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With no ability to stop now, he plunged his fingers in her core again. Her pussy gripped him. She screamed his name and begged. When he could take it no more, he aimed his cock at her entrance and thrust inside her.

Fuck. Had he just come home?

Chapter Fifteen

Meadow felt Colton’s touch on every inch of her body. He’d loved her hard, yet the moments of extreme tenderness had bonded her even more firmly to him.

Just after midnight, he slipped out of bed. Leaning over her, he kissed her long and deep. Then he left to return to the bunkhouse.

Of course, she knew he made the right call. The other guys would suspect things if he didn’t sleep in his bunk that night.

Long after she heard the door close, Meadow lay there, replaying all the things he’d said and done that night.

Finally, she crawled out of bed and took a shower. Washing away Colton, sent a small pinch of pain to her heart. Besides, she knew without a doubt that Colton would be back in her bed tonight.

After her shower, she caught a sound coming from somewhere in the house. Heart racing, she went to investigate.

Either her lover couldn’t stay away for more than an hour…or her father had returned.

Tiptoeing down the hall, she spotted a sliver of light coming from under her father’s bedroom door. She paused outside it, hand poised to knock. Then she heard the telltale clink of a bottle that told her that he was having a nightcap.

Probably not the best time to disturb him. After traveling, he most likely wanted to slip under the covers and sleep.

But he’d left the light burning in his office.

She moved toward the room, past the living room where dark shapes of heavy leather furniture sat waiting for someone to take some rest and respite after a long day of work.

The office door had been left open a crack. Meadow pushed it open. No one was inside.

She reached for the light switch and stopped. Suddenly feeling the urge to be close to one of her last living family members, she moved to his desk chair and sat down.

The cool leather enveloped her like a hug that never came from the owner. Not tonight.

His desk was a mess, as always. A stack of unopened mail was left on the corner. But a small box had been opened, too tempting to not look inside.

She expected to find some part for a tractor her father ordered that had finally arrived. But was shocked to see a sweatshirt bearing the logo of the Naval Academy that Forest had attended.

Her heart squeezed. Reaching inside, she took out the sweatshirt. Stuffed beneath it was a letter, the pages crumpled. The envelope almost torn in half.

She would recognize Forest’s handwriting anywhere.

Pulse thundering, she stared down at it.

A scuff of a boot on the floor behind her made her whirl. Her gaze landed—not on her father—but on Colton.

Whatever he saw on her face had him rushing to her side. He looked down at the contents of the box too.

“I know what this is. Before ops, we are reminded to write letters home. Just in case.”

Her chest wrenched at the thought that she was looking at the last thoughts her brother had put to paper before he died. Plus the fact that her father had read it.

She withdrew the loose pages and smoothed them before skimming the opening.

“It’s to my father.”

“There are more letters in the box.” Colton’s voice was rough.

Sucking in a breath, she saw her name scrawled in Forest’s angular hand. She slowly reached for it, and two more letters shifted in the stack, allowing her to see one with Ivy’s name as well.