She let herself snuggle into him instead, kissing him back, inhaling the scent of Eddie and fresh air and cut wood. “Mm-hm. ”
When they parted, he said, “Though I much prefer them naked. ”
“What?” she asked, a little dazed.
“Your legs. I prefer them naked. And this, too. ” He swept aside her hair to kiss her neck. “And this. ” He slid his hand up her shirt, and his hand was warm and strong on her belly. “All of it, actually. I can’t get enough of you, but we need to do something about all these troublesome clothes. ” He tugged at her waistband.
“Hey,” she scolded, “someone will see. ”
He walked backward, pulling her around the side of the house. “That’s what wraparound porches are for, darlin’. ”
He began to kiss her neck, but as he shifted, she glimpsed a suspicious something over his shoulder. She slid a hand between them, planting it on his chest. “Eddie, what is that?” She nodded at a pile of lumber in the yard.
“That. ” He looked like a kid who’d just stolen some candy. “That…is a stack of two-by-fours. ”
She wandered to the edge of the porch to get a closer look. A shadow caught her eye, and she glanced up to find that the bones of a strange new structure had appeared in one of the trees. “And what is that?”
He raised his brows, giving her an innocent grin. “Tree house?” He wrapped an arm around her and gave her shoulder a little jiggle. “Aw, come on, Laura. Kids need tree houses. ”
“And you need money. We need more donations before you can be building deluxe tree houses. ” She peered closer at it. “Is that going to be two stories?” He really was too much.
“But you got us all that furniture,” he said, referring to a donation she’d solicited from a major chain store in Reno—enough metal bunk beds to sleep twenty kids. “It gave me the idea that maybe we could talk to Up Country about them paying the tax on the lumber. ”
“Okay,” she conceded. “That is a good idea. I’ll talk to Tom. ” She gave him a loving bump with her shoulder. “In the meantime, you need to stop being such a softie. ”
He took advantage and snagged her close. “And you need to stop being so irresistible. ”
She sank into him, and he was half a second away from convincing her that wraparound porches just might in fact be private enough, when a crinkling sound called their attention. It was Buck, trying to nose open their lunch basket.
Eddie groaned. “I’m thwarted at every turn. ”
“Hey”—she plucked up the basket—“get out of there, sneaky. ”
“I warned you, Buck Larsen probably doesn’t make the best namesake for a dog. He wasn’t exactly the most trustworthy guy. ”
She grinned. “Is this where you make a joke about saloon bitches?” Eddie burst out laughing, and she added, “I love when I can make you do that. ” She took his hand. “Come on. Let’s go eat. ”
They made their way to their favorite picnic spot, beneath the old beech that housed all those owl nests. After they finished, she leaned against him, feeling sated.
Even Buck had gotten his fill of chicken scraps and was napping in a patch of sunlight. She watched as the pup twitched and yipped in his sleep, dreaming puppy dreams.
Eddie followed her line of sight. “Look at those giant paws. He’s going to be a monster. ”
“You’re going to need to build us a tree house just to fit him. ” She and Eddie were still moving the last of her stuff into his cabin, and even though she didn’t own much, they were already running out of room.
“Hey, I cleared a spot for that treadmill of yours. ”
“Elliptical. ” She corrected him so much about the thing, it’d become a joke between them.
“It’s jammed against the western window, but it fits. ” He sighed contentedly, leaning against a tree. “But you’re right. We’ll need to build another place soon. To fit all of our kids. ”
Laughing, she jostled him with an elbow. “Easy, cowboy. How about one construction project at a time?”
Then she sighed, too, looking up at the canopy of pine boughs overhead. Not too long ago, she’d thought she was saying good-bye to those trees, and yet here she was.
They sat for a while, just sharing the quiet, listening to the woods. Being there. Being together.
After a while, Eddie stretched and inhaled deeply. “I love how fall smells. Do you smell it?”