The Way Home (Chasing #3) (21 page)

“Nate.” Her sleepy tone soft and cute.

She raised her arms beckoning me closer. There was a smile on her lips. Damn, it felt good to hold her, but it felt amazing to be held by her. Her chin nestled into the crook of my neck. Her warm breath caressed my skin. This felt right… her in my arms… me here with her.

“Good morning, beautiful.” I nuzzled her ear, and squeezed her tighter. Her breasts pressed flush against my chest, and when I moved to lay back against the mattress, I took her with me. She giggled, lying sprawled on top of me. My own lips curved into a grin at hearing that sound. I fucking loved hearing her laugh. “I made you coffee.”

“Thank you,” she said, her gaze holding mine. “About last night,” she began, and I slid my hands into her hair quietening those words. She smiled against my lips. She was becoming an addiction. I was hooked on Miley. When I tried to pull away, her lips clung tenaciously to mine. It would be so easy to get used to waking up with her in my bed each and every morning.

It would be one hell of a way to start the day.

When we were both gasping for air, she moved away from me, tugging the sheet over her breasts. Her gaze drifted down my chest, and she giggled out loud. She must have noticed the massive tent in my boxers. She arched one sassy dark blonde eyebrow at me and I winked at her, unable to deny the huge shit eating grin residing on my face. She reached for the coffee mug atop the night stand. “Since I’m off today and we still have a few hours before we have to pick up Sierra, what are your plans for us?”

I ran a hand through my hair then scratched my beard. I was stalling. I acted as if I were lost in thought, as if we had all day. Her eyes narrowed, zeroing in on me.
Oh, I knew exactly what I wanted to do.
It was a no brainer. “
You’ll just have to wait and see what I have planned, but I’ve had this fantasy that involves you and me and my shower?”

Her grin widened. There was mischief written all over her beautiful face. She set the mug down then turned toward me with a teasing gleam in her big blue eyes. Without saying a word, she let the sheet fall.

Damn!

“It must be your lucky day, Nate, since I’m all about fulfilling your fantasies.”

She climbed over me, her breasts bouncing as she straddled my hips. The air rushed from my lungs. My heart kicked into overdrive. Her lips hung poised over mine. She was teasing me, but still, I didn’t move. I could play her game. My hands griped her waist. I couldn’t help myself and flexed my fingers. I loved the feel of her. She stared down at me, smiling.

“I’m a lucky man, indeed,” I whispered, right before her lips covered mine.

THE IMAGE OF
Miley kneeling before me, and the feel of her lush lips wrapped around me cut my shower fantasy a little short. It would have to wait until later, when I had more control around her. With both of us soaking wet and panting, I’d carried her quickly from the bathroom and back to my bed. She’d tasted like sun ripened peaches and fresh cream, and she was just what I’d wanted for breakfast. While her cries echoed in my room, I licked my lips, still tasting her sweetness and slid back to kneel on the floor. Her skin was flushed; a blushing rosy pink. Her chest heaved, and I trailed a finger down the inside of her thigh noting the trembling of her muscles. She jerked away, and burst out laughing.

“Don’t touch me!”

“You mean like this,” I teased, reaching for her again, and she screamed while scrambling up in the bed, away from me and out of my reach. Laughter shook my chest. I laughed so hard my sides began to hurt.

“It’s not funny,” she said as she sat reclining against the headboard and hugging a pillow to her chest. “Seriously, I can’t take anymore. People can actually die from having too much sex.”

What the hell?

“Who told you that old wives tale? That’s about as original as I have a headache.”

Before I could blink, a pillow smacked me right in the face.

This meant war.

After I made Miley beg for mercy, which also ended up with me doing a little begging of my own, we were both dressed and on the road headed toward Fred’s. As she spoke with Sierra on the phone, I listened in on their conversation. I’d never thought it would be humanly possible to ever feel this content again. I’d promised Miley breakfast, and since we were both starving and it was after one in the afternoon, we’d decided on Fred’s; it was the only place where you could order breakfast anytime. Miley sat in the middle of the seat, right beside me, with her hand resting on my knee.
We were both having a hard time keeping our hands to ourselves, but hey, I wasn’t complaining.
I actually loved it when she touched me. The need to distance myself from her never occurred. She was unlike any other woman I’d ever known.

“I’m starving,” she said with a big smile.

We held hands as we walked side by side across the parking lot to Fred’s. The bell over the door jingled when we stepped inside. As usual, Fred was behind the counter wearing a friendly smile. The man hadn’t changed much since the last time I’d seen him which had been nine years to the day. He didn’t recognize me, but I’d changed from the boy who had left so many years ago. The last time I’d eaten here had been with Natalie… the day before her birthday.

“What’s the matter?” Miley asked, her eyes searching mine. She could sense the sudden change in my mood. Sometimes she was too damn perceptive. I halfway smiled and squeezed her hand, not wanting her to worry.

“Nothing, babe,” I said, focusing my attention entirely on her. “Is this okay?”

“The booth’s fine, Nate,” she said, and when I didn’t say anything else, she huffed, giving up and slid into the seat.

I sat down and reached for her hand on the table, but she pulled away at the first brush of my fingertips. She leaned forward. Her expression curious as she stared at me. “Something up?” she asked, refusing to let it go.

“Just thinking.” I didn’t want to talk about it right now. I didn’t want to ruin our day. I glanced away looking around the restaurant. Like Fred, it hadn’t changed much over the years. Familiar hazel eyes peered back at me.
Fucking hell, it was Myra and Calvin Hayes, Natalie’s parents.
They were sitting in one of the booths in the back. I don’t know how I’d missed them when we came in. The expression on Myra’s face was absolutely priceless, and it had Calvin peering over his shoulder to stare in my direction. I nodded at him then chose to ignore Myra. She hated the ground I walked on. Her resentment could eat her alive for all I cared.

“I saw her when we came in,” Miley said, interrupting my thoughts. “They’re usually here every Sunday after church.”

What the Hell?

It was on the tip of my tongue to thank her for the warning, but I kept my sarcastic comment to myself. My lips flattened into a thin line. Miley was more than well aware of what she’d done. A young girl walked up to our table. She smiled at us both then pulled a pen and pad from her apron pocket. “You guys decided what you want to eat yet?”

The menu hadn’t changed, either. We both ordered the breakfast platters, which consisted of a side order of pancakes, eggs, sausage, and buttered toast. When Miley ordered chocolate milk, my lips twitched and curved into a grin despite my current shitty mood. “It’s a habit,” she said with a small smile defending her choice. “When Sierra and I eat here, we always order chocolate milk.”

“You can be a grown up today. You’re with me,” I teased, and in reply, she stuck out her tongue at me. Her eyes grew wide, and when I started to turn in my seat, her hand covered mine, causing me to pause.

“Don’t turn around. Do not look over your shoulder. Myra Hayes and her husband are headed this way.”

“Fuck,” I muttered, every muscle in my body tightening. “If this gets ugly…”

“It’s okay, Nate,” she said, giving me a small smile at my concern for her. “I’m a big girl, and believe you me, I’m well acquainted with ugly.” Miley’s expression grew solemn at those words. Her eyes turned from mine to whomever was now more than likely standing directly behind me.

W
ould Myra have the courage to approach me herself, or would it be Calvin?

A hand settled onto my shoulder. My fingers curled into a fist beneath the table. Miley’s hand gripped mine. Her touch was reassuring, but I fought against the urge to pull my hand away from hers. I had nothing to be ashamed of. It wasn’t shame if I were being completely honest… it was guilt. I wasn’t ashamed of Miley.

“It’s good to see you back, son.” I heard a familiar voice state.

I turned to face the man who’d always been nothing but kind to me until that day; the day I’d lost my heart and nearly lost my mind. “Thank you, Calvin.” He hadn’t changed except for the gray hair and a few more wrinkles around his eyes. Myra’s attention stayed focused on her husband. She stood silently by his side.

I’d never forget her words or what had happened that day in the driveway outside their house. As long as I lived, it would haunt me.
The rain had been pouring down when I’d pulled in. I didn’t even have the chance to knock on the front door. Myra had met me in the driveway. The fact that she wasn’t carrying an umbrella should have clued me in. I’d never even been given the opportunity to speak. She’d started in, screaming at me, accusing me. This was how I’d learned of my child. It was all my fault she had screamed over and over. She wished it were me instead of Natalie. Calvin must have finally heard Myra’s screams. He’d come running out of the house and had convinced her to go back inside. He’d asked me to wait so we could talk. In the end, he’d sided with his wife. The people I’d grown to think of as family had turned their back on me just like everyone else.

“Do you mind if we have a word with you?” Calvin asked.

Miley squeezed my hand reassuringly. I would have loved nothing better than to tell them both to fuck off, but I didn’t. My gran had taught me to respect my elders even if they were assholes. My gaze shifted to Myra, but she glanced away; her lips tightening.

I had a feeling this wasn’t going to go well.

“All right,” I finally agreed, shrugging my shoulders. Maybe, after they’d had their say, they’d finally leave me the hell alone.

“Outside,” Calvin requested, and I nodded in agreement then looked across the table at Miley.

Her concern was hard to miss. “I’ll be right back,” I told her, and slipped my hand from hers as I rose to stand. Myra and Calvin were already walking out the door. “It will be okay,” I said, but she shook her head no.

“I’m coming with you,” she insisted. She sounded as fierce as a mama bear protecting her cub, but I could more than take care of myself. I didn’t need to hide behind her apron strings.

“I can handle it. Stay put,” I said without giving her a chance to argue.
Stubborn ass woman.
I walked up the aisle heading straight for the exit.

“We’ll be right back,” Miley said, and I glanced over my shoulder to find her right behind me. She didn’t listen worth shit. She was worse than Hank. She smiled at Fred as if somehow reassuring that we weren’t going to skip out on the bill, then she shot me a look. It was as if she were silently daring me to argue with her on this. I’d already taken a pillow to the face so I knew she had a pretty good aim. It was no use.

“Behave,” I muttered and held the door open for her.

Calvin and Myra stood waiting. “We’re sorry for the interruption. This won’t take long. Do you mind if we walk over to the picnic tables?”

“That’s fine.”

Miley fell into step beside me as we followed after Calvin and Myra. Her hand caught mine. When I glanced over at her, she was nibbling on her lower lip. She seemed nervous for me.
At this point, I didn’t care. Good or bad, I just wanted this over.
We didn’t even bother with taking a seat, which was fine with me since I didn’t plan on hanging around any longer than was necessary.

Our position was far enough away from the doors so no one would overhear our conversation. Myra twisted the silver bracelet on her wrist. She was fidgeting. In all the time I’d known her, she’d never appeared nervous around me before. I found the behavior extremely odd, even for her. Calvin, though, he smiled at me.

“I’m sure you’re more than a little curious as to why we’ve asked to speak with you, Nate.”

“I am.” I could feel Miley edge closer to my side. I could also feel the weight of Myra Hayes’ eyes upon me.

“It’s nice to see you again, too, Miley,” Calvin said, finally acknowledging her, and Myra offered her a lukewarm smile.

“Thank you, Mr. Hayes. Mrs. Hayes,” Miley replied.
She was gracious to a fault.

“Son, the reason we wanted to speak with you…” His voice dropped off and he glanced at his wife who nodded her head; his gaze returned to mine. “Nate, we wanted to offer you an apology for the way we’ve behaved, the way we treated you after losing Natalie. This has been a long time coming, son. We’re sorry. It was difficult for us as grieving parents, but we failed to realize or understand how much this also affected you, too.”

The shock of finally hearing those words momentarily left me speechless. Miley slipped closer and wrapped her arms around my waist, but my eyes remained focused on the Hayes’.