Timberline

by Skye McNeil

  Their reunion at the gala brought her back to existence. No more navigating through her days as a critic. Well, unless she was at work. Even Asher’s unyielding love couldn’t keep her from being the biggest pain in every author’s ass. She maintained her romance authors except one. A.J. Whit. The swoon-worthy author went to another editor at Brecon. One with bouncy boobs and luxurious blonde hair. Their collaboration worked in an odd way.

  From the corner of her eye, Jessie watched a doe emerge from the trees with a fawn at her side. It was what she loved about Colorado. One minute, she was falling into icy streams, and the next she was animal watching on the deck. It was a haven. Their haven.

  “Have you seen your brother today?” Jessie asked when the deer disappeared into the forest.

  Asher’s brow furrowed. “The last I saw him, he and Bobbi were heading out on a morning walk.”

  As if on cue, Bobbi’s girlish squeal rippled through the pines. “Hmm, I see your brother found my sister.” Jessie laughed.

  Asher turned his head, trying to see the subjects of their query. “Yeah, I’m not sure how I feel about those two. I think they’re getting a little too chummy.”

  Pressing her lips together, Jessie knew his big brother instincts were kicking in. She held no worry about her sister frolicking with a Whitaker. Although Asher’s kid brother was more of a bad boy, she knew Bobbi could hold her own. Bobbi made it through a cheating fiancé and solo honeymoon, so Jessie was confident her sister could wrangle a Whitaker if she so desired.

  Turning Asher’s face back to her, she tormented him. “Of course your apprehension of their camaraderie has nothing to do with deflecting your own anxiety for the main event today, does it?”

  Whipping his eyes to meet hers, Asher shook his head and pulled her to him. Jessie swam in his green pools filled to the brim with admiration. “My single concern right now is whether or not someone will interrupt me when I kiss you.”

  Before she could respond, Asher’s lips enclosed over hers, spiraling her to oblivion. To say he was the best she ever had would be a ghastly understatement.

  Succumbing to his kiss, Jessie wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him against her until there was nothing in between. Marrying Asher in the meadow where the town of Hancock once thrived sounded better every millisecond she was with him.

  When Asher slipped his tongue to meet with hers, Jessie groaned for more than one reason. A familiar familial voice met her ears. Dear Lord.

  “Now, you two stop it. You’ll be married by nightfall. Can’t you wait until after the ceremony?” Grandma Jane reprimanded from the window above them.

  Both Asher and Jessie glanced up to the silver-haired beauty waving at them, her smile magnificent. “Grandma,” Jessie complained, hiding her red face in Asher’s chest. It was so warm and cozy there, and she didn’t want to look up until she heard her fiancé’s rebuttal.

  “Grandma Jane, I will hold back any further smooching of your granddaughter if you promise to not intrude on us every time we kiss once she is my wife.”

  Jessie’s eyes widened and she held a laugh in her throat when Asher beamed at her.

  Her grandma seemed to mull the compromise over before she heckled, “Nope. You’re at my house and I don’t want to see people schmaltzing everywhere.” She shot them a toothy grin and quick wink.

  Asher dropped his hold to her hands and pulled Jessie down the stairs. “How about now?” he called once they were out of sight.”

  “Nope, a little farther,” came the wiry shout.

  The duo snuck farther into the woods. “Now?”

  “Nope, not yet.”

  Jessie giggled when they went even deeper into the brush. “How’s this?”

  “Perfect!” Grandma Jane’s voice called over the roar of the cars coming up the back road to view their nuptials later in the day.

  “You’re crazy,” Jessie chuckled as they hid in a grove of aspens littered with new shoots of evergreens at their feet.

  Leaning her against the white bark, Asher nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I am. Crazy to fall for a tea drinking, romantic criticizing,” his fingers pushed back the hair in her face to reveal her smug grin, “horseback riding, independent New York lady like yourself.”

  Taking in the majesty of Asher, Jessie crooked him with her arm and pressed her lips to his. There was something enchanted about kissing beneath a canopy of trees while the collegiate peaks watched overhead. Too bad for them, they weren’t alone in their idea.

  “For the love of—” Asher mumbled when heavy footfalls met their ears.

  Glancing over his shoulder, Jessie’s mouth dropped open when she spotted Asher’s brother, Jared, sneak a peck on Bobbi’s lips.

  “I knew it,” she squealed when the younger couple vanished into the brush. She couldn’t help but imagine why they were hiding.

  Stifling a laugh when Asher’s flabbergasted gaze met hers, Jessie pulled him under the leaves swaying in the breeze. “I’m building an electric fence and installing an extremely expensive security system in our place up here or I’ll never get more than five minutes alone with you,” he lamented with a pout.

  Brushing her hands through his hair, now long enough for her to do so, she met his eyes. “Nah, it’d be too predictable and tidy. I rather like the disarray and excitement,” she admitted in a sultry tone.

  “Well, in that case—” Asher began, kissing her neck.

  “Jessamine! Jess, come on. Quit making out with your hunky fiancé. We need to get you all princess-i-fied for your wedding. Oh my God, I’m so excited for you.” Her obnoxious assistant, no, fellow editor, yelled into the vast tree line.

  Breaking away from his arms, Jessie rectified, “Okay, how about we settle on a kick ass security system.”

  Asher’s laughter erupted in the woods. Kissing her, he nodded. “As long as it comes with you, I don’t care.”

  »»•««

  A light dust of snow covered the mountain peaks surrounding Hancock’s clearing. Though the buildings were long gone, the history thrived as the wedding guests reviewed the shambles of the city. Jessie’s family managed to decorate the homemade arch which overlooked the valley of Timberline below, while cheery wild flowers cast a spellbinding aura on the mountain. The location couldn’t have been more perfect. This was the spot Asher realized he couldn’t let Jessie out of his life. Her bewitching spell happened the instant she collided with him, but the magic intensified with every passing day in her company.

  Letting out a calming breath, Asher told himself not to worry. She would emerge out of the makeshift wedding tent and stun the hundred and fifty guests with her beauty. Too bad for him, he couldn’t focus on anything except Jessie. Even though it had been but a year, Asher felt as if he had been waiting his entire thirty-odd years for her.

  “Will you quit fidgeting?” Jared complained next to him.

  Settling his eyes on his younger, yet somehow taller, brother, Asher rubbed his hands together. “Right. Like that’ll happen.”

  “She’s running late, no big deal. Women do it all the time,” advised Jared, as if he had cracked the code to women.

  “You know Bobbi had a tough year, Jared. I don’t want to see her hurt,” warned Asher when he spotted his brother’s eyes fastened on the youngest Davis. The man had the entire Davis clan full of women to choose from, yet Jared managed to pick the one woman he didn’t deserve.

  “I know.”

  “That’s it?” Asher turned toward him now.

  Jared placed a hand on his brother’s forearm. “Calm down, Ash. I’m not in love with her. We’re having a good time. It’s what she wants.”

  Before Asher could chastise his womanizing brother, he saw her.

  “Holy mother of—” Jared uttered when he spotted his soon-to-be sister.

  “Yeah,” breathed Asher, unable to do anything else.

  Jessie looked like a drop of snow bathed in eternal glimmer. Her dress, designer of course, hugged every delectable inch o
f her. How she managed to move at all amazed him. If his heart stopped, he wouldn’t know how to restart it.

  “You are one lucky son of a bitch,” Jared commented, nudging his elbow.

  “Keep kissing a Davis woman and you’ll understand,” he managed with a hitch in his breath. Jessie’s blue eyes met his gaze at last. The intensity of their connection sent his head spinning. “You have no idea what they do to you.” Asher couldn’t have dropped her eyes if he tried.

  With her dad at her side, Jessie made her way up the aisle of wild flowers. Asher swore time stood still as the mere moments seemed like hours until she reached him. When he took her hand, he saw her catch her bottom lip with her teeth before she broke free and smiled.

  He didn’t hear a word of what the pastor said during their quick ceremony. All he saw was the way Jessie’s curled hair drifted over her shoulder like a rope of satin and the sparkling way her eyes shimmered when they met his. When at last they were officially married, Asher couldn’t stop himself from transforming their kiss into a dance-like dip.

  Among the cheers and tears, Asher whisked Jessie through the meadow until all they could hear was a dull roar. “You look too good to be real,” he revealed, his fingers laced with hers.

  Jessie shrugged her shoulders and swiped her bangs from her eyes. “Isn’t lack of reality how romance is supposed to be? Far-fetched and ridiculous, right?”

  Unhurried, he shook his head. “Yeah. Yeah, it is.” Asher clasped his arm around her waist and pulled her snug to him. “Except in this case, it’s all real.”

  He placed a kiss on her temple, reveling in the fact that without her, he would’ve never found his niche. Sure, he was a published and famous author before he met her, but love was the driving force behind him now and it was something he didn’t have before.

  “So, do you think we can scamper off and hide from my family now?” Jessie asked, her silhouette against the setting sun. From his spot, she resembled an angel ready to take flight over the mountainside.

  Jerking his head to the right, Asher led her away from the spot overlooking the valley. “Yes, but first, I need to kiss you.” Jessie offered him a wary glance. “And by kiss, I mean finish what we started the first time we ventured up here.”

  A giddy smile crossed her face. “Well, then you better hurry up before the moose comes back.”

  They reached the grove of trees in record time and Asher managed to shed at least his suit coat. Propping her against the tree, he captured her cherry colored lips with his until they were both breathless. Kissing Jessie never felt so right and he wasn’t close to being done with her. To hell with the party going on a hundred feet away. The groom wanted his bride and no one on earth would stop him.

  “Jessie! Asher! Time to cut the cake.” Asher’s brother hollered in a loud voice. A feminine giggle accompanied him.

  Pulling back from her lips, Asher let out a huff of despair. “Will I ever get to screw you on a mountain?”

  Jessie’s giggle filled the sheltered area. She replaced her dress with care and patted his cheek in admiration. “Oh, yes, A.J. Whit. You will get plenty of chances.” She took a step away and added, “Oh, and it was your brother this time, so I give you full permission to chastise him for interrupting.”

  Asher adjusted his tie and caught up to her, eying her with longing. “I love you, Mina. Even if our family never wants us to give them grandkids.”

  “Please, it’s not like we got interrupted in New York,” she said with a grin as she plucked a dainty blue flower.

  “Wait, what?” Asher asked, raising his eyebrows. His heart thudded against his ribcage at her artful words. “Are you trying to tell me something?”

  Jessie placed the flower above her ear. “I guess you’ll have to read my book and find out,” she tortured with a smirk.

  “Jessamine.” Bobbi’s voice growled this time in the distance.

  Asher threw his hands in the air. “Bobbi, your sister is trying to avoid telling me something, so shut it.” He didn’t bother listening for the reply. It wasn’t like his brother wasn’t there to make out with her to pass the time.

  Jessie retraced her steps until she was toe to toe with him. Her dress flowed over the grass, devouring any hint of snow, unlike the nearby peaks capped with white. “Now, A.J., you must know a climax in a story when you hear one.”

  Unable to move, he blinked to keep his eyes from misting. “Every day with you is the highlight of my life.”

  A satisfied smile covered her lips and she leaned closer. “Good because your life is about to get messy in the best possible way.”

  Holding in his excitement, Asher nodded in nonchalance. “Okay, cool. I’m game.”

  Jessie offered him a knowing glance. “And?”

  He couldn’t contain it anymore. Swinging her into his arms, Asher ravaged her lips as he twirled her. “See, I told you an untidy life was more fun,” he reminded, setting her back on the earth.

  Cupping his jaw, Jessie kissed him fast. “No, life with you. That’s what is more fun.”

  »»•««

  “You know he’s going to break your heart,” Jessie stated in seriousness as she sat next to her sister. Her vision of white weighed her down with each passing hour and she couldn’t wait to strip it off.

  Bobbi set her glass of champagne back on the green tablecloth before flicking her eyes to her. “It’s a likelihood.”

  Rolling her eyes, Jessie propped her feet on the empty chair beside her. Dancing in heels wasn’t her favorite past time any longer. Cushiony slippers sounded divine as she slipped the designer shoes off. “From what Asher told me, it’s more than a possibility. It’s a definite fact.”

  She glanced over to where Jared Whitaker was dancing with his mom. The Army Ranger wore a charming smile and possessed more charisma than even Asher. The subtle differences worried Jessie. Her sister had been through enough for one year. She didn’t need a quickie romance from the military’s finest to finish out her rebound sex phase.

  “Promise me you won’t fall for him,” Jessie all but demanded when she saw Bobbi’s eyes glaze over at Jared’s boyish grin directed at her.

  Patting her sister’s hand, Bobbi stood. “I can’t, but I’ll promise to not keep him a hidden secret.” She glanced down at Jessie and offered her a quick hug. “But I love you for protecting me.”

  Huffing at her sister’s dismissal, Jessie watched as Bobbi slipped into Jared’s arms for the next dance. Of course she wanted her sister happy, but Jared wasn’t the prince he made himself out to be. Asher told her as much when she first met the younger Whitaker.

  “Stop brooding. It makes you irresistible,” Asher directed, taking Bobbi’s discarded chair.

  Jessie placed her hands on her stomach, swinging her eyes to her husband. Wow, how weird. It hadn’t sunk in yet. In part, it could’ve been because she wasn’t taking his last name. As much as she loved Asher, there was no way she was going to be hidden in his name’s shadow. “Fine, but you need to talk to your brother. He’s going to do something to my sister.”

  Asher scooted closer to her and laced his fingers with her. “Oh, no, not something,” he stated with sarcasm. Jessie narrowed her eyes at him, so he amended, “All right, I’ll talk to him.” Lowering his voice, he added, “Right after we get back from the honeymoon.”

  “Asher,” Jessie started, but his lips cut her off.

  “You worry too much,” he determined, coming up for air. “Let me handle this one. I’ll let you be superwoman for the next one, okay?” His hand drifted down her dress until he settled on her stomach. “Like this. You can worry about this. But not too much.”

  His tender attention to the secret a select few knew about made her forget about anything else except him. “I think I can handle it.”

  Asher settled a kiss on her forehead. “Great.”

  “But I do have one request from the world’s worst barista.”

  His eyebrows shot up in question. “And what could it be?”


  Leaning forward in her chair, her blue eyes mingled with his. “I’ll need you to start making tea for me again. I believe an Earl Grey tea with lemon and cream will do the trick.”

  Chuckling at her request, Asher nodded. “As long as you promise not to spill it on me again, then I’ll make you whatever you want.”

  Jessie closed the distance to Asher’s lips, her heart full of excitement, anticipation, but more important, indescribable love for the barista who lured an editor.

  About the Author

  Skye McNeil began writing at the age of seventeen and has been lost in a love affair ever since. Each year capable, she participates in NaNoWriMo. Skye enjoys writing contemporary and historical romance novels ranging from sweet and sassy to steamy and sultry. She loves spending time with her family, including her two cats and two dogs. When she is not writing, Skye enjoys photography, volleyball, meeting new people, traveling, and curling up with a cup of coffee and a good book.

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