Page 38 of Burke (The Haven #2)

B urke went down and helped Timber unload the rest of the groceries and supplies he’d picked up from town. He looked over at him and smiled. “She’s tired but doing pretty well now.”

“Seems like it, and it appears that you guys turned a corner too.”

“I think so,” he said, with a smile, “not really a corner I was looking to turn, but…”

Timber nodded and smiled. “You know the turns we take in life that are frequently the best are those we weren’t even looking for. And I would say this looks like it’s turning out just the way it was always intended to.” And, with that, he didn’t say any more.

Several days later Burke walked into the dining room to find Shirley standing in front of the whiteboards, glaring at the display. He winced, walked over to the coffeepot, quickly filled his cup, and turned to make his escape, only to find her standing in front of him.

“You’re avoiding me,” she declared.

He looked at her in surprise and then started to laugh. “Nope, we’re all avoiding you.”

“Why is that?” she asked in astonishment.

“Because you’ve been cranky and miserable.”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” she muttered, wincing. “I just want to get back to work, and you won’t let me.”

“Nope, we won’t,” he agreed, leaning over to give her a big kiss. “Not until you feel better. No work for you,… none at all.”

“I’m feeling fine,” she snapped. At that, his eyebrows shot up, and she groaned. “Okay, so I’m feeling better .”

“ Better at least is not a lie, but it’s not good enough yet.”

“Do you see this whiteboard?” she asked in a mutinous tone.

“Yeah, hell, we all see it,” he muttered. “That’s another reason why we’re all avoiding you.”

She grinned and then started to laugh.

He pulled up a chair, sat her down gently, and said, “Everything in due time.”

“Maybe,” she grumbled, “but still, there’s a lot of work to be done.”

“And we’re working on it,” he told her. “We’re all working on it. You just need time to get back on your feet.”

She smiled. “And you’re just all enjoying the fact that it’ll take me time, aren’t you?”

“No, of course not.” Then he laughed and added, “Maybe a little bit.”

“I’m not trying to rush anybody into doing what they don’t want to do,” she said in frustration. “I just know that it’s easy for all of this to get caught up and then lost in the mess.”

“You’re doing a great job,” he told her.

She sighed. “That did not sound like I’m doing a great job. That sounded like you want me to just let you get up and run.”

He burst out laughing, leaned over, gave her a second kiss, longer this time, then added, “Anytime you’re feeling better, you just let me know.” And, with that, he was gone again.

She groaned in frustration, only to see Toby, with a big grin on his face. She glared at him. “Not you too.”

“Hey, you’re cranky and miserable, but you’re healing,” he said, raising his hands, “so we all get that. That’s only part of the reason why you’re snapping.”

Dwight walked past, nodding but staying quiet.

“Burke could do a lot better than me,” she muttered.

Dwight stopped, then turned to face her. “I don’t think so.” And, with that, he walked back into the kitchen and ignored her.

Later that night she decided to talk to Burke, but she wasn’t even sure how to do that. It wasn’t a conversation she’d ever had to have before. Even if it was needed, it wasn’t one that she was terribly comfortable having. But something needed to be done.

When she went up to her room that night, she got ready for bed.

Later, as she heard him come upstairs, she waited, then slipped out of her room and over to his.

He was still in the act of undressing, sitting down, taking off his prosthetic.

He stopped when he saw her, his eyes widening, and she nodded.

“You’re right. I should have been done with all this. ”

He frowned.

She shook her head. “I’ve taken my sweet time, and I’m done with it.”

“Okay, done with what though?” he asked cautiously, as he slowly removed his prosthetic leg. She walked over, bent down, and helped him take off the sock covering his stump. She frowned as she saw the scar on the side. “Are you sure you should be working as hard as you are?”

He tapped her on the nose and said, “It’s fine.”

“Aha, just like I’m fine too. Right?”

He looked at her and started to smile. “Why don’t we take care of each other?” he suggested. “Then we won’t have to worry about either of us overdoing it.”

“I suspect what would really end up happening,” she replied good-naturedly, “is that we would both end up overdoing it.”

He looked at her and smiled. “You could be right.”

She leaned over from her kneeling position and kissed him gently. He hesitated, not kissing her back fully. She stroked his cheek and whispered, “Maybe… you’re not ready.”

His eyes widened, and he lifted her up by the waist and gently laid her on the bed. She chuckled. “Do you want to wait a little bit?”

“Hell no, but,” he began, as he quickly divested himself of his undershirt and to lie down beside her, “I want to confirm you’re sure.”

“Why don’t we both just decide that we’re sure and be done with it?” she asked, with a chuckle. “And acknowledge that I’m here because I want to be here.”

“That sounds perfect to me. You do know where we’re heading, right?” he asked, as he nuzzled her neck and chin.

“Of course,” she said.

“No,” he leaned back, looked at her, and added, “I’m serious.”

“I know,” she stated, “and that’s why I’m here. I’m serious too.”

A warm, gentle smile lit up his face. “Thank you for that.”

She shook her head, tapped him on the nose, and added, “Thank you for just being you.”

“You’re welcome.”

She laughed. “We sound ridiculous.”

“No,” he argued. “I think it’s just part and parcel of us trying to figure out who we are, who we want to be, and who we want to be after that.”

“I’m not even sure what that means,” she admitted, “but I know that I want to be here and that I want to build a life with you, even if we have no clue where, how, or what that will look like.”

“I agree, and I was thinking about that,” he shared. “A part of me just wants to stay here at the Haven, but I know Timber can’t possibly have any money for wages.”

“No, of course not, and he can’t handle all of us anyway. Not when you consider that there’s Toby and Dwight and Tommy and however many other men are here.”

“There is some talk about nearby land being available to buy for building individual houses,” he murmured.

She stared at him. “Really?”

He nodded. “Yeah, really.”

“Oh.” She frowned.

He rolled over, pulled her up against him, careful of her shoulder, and asked, “What does that mean?”

“I just never knew until this moment that it was something that I want rather badly.”

“What do you want?” he asked, looking at her.

“A place, a home, like a place of my own, a place where I can rest at the end of a long day,” she explained. “I don’t even know what that long day looks like, but I already want whatever it is that you’re thinking.”

He smiled, then leaned over and whispered, “What if we stayed close to here, you know, close to the guys here?”

“That would be perfect,” she replied. “They already feel more like family than anything I’ve ever experienced before.”

“That they do,” he agreed. “And I guess that’s what I’m asking. How do you really feel about building a family close to here?”

“I think it would be perfect,” she stated, “and something I’ve never even thought would be possible.”

“It is possible,” he declared. “And I would like nothing more.”

She smiled. “I think maybe I could handle that myself.”

“You think?” he asked, as he kissed her on her chin, then on her cheek, sliding tender kisses across her neck.

She murmured and asked, “Is this really possible for us?”

“It is,” he confirmed. “I know you tend to think that nothing good will ever come your way, but you’re wrong. Lots of good things are out there for you.”

“I’m not sure about that,” she countered. “However, plenty of good things are right here for me, and that’s the part I still struggle to believe.”

“Because you don’t realize how very special you are.” He leaned down, carefully lowered himself on top of her, and gave her a really deep, soul-searching kiss. “Are you okay?” he asked, when he lifted his head. “Does this hurt your shoulder?”

“You know something?”

“What?”

“I think you talk too much.” She pulled him down closer and gave him a deep tongue-lashing kiss all of her own.

By the time they separated to breathe, he added, “You’re wearing too many clothes.”

“So are you,” she added, with a giggle.

They both sat up, stripped off the last of their clothing, and came together in a flurry of heated skin and wild emotions. By the time they came up for air, she was exhausted and curled up in his arms.

He murmured, “It’s nice to know there is still honesty in passion.”

“I really don’t want you seeing my sister every time you look at me.”

“I’ve never looked at Silvia like this,” he declared, “not ever. And she was never someone who looked at me the way you do. She was all about herself. So, don’t you ever worry about that.

I would never allow thoughts of her to interfere with what I’ve found with you. ” He kissed her and vowed, “I promise.”

She gave a happy sigh and muttered, “That’s good because that would be a ghost I don’t want to live with.”

“It’s no ghost,” he stated. “I never for one moment felt about your sister the way I feel about you right now.”

She kissed him and whispered, “I’m really glad to hear that. I hate to feel so insecure.”

“Your family has made you insecure, but I have a hunch that will gradually take care of itself, as you become happy and content and joyous,” he suggested. “One day you will realize that all the other crap has fallen away.”

She smiled, gingerly leaned up on her good elbow and added, “You know…”

He waggled his eyebrows. “I do know.”

She smiled. “We don’t have to get up just yet, do we?”

“Are you kidding? We haven’t even slept yet.”

“I know. I was kind of hoping maybe we could skip that part.”

He burst out laughing and added, “I don’t know about skipping that stage completely, since we’ve got a long day tomorrow, plus you still need extra rest to heal. On the other hand, we could certainly sleep in a bit later than normal.” With that, he leaned over and kissed her gently.

“No,” she said, “not gentle. I want absolutely everything you have to give.” She pulled him down hard on top of her and kissed him with all the need that had been driving her, feeling a release of a pressure that she hadn’t even been aware of.

Something was driving her, and she realized it was the need to be his, the need to be something special, over and above her sister, and, when he finally entered her, she cried out in joy.

“Easy,” he whispered, “take it easy. You don’t want to hurt yourself.”

“It’s fine,” she muttered, as she cried out again, “just don’t stop,… please. Dear God, don’t stop.” Very quickly he drove her right up to the edge and then flung her over. She lay panting in his arms, as he climaxed too, then sank down beside her.

She gave a happy sigh. “I don’t really think we need two bedrooms, do you?”

“Nope, I sure don’t,” he agreed. “We can move everything over tomorrow.”

“I think Timber was probably wondering about doing it already,” she said, with a laugh.

“I wouldn’t be at all surprised, but he would never presume.”

“I’m sure he could use the space, especially if he really plans to have this be a place for people to come seeking sanctuary. What will he do when he runs out of space?”

“That’s why we’re all discussing houses.”

“You mean, like soon , soon?”

“Yeah, really soon. I have some money saved up that Silvia didn’t know about, thankfully, and if we get help building a new home, and it’s not a hugely extravagant affair,” he muttered, “I think we could probably do one quite nicely.”

She looked over at him and nodded. “I have money saved up too, so if we’re talking about a house for two, it’s probably doable.”

He nodded. “Unless you’re interested in a house for maybe three or four.”

Her eyes widened, and unexpectedly tears came, as she whispered, “Yes, please.”

He smiled, pulled her up close, and whispered, “Your wish is my command.”

She chuckled and added, “Maybe we need to wait a year.”

“That would probably be smart but not much longer.” He rolled over, kissed her, and added, “Honestly, I didn’t ever expect this to happen.”

“Neither did I,” she whispered, “but I can’t wait for that life to begin.” And, with that, she pulled him down for another kiss, knowing in her heart of hearts that, although her sister had made a mess out of things, Shirley was well on her way to the best years of her life.