Chapter 8

Jamison

Ipull Natalie into my side as we sit down, Kayla taking the end of the couch, leaving the chair for Detective Taylor. The smile on Kayla's face says she sees more than she said when I introduced them, but I'm glad she's keeping it to herself for now.

Hearing about Natalie's parents' relationship, I understand how she ended up in this situation with Craig. Hell, it makes me even prouder that she stood up for herself, saw that he was the problem and broke up with him. She might think Nanci and Mike's relationship didn't give her anything, but deep down I know it did. Showed her that you didn't have to be in a constant cycle of abuse, even if it was just verbal.

I never understood the guys and girls at school that would fight, break-up, then make-up all in the span of a day. Probably because Mom and Dad never really fought. Oh, they had disagreements over the years, but it was honestly on minor things. Nine times out of ten it was also due to Dad's reaction to some guy hitting on her or eyeing her. Occasionally on what to do with one of us if we were in trouble for some stupid reason. Those times, they sat down and got the full story from us, then they discussed things between one another before they'd let us know what they were going to do.

The most fighting in our house was probably done by us kids over something stupid. I guess Julie and Jennie fought the most out of anyone, but we weren't really old enough to remember it. Having four teenage boys in the house caused some stir ups, competition, but nothing unnatural.

I honestly cringe when I see couples fight in public, especially when most of it is on dumb shit that could be calmly discussed. Like a girl giving the guy her number while he's out with his, I mean come on, that does not necessitate a level ten screaming match. Okay, if the guy was blatantly flirting with the girl, call him out on it—call him out if he actually takes the number, but even that doesn't need a screaming match to resolve.

Shit, if a guy isn't giving his full attention to his girl, she should ditch his ass and find one that will—just without the unnecessary screaming crap. Yelling, screaming, arguing—none of that is a sign that it's a good, passionate relationship. Nah, that's toxic crap that shouldn't begin to enter the mix.

Passionate is not the same thing as being loud or angry. I know that firsthand.

There's no way that my parents aren't passionate about one another. Shit, I think some of us would prefer that they weren't still so passionate. Me especially since I happened to see them together for two seconds too long a couple years ago.

I'd gone over to the house to see if I could find one of my tools, thinking I'd left it in the garage, and on my way through the house, I saw them embraced and my dad's naked ass. I hauled it out of there asap, found my tool, and went home to sanitize my eyes.

Now, I just want to be able to love Natalie, protect her—her body and her heart. It's far easier knowing she doesn't want the drama like some of the girls I did end up on dates with seemed to. Two of the girls I went out with purposely hit on guys right in front of me, trying to make me angry. Instead, it made me break-up with them, and wish even harder for a relationship like my parents had.

My girl will know I love her completely, be completely comfortable and secure in our relationship. She won't need to stir up unnecessary drama to get my attention—she'll always have it.

We go over the items in the report, Natalie forwarding the message she got this morning from Craig demanding to know where she was, telling her if she didn't tell him, next time he saw her, she'd pay, to all of us to add to the report as well. Kayla gives her hand a squeeze when they're finished, the look in her eyes saying far more than words might.

"I'll let you know as soon as we get in to see a judge," Kayla assures us as they're heading out. "If for any reason they'd need to see you to confirm things, we'll have it done over Zoom. The only possible issue they might have that I can think of is that you don't have a permanent address in town. They may say you need to file it in Johnsonville, but we'll argue that since the harassment started while you were in town for school and he's a resident here that it's valid to file here. We'll request that your sister's address as well as school's be included so he can't bother you in the dorms any longer."

"Use my address," I tell them, pulling Natalie's attention up to me, shock filling her gaze. "You're going to be living with me regardless of how long it takes for you to say yes to me, baby. It'll mean a drive across town to get there in the mornings, but it's also safer for you to be with me than in the dorms next year."

"I might not even be back next year," Natalie sighs, but there's no way I'll let that happen. "You really want me to stay with you, even if…"

"Even if you want your own room until you catch up to where I am with us, yes, I want you where you'll be safe. I want you where I'll be able to see you, eat breakfast with you every day, spend time with you, even if you're simply studying," I assure her, relaxing a bit when she agrees, and we update the paperwork to reflect my address.

I glance between Kayla and Detective Taylor, a slight smile hitting me adding to them, "If you can get this in front of Judge Phillips, I'm sure it'll go smoothly."

"How's that?" Detective Taylor asks.

"If he sees the address on it, he'll know that Natalie's mine regardless of what her last name is," I tell them, pulling Natalie's brow up a hint in surprise. "His address is the same numerically and the same street name as mine. Only his is West Claymont whereas mine is East Claymont."

"You've gotten his mail before while he's gotten yours I take it?" Detective Taylor guesses.

"More than once. I dropped by his place on my way to a job once to deliver a package. Turns out it was for his wife's birthday, and he'd been trying to figure out where it was because it showed as delivered, but he'd taken off that day to wait for the delivery that never showed. If he knows the family's involved with this, he won't argue it," I promise Natalie, and she relaxes more as the two leave.

She wraps her arms around my waist, holding tight and I don't argue at all about it. Only a fool would argue about his woman needing comfort from him, would turn her away, and I'm sure as hell, not a fool.

"Thank you," she sighs, her face lifting, and I drop a kiss onto her lips.

"I'll always take care of you, however necessary, baby girl. If that's helping stop some psycho that's stalking you, I sure as hell will do everything I can to end it. If that's holding you when you're scared or need comfort, my arms are yours, Nat. You're my first priority now. I can't be happy unless you are," I add, pulling a little shiver from her that makes me smile.

That reaction isn't one of fright or worry. No, I felt her hands tighten on me, her little nipples pressing through the fabric of her shirt into me, and I love it.

"Thank you, daddy," she says softly, her green eyes, glittering beams of hunger, and it makes my body come fully to life hearing those sweet words.

My hand delves into her wheat colored locks, holding her head where I want it, stealing her lips with a hard kiss, putting everything I feel for her into it. Her tongue teases mine when her lips part, letting me taste all of her, until a moan falls from her mouth into mine, her body pressing hard against me.

I tear my mouth from hers, breathing hard, as my body demands I not stop. I can smell her desire, see it in her eyes when they flutter open. Her nipples are tight tips against her shirt, her hips pressing against mine, sending a shiver through her, but I know it's too soon. The moment we begin to move from this spot, something is bound to change, and as desperate as I am to claim her, I don't know how easy it'll be to stop.

I have to do it now if I'm going to put her first.

"Jamison?" she whispers as I cup her face gently, dragging in deep heaving breaths to calm my raging hard-on.

"I love you, baby girl," I tell her, not about to hold those words back for another second. She may not say them in return, but I know the feeling is building within her. One day, she'll say them in return, say them first, and that day will be spectacular. For now, I'll say them to her a million times, so she never questions my commitment to us, to her—giving her time to get there. "I want you more than anything, but until you're really ready for it, I can't take much more without doing something stupid. Something I know you're not ready for even if your body needs it just as badly."

"I…"

"You don't have to say anything and don't even think of trying to apologize," I tell her when she bites her bottom lip, her eyelids hiding her gaze from me. "I didn't mean to let that kiss get that heated, hearing you call me daddy put me on edge and I dove in a bit too fast. Today is not about pushing you to let me have your body. I want it when you're ready, all of you, and not just in relation to the depth of desire we create within each other. So, I'm going to head outside, get things set up to build the cabinets for now, okay?"

"Okay," she agrees with ease, her gaze back on mine once more. "Do you need any help?"

"No but that doesn't mean I'll turn it down. You can help me with measuring stuff," I suggest, earning a full smile from her that I love, before glancing at her feet. "Those shoes will be okay for now, but if you come out where I'm doing the building, you'll need something with a thicker sole. Don't want you stepping on discarded nails."

Her lips press into my cheek as she gives my neck a little tug down to her, and my cock pulses wanting more of them. More of her initiating contact, kisses. I won't argue about being able to kiss or hug her when I want, but I want her to feel comfortable doing the same.

I head outside, getting everything set up the way I want, and a smile hits when Natalie comes out with a big glass of lemonade for me. "Thanks baby, it's getting warm out here."

"I was thinking of making some sandwiches. Figured you'd be getting hungry but with the heat, something light would go down better," she suggests, and I nod, dropping a kiss onto her lips. "We could eat on the other side of the porch like a picnic."

"That sounds perfect, Nat," I agree, getting a few more things lined up to simplify putting the cabinet shells together after confirming the sizes on the plans once more.

I head over, finding her with sandwiches, chips, pickles, and Jackie's potato salad set up on the blanket. The cabin has a porch that wraps around all four sides, covered but not enclosed, letting the breeze whip through keeping the heat down. This side of the cabin faces the big field with woods in the distance, whereas the kitchen side faces the stream. Both views are great, but with all the equipment on the other side, eating over here makes it feel like we're here on a true vacation, rather than me being here to also do a job.

She doesn't talk much during the meal, but it's not a bad silence. I know she's got a lot on her mind, and until we hear back from Kayla, we're not going to know what happened with the judge. There's nothing I can tell her that'll make it better this instant, so simply being with her, showing her I'm here with her, for her, is the best that I can do.

We carry everything back inside, and I have her help me double-check the measurements and cabinet placements from the plans. I didn't anticipate them being wrong but before I start cutting wood, I like to do my own and mark the spots so it's simpler when I get to the install.

I finish marking the last cabinet spot and smile, seeing Natalie there looking at it as well. There's a look in her eyes I'm not certain of and I slip my arms around her, lifting her chin to see her better. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, no, nothing's wrong," she says, giving me a grin and I lift my eyebrow needing to know she's not just saying it. "I was just trying to see what it'll look like when you get everything in here. I'm just a little surprised that this is all I guess. I know it's a cabin and he's a guy, but when I was here with him last year, he mentioned that he wanted this place to be used by the family for things. That whenever Nanci and I had kids, he'd want us to bring them, having cookouts and stuff with them here. So this is not really what I was anticipating the final kitchen to be. There's so much empty space."

"We're adding in some upper cabinets as well," I tell her, showing her the design concept we're working off of.

"There's still like eight feet between the door and the end of the cabinets and then the table is all the way up in the dining area. It just makes it feel really undone like this," she says, and I nod, seeing what she means.

"What would you do with it then? Add more cabinets up to the doorway?"

"Mmm…no, I'd add a peninsula so there's more counterspace so if we did have get-togethers with a lot of food, there'd be room to put it out. You could also use it with barstools for a breakfast bar when you don't want to use the full table. There's still plenty of room to move around it that way. I think it'd be cool if it had open space beneath the peninsula, so having it rest on a single leg with a rounded end, wouldn't make it feel crowded that way. Then you could add in some spaces for pans that don't fit as well in the cabinets, like skillets, but do some built-ins in the base that's anchoring it," she suggests, and I drop a kiss onto her lips, smiling at her little giggle.

"I think you'll fit right in with the rest of the family. None of them can keep their opinions on designs to themselves, so we always end up making changes or adjustments to things. There's enough wood to add in the rest of the cabinets, do some shelves to fill in some of the other space along the wall. There's not enough countertop to do it, but I do have a butcherblock countertop that would work well with it. You'll have to take the blame from your brother if we do this though, he'd bitch me out for doing something for free for him, you know," I warn.

"I can be the bad guy," she muses, shrugging a bit and I drop a kiss onto her lips, before sketching out the changes, seeing if it's what she's thinking. "That's perfect. I think with the flow the rounded end works better. Makes the kitchen still feel more open to the rest of the space."

"Let me make a call to one of the guys I work with. He's supposed to be coming out to help me put the countertop in when I'm done with the cabinets, so I'll need him to bring the butcherblock with him. I think part of the post they replaced should work to hold the other side so Nick can't argue with it. I'll make sure it was only the one section that was damaged first and if not, I'll have him bring something for it as well."

"You're amazing, you know that?" she says with a sigh as I hug her.

"I do my best," I tease, giving her another little kiss before making myself get back to work. I'll never get anything done if I don't.

Each day I have her help me with something little, spending the time before and after with her, not pushing for more. Kayla called us that first night, saying Judge Phillips signed the paperwork with ease, and when Craig was served with the papers the next day, Natalie's phone blew up with threats. Each one is forwarded to Doug and Detective Taylor, while Chief Davidson is copied on them, and Doug has men watching my place in case the jerk shows.

For the most part, Natalie's kept her phone off, only checking it at night for messages from her brother and sister who think she's on a road trip with some girls from school. I wasn't thrilled that she didn't want to tell Nick the truth, but I also understood. He probably wouldn't be happy to learn she was here with me, especially not if he also learnt I'm desperate to sleep with her.

Even more now that I've spent the last week with her than that first day I saw her, knew she was mine. Everything I learn about her makes me love her more, and I'm on edge when George shows up to help me get the countertops installed Wednesday the week after I got here. It shouldn't since the man's forty-six and married to his high school sweetheart, but I still don't want anyone around Natalie but me.

The way his brow lifts seeing her has my back up, which causes it to lift higher, a chuckle falling from him when I pull her tighter to my side.

"Nice to meet you, Natalie," George says giving her a nod rather than attempting to shake her hand. "You're Nick's sister, aren't you?"

"I am, he doesn't know I'm here or that Jamison and I are together yet, so can you pretend you didn't find me here?" she suggests, and he nods again.

"Let us get these in, you can enjoy reading," I add, handing over the bag with the books I asked George to grab from my office to bring as well.

"You didn't," Natalie says, her eyes widening seeing the titles were ones she'd mentioned wanting to read a few nights ago. I had them delivered to the office to ensure no one tried to steal them since I'm not at home, and I definitely didn't want someone showing up here with them.

"Enjoy, baby girl," I tell her, earning a deep kiss that has my blood pumping fully.

"So, another Cartwright off the market huh?" George says as we unload the countertops.

"Completely, just have to deal with her ex who's stalking her, which had her escaping here unknown to her brother, first," I tell him sending his chin upward.

"That's why she asked not to mention she's here?"

"Yeah, might be hell doing nothing but sleeping next to her until she feels secure enough to move forward with us, but I'd never push her for more. Right now, let's get this in and then I can spend the rest of the day and week with my girl in peace," I state, and he doesn't begin to argue, allowing us to finish quickly.

The smile on Natalie's face when we're done says it all. She loves it, which means I'd let Nick take a shot for ignoring his original design even if I wasn't entirely in love with her. I guess this means he'll get two. One for doing what Natalie wanted with the kitchen rather than strictly what he'd hired me to do, and another for claiming her as mine—whether I've physically made her mine or not yet when I see him next.