Protecting You: A Small Town Romance Origin Story (The Bailey Brothers Book 1)

by Claire Kingsley

  And I came undone.

  With white hot pulses, I came inside her. I groaned, the intensity overwhelming. She clung tightly to me while I rode out the waves of my orgasm, still thrusting deep.

  When I finished, I gently pulled out. I was breathing hard and could barely think, but I climbed off her to deal with the condom. Leaving it tied off by the bed—and making a mental note to get a trash can in here—I turned and gathered her in my arms.

  We lay there together for long moments, just breathing. I was warm and sated in a way I’d never felt before. My body was content, but—more than that—so was my soul.

  I kissed her head and she nestled in closer. Although I’d kept my sexual status to myself—it wasn’t anyone else’s business—I hadn’t felt bad about it. I’d just wondered what it was going to take for it to feel right.

  Now I knew. And if I’d had even the slightest trace of regret at not having slept with a woman yet, it was gone. I hadn’t intended to wait for Grace, but I was so glad I had.

  So fucking glad.

  I didn’t care what other people would think or say about a guy who was only with one woman his whole life. This was what I wanted. Just her.

  She was my first love, even though I’d taken too long to tell her. And she was going to be my only love. I knew that now more than ever. Grace was it for me.

  12

  Grace

  Asher had asked for a summer—a chance to show me that we’d be good together. Not that I’d needed any convincing. From the moment he’d kissed me outside the old house on Evergreen Street, I’d been his. And I’d known it could never be just a summer. Not when it was us.

  So when summer ended, I stayed.

  The deadline to apply as a transfer student to Tilikum College had already passed, so I decided to take a year off instead of going back to WSU. Asher argued with me about it, but I’d made up my mind. I wasn’t leaving. After all, it was only a year. Most of my scholarships allowed for a break, so I’d be able to pick up next fall where I left off. And I’d miss the friends I’d made, but we’d keep in touch.

  Once I convinced Asher that I was doing the right thing, we spent the rest of the night celebrating. Naked, of course.

  Not that we ever needed a reason to get naked. We were insatiable.

  My mom’s reaction to my decision to stay surprised me. I was prepared for her to try to talk me out of it. She’d been so adamant I go away to school and follow my dreams. But she didn’t. In fact, she tearfully admitted she was relieved. Raising a little boy on her own was tough. She’d never wanted to put pressure on me to stay for her sake, but she was glad that I’d be here.

  That, more than anything, made me decide to live with her for the time being. Asher had asked me to move in with him, and I would—probably sooner rather than later. But I told him I thought I should stay with my mom for a while—that she needed me.

  He understood. He felt a responsibility to his family, too. We had that in common.

  And the funny thing was, my old bedroom didn’t feel like it was trying to drag me back in time anymore. It was just a room—a place to sleep and keep my things. Maybe the difference was that I’d made a choice. I wasn’t living there by default, stuck in stasis while I waited for my life to move forward. Now I had a clear vision of my future, and this was merely one step along the way.

  Summer turned to fall, the multicolored leaves transforming our little mountain town into a riot of oranges, reds, and browns. Evan went back to school. Elijah turned four and we threw him a firefighter birthday party. Gavin grumbled about still being in high school, and Levi and Logan started college. Logan even behaved himself. Mostly.

  Asher and I fell into a comfortable routine. We both had jobs, and he had classes and shifts at the fire station. Otherwise, we were together. We spent lazy days in his apartment, tangled in his sheets. He took me out on dates—to the movies, or dinner, or to play pool at the Caboose. We hung out with friends, or his brothers. And every Tuesday we had dinner at Gram’s house.

  The snows came early, blanketing everything in white. We recreated childhood memories with snowball fights—although now they ended with cozy make-out sessions to warm up, instead of hot chocolate in Gram’s kitchen.

  We did a bar crawl on my twenty-first birthday. Spent Christmas together with both of our families. We rescued Logan and Gavin when they got their grandad’s old truck stuck in the snow on a dirt road just outside town. Took Levi with us on a road trip to see Evan.

  And it was hard to imagine life getting better.

  Until it did.

  I woke up in Asher’s bed to the sound of the shower. I’d slept over, and my body was still pleasantly sated from all the things he’d done to me last night. Arching my back, I reached my hands over my head in a lazy stretch. We both had the day off from work, but Asher had class, and my mom needed me to pick up Elijah and watch him for a few hours.

  The water turned off. I stayed in bed, waiting for him to finish in the bathroom. A few minutes later he came in with damp hair and a towel wrapped around his waist.

  He grinned at me and let the towel drop. “Morning.”

  “Morning.” I enjoyed the view while he rubbed the towel over his hair a few times, then grabbed his clothes. There were certainly benefits to being with a man who kept himself in such good shape. The tattoos on his arm highlighted the ripples of muscle. His thighs were thick and sturdy, and his ass… God. I wanted to bite right into it.

  “Hey, can you meet me at the firehouse this afternoon?” He finished pulling on his jeans and buttoned them. “I’m heading over there after class.”

  I kind of wished we could just stay in bed together all day, but meeting him later would have to do. “Yeah, I can do that. I’ll text you when I get there.”

  He tugged a t-shirt over his head. “Awesome.” Pausing next to the bed, he eyed me for a second. “Damn it, you look so good, I could fuck you again right now. But I can’t be late.”

  I reached for him and he leaned down to kiss me. “It’s okay, I’ll be more than happy for you to fuck me again later.”

  With a smile, he kissed me again. “Perfect. I’ll see you this afternoon?”

  “Yep.”

  He kissed me a few more times, then groaned, like he was reluctant to leave. Finally, we said goodbye, and I got up to shower.

  I spent the morning running a few errands, then picked up the mail for my mom when I got home. I noticed an envelope from my father among the bills and junk mail. It looked like it had a check in it, which was a damned good thing. I’d have been pissed if it didn’t.

  Elijah got out of his preschool class at noon, so I picked him up and took him home. He babbled about using tissue paper and glue to make an art project and how they had string cheese and fish crackers for snack time. I fed him lunch and set him up at the table with crayons and a new coloring book Asher had picked up for him the other day. When he got tired of that, I let him watch cartoons while I started dinner so my mom wouldn’t have to cook tonight.

  Mom came home from work looking tired. I made us both some tea, then we sat at the table and chatted for a while. Getting off her feet seemed to help perk her up.

  “Are you staying for dinner tonight?” she asked.

  “No, I’m supposed to meet Asher.”

  “That’s fine. I need to run to the store first, but I’ll take Eli with me so you can go.” She stood and took our mugs to the sink. “Get your shoes on, buddy. Wait, go potty first.”

  He groaned. “I don’t have to.”

  “Go try anyway.”

  He got up with a sigh and shuffled to the bathroom.

  Mom shook her head. “You never argued about going to the bathroom when you were little. I wonder if it’s a boy thing. Maybe I’ll ask Gram.”

  “She would certainly know.”

  “Yeah she would. I swear, that woman is a saint, raising five grandsons.”

  “She is pretty amazing. But so are you.”

  She smil
ed. “Thanks, honey. And thanks for everything today.”

  “It’s no problem.”

  Elijah came out and put on his shoes and coat while Mom put the casserole I’d started in the fridge so she could heat it up when they got back. I said goodbye, but didn’t leave to meet Asher yet. I hung back so I could clean up a little and run a load of dishes. I knew my mom would appreciate coming home to a tidy house.

  After I finished, I drove into town and parked at the fire station. The snow had mostly melted and the spring air smelled fresh. I paused outside my car to send Asher a text, letting him know I was here. My stomach fluttered with anticipation. Which seemed a little silly, considering I’d been with him this morning. But I couldn’t wait to see him.

  Harvey Johnston sat on a bench in the big grassy area outside the station. Asher replied that he’d be out in a minute, so I wandered over to say hi.

  He stood and tipped his hat to me. “Afternoon, Miss Grace.”

  “Hi, Harvey. How are you today?”

  “Okay. Except those damn squirrels stole my ax.”

  I raised my eyebrows. The squirrels around here were routinely blamed for things going missing, but an ax? “Really? How big was it?”

  He used his hands to indicate what seemed like a normal-sized ax. “’Bout like that.”

  “That must have been pretty heavy. Do you think a squirrel could lift it?”

  “Not a squirrel.” He raised a finger. “But they’re organized.”

  “Why do you think they took it?”

  He narrowed his eyes. “That’s what I’m trying to find out.”

  “Oh, okay. Well, I hope you find it. Or that the squirrels return it.”

  “They will if they know what’s good for ’em.”

  “Hey, beautiful.”

  I turned at Asher’s voice, a smile already on my face. “Hey.”

  He slipped a hand around my waist and placed a light kiss on my lips. “I missed you today.”

  “I missed you, too.”

  “You better marry that girl, Bailey,” Harvey said.

  Asher laughed. “You think so?”

  Harvey nodded gravely and his eyes were surprisingly clear. “Yes.”

  “Thanks, Harvey. I’ll keep that in mind.” He winked at me. “I need to grab something before we go. Come with me?”

  “Okay, sure.” I turned to Harvey. “Bye, Harvey. I hope you find your ax.”

  He tipped his hat to me again. “Bye. Ax, right. Gotta find it. Damn squirrels.”

  Asher put his hand on the small of my back and led me toward the building. “What’s he talking about?”

  “I don’t know. He said squirrels took his ax.”

  “Huh. I’ll take Levi out to his place and we’ll make sure he can chop his firewood. Or just do it for him again. That might be the problem.”

  One of the large garage bay doors rumbled open, and we stopped just before reaching the concrete driveway. The engine lights flashed.

  “Uh-oh, they must have gotten a call. Do you have to go?”

  “No.”

  The engine pulled out of the station, but it didn’t seem to be in any hurry. It stopped, and I realized there was something strung up on the side of it. A banner. It read…

  Oh my god.

  I gasped, my mouth falling open. The banner on the side of the fire engine read Grace, will you marry me? in bright red letters.

  “Asher—” I started to speak, but stopped short. He was down on one knee.

  Taking my hand, he smiled up at me, and my heart nearly exploded. “Grace, you’re my best friend and the love of my life. You’re it for me. I want to spend the rest of our lives making you happy. Will you marry me?”

  Trembling and nodding, with tears running down my cheeks, I gave him the only answer I ever could. “Yes.”

  It took me a second to realize he was holding a box. Then slipping a ring on my finger. Everything was a blur of tears and giggles and kisses and I love yous. Arms thrown around his neck. My feet lifting off the ground.

  He put me down and I took a deep breath, trying to collect myself. I looked down at my shaking hand, at the ring shining on my finger.

  “Do you like it?” He tucked my hair behind my ear.

  “I love it so much. I love you so much. Oh my god, we’re getting married.”

  He smiled again, his dimples puckering in his cheeks. “We sure are. I love you, Grace.”

  It was about then that I realized applause was coming from the garage bay. Chief Stanley and a bunch of the crew walked out, clapping, whooping, and hollering. Logan cupped his hands around his mouth to shout his congratulations and Levi smiled at us as he clapped.

  But it wasn’t just the fire department. Gavin and Gram were there, and so were my mom and Elijah. A crowd of our friends and neighbors emerged, clapping and smiling. Someone had balloons and people started setting up tables on the grass. A couple of the firefighters hung a big Congratulations Asher and Grace banner on the side of the building. It looked like half the town was here.

  “Oh my god. You did all this?”

  “Yeah. Originally it was just going to be the banner, but you know how people are around here. It turned into a surprise engagement party pretty quickly.”

  “I guess it’s a good thing I said yes.” I nudged him.

  He slid his arms around me. “I never had any doubt.”

  Neither did I. I think a part of me had always known I’d marry Asher Bailey. And I’d been right.

  13

  Grace

  The bar was so crowded, we were lucky to have gotten a pool table. I chalked the end of my cue, as if that was going to help my game. At least I wasn’t playing against Asher. He sat off to the side with a beer in his hand and a little smile on his face, watching me. I’d been making sure to bend over in front of him as often as possible. Which wasn’t helping my game, but it was fun.

  We had come out with a few guys from the fire station and their girlfriends to a bar near the college. It was packed tonight—a mix of locals and college students. Everyone in town knew this place had the best nachos, so it tended to fill up, especially on a Saturday night. The din of voices was so loud it drowned out the music playing in the background.

  Tamara took a shot and missed. Fortunately for me, my opponents were about as good as I was—which wasn’t saying much. The guys had graciously insisted the girls play first, which really meant they wanted to do what Asher was doing—sit back and watch us bend over the table.

  I took a drink of my beer, then set it down. Leaning over the table, I lined up a shot and took it. The ball rolled right into the corner pocket.

  “Yes!” I pumped my fist into the air and tossed a look over my shoulder at Asher. “Did you see that?”

  “I saw it. Nice one, beautiful.”

  “Thanks.”

  I glanced into the crowd near the bar and accidentally locked eyes with Josiah Haven. He was tall and thickly built, his beard and plaid flannel shirt giving him a lumberjack vibe. A common look around here.

  Josiah’s gaze flicked from me to Asher. They didn’t exchange a glare, exactly—it was more like a mutual agreement to ignore each other. This bar was close enough to the college to be neutral territory. I didn’t really know Josiah, but I got the impression that he had no more interest in starting trouble than Asher did. His eyes flicked over me, then he walked away, disappearing into the crowd.

  Asher tipped his beer bottle to see how much was left, then gestured to mine. “Want another one?”

  I wasn’t quite finished, but it was only my first. “Sure, I’ll take another.”

  He got up and gave me a quick kiss. “I’ll be right back.”

  The other guys—Matt, Randy, and Christian—left with Asher to get more drinks. The bar was packed; it would be a while before they got back.

  Alex, Randy’s girlfriend, played her turn. Then Jess was up. I liked them, although I’d only hung out with them as a group of couples, never just the girls. Still, we had
a nice time when we went out. I missed my friends from college, but I was gradually rebuilding my social life here.

  I certainly had no regrets about my decision to stay.

  Tamara put her cue back on the stand. “I need to go to the ladies’ room.”

  “Me too,” Alex said, and Jess grabbed her purse.

  “You coming, Grace?” Tamara asked.

  I glanced at the table. We’d probably lose it if we all left. “That’s okay, I’ll hold our place here.”

  “You sure?” Jess asked.

  “Yeah, I don’t mind.”

  The girls left down the little hallway toward the restrooms. I had to admit, it was true what they said about girls going to the bathroom in groups.

  Asher and the guys were still waiting at the bar, so I decided to take a few practice shots. I knew the girls wouldn’t mind—none of us were serious enough about the game to care about the score. I wandered around to the other side of the table and picked a potential shot. Leaned over and lined up my cue.

  I felt someone behind me, his body skimming my ass, and I wondered how Asher had gotten back so fast. “Watch it, big guy, I’m playing here.”

  Hands rested on my hips and he pressed his groin against me. My heart rate jumped. That wasn’t Asher.

  Straightening quickly, I whipped around, and my cue clattered to the floor. I had the fleeting thought that I should have held onto it in case I needed to hit this guy with it, but it was too late for that. My hands landed on his chest and I pushed.

  “Get the fuck off me.”

  He staggered back a step, his eyebrows lifting in surprise. I didn’t recognize him. Short blond hair, square jaw. The Tilikum College t-shirt probably meant he was a student.

  “Whoa, hey.” He put his hands up.

  “What the hell? You don’t just walk up to some girl and grab her ass like that.”

  “When she’s wearing shorts like those, you do.” His eyes swept up and down. “Damn, girl.”

  I couldn’t tell if he was drunk, or just that much of an asshole. Maybe both. He had a bunch of buddies behind him, most of them holding beers. A few of them elbowed each other, snickering.