Where I Belong

by Charlene Bright

  “Wow. I like that. What do you think about me?”

  “You know … how it’s almost eight-thirty and you really should get some sleep.”

  “Are you kidding? You’re not going to tell me?”

  “Is there not already enough tension between us? I’ll tell you when this is over and we have our date, how’s that?”

  She could almost hear him smiling. “I’m going to hold you to that. I’ve already started making plans and reservations for the weekend after the festival.”

  “I can’t wait,” she said honestly. She still had reservations about leaving the inn in the hands of someone else that soon after the grand opening, but she had made a promise to Drake and she wasn’t going to go back on that. “I’m going to let you go now,” she said. “Get some rest, okay?”

  “You too, beautiful. Sweet dreams.”

  ****

  On Wednesday morning, Drake borrowed a backhoe from one of his friends in town and was using it to fill in the potholes in the dirt driveway. Sophie wanted to eventually pave the whole thing but told him that it would likely be the following summer before she was able to do that, so for now he was going to make it at least smooth and easy for her guests to maneuver. He’d just dumped and smoothed his last load of dirt and was backing away from the house down the long path when he saw her come outside. They had both been so busy again this week that he’d barely gotten to see her.

  She had her dark hair in a side braid and was wearing a pair of jeans with holes in both of the knees and a pink-and-blue plaid shirt. He watched as she pulled on her jacket and headed toward her car. He was thinking that she looked good enough to eat and suddenly had an idea. He put the backhoe in drive and caught up to her just as she was reaching for the car door.

  “Hey, boss, where are you going?”

  “Mrs. Larson said I could come and pick some apples today before they start harvesting them next week. I wanted to have some nice ones for the guests and maybe make a pie or two.”

  “Climb on up. I’ll take you over.”

  She laughed. “You want me to ride eight or ten miles on a backhoe?”

  “Why not? Where is your sense of adventure? Besides, the really good apples are up high. You’ll never be able to reach them from the ground.”

  “You can drive this thing through the orchard?”

  “Sure, it’s like a tractor. Come on … go for a ride with me.”

  Sophie laughed again but when Drake held his hand out to her, she took it. He pulled her up into the partially enclosed cab of the big machine and she slid into the tiny spot next to him. It was technically a one-seater, so the quarters were nice and cozy. Drake started it back up and once he put it in gear, Sophie held on to him for fear of vibrating right off the seat. When he got to the end of the driveway, he slipped his arm around her and pulled her in for a kiss. When he let her go, she said, “This is why you wanted to take the backhoe, isn’t it?” She had to yell in order for him to hear her.

  He grinned. “Absolutely. Are you complaining?”

  “Not at all,” she said.

  He grinned at her again and then reached across her and pulled the seatbelt over her lap. He strapped them both in the one belt and then winked at her and said, “Here we go.”

  The backhoe was old and only got up to about thirty miles an hour, but that was okay with Drake. The longer it took them to get there and back, the more time he got to spend with Sophie. The day was crisp and it was becoming apparent that the change of season was at hand. The gray clouds that overlapped each other overhead threatened rain, and the leaves on the trees across the hill had begun to turn yellow or copper; some of them had already begun to fall to the ground.

  It took them thirty minutes to get to the Larson place. He wondered if Sophie was thinking about the time. She looked like she was enjoying the ride and the scenery as much as he was until they got to the old bridge. As he headed toward it, she gripped his thigh—which he very much liked—and said, “What are you doing?”

  “This is the way to the Larson place.”

  “You’re taking this thing over that bridge?”

  “It’s fine. We used to run tractors across here all the time.”

  “Used to? You mean you haven’t done this in a while? What if it collapses?”

  Drake looked serious and said, “Can you swim?”

  “What? Yes … of course I can swim—”

  “Then you’ll be fine,” he said. He looked like an ornery little boy as he floored the big diesel and acted like he was going to head across the bridge.

  “Drake!”

  He suddenly laughed, and Sophie realized he’d been teasing her. She punched him in the arm. “You’re such a punk. I really thought you were going to drive across that.”

  Still laughing, he said, “It would never hold up. There’s a sandbar up here about a mile away. We’ll cross there.”

  “Punk!” she said again, laughing too. When they got to the sandbar, Sophie once again clutched his leg as they went across. She breathed an audible sigh of relief once they were on the other side. That put them at the long, bumpy gravel road that led up to the ridge. The natural vibration of the big machine coupled with the bumps of the road had Sophie’s teeth chattering together. She had to admit, though, that this was much more fun than she would have had taking her SUV and the main road through town.

  Once they reached the top of the ridge, she saw the beautiful orchard below them. The wind was picking up and the emerald-green leaves of the apple trees swayed back and forth. Drake drove the backhoe down the steep hill and between two rows of trees. He killed the engine, and Sophie looked around at all of the trees with luscious red apples dangling from their branches, just begging to be picked.

  She closed her eyes and breathed in the scent. It smelled like rain and sweet apples. A lot of them had already fallen on the ground, and Sophie saw a couple of squirrels darting in and out of them like they were running a miniature obstacle course. The trees looked like upside-down champagne glasses, and their gnarled trunks were so thick that even if she stretched her arms as far as she could, she wouldn’t be able to reach all the way around any of them.

  “I love it in here,” she told Drake.

  “In the backhoe?”

  She smiled. “That’s nice too. But no, I meant underneath these apple trees. It smells so good.” He reached out the open window on his side of the backhoe and plucked an apple, which he handed to Sophie. She took it and dropped it in the basket that she’d brought. She reached out to get one and realized it was starting to rain. Big drops splashed through the trees and down onto the windshield of the backhoe. Drake started it back up and drove slowly between the two rows as Sophie stuck her hand out and picked the fruits she wanted.

  The backhoe had turned out to be a really good idea. It wasn’t the same as wandering around in there with a picnic basket on her arm, but in the current situation, it would definitely work.

  After the basket was full, Drake drove out of the trees and over to Mrs. Larson’s fruit stand. Even in the rain, she was there. Sophie tried to pay her for the apples they’d picked, but the older woman simply looked at it and said, “I hope you’re kidding.”

  Sophie smiled and put the money back in her pocket. She hoped that someday her inn would be “famous” in the small town for something the way Mrs. Larson’s was for its apples and her delicious lemonade.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  When Drake walked into the house early on Saturday morning Brenda was on her way out to pick up Mac. “Good morning!”

  “Good morning,” she said. “I made breakfast, so please help yourself. And if there’s any way you can get my daughter to eat …”

  Drake smiled. “I’ll do my best,” he said. “It smells great, thank you. Thank you too for taking Uncle Mac today and everything you’ve done for him this week. He seems like his old self again.”

  Brenda had gone over a few evenings after the day she took him the cake and had dinner wi
th him. Drake was actually understating things. Mac wasn’t just back to his old self, he seemed truly happy, and Drake couldn’t remember the last time he actually welcomed company. He’d worn all of his old friends down over the years by refusing their invitations for lunch or dinner or just an afternoon visit. Drake didn’t know if it was specifically Brenda or if Uncle Mac was just finally tired of always being alone, but either way, he appreciated her efforts.

  “I haven’t done anything special, but you’re welcome. I enjoy his company too.”

  “Be careful driving up there though. The rain stopped, but it came down pretty good all night. There might be some slick spots on those windy roads.”

  “I will be. I’m not in any hurry.”

  “Where is your daughter?” he asked.

  Brenda grinned. “She’s still sleeping.”

  “You’re kidding? Is she sick?” It was almost seven a.m. In the almost four weeks that Drake had known her, she’d always been up, dressed, and attacking the day by the time he arrived.

  “No, I’m sure she’s just exhausted because it all finally caught up with her.”

  “Well, I’m glad that she’s getting some rest.”

  “I should get going. Tell her I’ll call her when we’re headed back.”

  “Okay, have fun and thank you again.”

  “We will. You’re welcome, and don’t forget to eat.”

  “No ma’am. I’m going to do that right now.” After Brenda left, Drake started to fix himself a plate, but then he thought about Sophie and had another idea. He fixed her a plate instead and a glass of juice and a cup of coffee. He put it all on one of the new serving trays she’d bought for the guests and left it on the counter, then went outside. He walked around behind the house where the green meadow began and picked a handful of the purple and yellow wildflowers that grew there. He went back inside and found a little vase to put them in and then sat that on the tray, too. He carried it all up the stairs and when he got to the third floor, he knocked on the door.

  “Mom?” he heard her call out.

  “No, ma’am, it’s room service.”

  She laughed. “I don’t believe this inn has room service … what would you be servicing?” That statement left him open to so many possibilities, but he reminded himself he was being patient and waiting for the weekend of their “date.”

  “I have your breakfast, Miss.”

  She giggled again. “Well, then, by all means, come in.” Drake held the tray in one hand and pushed open the door. His breath caught in his throat when he saw her. She was sitting up in the bed with her dark hair tousled and her nightshirt hanging off of one shoulder.

  “Good morning, Miss. I trust you slept well?”

  “Fabulous,” she said. “Too well, actually. I woke up and couldn’t believe it was seven already.”

  “Your body must have needed it,” he said. He set the tray on the nightstand. He suddenly realized this was probably not the best idea he’d ever had. Being “patient” was hard enough when they were working together or sharing a meal or a ride in a backhoe, but being here in her room where everything looked like her and smelled like her … it was almost overwhelming. When you coupled that with the cloud covering outside that just made you want to cuddle up with someone in a warm bed to begin with—it was like a recipe for torture. “Do you want your breakfast in bed, ma’am?”

  She suddenly got a wicked smile on her face. “Is my mother gone?”

  “Yeah, she just left—”

  She rose up on her knees and cut off his words with her mouth. This was definitely not helping him with his patience. Every nerve ending in his body was suddenly on fire. She kissed him hard and used her arms around his neck to pull him down toward her so they both fell back on the bed. For a second, he completely forgot himself and let his hands roam over her warm curves as their tongues got caught up in an erotic dance of their own. He was immersed in how warm and inviting her lips were and the way her body was arching up from the bed into his. He’d dreamt of this moment from the second he had laid eyes on her. His hands slid under her and pushed up the bottom of her nightshirt until he was touching the bare curve of her lower back. He kept them still there as they kissed, somehow controlling the urge to completely ransack her body.

  When he finally forced himself to break the kiss and come up for air, he looked at her face. Her eyes were still closed, her soft full lips were dark red from his kiss, and her cheeks were filled with color. That gorgeous, soft hair was even more tousled around her head, and he knew he’d never seen anything so beautiful in his life. If he’d woken up this morning with the notion that he’d been kissing her in her bed in a few hours, he would have laughed at himself at the sheer absurdity of it. “Sophie?”

  She opened those blue eyes, and he could see the desire for him inside of them; it was like throwing kerosene on an already raging fire. “Drake,” she whispered, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

  “You’re so beautiful.”

  She really smiled then. “So are you.”

  He pulled her into him more tightly and pressed his face into her hair, breathing in the sweet scent of her. He had only a modicum of restraint left, and he was using it to let her set the pace. When he pulled back and looked at her again, her blue eyes were locked into his and her plump lips were slightly parted. He touched her cheek with his fingers and traced her jawline, and then as he ran his thumb across her lips, he said, “If you don’t tell me to leave soon …”

  She didn’t tell him to leave. Instead, she shifted her body over so that he could lie down beside her. The already crumbling barrier they’d set up between them was cracking even more. He lay down on his side and put his arm across her, pulling her against him again. He let his hand rub across her back and shoulders as he trailed kisses down the side of her jaw and neck. He felt her body shiver against him, and it was almost enough to put him over the edge. He let his tongue run along underneath the top of her nightshirt, groaning as he tasted her.

  His body was pulsing with electricity, and his need for her was such that it was almost painful. She brought her hands up and took his face in them, pulling it up from her chest to kiss his lips wildly once more. She was daring him to cross that invisible line that she herself had drawn … but he had to be sure she was ready for this. There was no way he’d risk losing her for a one-night—or one-day—stand. He forced himself to pull out of the kiss and said, “We don’t have to do this …”

  She smiled. God, she was incredible.

  “I know,” she said. “I don’t want to wait any longer.”

  “You’re sure? I can wait a few more weeks, a month … whatever you need.”

  She smiled again and then wiggled out of his grasp to sit up. He watched in complete awe as she reached down and pulled the nightshirt over her head and tossed it aside, and he groaned again. She was as perfect as he had imagined she would be.

  “I’m sure,” she whispered. “Make love to me, Drake.”

  He sat up and pulled off his shirt, too. Her hands immediately went to his chest and as she traced the hard lines with her fingers, he hesitantly touched her breasts. She moaned slightly and arched into his hands. His touch became more intense as he leaned forward and captured her lips once more. She’d given him the green light he’d been dying for, but now he didn’t want to rush it. He didn’t want to scare her away by ravaging her.

  He pulled her into his lap and continued the kiss while his hands explored. She shifted against his aching erection, and he moaned into her mouth. The hands that played across his chest slid down to his belly, and he felt her pulling at the button of his jeans. He reluctantly slid her off his lap and gently pushed her back on the bed.

  He didn’t take his eyes off her as he stood up and slid his jeans down. Being here with her felt surreal—he was afraid if he looked away even for a second that she’d be gone when he looked back. He watched her slide off her panties, making his chest hurt. He slid his boxers off and climbed bac
k into the bed with her. She immediately began fluttering kisses across his face and down his jaw line. Sophie kissed his forehead and nose and eyelids and once again found his lips. He held her tightly as their bodies melted together with no barriers between them. He’d never wanted anything as much as he wanted to be inside her right now.

  He pulled back and looked into her blue eyes. “I feel like I’ve waited my whole life for you, Sophie.”

  “We don’t have to wait any longer,” she whispered in a husky voice. He reached down and gripped her backside, pulling her against his tautness as he used his free hand to explore the rest of her body. He ran it up the insides of her smooth thighs, and she responded with a sultry sigh. He let his mouth finally taste her full, gorgeous breasts and then trailed hot kisses down her flat stomach to her belly button and back up again. She put her hands in his hair and held him to her chest as his lips and tongue played across it. He relished the feel of her, the smell and the taste, before knowing he couldn’t last a minute longer.

  He reached off the bed and into his pants pocket. Pulling out his wallet, he fished for what seemed like forever until he found the condom he carried there. He said a little prayer that it wasn’t expired as he ripped it open with his teeth and rolled it on, knowing the whole time that Sophie’s sparkling blue eyes watched him with a searing heat he could feel all the way to his core.

  He didn’t waste any more time. He positioned himself above her and as he slid inside her, he knew that he had never experienced a more perfect moment. It felt like she had been made for him, and she responded so fluidly to his movements that their bodies seemed synchronized. He leaned down and kissed her again, and she gripped his shoulders and held on tightly as they lost themselves in this moment.

  Sophie reached her climax first, and as Drake was about to reach his, he pressed his lips into her ear and said, “I love you. I want you to be my happily ever after.”

  Sophie didn’t say it back but he felt her body respond, and for now he was okay with that. He didn’t have to have the words until she was ready to say them. He knew that letting him make love to her was a big step. She showed him how much she wanted him, and she trusted him—those were the things that mattered.