Till There Was You (19 page)

Propping herself up on one arm, Lily watched Linc as he lay there, his face gentled by sleep, the rise and fall of his naked chest reassuring in its steady rhythm.

“You know it’s creepy to watch people while they sleep?” he murmured, his eyes still closed.

“If you know I’m watching you, then you’re not asleep, so it’s not creepy.” She smiled, playfully biting him on the shoulder.

“That’s not how you’re meant to wake a guy up,” he said, a sly grin forming at the corners of his mouth.

“Oh really, and how are you meant to wake a guy up?” she asked, knowing exactly what he was alluding to, but wanting Linc to say it out loud.

“Well, you were close. It does involve your mouth, a little less teeth though, and definitely not my shoulder,” he teased, his grin getting wider as he opened his eyes and shifted so she was leaning across his chest while his fingers played with her hair.

“Hmm, so if not the shoulder, then where?” She pouted in her feigned ignorance.

“How about you start kissing and I’ll tell you hotter or colder, okay?”

“Kissing is one of my favorite games,” she murmured, placing a soft kiss on his lips.

“Nice, but very cold.”

“What about here?” She moved down his body, her teeth raking against his nipple.

“Getting warmer.” He grinned down at her, his anticipation eliciting a certain reaction.

“Here?” Kissing the crease of his abs, she was told warmer. And the same again when she kissed the curve of that V muscle pointing down to her destination.

Linc’s voice thickened as she brushed her lips over the top of his thigh. “Definitely warmer.” The sheet now formed a tent-like structure where it hit his waiting cock.

With one smooth motion, Lily flicked the sheets back and took Linc into her mouth, humming in query as she slid her lips up and down his shaft.

“So hot,” were the only words he managed to get out before Lily raked her teeth up from his base and ran her tongue around his tip, turning what he was about to say next into a groan of pleasure.

They spent the rest of the morning in bed with each other, only leaving the room when Linc’s stomach growled in desperate need for sustenance.

“How are you feeling today?” Linc asked as they sat together, sipping hot, rich coffee while they lazed about after sharing a plate of eggs.

“A little forlorn, but I think if we could stay in today and let the outside world deal with itself, my spirits could be turned around.”

Linc chuckled and kissed her on the top of her head, hugging her close. “Then that’s exactly what we’ll do.”

Flicking on the television, they settled in to watch a Lifetime movie and lounge on the sofa, simply enjoying each other’s company. Lily couldn’t help but marvel at what a different person Linc was now from the man who had saved her on New Year’s Eve. He was caring, considerate, and very attentive to her needs. He loved to cook and spoiled her most nights when she visited late after work. She was glad she had taken the risk to put herself out there and not given up on Linc when he had tried to push her away. To put it bluntly, she was in love with him.

“What do you think about taking a vacation somewhere?” she asked, watching him to see how he would react. He stiffened.

“You have anywhere specific in mind?” Although he was trying to sound casual, his body language was showing Lily he wasn’t.

“Maybe somewhere warmer. How long since you’ve been back to Australia?”

“I’m not planning on going back to Australia.” It was on the tip of Lily’s tongue to say ‘What about your parents?’, but she pressed her lips shut. By the curt tone of Linc’s voice, she knew one of his dark moods was beginning to emerge.

“Well, why don’t you pick somewhere you would like to go? I’ll be happy anywhere as long as we’re together,” she said instead, realizing how corny it sounded the moment the words left her lips.

“Let me think about it for a bit. I have to worry about what I would do with Shade if we went somewhere.”

“Matt likes dogs,” Lily replied, taking away the main reason he used to deny her.

The sound of someone knocking on the door was the only thing that stopped Lily from pressing the advantage she just gained. And the look she shot Linc as she went to answer it told him he hadn’t heard the last of it yet. She wanted to go away with him.

Taking a quick peek to see who was at the door, Lily turned to wink at Linc, then held her finger to her lips.

“One second, Matt, we just need to get some clothes on.” She giggled and watched as Linc sat up more on the couch, chuckling.

“Oh, come on. It’s lunch time already.” Matt’s muffled voice filtered through to them.

Laughing as she opened the door, Lily moved aside to let Matt in. “Relax, big brother, we’re fully clothed,” she said, moving her arm in a sweeping gesture to indicate the leggings and oversized sweater she was wearing and the sweatpants and T-shirt Linc had on.

“Thank god,” Matt said, stepping past Lily before he nodded at Linc. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Linc said, standing and shaking his hand. It was all very manly and Lily couldn’t help but roll her eyes and feel a little overwhelmed by the testosterone in the room.

“Matt, what brings you around?” she asked, noticing the folder Matt tried to hide from Linc’s view.

“Ah, just some legal stuff concerning Tim’s will. I didn’t realize you still had company,” he said, not quite meeting Linc’s eyes.

“All right,” Linc deadpanned. “I guess that’s my cue to leave.”

“You don’t have to go,” Lily told him. “Matt, you’re so damn rude.”

Linc held up his hand. “It’s fine. I need to take Shade out anyway, so I’ll leave you two to do what needs to be done and we can catch up later if you want.”

“Of course I want,” Lily said, following him to the bedroom where he changed into a pair of jeans and a warm sweater. She liked to watch him get dressed almost as much as when he undressed. Something about the way his body moved under the fabric filled her mind with intoxicating thoughts since she knew what was underneath. It was like a reverse striptease.

“You don’t have to listen to him. It’s my house and you can stay if you want.”

“No, it’s seriously fine. I’m not that good with these types of things anyway,” he said with a small smile. Leaning down, he pressed his lips to hers in a tender kiss. As he moved to get his shoes, Lily pinched his ass playfully.

He shot her a warmer smile that set her heart racing and her mind wishing he would just stay. She hated watching him leave.

“I’ll call you later,” he said, chuckling as he kissed her cheek then pinched her back.

Smiling to herself as she watched him leave the room, she heard Linc say something to Matt before he yelled out a farewell, the door closing a few moments later.

Matt had helped himself to some coffee as he waited and was now seated at the table, the folder opposite him in front of the chair he had pulled out, ready for her to take. She felt like she was entering an interrogation room.

“You don’t have to act like a cop all the time, you know,” she said, refreshing her mug of coffee before she sat across from him, stirred in some sugar, and looked down at the closed file. “Why were you weird about this with Linc earlier? It looked like you were trying to hide it.”

“Has he told you anything about his past yet?” Matt asked, avoiding the question.

“A little. But we agreed he’d tell me in his own time. And I’m sure he will. I just don’t want to push him.”

“Do you remember that Doug’s family is primarily military?”

“Yeah, and?” The tone of Matt’s voice told her she wouldn’t like where this was going.

“Well, he made some calls and some strings were pulled. And now we have this.” He reached across the table and tapped the folder.

“You’ve been investigating Linc?” She was shocked her brother would stoop to doing such a thing when she’d made it clear to him she wasn’t interested in finding out anything about Linc’s past until he was ready to tell her himself. She knew he had seen some terrible things during his time with the military and that he had lost his wife. For her, that was enough. It was unnecessary to go snooping.

Matt’s voice raised as he came to his own defense. “Of course I have. He’s so damn secretive and he’s dating my little sister. Forgive me if I feel somewhat protective over the only family I have left.”

“That’s not what this is about, Matt,” she argued. “This is about you trusting me to make my own choices. Am I not a good judge of character?”

“Of course you are, Lil, it’s just...I think you should read it. You should know what he’s been through so you’re prepared—”

“Prepared for what?” she snapped, interrupting him. “Exactly what do you think he’s going to do? He is the most kind and caring man I have ever been with. Don’t you dare go digging in his past—a past he’s fought long and hard to recover from—then use that information to color your opinion of him. He’s given us no reason to doubt him as a human being. He’s been good to me, Matt. Why can’t you just be happy that I’ve found someone?”

“I am happy. I just...I’m worried.”

“Well, until he actually does something for you to worry about, keep that worry to yourself. No matter what these files might say, Linc isn’t this man anymore.”

“How can you be sure?”

Lily narrowed her eyes at him. “Are you still the boy who cried and wet the bed every night after Mom died, or the man who drank himself under the table every night after Dad? Grief hits us all, we deal with it, and eventually we move on. Let Linc move on.”

“Okay,” Matt said, holding up his hands in capitulation. “I’m sorry, Lil. You’re my sister and I guess I’m just a little over zealous at times. But I’ll back off. I’ll leave it alone.”

“Good,” she said, folding her arms across her chest as she sat back in the kitchen chair. “Now, did you actually come here about Tim, or was that just a bullshit excuse to get rid of Linc?”

Rubbing at his brow, Matt shook his head. “No, I really did need to talk to you about the will. Everything he had, he left to you and me. He didn’t have kids and you know he thought of us as family, so...”

“Wow, I understood that, but I still didn’t expect it.”

“But that’s not all.”

“What do you mean?”

“Surprisingly, he left his private journals to Linc.”

Lily’s eyes widened. She hadn’t realized they’d become so close. “His journals?”

“Yeah. I have no idea what they say, but there are clear instructions that no one is to read them but Linc.”

“How strange,” she mused, wondering what could possibly be in them that was intended especially for Linc.

“You’re telling me. Besides you and me, he was the only other person mentioned in his will.”

“Wow. Well, I guess you can leave them here and I’ll give them to Linc later on.”

“They’re in my car.” Matt stood to retrieve the journals and returned a few moments later. “What do you think we should do about the rest of his things?”

Shaking her head, Lily ran her fingers over the old leather binding of the journals stacked in front of her. “I don’t know. I suppose we could sell it, or employ a vet to take over the practice. A lot of things can be donated to Goodwill...I really don’t know. I just hate that we have to go through this again—picking through someone else’s life and deciding where it all should go.”

“We’re getting good at it now, huh?”

“Mmm.” She nodded, staring into her mug as she thought about Linc having to do this for his wife. The idea of it shot a pain straight through her heart that almost caused her to weep.

“You okay, sis?” Matt asked, his brow creased with concern.

She waved his worry away. “I’m fine. Losing people is hard, I’m tired of death.”

Gripping her hand, Matt gave her a reassuring squeeze. “I know. But things can only get better from here, right?” It was something their dad used to say and the memory of it caused her to smile.

“You’re right,” she said, taking in a deep, cleansing breath. “So, did you want to stay for lunch and keep me company since you chased Linc off?” She pretended to pout in hopes of getting her way.

“Can’t, sorry. I had planned to start boxing things up at Tim’s. Selling or having someone come and run the veterinary surgery is a good idea, but we still have to box up all these things, even if we don’t go through them right away.”

“Do you have to do it today? We only buried him yesterday.”

“I know. This is hard for me, too, but having that task hanging over my head is just going to make it harder. I’d appreciate the company if you have the time.” The look on his face begged Lily not to make him go on his own.

“Shout me lunch at the diner first and it’s a deal.”

A grin spread across his lips. “Done. Grab your coat and let’s go,” he said, clapping his hands together, looking much happier at the prospect of having Lily join him.

Lily grabbed her coat, rummaged around for her keys, then followed Matt out the door, locking it behind her, the folder and journals still on the table, forgotten for now.

––––––––

T
wo weeks after Tim’s passing, Linc was busy tending to the plants in the thriving greenhouse, something that was peaceful and soothing for him. The heat and humidity reminded him a little of where he grew up.

He checked his watch, making sure he had enough time to get ready before heading into town to meet Lily for a late lunch. She had come over last night and left early to catch up on some paperwork at the bar, but their days had become so intertwined, they rarely had a meal without the other.

Shade howled on the other side of the door, annoyed again that Linc wouldn’t let him in. The last time he went inside, he had eaten a red pepper plant, then wreaked havoc on the other plants while Linc had tried to chase him out. He destroyed almost half of Linc’s hard work and was banned on entering the greenhouse again.

“Sorry, boy.” Finishing up, Linc slid out the door sideways, pushing Shade’s head away as he exited the greenhouse one limb at a time to prevent him from squeezing past. That dog loved to eat and dig; no plant would be safe if he ever got in there again.