Russell's Return (13 page)

When his breathing calmed he reached for
the picnic basket and took the cheesecake sampler out of the insulated interior
and set it aside. “How about some wine first?”

“Sure. Oh, you got my favorite!”

“I know,” he snickered. “I saw an empty
bottle on your counter the other day.”

Emily leaned over and kissed him gently,
sweetly. “Thank you, you thought of everything.”

Russell felt a little warm around the
collar as he opened and poured the wine before unwrapping the cheesecake
platter. “Have some,” he encouraged.

Emily reached out and took one of the
small bite sized pieces. She took a small taste. “
Mmmm
,
turtle,” she sighed.

“Oh, that’s my favorite kind,” Russell
said. “Do you see another one?”

Emily shook her head. “I can’t tell
what’s what in this light. Have my piece.” She reached out toward him and he
opened his mouth to take the morsel. When his lips grazed her fingers, a slight
gasp escaped her. “If you come across white chocolate raspberry, you need to
share with me.”

Russell picked up a piece and held it
out to her. “I believe this is what you’re looking for.”

Emily’s lips wrapped around his fingers
and she moaned. “You were right,” she murmured. “I think that’s the best I’ve
ever had.”

Russell was struck speechless then
smiled. “Logan and his staff make them fresh every day using my Grandma
Harper’s recipe.”

They settled back on the blanket, side
by side and finished their dessert and wine while listening to the music. The
classic rock band had to cancel so a nearby orchestra was playing in their
place.

“I’m sorry,” Russell whispered, his
breath tickling her ear.

“It’s okay, I like it,” she whispered
back. “I just wish it would last longer.”

When the music did stop, after that
song, Emily re-packed the picnic basket while Russell folded the blanket. “I
have somewhere I want to take you,” she said as they walked to the SUV.

“Okay,” he hedged. “Care to tell me
where?”

“Nope.” A grin formed on her face.
“You’ll figure it out.”

“Okay…” he agreed, tossing her his keys.
“You’re in charge now.” What in the hell was he doing? He never let anyone
drive his car. The day Miranda asked to learn to drive would probably be the
worst day of his life.

Following a quick stop at the grocery
store, Emily drove through town and kept going. She snuck a glance at her
reluctant passenger to see if she could read his expression. Even in the dark,
he looked anxious.

“Why are we headed toward the cemetery?”
Russell asked. There was nothing else out here so he knew exactly where she was
headed.

“You need to talk to your dad. I think
that unfinished business is holding you back.”

“Probably a good idea,” he agreed. “But
it’s not something I want to do in front of my date.”

Emily smiled in the dark. “I’m staying
in the car, Russell. I’m just the chauffeur for this part of the evening. And
the encourager.”

“Okay,” Russell breathed. “Thank you…I
think.”

Emily chuckled and pulled up to the
curb. “I’ll be here when you get back,” she said, pulling some flowers out of
the grocery bag and handing them to him.

Russell took the blossoms and walked up
the hill to where the Harpers had their plots. He stopped at his brother’s
grave and stared at the dates. Sixteen years old was just way too young to die.
He put half of the flowers on his brother’s grave and gave him the message from
Abby. If there was such a thing as heaven, his big brother was up there
smiling.

His heart started to ache even before he
reached his dad’s grave. It was the first time he’d ever seen it. It made
things final. Cole Harper was gone. Tears started to roll down his face before
he could even think to stop them. “Hi Dad. I bet you’re pretty pissed at me.
Kind of like when you found me sneaking out of the house to meet up with Sarah
Cline.”

Russell moved forward and knelt down to
put the flowers on the grave. “I’m so sorry Daddy,” he sobbed quietly. “I
should have made sure to get here. I let someone else control me and I can’t
change that. But I can promise you it will never happen again. I’ll be a better
man. I’ll be just like you…someday.”

He couldn’t move. He felt paralyzed so
he just knelt there and cried. Would his father ever forgive him? But then
suddenly he knew, he already had. Cole Harper was that kind of man.

Soon he could move again and rose from
the ground. He brushed the dirt and grass from his pants and said one last
farewell before he turned and headed back down the hill.

Wiping his eyes, when he was about
halfway down, he ran the rest of the way. He felt lighter somehow and had a
smile on his face when he opened the door of the SUV.

Emily didn’t say a word. She saw his
red-rimmed eyes and knew something good had happened at the gravesite. She
started the vehicle, made a quick U-turn and headed back through town and out
to the Harper ranch. When she pulled up in front of her cottage she turned the
car off and looked at Russell. “Are you okay?’

“Yeah,” he answered quietly. “I’m better
than I have been in a long time…thanks to you.”

“You just needed a little
encouragement,” she said with a smile. “Walk me to my door?”

“Of course,” he smiled back then opened
his door and walked around to meet Emily by her front gate.

“Would you like to come in for some
coffee or more wine?’ she asked hopefully. She was nowhere near ready to let
this night end.

“I’d love to,” Russell said as they
approached her front door. “But if I come in right now I may never want to
leave again. I just can’t do that yet…um right now.”

“I understand,” she said with a genuine
smile. “I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”

“Yeah. I’d like that.” He pulled her
close for a kiss. A sweet, gentle kiss that left him shaking when he turned and
walked to the car. As soon as she was safely inside, he hopped in and drove
home. It
was
home now, not just his mother’s house where he was staying.
It was his home again. And for some reason, that thought didn’t paralyze
him…for once.

The house was dark and quiet when he
walked in. He took his shoes off and padded up the stairs, making sure not to
disturb Miranda.

“Son, can you come here?” he heard his
mother whisper form her bedroom doorway.

“Sure Ma,” he whispered back, walking
over to her. “What’s up?”

“Did you have a good night?”

“Yeah,” he mused. “I had a great time.”

“Well that’s good. Are you busy three
weeks from today?”

“I don’t have any definite plans yet.
Why?’

Evelyn pulled her robe tighter around
herself to ward off the night chill. “Uncle Ethan is flying up this year
instead of driving. He’s going to have Henry’s Meats prepare his kill and ship
it home.”

“Oh, okay. Do you need me to go to
Casper to pick him up?’

“I’d like to go too,” she answered. “If
you don’t mind coming with me.”

“Sure Ma,” he said with a grin. “You,
Emily, Miranda and I will make a day of it.”

“Thank you, son. You’re a good boy.”

“Night Ma,” he said as he left the room
and pulled the door closed behind him.

Once he was in the quiet of his own
room, he headed into the bathroom to get ready for bed. By ten minutes after
twelve, he was lying in bed thinking of how much he wished he could be holding
Emily right then. His phone buzzed from his nightstand and he reached over to
answer it.

“Hello.”

“It’s tomorrow,” Emily said quietly.

“That it is,” he returned. “I was just
thinking about you.” He heard something close to a moan come over the line.

“Exactly what were you thinking about
me?” she nearly whispered.

“About how I wish I could come back over
there, break down the door and take you into my arms.”

“And then what?” she asked, a sense of desperation
in her voice.

“And then kiss you until neither of us
can breathe,” he murmured.

“Is that all?”

“No,” he said matter-of-factly. “After
that I would take you to the bedroom and bury myself so deep inside of you…”

“Can you sneak away?” That sense of
desperation was back in her voice.

“Yeah, everyone’s asleep.”

“I’ll leave the door unlocked so you
don’t have to break it down.” The line went dead and Russell jumped up. He put
on a pair of sweat pants and his hoodie before slipping his tennis shoes on. He
grabbed his wallet and keys and snuck down the stairs.

A feeling of guilt started to slip in so
he turned back from the door and left a note for his mother on the counter
before hurrying outside, hopping into the car and driving to the cottage. He
was out of the vehicle and at the front door in a split second. His breathing
came hard and he didn’t even try to stop to catch his breath.

The door opened easily beneath his hand
which caused it to fly open. Emily stood there in a green satin nightie and
robe. He felt like a starving man walking into an all-you-can-eat buffet.

Rushing forward, he lifted her in his
arms and kissed her. Hard. At that moment, for some strange reason, she felt
like a lifeline to him.

They pulled apart, breathing hard and he
looked into her eyes. “For so long I’ve been mostly numb. But now, tonight, I
can
feel
again.”

“I’m glad,” she whispered, reaching up
to caress his cheek.

“I could experience pain and fear. But
nothing good. Now I feel joy, love, and happiness. I’m content for the first
time since I was nineteen.”

Emily pulled him close and rested her
cheek on his chest. “It’s a great feeling, isn’t it?”

Russell pulled back from her and tipped
her chin up so their eyes met. “Thank you.”

Their lips met urgently and he picked
her up, heading to the bedroom.

Russell put her down just inside the
door and took his hoodie off.

“You should thank your mother for
inviting you home, not me,” she said quietly, her eyes leaving his for only a
moment to wander across his perfect torso.

“I’d rather thank you,” he murmured,
while watching her slip out of her little green silk robe. “I’d rather not
think of my mother at all right now.”

Emily giggled and one by one, she slid
the spaghetti straps of her nightgown down her arms. The skimpy piece of
emerald satin fell quickly down over her heaving breasts and to the floor.

Russell hurriedly kicked his shoes off
and dropped his sweat pants to the floor.

Emily’s breath caught and she moved
closer to him.

“Are these important to you?” he asked,
looping his index fingers through the sides of her panties and pulling her up
against him.

“No, they were a gift from…an old
friend.”

“They’ve got to go,” he whispered in her
ear and maneuvered them off, not caring if he tore fabric from her body. “Now
that’s better, right?”

“Yes,” she breathed, looking into his
eyes.

Their lips met in a slow, searching kiss
and Emily found herself flat on her back on the bed with Russell next to her.
His hand burned a path up her side to her breast. His fingers teased her nipple
to a taut peak. “You feel so good to me.”

Emily smiled at him. And reached out to
run her hand down his chest to his taut stomach. “You’d feel better inside of
me,” she said softly.

Their lips met again and Russell moved
over her as she shifted underneath him to allow access. Gasping at the
intrusion, she then moaned with the pleasure of the first exquisite movements.

“This is incredible,” he groaned. “I can
feel everything. The passion nearly takes my breath away.”

“You take my breath away,” she whispered
as her mouth once again met his.

Slow, searching movements soon gave way
to fast, hard, desperate thrusts. A give and take of the physical and
emotional.

Russell’s mouth explored her face, neck
and chest while every time his body pressed into her she couldn’t help but cry
out.

“This time you’re going to come twice
while I’m inside of you,” he ground out as his hand moved between them to tease
her to completion.

“Yes,” she whimpered. “Yes!” Her breath
caught in her throat, her body began to shake, and she couldn’t see anything
beyond his eyes. Every sense was in overdrive. It almost seemed as if they were
failing her. She was floating and then suddenly was back on earth. Her body
hummed as she gasped for breath and came down off of the biggest high she’d
ever experienced.

Russell had stopped moving above her.
Watching her in the throes of ecstasy had almost been his undoing. When her
body relaxed and her eyes opened he started to move again.

Her hands moved along his arms, across
his shoulders and up into his hair. She pulled him down for a kiss. Their
tongues met in a battle for dominance as their bodies clashed once again in
desperation. Her legs wrapped around his hips, controlling each movement he
made against her.