Rescued Love (Sweetwater Valley #7)

CHAPTER 18

NATHAN

I’m both baffled and beyond pissed right now. Marcus showing up, unannounced and I’m sure without the backing of the firm, has me seeing red. I have so many questions, but I knew he wouldn’t answer a single one without lying. That’s just the kind of guy he is.

When I walked into the bar to find him chatting up my girl, I have never wanted to deck someone more than I did in that moment. It was obvious the guy tending bar was watching out for her, and my girl was handling things just fine, but I still didn’t like it.

The way Marcus was eyeing Kimball made me want to hurl. I can’t imagine how it made her feel.

Rhodes walking up, with his badge on display, to help get the interloper out was fucking amazing. I give him a chin lift which he returns before heading out the front door after Marcus. I don’t doubt that he’ll be making sure the piece of shit leaves town.

Feeling like people have my back isn’t something I’m used to, but it feels really fucking good. Even if I didn’t meet Kimball and fall head over heels for her, the feeling of not being alone anymore would be reason enough to stick around.

When I look down at my woman, she’s staring at me with her gaze filled with lust and something deeper. It makes my skin feel like it’s too tight. The words that I’m desperate to shout from the rooftops are right there on the tip of my tongue.

The only reason I swallow them down is because I’m not sure if she’s ready for them yet. When I know she is, there’s nothing that’ll stop me from telling her exactly how I feel.

“Hey man,” one of the men behind the bar pulls my attention his way to find his hand extended across the bar top, “we haven’t had the chance to meet yet. I’m Maverick.” He nods toward the guy standing next to him. “This is Clint.”

“Thank you for having my woman’s back,” I thank them sincerely as I shake their hands. “It’s nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard about you guys and know that this is your place, but when we’ve been in before you weren’t behind the bar.”

Kimball snorts, pulling my attention toward her. She juts her chin toward a table of women, which now includes Hailey who was coming in at the same time I was. I’m glad she was out of the fray and wasn’t close enough to attract attention from Marcus. I don’t need Wesley coming after my ass by association.

“Their wives are over there having a girl’s night,” Kimball fills me in.

“Oh,” I shoot the guys a knowing look, “you’re watching over them?”

Kimball giggles and snarks, “I’m sure they love it too.”

Maverick crosses his arms across his chest and shoots my woman a look, but there’s no real heat behind it. “They do love it.”

Before Kimball can retort, one of the women from the table who has approached us, puts her hand on Kimball’s arm. Her brown eyes are full of concern as she looks at my woman. “Are you okay? That guy was sleazy as fuck.”

I bark out a laugh, unable to help myself. When she looks at me, there’s approval in her eyes along with amusement. I’m not sure why her approval holds weight with me considering I’ve never met her before, but it does.

“I’m good, Lark,” Kimball promises. She turns to me and fills me in. “Lark is Maverick’s wife. She’s a newer addition to the town. Her sister, Poppy, moved here after her and met her man, Nash, who coaches the high school football team.” She leans back against me with a big smile on her face as she looks at Lark whose cheeks pink slightly. “She’s also an amazing romance author, a mother of three humans and one labrador who was adopted from the shelter.”

“Wow,” Lark teases my woman with a smile on her face, “that was quite a thorough introduction.” Her focus comes to me, and I feel the truth in her words, “It’s nice to finally meet you. There’s some adjustment moving to a small town, one of which being the rumors that go around, but the people here will have your back.”

“I’m seeing that,” I admit.

Lark smiles softly before looking at Kimball. “I was going to come over and see if you were okay, but I saw my husband was on the case and he would have probably-,” she stops herself midsentence and presses her lips together.

Maverick’s chuckle is a little dark as he finishes for her, “I would have spanked your luscious ass. Is that what you were going to say, wife ?”

“No,” she sasses while giving him the side-eye, “I was not going to say something so crass.” She touches her neck as if she’s clutching her imaginary pearls even though her eyes dance with amusement. “I’m a lady.”

Maverick grins and holds his hands up. “I’m just saying if you were going to say that then you would have been correct.”

“Well,” she says a little too loudly, “that’s my cue. If you want to join us,” she addresses Kimball, “even with your man, please do.”

Lark gives my woman’s shoulder a squeeze before walking away. When I look at Maverick, his eyes are locked on his wife and it’s clear how much he loves her from that look alone. It’s a look I recognize.

Maverick looks at me, smirks, and gives me a nod. “It was good meeting you, man. I hope you stick around because our little rescuer here,” he tilts his head towards Kimball, “deserves to be happy.” He claps his hands before rubbing them together. “Now, I have a woman to convince to cut girl’s night short since the kids are with their grandparents for the night.”

He walks away whistling while Clint chuckles. “Yeah,” he looks at me and then Kimball, “what he said.”

Kimball giggles, the sound so fucking light and pure that I pull her closer to my chest and bury my face in her neck. She melts into me when I kiss her neck. I fucking love it when she does that.

“I need to make a call, Kitten,” I rasp against her neck. “Do you want to listen in or do you want to hang with Hailey.”

She jolts a little and turns to me with wide eyes when I stand up to my full height. “You’re calling your boss?” I nod and I swear her eyes get even bigger as she gasps, “You’d let me listen in?”

“Of course,” I confirm and shrug one shoulder. “You’re the one Marcus, the fucking weasel, approached. I’m also going to be giving my notice to the firm.”

The way my woman’s mouth drops open has me thinking about her taking my cock down my throat even though this is not the time or place to be having such thoughts. But, come on, I’m only a man.

Kimball stands up and grips my hand, lacing our fingers together and giving a squeeze. “I want to be there for you.” Her eyes soften as she steals bits of my heart I didn’t even realize she hadn’t captured already as her words drip with sincerity, “You’ve devoted so much of your time and energy to your job, and I know this can’t be an easy decision.”

I shake my head and smile at my woman as I cup one of her cheeks. My thumb moves back and forth across it, and I revel in how soft her skin is.

“That’s where you’re wrong, Kimball,” I rasp. “It’s the easiest decision I’ve ever made. This is the right path for me.”

She nods and allows me to lead her out the front door, holding up a finger at Hailey to indicate that she’ll be back in a few minutes as we go. I can feel other people watching us, but I can’t find it in me to care. Not when Kimball’s presence grounds me and reminds me of everything I’ll be gaining by staying.

I can’t even fathom what I would be giving up if I went back. My chest aches with even the notion of it.

Kimball and a life here is exactly what I need.

When we get outside, Kimball leads me around the building until we get to an open area in the back that reminds me of a courtyard and includes a volleyball court made of sand. I’m sure I look confused as fuck…because I am.

Kimball giggles at the look on my face as she leads me to one of the picnic tables. “Every Fourth of July, since Maverick,” she emphasizes his name, “has opened they recreate the beach volleyball scene from Top Gun with Mav in the most obvious role.”

I blink a few times at my woman, processing her words, before laughter bursts from me. She’s smiling and nodding while joining me in my laughter. When I realize that she’s sitting next to me, instead of where I want her, I pick her up and put her on my lap.

“I bet that’s a sight.”

“Oh, it is. It’s always a good time.” She looks around and then leans closer to me, her voice taking on a conspiratorial quality that makes my heart race. I want all this woman’s secrets. “The first time Hailey and Wesley saw each other was that day, not this last one, but a year ago. They saw each other across the way,” she spreads her hands out wide, “and they both knew.”

“Is that so?”

She brings her hands together, her eyes sparkling in the soft glow of the sunset in the distance. Fuck. My woman is beautiful.

“They didn’t get together right away. There was another woman, Megan,” Kimball curls her lip a little at the name, “who was trying to get his attention. Hailey didn’t want to get in the middle of that mess.” Kimball huffs out a breath and rolls her eyes before confiding, “I wouldn’t have either if I were in her shoes. Megan is,” she pauses before grimacing, “pushy?”

“You don’t sound so sure,” I tease her.

“I was trying to find a nice way to put it. I think, maybe, I nailed it.”

“Then if she didn’t want to get in the middle of that mess, how did they end up together?”

“She set her kitchen on fire accidentally and he was one of the firemen who showed up,” she drops that bomb with a straight face. My jaw falls open because that sounds dramatic as hell. She nods when she sees my reaction. “Yeah, that was my face too when I found out.”

I make a humming sound and bury my face in her neck. “I guess how we met wasn’t so bad then,” I mumble against her skin.

“Well,” she points out, amusement in her voice, “you were a jerk.”

“I know,” I whisper.

“Hey,” she twists slightly and grips my chin to move me to where she can look into my eyes, “I don’t want you to feel badly about it anymore.” I frown slightly and she shakes her head, a command in her voice, “I mean it. I want to look back at it now, from where we are, and see the good in that meeting. It is what it is anyway and can’t be changed.” She leans forward and presses her lips against mine before murmuring, “I wouldn’t change it if I could.”

“You’re too good for me, Kitten,” I rasp.

“You’re perfect for me, Nathan,” she immediately tells me without a hint of hesitation.

“Fuck,” I growl.

I take her mouth in a kiss that consumes us. Before I know it, she’s twisted and is straddling my lap, grinding down against me. My cock begs for me to rip our clothes off, without a single fucking care for where we are, and fill her.

It’s difficult, but I slow the kiss down even though it’s the last thing I want to do.

“Kimball,” I groan, “I’ve fallen in love with you.”

My woman freezes before pulling away from me slowly. Her dark brown eyes roam over my face as if she’s trying to figure out if I’m telling her the truth and if her heart is safe with me. I get her hesitation, but at the same time everything in me screaming, begging, fucking yearning, for her to trust me and take a leap.

She breathes out slowly, tears welling up in her eyes, “I’ve fallen in love with you too, Nathan.”

“Thank fuck,” I rasp, my heart still in my throat.

When I kiss her this time, it’s slow and gentle. I want to show her exactly how much she means to me. I want her to feel how much I cherish her.

When we’re no longer able to breathe, we pull apart slowly and the light from the remnants of the sunset, from that moment right before everything is cast in shadow, make her glow. I’m a lucky fucking man.

Now it’s time for me to take the next step and do what I need to do in order to show her just how much she means to me. I’ll always show her that she’s my choice and how much she means to me.

Without breaking eye contact, I pull my phone out of my pocket and only look down at it to find Nigel’s number. I’m not at all surprised when he answers after only a few rings. Even with a family at home, work is something he makes a priority.

I don’t think I could ever regret him being my mentor because I did learn a lot from him, but now I can see the cracks in his way of life. It’s no longer a life I want to emulate, and his path isn’t one I want to follow.

“Nathan,” his voice is bright, but I can hear the strain in it, “I’m glad to hear from you.”

“Nigel,” I greet in return. “Is everything okay? You sound a little,” I pause to try and find the right word as I take in the furrowed eyebrows of my woman, “off.”

Nigel lets out a weary sigh. “Things could be better. Culbert’s case is not going well,” he admits.

My back straightens and my woman curls her fingers tighter into my shirt as if she wants to keep hold of me and ensure I don’t disappear. She has nothing to worry about.

“I’m sorry to hear that. I’m sure it’s not easy when the client is unwilling to hide his true nature. If he’ll show it to his lawyer, he’ll show it to anyone,” I point out. Before he can comment further, because I’m not interested, I forge ahead, “You should know that I had a visitor here.”

“Oh?” I can almost hear the slump of the man’s shoulders. “Why do I get the feeling that I’m not going to like this?”

I snort out a laugh and wink at my woman as she smiles. “Probably because you won’t like it. Marcus showed up in town. He said he wanted to track me down because he wanted me to consult on Culbert’s case.”

Nigel’s voice goes calm and fucking deadly, “He did what?”

Kimball’s eyes widen and I can only shrug because he needs to know and it’s not my problem. What Marcus did was incredibly inappropriate.

Before I can repeat myself, which I really don’t need to do because I know Nigel heard me the first time, he practically hisses, “He knows you’re no longer on the case and taking some time off. How the fuck did he even know where you are?”

“I have no idea,” I tell him honestly.

Part of me regrets not asking more questions, but I was desperate to get him as far away from my woman as possible. That’s the only thing I could think about, but Nigel does pose a very good question.

“I came into a local bar to meet my woman for a drink, and he was there.” I grit out through my teeth, “Hitting on her.”

“I’m sorry,” Nigel sounds dumbfounded, which is fair, “did you just say your woman?”

I squeeze Kimball tight and kiss her temple gently. “I did.” I look at my woman and can see the love in her eyes; I hope she can see the same in mine. “I’ve met someone. She’s amazing and has devoted her life to rescuing animals in need and helping them find forever homes. I’ve fallen in love with her.”

“Holy shit,” he murmurs under his breath before clearing his throat. “You’re not coming back, are you?”

I smile, a feeling of wistfulness passing through me. Not for what I’m giving up, that’s surprisingly easy, but because of the time I’ve wasted chasing a dream that was never really mine. And I did it for all the wrong reasons.

The only reason I kept going with it was because I thought it’s what I was supposed to do. I allowed myself to get caught up in the competition of it all and reveled in the challenge. Sure, it was a challenge, but not one that fulfilled me in any meaningful way.

Kimball watches me like I’ve hung the moon.

Winning her? That was a challenge I would happily go up against time and time again. Having her heart is the ultimate prize.

“No,” I tell him honestly while gazing into Kimball’s dark brown eyes, “I’m not coming back. This is where I’m supposed to be.”

Nigel sucks in a sharp breath, I’m sure because he hears the certainty in my voice. Good. I want him to hear it.

“While I’m sad to see you go, I’m also ecstatic for you, Nathan,” his voice is thick with emotion. He clears his throat before assuring me, “I’ll take care of Marcus. Thank you for bringing his little visit to my attention.”

We sign off and then I’m pulling my woman flush against me. I can feel the heat coming from her pussy. The need to bury myself inside of her is so damn strong that I almost can’t see straight.

“We should go back inside,” her voice is gentle as she reminds me, without really needing to say it, that Hailey is waiting for us.

I nod, but before we head inside, I kiss her again. Because I need her lips on mine. Because I need to taste her. Because I need her love.

She’s devoted her life to rescuing animals. Now, she’s rescued me, and I’ll forever make her happy because of it.