Worth the Fall (Sugar Mountain #1)

TIME FLIES . LIKE A TURKEY

THOMAS

T he weeks seemed to fly by. It was as if the second Brooklyn had come into our lives, time sped up a notch or two. Or maybe my days had become so enjoyable that they felt faster somehow. We’d slipped into an easy routine. One where Brooklyn spent the night almost every night at our house and Clara woke us up each morning by snuggling in bed between us with the biggest smile on her face.

I’d never allowed myself to want this sort of thing before. A part of me never believed it was possible. That all changed when one smart-mouthed redhead waltzed into my life and took hold of my heart.

“I thought I had all I needed,” I said one evening after I went down on her. It was my favorite nighttime activity.

“What?” she asked, her breaths heady and labored, her fingers still playing with my hair.

“I really thought I was happy. I mean, happy enough. I was content. But then you came along, and I knew I’d never be satisfied if I didn’t have you in my life.”

It was a heavy admission, but I knew she could handle it. I’d fallen first. We both knew it. I wasn’t afraid to admit it.

“I was scared of the way you made me feel,” she said, and I noticed her eyes turning glassy. “Because every time I looked at you or Clara, I wanted to be in your life too. But I didn’t understand how I could feel that way when I barely knew either of you.”

“Love isn’t logical, baby,” I said, throwing the word out there to test the waters.

If she freaked out and tried to run, I’d chase her to the ends of the earth. There was no way I was letting this woman go without one hell of a fight.

“Are you trying to tell me something without actually saying it?” Her mouth tipped up into a half grin.

“Don’t want to scare you.”

“You can’t scare me anymore. I’m all in, babe,” she said as she leaned up to kiss my lips. I knew they still tasted like her, but she didn’t seem to care.

“I love you.” My heart was pounding inside my chest as I tried to convince myself that I’d be okay if she didn’t say the words back, but I knew it was a lie.

“I love you too.”

“You’re our future. I see it so clearly.” I wanted her to know exactly how strong my feelings were for her.

“What if I’m a bad mom to Clara?” she asked, and I loved how she thought of my daughter and took her into consideration.

“You could never be. I don’t know what I’m doing half the time, but I figure it out. We can figure it out together. I never thought I’d have a partner. Now, I can’t imagine my life without you in it.”

“I feel the exact same way. It was never like this for me with Eli. I never felt like part of a team. Even though I was married, I felt really alone.”

She was at the point where she could talk about her ex-husband without any emotion clogging her throat. Almost like she was telling a story that had happened to someone else and not her. I just wanted her to be happy.

With me.

“You’ll never be alone again,” I said as I dived back under the covers, wanting to show her just how much I appreciated her choosing us.

And when she came on my tongue, I threw off the covers and flipped onto my back, ready to slip inside of her. She rode me until we both came undone, our bodies sweaty and slick with sweat. When she laid her head on top of my chest, she moved a few times until she was finally comfortable.

“Like a rock, O’Grady. Like a fucking rock.”

I laughed and watched her head bounce with the movement. “Sorry. I’ll start letting myself go now that you’re all in.”

She pulled her head up and glared at me. “Don’t you dare.”

“I knew you liked it.”

T hanksgiving dinner at my dad’s was pretty much a tradition in our family. Not like we’d had any other options, unless we wanted to have an early lunch at Main Street Diner before they closed for the evening. But we hadn’t done that in years. Not since Clara was born.

“Are Sven and Lana coming over?” I shouted toward Brooklyn, who was currently doing her makeup in the bathroom.

She had done Friendsgiving with her best friend since her parents had moved to Florida, and I didn’t want to ruin her tradition, so I figured we could combine it.

“The more, the merrier,” my dad had said, and I couldn’t have agreed more.

“They can’t make it. There were more people without family this year, so Lana is hosting at her place. I didn’t want to invite twelve people over to your dad’s.”

Okay, so twelve strangers might have been about ten too many.

“Sounds good. Lana and Sven know they’re always welcome, right?” I asked again because I didn’t want Brooklyn to feel like she had to give up anything in order to be with me.

She stepped out of the bathroom, her face lined in different shades and stripes, and I fought the urge to ask what the heck she was doing to herself.

“They know. And I know. Thank you for including them.”

“What’s happening there?” I made a circle in the air toward her face.

Okay, so apparently, I couldn’t help myself.

“It’s called contouring and highlighting. Don’t worry your pretty little head about it.”

Clara ran into the room and started bouncing on the bed. “Miss Brooklyn, I want contouring and highlighting too!”

Brooklyn’s eyes met mine and held. “I think we could do that.”

She gave me a look that warned me not to say no even though my stomach was twisting.

I hated makeup.

“I’ll be downstairs,” I grumped.

“No. Stay. Come in here,” Brooklyn demanded.

I had no idea why she wanted to torture me this way. Forcing me to watch my daughter get a face full of makeup that would make her look far older than she really was wasn’t my idea of a good time.

Brooklyn waited for me to join them in the bathroom before giving me a kiss on my cheek. “You’re being such a good sport,” she said before I rolled my eyes and grumbled under my breath.

“I’m going to blend my makeup really quick, and then we’ll do yours, okay?” Brooklyn asked my daughter, who was watching her with laser-focused attention.

And since I had zero clue what any of that meant, I did as well. Brooklyn grabbed some weird egg-shaped thing and started pressing it all over her face, and before I knew it, the harsh stripes disappeared, and her face looked normal again.

“Hop up here.” Brooklyn patted the countertop, and Clara climbed up.

I watched as she drew much lighter lines on Clara’s face before using the same egg-shaped thing to do the whole blend thing, and the lines disappeared, just like they had on Brooklyn’s skin. I noticed the difference on my daughter instantly though. Suddenly, her chubby cheeks looked more defined, and there was a color on them that typically didn’t exist. Brooklyn added some pale lip gloss, and, voilà, my daughter had turned into a teenager in less than ten minutes.

Clara turned to face her reflection and made a sound I’d never heard before. “I look so pretty.”

“You do. With and without makeup. Just like your mom,” Brooklyn said with a smile.

I wondered how the hell we’d gotten so lucky.

It was a kind thing for her to say, to even think about.

“Can I show you something, Miss Brooklyn?”

“Of course,” she answered, and we both watched as Clara hopped down and rushed away.

“She looks so much like Jenna,” I breathed out once we were alone.

Brooklyn nodded. “I was thinking the exact same thing.”

“Is that weird for you? Uncomfortable in any way?” I asked because we didn’t really talk a lot about Jenna other than that one night.

“No. I feel bad that Clara never got to know her mom. And I don’t want her to forget her either. If it were me, I would want to be remembered.”

“So, the pictures in the house don’t bother you?” I’d wanted to ask her that before, but it never seemed to be the right time. The topic would have come up out of nowhere and been forced or felt awkward.

“Not at all. Honestly, I thought I’d be more jealous, which I know sounds irrational and immature, but I don’t feel that way at all. Like I said, I think it’s important that Jenna is remembered and that Clara knows her mom loved her and wanted her.”

“Thank you,” I said before closing my mouth over hers before Clara cleared her throat.

“Hi. This is my favorite picture of my real mom.” Clara shoved the framed photo of Jenna that she kept in her room toward Brooklyn.

Brooklyn grabbed it with one hand and smiled. “It’s a really pretty picture.”

“See her lipstick?” Clara pointed at Jenna’s glossy pink lips.

“I do.”

“It’s my favorite, and you made my lips look just like hers. Thank you,” she said before taking the picture back, and I was hit with an idea.

“Clara, can you hold the picture up next to your face so I can take a photo for Grandpa and Grandma?” I asked, referring to Jenna’s parents.

This would be a nice surprise for them on a day that I knew was still filled with pain. Holidays tended to be the worst when you were missing someone.

She did as I’d requested with a big smile, and I texted them both the picture, hoping it would make them happy, before Clara disappeared again, most likely to bring the picture back to her bedroom.

“If my ladies are finally ready to go, you know Pops and the uncles are waiting for us,” I announced because we were definitely running late.

“I’m ready.” Clara jumped and bounced around. “Jasper will be there, right?”

“I don’t think Uncle Patrick goes anywhere without that dog anymore.”

“Just like Uncle Matthew doesn’t go anywhere without beer,” Clara said before giggling because she knew she was saying something naughty.

“Don’t forget the pies,” Brooklyn shouted as we all ran down the stairs.

If she hadn’t mentioned them, I definitely would have forgotten. I hustled toward the kitchen, opened the fridge, grabbed the two boxes from The Sweet Life Bakery, and followed my girls toward the garage.

“Let’s go eat!” I shouted.

The two of them repeated my words right back to me, and I wondered how my life could get any better than it was right now.