Page 18 of Light on Love
When she reaches his door, she can’t help but linger, her hand near the knob. Laurel lets her thoughts drift to what he’s like in the comfort of his own room, imagining him as his most relaxed self. She wonders if maybe, he’s lying there thinking of her at night, just like she’s been thinking of him.
Her cheeks heat, remembering how she had woken up in a sweat just this morning after a filthy dream about him. She’s in the middle of picturing how, in the dream, he had come into her room and woken her up by kissing down her body, when she’s jolted back to reality by a door opening downstairs. Embarrassed for hovering on those thoughts, she hurries to follow the sound.
Brett is kicking off his boots at the back door, one of her post-it notes already in hand. He holds it up when she turns the corner into the living room, raising his eyebrows in question. “What did you find?”
Laurel swells with pride at the interest in his tone. “It’s what I didn’t find. Something that shouldn’t have been redacted but was. It doesn’t make any sense, so I figure it must mean something.”
She leans against the kitchen counter and watches him shed his outdoor layers. Throwing his jacket over the back of an armchair, Brett strides towards her. “You have good instincts; I could have used you when I was serving,” he offers with a playful smile. Placing his hands on the counter at either side of her, Brett leans in to continue, “it’s nice to see you excited.” These words come out as a whisper, his lips inches from her.
Laurel feels her quickened heartbeat betraying her yet again at his closeness.She tilts back to look up at him. As she’s doing so, her injured elbow comes down on the counter, causing her to wince. A dark look flashes across Brett’s face as he reaches for her arm. His shoulders tense when he sees the bruise.
“I did this?” he asks gruffly.
“Anyone would bruise easily when fighting against a frogman,” she jokes lightly.
He doesn’t answer, instead focused on her bruised elbow. Brett lifts her arm to the light and applies pressure as he checks her mobility. He examines her arm for an injury other than the bruise until he’s satisfied that one isn’t there. Looking up to meet her eyes, he says,“let’s take tomorrow off. I need to watch for Ireland’s guys anyway.”
He’s still holding her arm, bringing her elbow to his lips. Just like his kiss to her forehead, he’s soft, brushing his lips along the bruise. Laurel shivers in response, causing the corner of his mouth to tip up. “How about I make you dinner tonight?”
“You didn’t do anything wrong, my elbow is fine,” she says as his brow furrows. “But…I won’t say no to an offer like that,” she finishes, sighing at the alluring smile he flashes her. Laurel smiles back, resigning herself to the feelings exploding in her chest.
—
The next morning, Laurel comes downstairs to find what she thinks is an empty living space like every other day. She walks over to the back windows, taking in the morning light over the fields. She stands there for a moment, soaking in the scene as the valley glows.
“Good morning, Laurel.”
His voice is warm and inviting, like the first sip of her morning coffee, as it floats from behind her. A familiar tingle travels through her and she wonders if she’ll ever be accustomed to the way her name sounds on his lips. Turning, she finds Brett leaning in the opening from the office in the entryway. His easy, laid-back demeanor is in contrast, again, to his harsh reputation.
“How often are you hiding in there when I think I’m alone?” she asks, walking to meet him in the kitchen.
With a laugh, he says, “not often. I just have some work to do on the ranch’s books. I figured I’d knock it out while waiting to go meet the carrier.”
“Can I come with you?”
“No way.” He responds quickly, causing her face to drop in disappointment. Brett runs his hand along his jaw, watching her, then speaks again. “I don’t love the idea. Especially if someone has been trying to keep this report from you. But… I really hate being the reason your face looks so sad. So, if you want to come, I would love the company.”
“You’re secretly a softy,” she says with a smile. “And good, because I want to come.”
“You shouldn’t be this excited to go meet a potential threat,” Brett mutters with a shake of his head. Behind them, Floyd and Grey stride up on the back porch.
“Pulled babysitting duty?” Laurel asks as they enter the house.Grey snorts at her comment as she adds, “but it turns out, I’m going with him today.”
The ranchers turn to Brett, waiting for confirmation. He nods his head as the phone rings, and turns back into his office to take it. “How’d you swing the field trip today?” Grey asks, “I guarantee, because this involves you, he stayed up half the night calculating risk and deciding exactly what he thought would keep you safest. And that was you staying here.”
“Why especially because it involves me?” Laurel asks.
Looking at Floyd as if he’s looking for a lifeline, Grey sets his mouth in a tight line and rubs the back of his neck. Floyd answers for Grey, picking his words carefully. “The ways Brett has allowed himself to be comfortable and affectionate with you are not common for him. And I know it has been difficult to allow himself to react based on feelings, while balancing the sense of duty which is so engrained in him.”
Silence falls over the room as Laurel processes this information. She thinks back to his comment about not being like this with everyone. The times he hesitated before reaching out to touch her, and his moments of fleeing quickly when they do touch. She thought she was figuring him out, but had she been wrong? She had assumed his distance at times was to keep her from getting closer. But was it actually to stop himself from getting closer?
“Ready to go? That was the call, they’re on the approach,” Brett says, appearing again in the entryway.Laurel shakes the thoughts from her mind and smiles up at him.
“Ready.”
—
“No, I won’t be doing that.”