Never Far Away (26 page)

 
  “I’ll be glad to see them again,” Tilly said mirroring her smile.

 
  “It’s going to be fun, I think.  I’m excited to meet the people Porter works with.  It will be interesting to see our two separate groups of family and friends kind of pushed together.  Our worlds have been so separated lately. It feels like an either ‘here or there’ sort of thing, splitting all our time between Portland and Lincoln City.  It will be nice to see everyone all together in one place.”

 
  Tilly gave her a big and genuine smile.  “Everyone will love you, Ella.  Now, I think we should head back to the restaurant and make sure it hasn’t collapsed in our absence.”

 
Porter

   On his way to pick Ella up from the restaurant, Porter stopped to pick up some flowers for his mom.  He wasn’t around as much as he used to be and he wanted to see his mother smile.  Not the obligatory smile, but the ‘my son just melted my heart’ smile.  He’d worked hard for that smile before and wanted to make sure she knew he had been thinking about her.  He also wanted to say thank you to her for staying with Ella all day while he was at work.  He knew she probably didn’t mind at all, but it still meant a lot to him that she was invested in Ella.  His mother had done her fair share of shoving women in his face while he was single, trying to get him to settle down with someone, but she never showed the amount of love to any woman he’d been with as she had with Ella.

 
  When he pulled into the parking lot of Tilly’s, he saw Ella standing outside the restaurant talking on the phone.  He parked and hopped out, flowers in hand, trying to hide his frustration that she was outside all by herself.  He came up to her and slowed when he noticed the distressed look on her face.

 
  “Yes, Officer, I understand,” she said.  “No, I’m not in Portland and I haven’t been staying at my apartment.”  She looked up at him and gave him a sad look.  He continued towards her until she was right in front of him and he kissed her forehead.  He felt her lean into him and he took her weight willingly, wanting to be the one she always leaned on.  “I hired private security for the store, but again, I haven’t been there since the incident on Friday.”  She sounded worried and anxious.  He began to rub slow circles on her back with his free hand.  “I will Officer, and thank you for calling.”  She hung up the phone and he felt her shoulders slump.

 
  “What’s up?  Was that the police?”

 
  “Yes, they were just calling to tell me that absolutely nothing has changed,” she sighed loudly and sounded frustrated.  “He’s still out there and I’m still hiding from him only, now, the longer he’s still roaming around, the higher the chance is that he’ll find out we went to the police and the more danger everyone is in.”  Her breathing had sped up and he could tell she was on the verge of panic.

 
  “Ella, slow down. Take a breath,” he said calmly.  “First of all, just because they haven’t found him it doesn’t mean he knows we went to the police.  Secondly, even if he did, he can’t get to you.  He had only come after you when you’ve been alone.  By the way,” he jerked his head back to look her in the eye.  “What the heck are you doing out here alone?”

 
  “There’s some sort of game going on in there, Porter.  I couldn’t hear anything. I’ve only been out here for a minute.”

 
  “You can’t be alone, Ella.  Especially out here, out in the open.  Next time go in the bathroom or the kitchen.  Anywhere but outside by yourself, ok?”

 
  “You’re right. I’m sorry.  It was stupid of me to come out here.”  She eyed the flowers in his hand.  “You don’t strike me as a
flowers
kind of guy,” she said cautiously.

 
  He smiled at her.  “Good, cause they’re not for you.  They’re for my mom.”  Her expression changed from questioning and softened into a more loving look.

 
  “You brought your mom flowers?”  She asked, her voice jumping an octave or two.

 
  “Yes?”  He was surprised when she leaned up and kissed his mouth, but it only took him a second to catch up before he wrapped his arms around her waist, trying not to flatten his mother’s flowers in the process.  Her tongue darted out and swept across his lips and he let out a groan, reaching down with one hand and grasping her ass.  “Mmm,” he said when they finally parted.  “Wait a minute.  Why don’t I strike you as a
flowers
kind of guy?”

 
  She raised an eyebrow at him and laughed a little.  “Porter, you gave me a box of jumper cables with a bow wrapped around them.”

 
  “And?”

 
  “And…” she trailed off.  “Jumper cables are a far cry from flowers.”

 
  “What are you getting at?”

 
  “Porter,” she said as she placed her hand on the side of his face.  “You are the most romantic man I have ever met.  You say things that make my head spin.  You make these sweet gestures, like picnics on the beach and in the hotel, that fill my heart with love.  But I cannot say that you excel in the ‘thoughtful gift’ category.”  He frowned at her while racking his brain, trying to remember all the gifts he’d given her.

 
  “I bought that ring on your finger,” he said triumphantly.  She looked down at her right hand, the tiny silver arrow ring starring back at the both of them.

 
  “You mean this ring?” She said, holding her hand up so that he could clearly see it.  “This ring right here that I was already going to buy?”  She said laughing.  “That’s not a thoughtful gift.  That’s a nice gesture, buying a trinket for a woman you were trying to woo, but it wasn’t a premeditated and thought-out gift.”

 
  “I wasn’t trying to
woo
you,” he said, pouting.  “And what about the hotel and the lingerie?”  He shifted, not liking the conversation and where it was leading.

 
  “Babe,” she said, now placing her other hand on his face so that she palmed both cheeks.  “I love you and you are wonderfully romantic, sweet, and thoughtful.  But the hotel and lingerie were just as much for you, if not more, than for me.  I loved it all, but let’s get real – you wanted to see me in that lingerie just so you could get it off me.”

 
  “You’re making it sound like I don’t appreciate you or show you that I care.”  His pout was out in full force now, and he just wanted to give his mother the flowers and go home to sulk.

 
  “Are you…?  Wait a minute, are you seriously insecure about this?”  She asked, sincerely surprised, concern flashing across her face.

 
  “Well, shit, Ella.  I don’t want you to feel that way about me.  I want to give you everything.” 

 
  She continued to look him in the eyes and she looked as though she was weighing her next words carefully.

 
  “Porter, I don’t need you to get me anything.  I’m so happy just being with you.  There’s nothing you could buy or give me that would make me even half as happy as your touch makes me, or sharing books with you makes me, or even just sleeping in the same bed as you makes me.  I’m not looking for flowers, or gifts, or large declarations of love here.  I’m just looking for you. for us.  I’m sorry if what I said made you think otherwise.”

 
  He looked into her eyes for a moment more, making sure he believed what she was saying.  He knew she wasn’t looking for material things, but if she had a need he wasn’t meeting he wanted to know about it.  “Promise me you’ll tell me if I’m not giving you what you need.  And…” he placed a finger over her mouth when she tried to interrupt him.  “And I’m not just talking about gifts.  I’m talking about more than that.  I want to be your everything, Ella.  I want to give you everything.”

 
  “Will you promise me the same thing?” She whispered against his finger which sent shock waves directly to his stomach, causing the familiar aching he had grown accustomed to.  He nodded and she moved in to press her lips against his.  “I promise,” she said with her mouth brushing against his.

 
  This kiss was slow and sensual, a promise between the two of them.  Silent vows to give each other the reassurance they both needed.  He would always be willing to promise her everything.  His hand found its way into the hair at the nape of her neck, and he ran it’s softness through his fingers.  She whimpered quietly as his tongue slowly eased its way into her mouth and he knew he needed to stop torturing himself and get them home.  He pulled away and heard her sigh.

 
  “Where’d you learn how to kiss?”  She asked breathily.  He laughed out loud at her question.

 
  “The summer before I turned eighteen, I spent many weeks tucked away in the sand dunes kissing a girl named Wendy.”

 
  “Does this Wendy still live around here?”  She asked with a smile.

 
  “Why?”

 
  “Maybe we should be getting
her
flowers.”

 
  He groaned.  “No more flowers.  Let’s go give these to my mom and get home. I’m not done with you.”  She turned and walked away from him towards the door and he heard a yelp as his palm smartly connected with her ass.  She turned back to him, leering at him as best she could while hiding a grin, and he just flashed her his best satisfied smile.

 
  “You’re terrible,” she said still trying not to smile.

 
  “I’m amazing.  Let’s go,” he gestured towards the doors.  Once they were inside he found his mother and walked over to her and handed her the flowers as he placed a small kiss on her cheek.  “Thank you for hanging out with Ella today.  I appreciate it.”

 
  “Porter, these are beautiful,” she said as she buried her nose in them, taking a big breath in.  “But you don’t have to get me flowers for spending time with Ella. I love Ella.  I wish I could spend more time with her. Besides, we had a fabulous time today.”

 
  “It’s true,” Ella said as she plopped down on a stool on the other side of the bar.  “Your mom and I spent the entire day talking about you.  It was very educational.”

 
  “There’s absolutely nothing my mom could have told you that I wouldn’t have told you anyways.  I’ve got nothing to hide.”

 
  “Maybe not, but I liked getting your mom’s perspective on a lot of things about you.  Don’t worry, Babe, I’m teasing.  I still love you just as much as I did this morning,” she said, batting her eyelashes at him.

 
  “Ella,” his mother jolted them from their banter.  “Do you still have that list we made?”

 
  She reached down and patted the front pocket of her jeans.  “Right here.  Thank you for helping me make it.”

 
  “What list?” Porter asked.

 
  “It’s just a list of things I need to buy and make for the cookout for the 4
th
.  It’s the day after tomorrow,” Ella reminded him.  He knew exactly when the 4
th
was. He was looking forward to the cookout they had planned.  A day to relax with friends and not worry about work or any of the craziness that seemed to be following them around.

 
  “Do we need to go to the store tonight?”  He asked, really not looking forward to going any place other than home.  He really needed to be alone with her, wanted to feel her beneath him and use his hands to hold on to her.

 
  “Nope,” she said, looking pleased with herself.  “Megan is going to come by tomorrow and we’ll go while you’re at work.  Megan, Brittany, and Sarah all rented a beach house for a few days and Megan is going to come down early to help me get ready. Then after they close Poppy, Brittany and Sarah will come down too.  They’re all really looking forward to it.”  Porter was relieved that they could head home, but tried not to let it show. 

 
  “Well, Mom, thanks again for everything.”  He placed a kiss on his mother’s temple and turned to Ella.  “You ready to go home?”

 
  She smiled at him.  “Always.”  She got up and went to his mom and wrapped her up in a big hug that made him smile even wider.

 
  “Thanks for such an awesome day, Tilly.  And thanks for lunch too.”

 
  “Always,” his mother said, repeating Ella’s words back to her.  They smiled at each other and then Ella headed towards him with her hand extended to him.  He took it and led her out the door of the restaurant and to his truck.  He helped her in and then jumped in himself.  He looked at Ella sitting in the passenger seat, shook his head at her, and patted the bench right next to him, signaling her to move over.  She grinned, but did as he asked.  Once she was buckled she leaned into his side, nuzzling his chest.

 
  “You smell like wood, and soap.”

 
  “One of the perks of the job,” he said.

 
  “It’s ridiculously sexy, Porter.”

 
  He leaned down and kissed her gently before he started the truck and took them home.