Chapter 47

CHAPTER 47

JESS

I was up in the hayloft near sunset when I spotted dust starting to rise on the country road leading to the farm. My heart stuttered in my chest and my stomach filled with butterflies as the car raced closer until I could make out the color.

I grinned, even letting out a soft squeal when I recognized the vehicle. Slate's home! He's finally here.

The last time I'd seen his car pull up, I'd judged him for his refined suit and polished shoes, but this time, I hurried down from the loft to meet him in the drive. Feet pounding across the dirt, I ran from the barn to the house, smiling like a loon as I waited for him to arrive.

Parking just a few feet away from me, he turned off his engine and grinned at me through the windshield. My heart about exploded in my chest when he stepped out, clean shaven for the first time in a few weeks, but his hair was still not perfectly styled and with no product in it at all.

He was wearing his Levis and a white tee. And boy, does he ever look good .

I ran up to meet him, throwing my arms around his neck and grinning. I swept my gaze across his beautiful face. "You're a sight for sore eyes, Slate Spieres."

"You're gorgeous, Jess Merrick." He scooped me up, dropping his overnight bag right there on the ground, and brought his lips to mine. Kissing me fast and hard, he broke away and let me go, but I didn't release him. I just breathed him in, not quite ready to step away.

I remained pressed against him. He wrapped his arms around me again, smiling even through the questions in his eyes. "Have you told your family about us or are they just not here?"

"Just not here," I admitted. "I've been thinking about telling them, though."

A soft smile curved the corners of his lips. "I'm ready whenever you are, but there's no rush. No pressure, okay?"

"Okay," I agreed, nuzzling his neck. Since I still wasn't quite ready to let go, I found myself sliding my hand into his. "Do you want to take your things inside and have something to drink, or would you like to go for a walk with me? The fireflies will be out soon."

"Let's do it. I'll take my things inside later and I just had a coffee. I'm all good on the drinks front." He twined his fingers around my own and brought our joined hands up to brush a kiss to the back of mine. "Is it weird that I missed you?"

"No weirder than me missing you back," I said, feeling all giddy as I smiled up at him. "How are Mira and Beau?"

"They're good. Really good." He pulled out his phone and opened his camera roll.

As we walked, I took the device eagerly and flipped through the sweetest pictures of him with his baby nephew. "Oh, my word. Look how big he's getting. That's crazy."

"Right?" He chuckled softly. "I think I took about a thousand photos, so you don't have to look at them all, but he's damn cute."

I stared at Slate smiling on the screen with a tiny, dark-haired little baby happily kicking on his uncle's lap, and I grinned. "You're right. Both of the guys in these pictures are damn cute."

He laughed. "Thanks. You're pretty cute yourself."

We strolled to the back field as the sun dipped behind the trees, the sky painted in reds and oranges that seemed even more beautiful today. Slate was back at my side, holding my hand and happy after making a special trip to see his nephew.

The fact he'd gone to see the baby sparked all sorts of gooey feelings inside me. I knew he loved his nephew, but the effort he'd made to see him? I didn't know many guys his age who'd have done that.

In fact, I didn't think I knew any others. Just Slate.

It also doesn't hurt that he looks like a natural with a baby. I wonder if he wants a family. My cheeks heated when I realized the direction my thoughts had taken. I handed back his phone, afraid that if I kept flipping through the pictures, my ovaries would be launched into overdrive.

As it was, the image of him cooing at that little boy was branded on the inside of my eyelids. If I didn't watch myself, I was going to be begging him to put a baby of our own in me.

Blissfully oblivious to my bout of spontaneous family planning for a child I didn't even know if he wanted, he nudged me with his hip while we walked. "How have things been going here? Did I miss anything?"

I shrugged and led him over to an outcropping of rocks along the side of the back field. We sat down on one of them. Our sides pressed together and his arm slid around my shoulders. I kept my hand in his, rested my head on his arm, and tried to ignore how warm and tingly this reunion of ours was making me feel.

We'd only been apart for a day and a half, but even that had been way too long for me. So long that I suddenly seemed to have a deep-seated desire for him to knock me up. I shook my head at myself and shot him a smile. "You didn't really miss much. There hasn't been any more sabotage, so at least that's something, but my dad is worried about my mom."

The cows were quiet and the air was still. With the sun now fast disappearing, it was becoming a peaceful night, but my own sense of peace was shattered by saying those words out loud. Even my thoughts of baby-making evaporated and my teeth sank into my lips.

Slate frowned. "He's worried about her? Why?"

"He thinks she's acting strange, but she just keeps saying she's tired."

He pressed his lips to my temple. "Maybe she is just tired. There's a lot going on around here lately. Work crews. Machinery. New sights and smells. Me. If she's been used to the quiet life, then having to deal with all of this would get to anyone."

"Yeah, that's what I thought, but I don't know. I'm worried too."

He stiffened at my side. "Now that you mention it, I was worried about her too a couple of weeks ago. I figured it was just all the stress of everything, but what's she been doing that has you and your dad worried?"

"What's she done to worry you?" I countered, frowning. My heart fluttered with the tension that was suddenly infusing my veins. "Crap. If even you've noticed there's something going on with her, then Dad and I can't be imagining it."

"I don't think you're imagining it," he said softly, watching as the field became lit with fireflies now that the sun was gone. "God, I can't believe how much I missed this place."

"You wouldn't believe how much it's missed you," I murmured as I glanced up at him. "You still haven't told me what she's done to worry you, though."

"I've just noticed a few times that she's seemed a little bit woozy. Her smiles haven't been as bright either. Where are they, anyway?"

"In town," I replied thoughtfully. "They went to grab a bite to eat. I might have encouraged my dad to take her out. Give her a break. They wanted to wait for you so we could all go, but I wanted you all to myself for a little while, so I told them to go ahead without us."

"I'm glad you did." Using his arm on my shoulder as leverage, he pulled me back, grinned, and put his face right above mine. "That means I can do this without worrying about being seen."

He slanted his lips over mine, kissing me deeper now that he knew my family wasn't about to burst out of the house and see us. I moaned into his mouth, threaded my fingers into his hair, and held him to me.

Slate adjusted his grip to bring me closer to him, turning so our fronts were mashed together. I wound my arms around his neck and crawled into his lap before pushing my fingers into his hair once more. I slid my tongue into his mouth and relished having him back here with me.

I shouldn't have felt like this after less than two days without him, but I definitely felt it. The time he'd been gone had taught me that despite my best intentions, I'd somehow let him crawl deep into my heart.

He groaned before he finally broke off the kiss. Those dark golden eyes looked into mine like he was drinking me in, a smile ghosting across his lips. He brought his head forward to rest on my chest.

I cradled him to me. Closing my eyes, I buried my face in his hair. "It's good to have you back."

"It's good to be back," he murmured, sounding like he truly meant it.

I smiled. "Whatever happened to that City Boy who couldn't stand being out here?"

"I don't know," he mused out loud. "I think I lost him that first night you brought me out here to see the fireflies."

I chuckled. "I think you'd already lost him by then." Pulling away, I combed my fingers into his hair and sighed. "Are you seriously worried about my mom?"

He considered it for a beat before he nodded. "Yeah, I am. It's weird, but something has been off. I didn't think too much of it, but you guys know her best."

"Ever since we started digging…" I trailed off, unable to believe what I was about to say.

Last night, while I'd been lying in my bed alone, missing him and thinking about how much things had changed since we'd struck oil, the worst thought I'd ever had popped into my head.

Slate frowned, prompting me when I went quiet. "What is it, Jess? What are you thinking?"

My lips pursed and I dragged in a deep breath. "I just wonder if this is what she wants, you know?"

"Oil?" he asked, his frown deepening. He stroked his fingers up and down my back. "Well, I mean, I don't know how many people would want the upheaval of finding it, but the money you could make from it is good, right? It's what you need?"

"Yeah, but I'm just wondering if maybe she'd prefer if we stopped digging," I said slowly. "Our lives were pretty good before this happened. Slow and simple. Sure, we're not rich and we never will be. Not from owning a dairy farm, anyway, but that's the life she knows."

"Okay." He shrugged. "So maybe that's why she's been acting strange. Maybe she really is just tired and overwhelmed because of the upheaval. It's possible. Likely, even. If someone's been used to one thing their entire lives and suddenly everything changes virtually overnight, it would take anyone some time to adjust to that."

"What if she doesn't want us to keep digging?" I asked directly when it didn't seem to be sinking in for him. I knew I had to spit it right out before I lost my nerve. "As in, what if my mom is the one who sabotaged the equipment?"