He rushes to me, strips the shirt of his back and hands it to me.
No words are spoken as he pulls me into a hug. There’s a light tap on my wrist as Brody takes the reins of the horses from me.
I wrap my arms around Asher and weep.
30
Asher
I came to with a ringing in my ears, and the worst headache of my life, not knowing what the hell happened. I still don’t know, except I woke to flames.
Evelyn’s quick thinking saved not only our lives, but the horses as well. I can say I never want to lead a terrified Knight through a wall of flame anytime soon.
I wrap my arms around Evelyn as sirens sound in the distance. Their red and white lights flash in counterpoint to the flickering light of the flames and the pounding in my chest.
We nearly died. I almost lost everything.
“What happened?” I hold Evelyn tight. I still don’t know why I was knocked out or came to inside a burning barn. I expect her voice to be shaky, terrified, but she speaks clearly.
“It was Felix.”
“Felix?”
“Yes.” She steps away as a firetruck pulls up.
Men from Fire Station 13 pile out of the fire engine. I’m not sure what they can do. The barn is a complete loss.
I turn my attention back to Evelyn. “Are you sure?”
“He was crazy. He hit you on the head, then set the barn on fire.”
“Felix has always been trouble, but why would he want to hurt you?”
“Because he’s the one who started the forest fire. He’s the man I saw on the ridge.”
“How’s that possible?”
“I don’t know, but he looks different now. He cut his hair and shaved. That’s why I didn’t recognize him.”
She repeats everything Felix said to her and my gut twists. There was never anyone out to hurt Evelyn. It was always about me.
She was merely collateral damage. Which means the plane crash really was an accident. I feel like a tool for the way I’ve been treating Prescott.
One of the firefighters walks by dragging a hose. He gives a nod. It takes a second before I realize it’s Grady Malone.
Over the next hour, they fight the blaze.
Grant arrives and pulls us to the side. “What happened?”
“I don’t know.” It’s the truth. Other than escaping the fire, I have no memory of Felix.
“Damn, I’m really sorry.” He pulls out a grainy photograph and turns to Evelyn. “Do you recognize this man?”
She peers at the photo of a scraggly man with a beard at a hardware shop.
“That’s him.” She points excitedly. “That’s the man I saw on the ridge. It’s Felix.”
Grant’s lips twist. “That’s what I was afraid of.” He tucks the photo back into its folder. “Needless to say, the arson charges against you are being dropped.”
“And what about Felix?” I want to go after the bastard, wring his neck, kick him in the balls, then toss his ass off a cliff.
“There’s a warrant out for his arrest. I’ve sent people to his home, but we’re not likely to find him there.”
“How did he think he could get away with this?” Evelyn looks as confused as I feel. None of this makes sense.
“I don’t know, but we’re going to find him.” Grant shakes my hand and heads out.
There’s a manhunt underway for my high school nemesis. I take Evelyn with me to the porch where we sit and I hold her hand. My brothers took the horses to the back pasture with the mares and just returned. They sit down beside us.
“So, Felix-fucking-Franklin?” Brody picks at his fingernails and shakes his head.
“Looks like,” I say.
“The fire on the ridge?” Cage runs a hand through his hair and joins Brody in the head shaking thing. “What the fuck was he thinking?”
“Do you think he lit that fire thinking it would hit your land?” Evelyn curls her fingers in mine.
“You mean start a massive forest fire out of spite and hope it reached our vineyard?” I try not to do it, but damn if I’m not shaking my head too.
“It’s possible.” She shrugs. “If he knew about the wind.”
“I don’t think Felix is that smart—although the way the wind pushed the fire that day, it kind of makes sense. It spilled right down the hills toward us.”
“You think he really tried to burn us out?” Brody props his elbows on his knees. “That fucker is whacked in the head. First, he tries to steal our land, then burn it to the ground?”
“It would be the end of La Rouge Vineyards.” I tilt my head back and stare at the stars. “Maybe that’s what he wanted? To put us out of business. He’d be able to come in with a low-ball offer and bail us out.” It sounds reasonable, but who knows what the fucker is thinking.
The fire raging across from us burns the barn down. Thank fuck Grady and his team are here. If not for them, we would’ve lost the vines as the fire spread.
“You think that’s what he wants? To put us out of business for good?” Cage’s lower lip curls inward. “He tried that when dad died.”
I scrub my hands over my face and let out a long breath. We talk for a bit, coming no closer to a reason behind Felix’s actions.
Exhaustion pulls at me as my mind drifts away. A light touch on my palm draws me back. It’s Evelyn tracing a heart on my palm.
I stand and pull Evelyn into my arms. “I almost lost you.”
For the first time, I know what my future holds. The future of La Rouge Vineyards may be up in the air, but my future is set. It belongs in the arms of my beautiful little backpack.
Her hair is a mess. The long curls singed at the tips. The rest of her hair is a knotted mess. Soot covers her face, broken only by the tracks of her tears. Like me, she reeks of woodsmoke. It permeates her clothes, her hair, and her skin.
A firestorm brought us together. The fire at her house brought her to me. But this last one?
It forged our future.
I pull her up the steps. Brody and Cage glance at me and give a nod. It’s the triplet thing. They know I’ve found my forever. And unlike Erin, they approve my choice.
“Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up.” I gesture inside.
Evelyn looks at her dirt and soot-stained clothes. Her soft smile looks like heaven and settles inside of me where it lodges in my heart.
She’s the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen and encompasses everything I want in a woman.
Soft and tender.
Fierce and indestructible.
Her strength is uncompromising.
Her will to survive undeniable.
I can’t wait to get her inside and tell her I intend to stay right beside her wherever she chooses to go.
She’s not from around here and we agreed to no strings, but damn if there’s not something binding us together. If she chooses to leave, at least she’ll walk away knowing exactly how I feel. What I’m willing to give up to be right by her side.
We barely make it through the front door before her grip tightens and she pulls to a stop.
Our gazes lock, communicating without words, the fear we faced, working to free ourselves, and making it out of the barn alive.
She’s suddenly in my arms. Legs wrapped around my waist. Lips press against mine. I’m right there with her, running my hands along her back, cupping them beneath her gorgeous ass as I carry her through the house.
“I thought we weren’t going to make it.”
I thought the same thing, but she was alone with Felix. She watched him take me out, pour gasoline around the barn, light it on fire. The horror she endured is something I wish I could take away. The helplessness she felt tied to that post isn’t something I ever want her to feel again.
“But we did.” I feather kisses over her mouth, her cheeks, the tip of her nose and over her eyelids.
“Yes, we did.”
“You’re here, little backpack, and I’m never letting you go.” Does she understand what that means?
“Promise?” She leans back to gaze into my eyes.
Our tongues meet as I press her up against the wall. I fucked her against this wall and I’m seconds from doing that again. I need to be buried deep within her, physically reconnecting, as I bind her to me.
She wraps around me. Arms draped over my shoulders. Legs wrapped around my hips. Her hot pussy pressing against my hungry cock.
No way in hell am I ever letting her go.
I press her against the wall and brace my hand beside her head. My other hand reaches between us, flicking open the button of her jeans, lowering the zipper. Getting frustrated because her jeans aren’t coming off like this. A low groan escapes me.
She breaks her lips from mine and glances toward the front door. If someone comes through, they’ll see everything.
“Fuck,” I say. “Shower or bed. You pick.”
She nibbles her lower lip and smiles. “I love where your mind’s at.”
“You’ll love even better where my cock is going to be.”
My heart swells with the look in her eyes. So many unspoken words linger between us.
I gently lower her down, my heart filling with so many emotions as I pull her to my room.
Once inside, I close the door and push her against it. Leaning forward, I slow things down and kiss her nice and slow. Then I rest my forehead against hers.
“You have no idea what you do to me,” I say.
“Show me.”
“I’m happy to oblige.” I press the long, hard length of my dick against her hip. “But first we need to talk.”
“Talk?”
“Yes. Change the parameters of our agreement.”
“What does that mean?”
“We said no strings, but damn if I can’t imagine not having you in my life. I want to tie you to me, Miss Evelyn Thornton. I want you to stay.”
“Stay?”
“If you can’t, I understand, but you need to know one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“I’ll be right by your side.”
“You can’t leave La Rouge.” Her eyes widen.
“For you, I’ll do anything.” I run the pad of my thumb along her cheek. “I’ll do anything to be with you, but I won’t fuck you if you’re going to walk away. I can’t do no strings anymore.”
“I would never ask that of you.”
“You don’t have to, but if we do this, you need to know there are strings. I’ll tie you to me, my little backpack, and never let you go.”
“Asher…”
My pulse races waiting for her to say more and let me know I haven’t just made the worst mistake of my life. Every molecule in my body surges, waiting for her to say yes.
“When I came to…back in the barn…all I could feel was fear. How I couldn’t bear to lose you. I know it’s selfish to make you choose, but if you’re going to walk away, I need you to do it now.”
She nibbles her lower lip. “There’s so much we haven’t talked about. My life’s a mess. I’ve been so busy running from my past, I can’t imagine my future.”
“Then close your eyes.”
Her brow quirks up.
“Trust me.”
Her eyes close.
“There’s nothing except you and me. I’m standing in front of you, watching you undress, devouring you with my eyes.”
“Asher…” Her eyes flicker open and I shake my head. Obediently, her eyelids close.
“You let your hair down, and in that moment, you lower all your defenses, letting me in.”
“I feel weird.” Her words hit me, make me worry, but she keeps her eyes closed.
Trusting me.
“Your gorgeous hair spills all around and covers us both. I take you in my arms and make love to you until you come apart in my arms. You come for me. You run right into me and I pull you close, easing your pain. You don’t have to go through life alone. Not when I’ll be right by your side.”
Her lids flicker and she looks at me. Her voice is soft. “You promise?”
“Do you know what you do to me?”
“No.”
“You make me shake, send shivers down my spine. You fucking bring me to my knees. That’s what you do to me. I want to spend my evenings tracing the lines of your body with my fingertips until you feel them stirring your soul, knowing that’s exactly where I belong.”
“You make it sound amazing.”
“Stay with me.”
She gives me a long look, and while the words don’t come, the answer’s in her eyes.
“Stay at La Rouge. Give me time to show you what we’re meant to be.”
She wraps her arms around my neck. “You don’t need to show me anything. I never thought when I ran from my past that I would run into you.”
Her words hit me where it counts, right in my heart, where they sink and settle in like a slow, simmering burn. My pulse races and I can’t speak. Too many emotions run through me.
Tears fall from her eyes and when I press my lips to hers, the salt of her tears fill my mouth. But there’s more. I taste her love mingling with hope.
“I love you, my little backpack, and I never want to let you go.”
Evelyn comes apart in my arms. She cries and laughs as she kisses me.
“I love you too, Asher La Rouge, and if you’ll have me, I want to stay. I never want to leave.”
“Thank fuck for that.” I lift her into my arms.
“Speaking of fucking.” She pulls reaches between us and places her hand over my hard length. “If you’re going to tie me to you, you’d better start now.”
“I never thought you’d ask.”
I never thought I’d hold the whole world in my hands, but I have that and more with Evelyn.
She’s the future I’ve been chasing.
The forever I want to make.
The slow fire burning in my heart.
Evelyn is my future and I’m her beginning.
And for the next few hours, we communicate without words, showing each other how hot our love burns.
Epilogue
“You ready, little backpack?” Asher looks at me, eyes brimming with excitement. His expression is full of adventure. We stand at the beginning of the John Muir trail, over two-hundred and twenty miles of backcountry wilderness lies between us and the end.
But the end is not our destination.
Instead, the journey is what we look forward to, a time for the two of us to be alone and see if this thing between us is strong enough to endure a lifetime of adventure.
I already know the answer to this. I’m simply waiting for Asher to catch up and get on board.
I shift my backpack on my shoulders, loving the fit of my brand-new pack. Its weight settles on my hips, and I adjust the shoulder straps for comfort. My boots are new, although I’ve spent the last month breaking them in on the trails behind La Rouge vineyards. I’m ready, eager, and excited to tackle something I never thought I could do.
“I’m ready.”
“Let’s do this.” He waves me forward. It’s a grand gesture. He wants me to be the first to step foot over the official beginning of the trail. Asher knows what this hike means to me. In many ways, it forms a bridge between my past and future.
Considered a grueling test of a hiker’s skill, this trail isn’t for the faint of heart. We’ll be hiking far from civilization, cut off from all the creature comforts for two to three weeks. My original plan was to attempt this trail on my own, determined to prove something to myself, specifically that I’m no longer the vapid socialite of my past.
But I’m not alone, and there’s nothing to prove. I’m happy and content. I’m proud of who I am.
The most handsome man in the world is by my side. He leaves La Rouge Vineyards at the height of the fall harvest. It’s a crucial time for his business, but I’m more important. I was willing to put this off, but winter is coming, and the trail will become impassible. It’s now or wait for early summer to arrive. Asher didn’t w
ant to wait.
And it’s not like we left La Rouge Vineyards to flounder. Cage stays behind, working with George, the vineyard’s foreman. Together, they’ll bring in the harvest and begin the crucial first steps of producing the next award-winning La Rouge vintage.
Asher and I have all the time in the world to disappear.
Not that we are…disappearing that is. Our progress will be tracked.
We cave into Cage’s demands, and Prescott’s as well. We’ll travel with a satellite phone which will be used to call in each and every night. Our journey will be documented, chronicled as a feature article for Cage’s outdoor magazine.
We’ve been given assignments and tasks along the way, and honestly, I no longer mind the intrusiveness of it all. Instead, I feel overwhelmingly loved. I belong to a family greater than myself.
I found a new home filled with Asher’s love, the affection of his adorable brothers, the admiration of a woman I hope to one day call ‘Mom,’ and the joy of knowing Prescott and Gracie will always be a part of my life. They tie me to the past I wanted to forget, a past that should never be forgotten. They remind me of what it means to love unconditionally.
The woman I am today comes from that past, and honestly, I’m happy to have them in my life.
Prescott’s mind is at ease. We’ve sorted out survivorship of the trust, which holds the net worth of the Thornton name. If something happens to me, he knows exactly how to distribute my wealth. It’ll go to the charities my mother and father supported while they were alive. In that way, their memory lives on. We also decided to set aside money to form a foundation in memory of Prescott’s son, Justin. It’s a small thing, geared toward encouraging underprivileged youths to consider the law as a career. It’s something Justin would be proud to have in his name.
With Brody’s financial help, we’ve restructured my assets, and I no longer look upon my inheritance as a burden. Instead, I see it as a tool I can use to do incredible things.
For the first time, I’m happy. I’ve embraced my past and discovered a bright future awaits me.
Not that everything is wonderful. Ghosts haunt our future, specifically Felix Franklin. All charges of arson against me were dropped, but Felix remains free. Grant Malone organized a manhunt, but Felix is gone, disappeared until he surfaces again to cause trouble with the La Rouge triplets.
Firestorm: An Everyday Heroes World Novel (The Everyday Heroes World) Page 27
