Page 94 of The Coppersmith Farmhouse (Jamison Valley 1)
“Uh, Roe, I don’t know what the rules are with little girls and bath time,” he said.
“There aren’t any rules, silly.” She giggled. “You just have fun! Except Mommy doesn’t let me splash water outside the bathtub.”
“Roe, that’s not what . . . I, uh, tell you what. Go put on your swimming suit. You can wear that in your bath tonight,” he said.
“Yay!” she yelled, jumping up and down.
I laughed from the doorway and both of them turned to see me standing there. Roe came bouncing over and hugged me as she screeched, “Jess is giving me my bath!”
“Great,” I smiled, bending to kiss the top of her hair. When I stood back up, Jess was grinning, my signal that he was ready to forgive me. I squeezed Roe before she scooted out of the room. Then I walked straight to Jess, wrapping my arms around his waist.
“I’m sorry. You were right. I was stupid and reckless. I’ve gotten used to doing things myself. It’s a hard habit to break.”
“Me, Georgia. You depend on me. Okay?” He pulled me tighter into his chest.
I relaxed into his body and nodded. I was glad he had accepted my apology and we could stop fighting. The knot in my stomach started to loosen.
“You know, I want to take care of you too. If you’ll let me,” I said.
He let out a long, frustrated sigh. “You do, Georgia. Every day. Creating a warm place for me to come to every night. Letting me unload after work. Pushing back when I’m an asshole. Arguing with me. Calling me ‘honey.’ Being my girl. All those things are what I need and how you take care of me. And if you’d get outta your head, stop doubting me, you’d see that I’ve been letting you take care of me all along.”
Damn.
He was right. Again.
“Well . . . I guess I’ll just keep doing that then,” I muttered.
He chuckled while we held each other. I looked up and locked my eyes with his. I’d never tire of that bright blue color.
Roe came bounding back into the kitchen, wearing her pink ruffled swimming suit and her orange goggles.
“Are you going to kiss Mommy?” Roe asked Jess.
“I was thinking about it. That okay with you?”
“Yep! I like it when you kiss her. It’s just like when the prince kisses the princess. Are you a princess, Mommy?” she rambled.
Jess and I both laughed at my wonderful girl. Then Jess leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. His tongue darted out and the tip touched my lower lip.
“You know, Jess, she’s only four. You can give her a bath without the suit,” I whispered.
He smiled and whispered back, “Nah. She’s excited. Maybe next time.”
Jess walked out of the kitchen, hand in hand with my daughter. It was on the tip of my tongue to tell them both, “I love you.” Because I did. I loved them. I loved him.
I had never been in love with a man. Maybe if I’d had more experience, I would have realized it sooner. It felt strange that we hadn’t said the words to each other yet, but looking back, it had been there for a while.
With every touch, every kiss, it was simply unspoken. Unspoken, but never missing.
Maisy and I were sitting at my dining room table, embellishing sweaters with Christmas flair. It was a couple of weeks before Christmas and these sweaters were going to be our attire for the Christmas party I was hosting at the farmhouse in two days.
Technically, it was Jess’s party, not mine. Each year he threw a holiday party at the station for his deputies and their families. Party planning was not his forte, him being a manly man and all, so when he’d asked for my help I’d immediately taken charge.
I’d recruited Maisy to help me in exchange for an invitation to the party on Saturday night. She, like me, was all over it.
“Is Everett excited for the party?” I asked.
“I guess,” she mumbled, attaching a string of lights with a battery pack to the waistband of her sweater.
