Page 39 of Deserving Lara
“Yeah. I feel the same way.”
A few seconds went by before Stone broke the emotional moment. “Holy shit, we’re getting our own chopper,” he said with a grin.
“I feel like it’s Christmas and my birthday all over again,” Owl admitted.
“Same,” Stone agreed before clapping Owl on the shoulder and turning for the door.
Owl smiled and followed his friend. He needed to talk to Lara, maybe ease into the conversation about the possibility of leaving The Refuge. He wanted to be careful, avoid freaking her out, but he hoped and prayed that she might be excited about the opportunity to not only spend time with him outside of New Mexico, but the chance to take a little more control of her life back.
CHAPTERNINE
Lara had chickened out over a dozen times since she’d gotten the advice to simply kiss Owl as a way to let him know how she felt.
He’d been so excited a week ago, when he’d escorted her back to his cabin and told her all about the possibility of The Refuge getting a helicopter. She was excited for him, and she belatedly thought it could have been the perfect time to kiss him, to share in his joy. But she hadn’t.
Since then, they’d both been busy, Lara spending more time with Cora, finalizing the plans for the families who would arrive in a week. And Owl with Stone, researching everything chopper-related in case the purchase went through. They’d met with a contractor, and she’d watched from a short distance as they described exactly where the hangar would go and what it would look like and how many trees needed to come down in order to make the landing pad safe. To Lara, it didn’t seem as if they were asking forenoughtrees to be taken down, but she trusted the men to know what they were doing.
But deep down, anxiety was building within her. If The Refuge got a helicopter, it was likely Owl and Stone would be the ones who would go inspect and possibly buy it. Which meant he’d be leaving The Refuge.
The thought of him not being around made her uneasy. Carter was still out there. If Owl left, would that be the break Carter needed to come after her? And beyond that, Lara wasn’t sure she’d be able to go a week or more without Owl at her side.
The more she thought about it, however, the more she accepted therealreason she didn’t want Owl to go…and it had nothing to do with potential panic attacks.
It was because she’d miss him desperately.
She’d spent almost every minute of every day in his presence for months. She’d talked to him, laughed with him, and felt safe enough to let down her guard to sleep because she knew he was nearby.
The fact of the matter was, she enjoyed being with Owl. And she’d never felt so comfortable with another man. Ever.
She’d thought she’d been in love in the past, and she’d definitely felt a kind of short-term infatuation for guys. But what she felt for Owl was completely different. He settled her. Made her feel strong. As if she could handle whatever else life felt the need to throw at her. No one else ever made her feel that way.
Which made it even more frustrating that she hadn’t been able to drum up the courage to kiss him. The few times she’d considered it, something happened to make her back off. Someone walked into the room. She sneezed and the moment was gone. She simply lost her nerve.
Despite that, with every day that passed, Lara fell for him even more.
Now, this evening, Cora and Pipe were getting married. After the ceremony, they’d head to the lodge for the dinner Robert had painstakingly planned. And the mood around The Refuge was celebratory and romantic.
No one seemed put out that they wouldn’t be there to see the actual ceremony. That was one of the best things about The Refuge and the people who lived and worked there. The friendships formed here were real. Deep and true. Not based on what anyone could do for anyone else. If Cora and Pipe wanted a private and intimate ceremony, that’s what they would get, and no one felt left out or annoyed by their decision. They were all simply happy their friends were together.
Earlier in the week, Alaska had grilled Lara on her size and favorite color, then surprised her by coming to Owl’s cabin with three outfits for her to choose from to wear to Cora’s ceremony. It was one of the most thoughtful things anyone had ever done for her, and Lara was almost overcome with gratitude.
While the two dresses Alaska had brought for her to try on were beautiful, Lara felt the most comfortable in the third outfit. It was a simple pair of gray slacks, coupled with a gorgeous soft-pink blouse that had long sleeves and felt like silk. The bottom layer of the shirt was form-fitting, while the outer layer was flowy and swished and flowed like the sand on a windy beach when she moved. Lara had fallen in love with it as soon as she’d seen it in the box.
And the best part wasn’t even how comfortable it felt on…but the look on Owl’s face when he saw her.
He looked utterly stunned.
On one hand, Lara felt a little embarrassed that he was so blown away by how she looked, because that probably meant he’d gotten very used to the oversized shirts and sweats she’d worn since she’d known him. On the other hand, she couldn’t deny that she loved the look of awe on his face when she’d walked into the room to model the outfit for him and Alaska.
She felt just as awed when he strolled out of his room, ready to walk her over to Pipe’s cabin. He’d changed into a pair of black slacks and a white long-sleeve button-up shirt…
With a pink tie that perfectly matched her shirt.
It should’ve been a little cheesy. But instead, his choice to match her outfit made Lara feel giddy. How many times had she seen couples dressed alike and smiled at how cute they looked? Others might make fun of those people, might roll their eyes and think it was ridiculous, but not Lara.
“You look nice,” she told him, internally wincing at her less-than-effusive word choice.
“And you look absolutely beautiful,” Owl told her.
