It didn’t make any sense to feel shy after what they’d done, but she did. Her cheeks heated as he helped her to her feet and they both straightened their clothes.
“Are you going to drive me home?”
Trevor linked his fingers through hers and pulled her down the hallway. “Stay with me,” he said. “We don’t have to fool around anymore, but I want to sleep with you.”
Another first. Did she want this?
Her feet were answering before her mouth announced her decision, willingly following Trevor. “I don’t have any pyjamas.”
A low chuckle sounded as they entered his bedroom. “You really think that’s going to be a problem, Rodeo?”
She was surprised when he threw her one of his oversized T-shirts, mischief on his face.
“You mean you don’t expect me to sleep in the nude?”
He shrugged. “I’m not going to object if you do, but the shirt works. Go ahead and use the bathroom. There should be a new toothbrush in the drawer. I’ll be back in a minute.”
Becky waited until he’d left to slip into the bathroom, amazed yet glad to find herself comfortable at the thought of sleeping with him. She brushed her teeth quickly before returning to the bedroom to get undressed. She took off her jeans and folded them, leaving them on the chair beside the bed, then slipped his shirt over her head. Trevor’s shirt hung to mid-thigh, the soft fabric caressing her skin as she eyed his bed.
It was big. Bigger than the beds she’d ever been in before. It was neatly made, enough that she couldn’t tell just from looking what side Trevor usually slept on. She crawled under the covers and moved to the very middle, the sheets cool around her thighs as she waited, feeling very awkward and yet very mellow.
It’d been a good night. She’d enjoyed her time with the girls, and what had happened in the hall. And the idea of cuddling with Trevor all night seemed like the perfect end to the day. Only…
It really was a big bed.
“Such wide eyes,” Trevor said softly as he walked in the door. “Are you okay with this?”
She nodded quickly. “I didn’t know which side you want.”
“Oh, right where you are.”
Becky paused, not sure which way that meant she should move.
He laughed. “Don’t worry, we’re not going to take up that much room.”
She wasn’t quite sure what he was talking about until he stripped to his briefs and joined her, pulling her into his arms. He settled around her like a blanket, one arm over her stomach, his hand sliding up to cup her breast.
“Oh.”
Trevor made a soft noise, pressing his nose into the hair at the back of her neck. “Don’t worry, I’m not gonna get you all riled up again. I’ve got early chores, and I’ll probably be gone before you wake. I just like feeling you in my arms.”
He fell silent, his chest rising and falling in an even rhythm, moving slowly against her back. The sheets had warmed up, and everywhere she was toasty warm.
She should’ve been exhausted, after a full day of work and partying with the girls, yet she was strangely alert, wonderfully satisfied at being limb to limb with him. The hair on his legs tickled slightly, and he might’ve said they weren’t going to fool around, but his cock was there, pressed against her backside.
Not ten minutes later Trevor stroked her arm. “You’re fidgeting. Are you uncomfortable?”
“Lying here with you? No, this is perfect. I’m not sleepy.”
He kissed the side of her neck. “You had fun with the girls?”
“They’re amazing. So easy to be with. I appreciate that a lot.” She wasn’t sure why she was surprised when good things kept happening. “I’ve been so lucky. Ever since I ran away, I’ve had nothing but good people come into my life.”
“I’m glad.”
Becky rolled under his arm until she faced him, pressing a quick kiss to his lips. “You’re one of those good people.”
“Well, I’m glad of that too. Nothing much I do that’s special, though.”
He had no idea. But his words made her think back. “That day I ran away, I wasn’t sure what might happen. When Mark picked me up, there must have been guardian angels watching over me because I would’ve taken any truck that came along at that point.”
Trevor stroked her hair gently. “Things could have ended badly.”
She nodded. Maybe it was the combination of drinking and fooling around, but she was so relaxed she couldn’t feel uncomfortable, not even bringing up her worst fears. “I was prepared for about anything, or at least I thought I was. I figured the worst that would happen was some driver would agree to give me a lift, but he’d want sex in exchange.”
His grip tightened briefly before he went back to caressing her. “I’m damn glad that didn’t happen.”
“Me too, but in some ways, it wouldn’t have been any worse than what had been happening back at the settlement. It would’ve been a step away from being trapped.”
“I’m so sorry all that happened to you.”
“I know.” She considered. “Maybe Mark was my guardian angel. I mean, he could have left me at the next truck stop, and I would have been grateful, but he did so much more.”
Trevor pressed his fingers under her chin and tilted her head back so he could kiss her. Once on the lips. Once on each eyelid. Once on the tip of her nose. “It’s in your past. You’ve moved on.”
“Paradise Settlement is still there, though,” she pointed out, sadness making her ache inside. “That’s still the world my sister faces every morning when she wakes up. Not the part about being shared—Abel never did that to her. But she’s never going to get the chance to do so many of the things I’ve done over the past months. She’s trapped, just like I was, and so are her kids, especially the girls.”
Becky leaned her head against his chest and took a deep breath. Someday. Someday she’d be able to make a difference in her family’s life.
The day caught up with her in a rush and she snuggled in tight.
“You getting sleepy?” he whispered.
“Hmmm. You should sing me a lullaby,” she suggested in a whisper.
A soft noise snuck out from him. “You’re an amazing woman, Becky Hall. Now go to sleep.”
He did. Sing to her, that is. Not any child’s song she recognized, but a soft collection of words that talked about oceans, and opening doors and dancing. But the loudest sound was his heart, beating solidly under her ear as it guided her into a deep, restful sleep.
The entire day he’d done chores with his mind half on his task, and half on an idea that refused to go away.
Lee crawled back into the truck after closing a gate after them, bracing himself with a hand on the dashboard as Trevor drove slowly over the uneven ground toward the top of the ridge where the next cattle shelter stood. “I feel like something the cat dragged in, but you look as if you got less sleep than me. You going to last the rest of the day?”
“I slept fine,” Trevor insisted. “We went to bed not that long after I picked Becky up.”
That got him a low whistle in response. “So. I take it things are working out well. If you’re spending the night together, and all.”
“With me and Becky? Things are great.” Other than that one unexpected issue, and he wasn’t about to talk to his little brother about it. “I like spending time with her. She makes me feel good. And a bit guilty at how easy my life has been.”
“I know what you mean,” Lee offered, patting his shoulder briefly as they moved to dump bales from the back of the truck to the waiting cattle. “When Rachel was dealing with stuff with her ex, I felt useless. It was the most frustrating sensation ever—wanting to fix things and knowing there was nothing that I could fix.”
Trevor flexed his biceps, lifting the bale by the binder twine and swinging it over the edge off the truck bed. The square bale landed with a gentle thump on the ground as the cattle moved forward eagerly. “Yeah. I pretty much know how to solve problems when it’s things like fixing shit around the house, or if it involves a shovel or an axe. I don’t know how to fix things that are hurting her on the inside. Or stuff like Dad being sick, and how frustrated he is with the whole situation.”
“There’s nothing we can do except be there for them,” Lee said. “It takes time. If it’s something bad, maybe suggest she talk with a counselor, but then everybody is different. You’ve got to let her decide when she’s ready to do the next thing. “
Which is exactly what Trevor had been trying to do, so maybe he wasn’t as stupid as he’d thought.
Only there was one thing not specifically related to Becky or his father, but connected to both that he could do. Of course, it involved one of his least favourite things ever, but screw it. He could handle a little mental torment.
He got home from chores and found a note on the table from Becky. A reminder she was working late, and that she’d see him the following day.
She’d signed it with a simple B, and a little smiley face, and the shorthand thrilled him more than anything—she was learning all the time. Finding her way in this big new world.
Trevor turned to a clean piece of paper and stared at it for a while before he decided what the hell. Maybe his words wouldn’t be pretty, but no one would grade him on this.
It was something worthwhile doing, and in the end as he read his letter through before stuffing it in an envelope to be addressed and stamped, he figured it had turned out okay.
Uncle Mark
It’s strange to write to someone I don’t know, yet I do.
So much of my life has been spent with the Coleman clan that I can’t imagine what it must’ve been like for you when you left. I’m not writing to find out what happened, or to see if there’s any way I can convince you to come for a visit.
I’m writing to say thank you.
My father says I remind him a lot of you. I think that’s a fine compliment when I consider what I know about you. What I’ve heard in the past few months. Whatever it was that made you leave Rocky, I think you’re still the kind of man that my dad told me you were. Giving and kind.
Maybe you’re not a rancher anymore. I don’t know—Becky told me you were driving a big rig when she met you, so maybe that’s what you do for a living, but I think you’re still damn good at making things grow.
When you picked up that runaway at the side of the road in the middle of a snowstorm, you saved her life. When you took the time to help her find her feet and start again, you planted a seed.
Yeah, this is about Becky. We’ve become good friends, partly because of you. When you sent her north and set her up at your house, you gave her a chance to stand on her own two feet, and I thought you might like to know she’s doing real good. She’d never write to you to say that, because she wouldn’t want to interrupt, or make you feel obliged to do more on her behalf. And I’m not writing this so that you feel like you have to respond, but I wanted you to know thank you from one of your nephews.
I think if you’d been around while I was growing up, we would have gotten along just fine. I get that couldn’t happen, but so you know, my door is always open.
Trevor (Moonshine) Coleman