Page 13 of Cold Foot Croc (Wreck’s Mountains #3)

“Is it weird that I think it’s super-sexy that you can build stuff?” Raynah asked from where she was handwashing bottles in the sink.

“I think that’s actually a thing though. I’ve seen memes.”

She laughed and set the bottle she’d just rinsed on the brand-new bottle-drying rack that Katrina had gotten her.

Already this place looked and felt different. There were baby gates at the top and bottom of the stairs, thanks to Garret, and a crib up in the loft. They had all the sheets and blankets in the wash, and a changing table built up in the loft. Currently, Garret was working on some diaper-pail thing.

“I’m fighting an urge to hoard.”

“Mmm, hoard what? I can run out and grab what you want tomorrow.”

She laughed and set another bottle on the dryer. “I love that you aren’t like, ‘Ew, Raynah, that’s questionable behavior.’ You’re just like, ‘How can I help?’”

“Oh yeah, I want to play with your boobs. I’m not saying no on anything.”

She burst out laughing—the head tilted back and eyes squeezed closed kind of laughter.

She’d figured out where the under-mount lighting switch was in the kitchen, and some other interesting lights around the kitchen and living area. She actually loved the ambiance in here right now. She wasn’t to the buying-a-bed phase yet, but she would consider a couch for this place. Maybe a recliner or two. Maybe even a coffee table. Maybe a setup that faced the fireplace. There was a TV mounted above it, and Garret had turned it on for the first time. The volume on the movie was low, but it was nice having it on. In prison there had only been one television in a community room, and it only ever had the news on.

Tonight with Garret felt so…so…normal.

Comfortable.

Happy.

She was beginning to get excited for Maybe-Billy-Jack to actually be here and in her arms, and for using all of the new stuff from the baby shower. She felt more prepared for him now, and not just putting off getting him supplies to avoid jinxing anything, but excited about the future.

Raynah was beginning to understand how much trauma had been attached to her after everything that happened, and it was so nice to finally start feeling strong enough to shed, and heal, some of those ghosts she had been dragging along with her.

Garret stood and closed the lid on the pail, and then carried into the kitchen. He leaned in, kissed her, and patted her butt like it was the most normal thing in the world. “Tired?” he asked.

She shook her head. “Just relaxed.”

“This house, Raynah,” he said, letting the words trail off as he looked around. “It’s something special.” With the pail tucked under his arm, he turned and headed for the stairs.

Raynah watched him go with his words echoing in her mind. This whole damn life was something special. She was only just now settling into the idea that it belonged to her.

She wished her mom and brother could see where she’d landed.

There was a short hallway at the back of the kitchen, and on either side of it was a laundry room and a bathroom. But if you took the hallway straight back, it led to a small sitting area and the entire wall made of windows that faced the woods.

It was dark out, but her back-porch lights had been turned on as they’d added the boxes to the burn pile. The soft glow illuminated big snowflakes floating down.

Slowly, she made her way down the hallway to the small, empty sitting room. And suddenly she could imagine a couch facing the windows, and Garret’s arm around her shoulders as they watched a little baby crawling around, playing with toys in front of them.

The vision took her so suddenly, she gasped, and chills rippled up her spine. Heart full, she stepped slowly into the center of the room, watching the snow fall.

How terrifying to hope for such visions to come true, but how beautiful was that hope?

She’d never actually set foot in here before. There were bookshelves on either side of the room, and behind each bookshelf were storage closets. She could put toys there. Her fingertips drifted over the empty shelves. She could fill these with books on botany. She’d loved to study those with her mom, back before everything got so messed up. She could imagine sitting in this room and reading in the evenings.

I like it here, the animal inside of her whispered.

A smile drifted across her face as she turned to face the window and watch the snowfall. “I’m starting to like it here too,” she whispered aloud.

“Good.”

When she turned around, Garret was standing in the open doorway, his arms crossed and his bright-teal eyes steady on her. He had a backwards hat on, and his T-shirt clung to his muscular physique just right. God, he was a handsome one.

“Thank you for everything.”

“Mmm,” he rumbled, coming up behind her and sliding his hands around her belly. He swayed them gently as he looked out the window with her. He could see their reflection there, and wished he could take a picture of them standing just like this. “I didn’t do anything. You would’ve figured everything out eventually.”

“Not true. I couldn’t see the potential of this place until you came inside. I don’t think I would’ve ever seen it. I understood the fight too well.”

“The fight is familiar. That’s okay.”

“I don’t really want my life to revolve around it anymore, though,” she said softly, afraid to disrupt the magic of this moment.

“You’re going to get to Change into your crocodile soon,” he murmured. “Are you excited?”

“Yes. I’ll have to go find water. We can do a camping trip if you want to go. I wouldn’t hurt you, and neither would my animal. She likes you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. She likes how dominant your bear is.”

“How do I know if my bear likes your animal?”

“When my eyes look like my animal’s eyes, does he want to Change? Does he feel aggressive?”

Garret thought about it, and then shook his head. “He wants to stay close to you.”

“There you have it, then. They’re compatible.”

“My family has messaged, asking about you.”

“Really? Did you tell them what a psychopath I am?” she joked.

He chuckled. “You aren’t that. They want to meet you.”

“I wish you could meet my mom and brother,” she said suddenly. They had been on her mind a lot lately.

“Maybe someday. You never know what can happen.”

She didn’t want to disappoint him by telling him that she knew what would happen. They would never talk to her again, and he would never meet them. Her old life was unreachable. Her best shot at happiness, and for a steady life for Maybe-Billy-Jack, was to keep doing exactly what she was doing—putting down roots in a strong foundation.

“I’m still a little scared,” she admitted in a whisper.

Garret hugged her tighter, and she could feel his steady-pounding heartbeat against her back. He kissed her on the side of her head, letting his lips linger there as he stared out the window at the snowfall outside. When he eased back by inches, he asked her, “You think something bad is going to happen?”

“It’s just a feeling I have.”

“I think it’ll go away in time.”

She nodded, but inside, she really didn’t know if she could agree with him. She wished he was right, but in her lifetime, there had never been a time when things just went right and stayed right.

All she could do was appreciate the here and now, and hope that in time, she would trust herself not to mess up this life.