t see you there, Cole. I think we’ll stay,” Cody said, hopping onto the bed with us.
I smirked.
He produced two spoons from his pocket and opened the carton of ice cream. “I only have two spoons though.” He pursed his lips at Cole. “Looks like Cole and I will have to share.” He waggled his eyebrows at me.
I giggled.
Cole stood up next to the bed. “I think it’s time for me to head out,” he said, chuckling.
With his gaze on Cole, Cody licked his lips and bit his bottom one before saying, “Don’t leave on my account. There’s plenty of ice cream, and Everly and I love to share.”
A panicked laugh-gasp bubbled out of me, and I ended up choking on my own spit. Cole did the gentlemanly thing and patted and rubbed my back until I stopped coughing, but his eyes stayed on the door to my room like he couldn’t get out fast enough.
“I’m fine. You can go.” I waved him away. Embarrassing much?
Cole nodded. “Okay. Well, I just came by to tell you I’m taking you out to harvest peaches in the morning and tomorrow is a big picking day. So make sure you guys don’t stay up too late. Yeah?”
“Sure thing,” I croaked out, still half choking.
Cole left the room, quickly closing the door behind him like a slew of gay cowboys were after him, and he wasn’t too far off the mark.
I threw a pillow at Cody. “What is wrong with you?!”
How could it be so damn hot at seven in the morning? I wasn’t sure, but it was. Even in a thin tank, cut-off shorts, and my boots, I was melting. I stood at the top of a ladder Cole had placed against a tree so that we could reach the peaches up top. I used the rubber band on my wrist and tied my hair into a knot at the top of my head, hoping that it helped.
Cole climbed up behind me on the ladder and stood a couple of rungs below, but still, he towered over my small frame.
“Okay?” he asked.
“Yep,” I answered, even though I wasn’t okay. He was so close, and that familiar earthy, smoke smell I loved almost as much as rocky road invaded my senses.
“Good.” He looked at the peaches. “Alrighty. You see the ones that have that pink color?” He motioned to a cluster of fruit in front of us.
I nodded, trying not to breathe in too much. Because Jesus, he smelled delicious.
“Those look ripe and done. The paler ones behind them don’t look ready yet.”
I nodded again, and Cole grabbed my hand. He pressed his fingers in, wrapping both of our hands around a peach. He pushed the tips of his fingers into mine at the top of the fruit, near the stem.
“Feel the give, how it feels soft there?”
I squeezed my fingers around the stem again without his help and said, “Yep. Feels softer there.”
He smiled down at me. “Good. That’s also a sign it’s ripe for picking. But be gentle. They bruise easily.”
Cole’s front pressed closer to my back, and I shivered. The way Cole taught me to do things here was pure torture. It was also outright ecstasy. I lived for these moments as much as I loathed them. Because the man was a damn tease. He’d sent me back to the big house a sweaty, panting mess more times than I could count, my panties drenched.
He gently squeezed our hands around the peach and twisted and pulled. The peach came free, my tiny hand gripped it and his big, rough hand wrapped around mine. He brought our hands to my face and pressed the peach closer to my nose.
“How does it smell?” he asked in my ear.
I wanted to say, “I don’t know. I can’t smell a damn thing but your smoke and leather, and I don’t want to.”
Instead, I closed my eyes. I pressed my nose right up against the peach and concentrated on the smell.
“Sweet,” I said, my eyes still closed.
Our hands moved, and I felt the peach at my lips. My heart hammered and fire raced across my skin, and it had absolutely nothing to do with the weather.
Cole positioned himself even closer, and it seemed, in that moment, that every breath he took sucked up every bit of air in the atmosphere.
My own breath quickened, and a growl rumbled low in Cole’s chest.
“Taste it,” he whispered in my ear, his lips so close that I was sure he could taste me on them.
I opened my mouth and wrapped my lips around the fruit, the fuzzy skin tickling my lips. I bit down, and that rumble I heard from Cole made an appearance again. I moaned as I pressed my teeth to the fruit, the juicy sweetness of the peach sliding over my tongue.
“So good,” I groaned as Cole pulled our hands and the peach back. A little juice rolled down my chin and I attempted to lift my free hand to wipe it.
“I got it,” Cole said, brushing his hand over my chin, slowly picking the juice up with his finger, and ever-so-Goddamn-enticingly placing his finger in his mouth before sucking it clean like it was the best thing he’d ever put in his mouth.
“Delicious,” he said, his hooded eyes on mine as he popped his finger out of his mouth.
And fuck me. I swayed on that ladder, my own eyes closing as I willed my cowboy to kiss me with every breath I took. I made myself only will this about once a day, so I thought I was doing pretty good.
He brought our hands holding the peach to his mouth. He wrapped his mouth around it, his lips brushing my fingers, and I felt it deep in my core. I pressed my thighs together and swallowed a moan.
“Perfect,” he said, staring into my eyes. He held my gaze for a moment more before shaking his head and letting my hand, which was still clasped around the peach, go. Then he stepped off the ladder like he hadn’t just made sweet, sweet love to that peach with his mouth right here in front of me.
I watched him walk off to another tree, place a ladder against it, and climb up like nothing in the world had happened. I kicked the rung of the ladder and turned back to the tree. Damn peach molester.
I reminded myself that Cole needed a friend, not a fuck buddy. Besides, I was pretty sure, if he’d wanted to take things further with me, he would have already. He didn’t strike me as the type of guy to hold back.
I gazed up at the pink peaches all around me and let out a sigh. I’d pick every peach in that orchard until my insides didn’t ache—until I forgot about Cole’s lips pressed to my ear and his mouth sucking that finger clean. Until my panties were dry. I started feeling the tops of the peaches with my fingers before pulling them off the tree and smelling them. I was tender with them the way Cole had taught me and placed them in a big bucket in the back of the four-wheeler.
