Sable Peak (The Edens)

Vera wrinkled her nose as she stepped inside the cabin.

“I know.” I held up a hand. “It’s bad.”

Every window was open, along with the door. A breeze curled through the house, but the acrid scent of dinner—completely fucking burned—clung to the air.

“What were you trying to make?” Vera set her backpack on the counter, then came to the sink, peering over my shoulder to the pan soaking in suds.

“Grilled ham and cheese.”

“Oh.” She pulled in her lips to hide a smile. “You burned grilled ham and cheese.”

“This might be a new low.” Though once, I’d turned a handful of chicken nuggets into hockey pucks because I’d microwaved them for three minutes instead of thirty seconds.

“What happened?”

“I had it perfect on one side.” That was the real sting here. It was going so well, that one side crisped and golden brown. “I flipped it, but Allie pooped and needed her diaper changed. So I shut off the burner to take care of her. Figured it would cook while we were in her bedroom. Came out and I’d turned the burner on full.”

Rest in peace, little sandwich.

“Oh.” A giggle escaped Vera’s lips. She slapped a hand over her mouth to cover it, but it was pointless. She burst into hysterics, laughing so hard she snorted.

That snort, that adorable snort, made my ruined dinner worth it.

“I’m not a great cook,” I told her.

“So I’ve heard. Your mom said she doesn’t have to worry about Eloise anymore because Jasper cooks. But she’s mentioned on more than one occasion that if not for peanut butter sandwiches and cold cereal, Allie might starve.”

“Thanks, Mom,” I deadpanned. “That is cutthroat.”

“Is she wrong though?” Vera arched an eyebrow and looked to Allie’s high chair, where my daughter was spooning cereal into her mouth, milk dribbling down her chin.

“Fair point. Are you hungry? I can make you cereal too. And I dare you to find anyone who can pour a better Rice Krispie to milk ratio.”

“I’m good. But thank you.” Vera laughed, her eyes sparkling.

Damn, she was something. I leaned in closer, that laugh drawing me in. My gaze dropped to her perfect mouth, and though I’d told myself to back off tonight, just keep the focus on studying, I wanted a kiss.

I wanted the kiss I’d almost taken last Friday.

Vera’s smile faltered and she ducked her chin, like she knew exactly what I was thinking and had thrown up a stop sign. She cleared her throat and darted around me, giving me a wide berth as she joined Allie at the dining room table.

We hadn’t spoken since last week. I’d been to Mom and Dad’s house a few times but Vera’s car had been missing from her regular parking space beside the barn.

I’d missed her. It had only been a week, but tension seeped away from my shoulders now that she was here.

Especially considering I’d been worried she wouldn’t show at all.

After a week of replaying our first study session, I could admit that maybe I’d come on a bit strong. In my defense, it was becoming nearly impossible to keep my distance from Vera. There’d been too many years of staying on my side of the boundary line.

That kiss she’d given me at Willie’s hadn’t just been an eye-opener. It had been permission.

There were no more lines.

Something here was worth exploring, and I wasn’t wasting my chance.

“How was your week?” I asked, carrying her backpack as I joined her at the table.

“Good. I worked. I’ve been studying a lot for a few upcoming tests. You?”

“Busy. Spent most of it helping Griffin reconfigure the corrals at his house. Allie had a doctor’s appointment with Talia. Went flying for a couple hours yesterday.”

“You did?”

“I did.”

“I’m glad.” Pride brightened her face. She should be proud. I’d flown for myself, but I’d done it because of her.

“Ready?” I patted her backpack.

Vera stood behind the chair at the head of the table. It was one of two seats where I couldn’t squeeze in next to her.

Well, that wasn’t going to work for me. I liked sitting so close that our thighs touched. I wanted the strands of her silky ponytail to brush my arm from time to time. I’d much rather smell her sweet scent than my scorched dinner.

She pulled out the chair and sat down, sliding her bag over.

As she loosened the zipper, I grabbed my own chair. And plopped it right beside hers.

“What are you …” She looked to the ceiling, like she was silently praying for strength. “Mateo.”

“It’s easier this way.”

“Studying is easier if you’re sitting on top of me?” She glanced down to where our knees were just millimeters from knocking.

“I don’t like to read upside down.”

“You don’t need to read anything. You already know this.”

“I like to follow along.”

Her nostrils flared. “Have you always been this stubborn? Or did I just miss it?”

“You missed it.”

“Fine.” She flung open her book with an eye roll.

Wherever she’d been hiding this snark for the past couple of years, I was glad to see it flourish.

It took less than five minutes for our knees to touch. Each time they bumped, she’d shy away. Then a few minutes later, she’d relax and let her guard down. We’d touch again. And the dance went round and round.

“Ahh done.” Allie finished her cereal and held up her hands.

“Good job, Sprout.” I gave Vera a reprieve and lifted Alaina from her high chair, quickly wiping up her face before cleaning the mess on her tray. Then I turned on a Disney show and let her play in the living room while I returned to my chair.

The moment I was seated, Vera’s spine stiffened. She looked as stiff as the wood beneath her ass.

“Vera, relax.”

“I can’t.” She huffed. “You’re crowding me. I can’t think with you so close.”

I moved closer.

“Mateo.” She jabbed her elbow into mine, then buried her face in her hands. “You’re confusing me.”

“About carburetor ice?” I teased.

She dropped her hands and huffed. “Mateo.”

“You’re confused.” I tucked and untucked a lock of her hair. “I thought I was pretty clear.”

“Not to me.”

I forgot sometimes that she had spent so long away from the world. That she’d missed her senior year in high school and college years—years when I’d spent just as much time learning about women as I had agricultural business or piloting. What I considered fairly obvious might need to be repeated, reinforced, a few times for it to sink in deep.

“This is a date,” I declared.

“But we’re studying.”

“It’s a study date. And soon, I’d like to take you on a dinner date. And a movie date. And a coffee date. I want to date you, Vera. I want to spend time with you.”

And I wanted to kiss her.

She opened her mouth and closed it. Opened it again. Then her shoulders sagged. “I don’t know how to navigate this. It’s … weird. I made it weird at Willie’s.”

“No, you didn’t.”

She gave me a flat look.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

“You made it clear. And if it makes you feel better, I’m not exactly sure how to navigate this either.”

My one and only real relationship had been with Madison. And it had ended in a fiery crash.

“We’ll find our way together,” I promised, then tapped her textbook. “But first, we get to learn about carburetor ice.”

“Okay.” She sighed.

It went against every instinct, but for the next hour as we worked, I kept my knee away from hers.

We’d take this slow. As slow as she needed.

“Ve-wa.” Allie came running over with a pink plastic hammer. “Wook it.”

“Oh, I love your hammer.” Vera fawned over the toy before letting Allie smack it on the table to prove it worked.

While I’d been helping Griffin at the corrals this week, Allie had tagged along one day to play with her cousins. Mom had come over to help out since Winn had been at work. She’d bought toy toolboxes for each of the kids. Allie had been hooked to this hammer ever since.

She smacked it on the table again just as a yawn stretched her mouth.

I glanced at the clock on the stove. Almost bedtime. This study date was over too soon.

We could stretch bedtime a bit, but Allie was a better kid if we stuck to a routine. “I’d better get her in the tub. Would you wait?”

Vera touched a lock of Allie’s hair that had escaped a pigtail. “Sure.”

“Come on, Sprout. Bath time.”

“No baf!” The hammer was dropped as Allie tore off for the living room, trying to hide beside the couch.

“Alaina.”

“No baf.”

I blew out a deep breath.

These days, this was the nightly battle. About four months ago, she’d started to fight me on bath time. Why, I had no clue. She’d squirm and kick and cry. It had become such a challenge, that Mom had stopped even trying to bathe Allie on the nights we stayed at my parents’ place.

The idea of a bath just pissed my daughter off. But the bath itself? Totally fine. When I finally got her in the water, she loved it. She’d splash and play like it was her favorite activity in the world.

Two-year-olds. They made no fucking sense.

“She’s going to scream,” I warned Vera, then headed for the bathroom, getting the water going. I added extra bubbles in the hopes that it would lessen the fit we were about to endure.

I returned to the living room, shoulders squared for the showdown, and froze.

Vera was kneeling on the floor beside Allie, helping her out of her clothes. No screaming. No squirming. “Should we take your hammer into the bath?”

“Yeah!” Dressed only in her diaper, she ran for the toy she’d abandoned, then raced for the bathroom with it.

Who was that child? Because she wasn’t my daughter.

“You have to come over for bath time every night,” I told Vera.

She giggled, collecting Allie’s clothes and standing from the floor.

“Daddy!” Allie called. “Bubbies.”

“Be back.” I winked at Vera, then went to get Allie into the bubbles. Before I disappeared into the bathroom, I glanced over my shoulder.

And caught Vera staring at my ass.

Man, did I like that. I liked the flirting and teasing. I liked the subtle touches and stolen looks. I liked the tension building between us.

It was so different than my experience with any other woman. Sex had always been the goal. An easy fuck to release some stress. Jumping straight into bed meant I’d never taken the time to appreciate these understated moments.

Just being in the same room with Vera had become a lesson in foreplay.

For the first time in my life, I wanted to stretch this out. Savor it.

Allie was ripping off her diaper when I made it to the bathroom. I snagged it from her, then plopped her in the water, moving as quickly as possible to clean her up and wash her hair.

“Time to get out.”

“No!” she cried when I opened the drain. “Mo bubbies.”

“All done.”

“No.” She kicked as I hefted her out of the tub, her skin slippery, but I kept a firm hold on her torso, plopping her on the mat and wrapping her in a hooded unicorn towel.

The pout on her face was adorable. Someday, she’d wield that against me, wouldn’t she? It was already getting harder and harder to tell her no.

“Go find Vera.”

The pout morphed into a toothy smile. Allie raced out of the room, bare feet slapping on the hardwood floors. “Ve-wa!”

“Jellybean.”

I dried the floor and slipped into Allie’s room to get her pajamas from the dresser. With a clean diaper and purple onesie in hand, I found Allie on Vera’s lap, both cuddled together on the couch.

“Let’s get dressed, Sprout.”

Allie curled deeper into Vera’s shoulder.

“Want me to help you?” Vera asked, reaching for the pajamas.

Alaina didn’t fight Vera. No, the person she loved to argue with most was me.

While they worked on the diaper and clothes, I got Allie’s sippy cup of milk from the fridge.

Normally, I’d take Allie to the rocking chair in her room and snuggle with her until she was asleep. Then I’d put her in her bed and sneak out. But she and Vera looked too perfect together to break up, so I turned off the main lights, leaving one on in the kitchen, and joined them on the couch.

“What should we watch?” I snagged the remote from the coffee table.

“Dizzy?” Vera asked, the corner of her mouth turning up.

“Not Dizzy.”

Allie let out a whimper when I changed the channel from her cartoon, but she was getting tired and as Vera toyed with her damp hair, her eyelids began to droop.

I chose a random movie from Netflix that I’d seen before and knew wasn’t violent, then turned down the volume. My arm draped across the back of the couch, my fingers reaching for the ends of Vera’s ponytail.

She let me twist a lock around a finger. Another win.

Allie crawled onto my lap ten minutes into the movie and rested her cheek on my shoulder as she yawned.

My girl loved to argue and push my buttons, but I could count on my fingers how many times she’d fallen asleep somewhere other than on my chest.

“Night, Sprout.” I kissed her hair as she gasped another yawn.

Minutes were all it took for her to crash.

“I should go,” Vera whispered.

Except I wasn’t ready for her to go, not yet. So I took more of that ponytail in my fingers, tugging just enough that she didn’t move to stand. “Have you seen this movie before?”

“No. But—”

“Study date. Movie date.” This time, I pulled her hair my direction until she took the hint and shifted closer.

She sighed as she sank into my side. “Just promise me the dinner date will be to a restaurant.”

I chuckled. “We’ll go to Knuckles.”

There was a smile on her mouth when I glanced down. A smile so pretty I wanted to kiss it.

“Vera.” I spoke low. Smooth. Drawing her attention away from the screen.

“What?”

“I want to kiss you.”

That chocolate gaze blew wide, those pink lips parting.

“Tell me yes. Tell me you want my mouth as much as I want yours.”

“I—” Her breath hitched. “Yes.”

Thank fuck. I bent, ready to take the kiss I’d been dreaming about for a week.

Allie shifted, her knee colliding with my groin.

“Ooof.” I winced, shifting her away. Son of a bitch. Brutal little knees.

Not only was my dick throbbing—not the good throb—but the moment was broken.

“You should put her to bed.” She stood and collected her backpack from the table.

Damn. So close.

With Allie in my arms, I moved around the house, closing windows now that the burnt smell had faded. Then I met Vera at the door.

“Next week?” I lifted my hand to her cheek, my thumb skimming across freckles.

She nodded and turned for the door. But she whirled back in a flash, and before I knew it was happening, she rose up on her toes and pressed a kiss to the corner of my mouth.

Then she ran.

She was always running.

But at least this time, she’d kissed me first.