The Resurrection of Wildflowers (Wildflower #2)(40)

“Can I climb up?” Seda grabs onto the ladder that’s secured to the treehouse and cemented into the ground.

“Go for it.” I let her climb up on her own, but hover behind her in case she slips.

I’ll be there to catch her—from now on that’s where I’ll belong, at my daughter’s side guiding her through life.

She reaches the top and gasps. “Mom! There are bean bag chairs in here!”

Salem laughs, her hands in the back pockets of her shorts. The sun is almost completely set, behind her fireflies start to glow sporadically.

“She loves bean bag chairs.”

I arch a brow. “That so?”

“Yeah.” She shakes her head, smiling at a memory. “She begged for one for her bedroom. I kept saying no, but I ended up giving in. She has a reading nook and so I put it there.”

Seda pokes her head out of the entrance. “Are you guys coming up?”

“It’s big enough,” I tell Salem, in case she wants to go up.

“All right.” She starts her climb, and I don’t mean to, but I can’t look away from her ass. It’s perfect and round. I want to grab it and pull her back down, kiss her long and slow and make love to her. My body aches with the need, it’s been too fucking long—six years too long—but I want to take things slow with her.

Once Salem is inside ,I climb up.

With the three of us it’s crowded, but there’s enough space for me to rest my back against the wall and spread my legs out.

Salem looks around taking it all in. It took a while to get it built since I took my time with every detail, but I’m proud of how it turned out. “This is really nice.”

“Thanks.”

“Forrest would love it.”

“Forrest?” Seda asks curiously. “Is this his treehouse? Can I say hi?”

Salem brushes her fingers through Seda’s blonde hair. “Forrest is your brother.”

“Oh. So, he’s … gone?”

Salem nods sadly. “Yeah, baby, he’s gone.”

Seda turns her intelligent brown eyes to me. “Can I see a picture of my brother? Mommy didn’t have any.”

“Sure.” I sit up, pulling my phone from my pocket and flip through my photos. “Here he is.”

Seda studies the picture. “Do you think he would’ve liked me?” She addresses me, not Salem.

“I know he would have. He always wanted a sibling and a dog.”

Her eyes light up. “Do you have a dog? We have a cat. He’s kind of old though and sleeps a lot. His name is Binx.”

My eyes find Salem’s. She still has Binx. She gives a half-smile and shrugs.

“I have a dog. Her name is Winnie.”

“That’s cute. Can I meet her?”

“Sure.”

Salem watches our interaction with a smile, tears shimmering in her eyes. I’m sure this is as emotional for her as it is for me.

“Can we go now?”

“If you want.”

“I do.”

She starts to move to climb out, but I shake my head. “Let me go first.”

That way if she has any trouble I can help.

“Okay.” She waits for me to crawl—yeah I have to fucking crawl—to the opening and climb out. As soon as my feet touch the ground she’s already on the second rung. She handles it like a champ, never needing my help. “Come on, Mommy. We’re waiting for you.”

Salem starts down the ladder, her foot catching on the second to last step.

“Oh,” she cries, losing her balance.

I’m right there though, wrapping her in my arms and helping her down before she falls. She turns in my arms, her hands on my chest. Her big eyes look up at me and I see the desire in them—I’m sure she can see the same in mine.

I’ve wanted this woman ever since she brought me cupcakes and rambled her way into my heart. When I look at her like this, it feels like no time at all has passed, like we were never separated. I think that’s how you know a person is yours—when not time, or distance, can lessen the love between you.

“Are you okay?” I ask, brushing a stray hair back from her forehead.

“Y-Yeah,” she stutters, breathless.

The urge to kiss her is almost too much to bear. I think I’d give in if it weren’t for Seda.

“Hurry up you guys. I want to meet the doggy.”

I set Salem fully on her feet. “Our daughter beckons,” she says, her eyes never wavering from mine.

“I love the sound of that.”

She wrinkles her nose in confusion. “Of her beckoning us?”

I shake my head. “Our daughter.”





CHAPTER 27





SALEM





I wake up with a mouthful of Seda’s hair.

“Ew,” I gag, trying to get away from the wild tangle of hair in front of my face.

I put her in Georgia’s room for the night, but at some point she climbed into bed with me and I let her. Soon, times like these where she comes to me for comfort will be long gone. I want to cherish them while I have them.

Rolling over, I pick up my phone from the nightstand and peer at the screen. There’s a text from Thayer and Caleb. I open Caleb’s first.