The Fall (Colorado Coyotes #6)

Chapter 22

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Cam

Two Months Later

I peek out the living room curtains again, looking for Rowan’s Bronco.

No sign of him yet. He and Sam should be pulling up any minute and I know Sam will be full of stories about the Cub Scouts camping trip. When he practiced carrying all his gear, his hiking backpack was so full the poor kid fell over backward, all of us laughing at him with his arms and legs flailing around like a turtle on its back.

“Can I play video games now?” Tate barrels down the stairs, his hair wet from a shower.

“Let me smell you first.”

He races over and I sniff his hair, which has a eucalyptus scent. I took him to an indoor water park for the weekend and wanted to make sure he washed the chlorine out of his hair from our last swim this morning.

“Okay, you can go play, but when Rowan and Sam get home, we’re eating dinner. No complaining about how you’re in the middle of a game.”

He’s gone before I can even lock eyes with him to let him know I’m serious. I smile and shake my head. My boys couldn’t be more yin and yang. I don’t know what I’d do if I had two Tates.

He loved having my undivided attention all weekend. It’s something I’ve never been able to do for my kids as a single mom. We went down the big waterslide at the water park at least a hundred times, had steak for dinner and got ice cream Friday and Saturday night. I took Friday off work and let him miss school that day since Rowan and Sam’s campout started Thursday.

Being a mom is the most exhausting, rewarding thing I’ve ever done. The boys are both very attached to Rowan, who moved in with us. It just made sense because he was over here all the time anyway and we were keeping Duke when Rowan was on the road.

“You miss him, don’t you, boy?” I ask the golden retriever napping in the corner of the room.

He likes to lie on a heating pad I put on top of a plush dog bed that doesn’t have sides he needs to step over. The boys cover him up and give him kisses and cuddles every night before they go to bed.

Duke slowly gets up, knowing I was talking to him. He lumbers over, his tail swishing. I get down on the floor and pet him.

“You’re the best boy and you know it, don’t you?”

I scratch his ears and gently rub his face, his tail wagging higher now. Rowan’s dad got Duke for him shortly before he died. He knew Rowan would need comfort. I dread the day when Duke is no longer with us, because Rowan loves him so much. For now, though, he’s doing just fine.

The front door opens and Sam runs into the house. “Mom! I hiked four miles!”

“Four miles! That’s fantastic!” I stand up and wrap him in a hug.

Rowan walks in and my stomach does a somersault when I see him. I get it now--why he’s attracted to me being a mom. He’s wearing a hat with Sam’s Scout troop name and number on it and a T-shirt that says, “Troop 324 Father-Son campout,” and I want to jump directly into his arms.

“Look what I got!” Sam pulls a badge from his pocket. “You can only get this from being at the campout.”

I look at it. “That’s awesome, buddy. I’m really proud of you.”

He grins at Rowan. “Rowan hiked longer than any of the other adults could. He set up our tent and somebody else’s.”

I arch my brows. “Nice.”

“And he made bacon and eggs for everybody.”

I give Rowan a fake, confused look. “You know how to make bacon and eggs?”

He slides his massive hiking backpack--and Sam’s, which he’s also carrying--onto the floor. “Only over a campfire. I’ll make breakfast for you anytime, as long as you don’t mind a campfire in the middle of the living room.”

Sam gives me a shocked look and I say, “He’s kidding.”

I walk over to Rowan and give him a quick kiss. “Are you guys hungry?”

“Starving. How was the water park?”

Sam takes off to play video games with Tate and I wrap my arms around Rowan’s neck.

“We had an amazing time. I think maybe I should have worn a different swimsuit, though. I got lots of looks in my little bikini.”

His gaze gets dark and he pulls me close, holding on tight. “You better be joking. I hiked five miles this morning, but I can still go kick some asses if I need to.”

“I wore a very conservative one-piece,” I assure him. “But my boobs did look really good in it, just sayin’.”

He glances upstairs to make sure the boys aren’t watching before giving me a long, passionate kiss.

“I missed you like hell,” he says in a low tone.

“I missed you too,” I whisper. “Looking forward to bedtime tonight.”

Sex with him just keeps getting better. When he’s gone on road trips, I tease him with photos and texts, and when he gets back home, he shows me how crazy it made him.

He kisses my lips, my cheeks and my nose. “I was thinking about something when I couldn’t sleep in the tent one night because there was a giant rock under my back.”

I laugh softly. “Oh, poor Rowan.”

“I think you should take Sam away for a weekend when my season ends, and I’ll take Tate for one. If we don’t make the playoffs, I might take Tate to a playoff game if he wants.”

“Oh, he’ll want to.”

“And then...a trip for just the two of us. I’m thinking one of those little thatched huts in the water someplace tropical. Very private. Minimal clothing.”

My body warms just imagining it. “I love this idea. But we have to go a different week than when I’m taking the boys to Disney World.”

“Of course.”

The boys wanted to invite him to come to Disney World with us, and I was so touched that they included him. But he said he wants this to be a trip just for the three of us. I didn’t realize how much I needed that until he made the choice for me.

He knows how much it means to me that I can do this for my kids. He didn’t try to sweep in and get us upgraded to first-class plane tickets or a pricier resort. The trip will be special for so many reasons. Because I did it on my own, because my boys will be over the moon with excitement, and because I know it’s a turning point for us.

It’ll be our last trip as a threesome. Rowan will be included in everything moving forward. And hopefully, we’ll have more kids and lots of big family trips to come.

I go into the kitchen to take the lasagna out of the oven and he follows me, nuzzling my neck with his lips as he stands behind me.

“You have to get fitted for the tux for the wedding this week,” I remind him.

He’s the best man in Dom and Tess’s June wedding and I’m the maid of honor. Rowan’s jokes about hooking up with the maid of honor are ramping up as the day gets closer.

When I turn to face him, he’s scowling. “The wedding is still four months away, babe.”

“I know, but Bridezilla has a schedule and woe to the person who fucks with it.”

He shakes his head. “Tess is usually one of the coolest people I know. Why is she such a mess over this wedding?”

“Because a lot of rich and famous people will be there and she doesn’t want to embarrass Dom.”

He bursts out laughing. “Dom is already a walking embarrassment.”

“We’ll just get our fittings done like she wants so she can check the boxes off in her wedding planner. She gets a dopamine hit from that.”

“I’ll do it, but I want something in return.”

“Oh yeah?” I grin up at him, putting my arms around his neck. “What’s that?”

He looks over both shoulders to make sure we’re completely alone, and then he whispers anyway. “I want the maid of honor to ditch her panties so I can eat her pussy in the church before the ceremony.”

I clench involuntarily. “God, that maid of honor is a lucky girl.”

“I’ll put her to work. She’ll walk down that aisle knowing she’s a naughty girl who just sucked off the best man.”

“Even luckier.”

He gives me a sexy smirk. “Just wait ’til it’s her turn to be the bride.”

My pulse pounds with excitement. “When do you suppose that’ll be?”

“Soon. Very, very soon, if I have anything to say about it.”

He kisses me again and I feel the peace of being with a man who never lies to me. Who always keeps his word to me and my kids. When Rowan and I get married, I’ll know for sure it’s the real thing. And that it’s forever.