Forever You're Mine (MINE #4)(16)
I carried her outside to the front lawn, forgoing the need to put on any clothes since my house sat privately on about 20 acres, corn fields as far as the eye could see. My closest neighbor was a mile away. In exchange for rent, I was helping Holden fix the place up, along with a few other properties he’d recently purchased. He leased the farm land to local farmers so the return on this investment had been a very good one. This house hardly needed any work compared to the others, though. The properties he purchased were mostly foreclosures left in terrible shape after the occupants had moved out, or had been sitting so long they’d been damaged by the elements. But the previous owners had taken pretty good care of this one, so Holden let me move in until he was ready to sell.
Two anxious paws stomping on the tops of my feet pulled me from my early morning haze as a familiar grey Nissan pulled into my driveway.
You’ve got to go out on a limb sometimes
because that’s where the fruit is.
~Will Rogers
My mouth had gone completely dry. Who stands in their front yard like that? All Cannon had on were a pair of green boxer briefs and a smile, holding my sweet baby.
“Oh my,” Lyssa gasped. “Cora are you sure about this?” She put the car in park, still looking out the windshield at Cannon standing in the front yard.
I’d seen him without a shirt before, but damn I’d never seen him this naked. The man’s body was a masterpiece. Every ridge and muscle was toned and sculpted to perfection, leaving nothing to waste. And the way his waist cut down to that mouthwatering V thingy, knowing exactly what it led to…
“Yes, very sure.”
She wasn’t happy with me right now. She thought this was a bad idea and told me such on the way over. “He’s standing in the front yard in his underwear. I don’t see how any of this is a good idea. Will you please just stay with me?”
“Lyssa, we talked about this. We would kill each other. I can’t be that neat. You finally have a place of your own and you need to enjoy that. Besides, you only have one bedroom and Cannon has the spare. It just makes sense.”
“But what if he says no? And, aren’t you worried about him…you know…kissing you again? What if he sneaks into your bedroom in the middle of the night?”
A thrill shot down my spine as the images she evoked flashed through my mind. “I don’t think I would be opposed to that.”
“You’re crazy,” she scoffed, shaking her head.
“Yeah, but it’s the good kind of crazy. I know what I’m doing.” I assured her.
Following my heart.
She leaned over and gave me a tight hug. “I know you do. But if you change your mind, my door is always open. I love you, mess and all.”
“Thank you, sweetie. I got this, I promise. Love you too.” I planted a wet kiss on her cheek and grabbed the backpack between my feet. “I’ll call ya later.”
“You better!”
I did the same as I walked toward him, my emotions getting the better of me as I took him in. Seeing Cannon’s smile felt like waking up from a bad dream. The excruciating pain in my chest had eased a little, but it still hurt like hell. I could only come up with one way to fix it.
Maybe Lyssa is right, maybe I am crazy.
A frown creased the center of his brow. “Why’s your cheek swollen?” he asked, extending a hand to hook the back of my neck. He brought my face within inches of his for closer inspection. I took Hope from him, and he willingly gave her to me in order to study me further. A rough thumb lightly grazed my bruised skin. “Cora?”
“It’s a long story,” I said, avoiding his eyes. The last two days had been hell. I wasn’t even sure where to begin. “Can we go inside?”
With a nod he let go of my neck but reached for my hand, leading me inside the house. The home was sparse in furnishings since Cannon kept shit simple, but it was still welcoming as I breathed in a sigh of relief. This had become my safe haven, my refuge.
Or is it just him?
I dropped my bag to the floor and took a seat on the couch, settling the puppy in my lap.
Cannon folded his arms across his rippling chest, shifting on his feet. “Don’t cha wanna get dressed first?” I asked.
“I will. Right after you tell me whose ass I’m gonna kick for puttin’ their hands on you.”
Damn, this might be tougher than I thought.
My heart sank with dread as I fought for a steely breath. “Me and mama got into it last night. She was drunker than usual, calling me names and just being mean. I normally just let her rant, but for some reason, I’d had enough. So I fought back. I said some real nasty shit. Let her know what a piece of shit mother she was, things like that. She said some even nastier shit, and then she hit me. Never saw it coming. She’s good at hurting me with words. She never had to use her fists, but I guess she’d had enough too. And I was scared to hit her back, even though I wanted to. I was afraid once I started, I wouldn’t be able to stop. Anyway, Lyssa came and got me and that was that.” Cannon took a seat next to me on the couch. I was suddenly very aware of his presence, of my entire situation, and what I was about to ask him next. “Do you think it would be ok if I stayed here with you for a while? Just until I can find my own place? Lyssa said I could stay with her, but she’s only got the one bedroom, and she’s so private and neat, I would drive her insane with my messy life.”