Page 37 of Finding Home (Willow Valley #1)

THIRTY-SEVEN

CHLOE

M y alarm rings, filling the room, and I turn it off, smiling as I realize I’m in Everett’s bed and wrapped in his arms. Last night was emotionally exhausting and intense.

Between breaking down with Lila and the way Everett made love to me last night, I’m still feeling raw.

Emotionally exhausting days have always made me feel raw in a bad way in the past. They’ve given me the feeling of not wanting to get out of bed, wanting to curl up with ice cream, a blanket, and some mindless romcom, but today I feel invigorated.

I feel ready to tackle the day and enjoy what life has in store for me.

I go to slide out of bed, and Everett’s arm tightens around my middle, pulling a giggle from me.

“I need to get ready for work,” I say.

“Five more minutes,” he grumbles, and my lips pull up at the corners.

I turn in his arms, facing him. “Really, only five minutes?”

He shakes his head, and I laugh, but all that does is have him pressing his fingers into my side, causing me to laugh more.

He opens one eye, a smile playing on his lips as he watches my reaction to his slight tickles.

This only seems to encourage him, as he’s now wide awake, pushing up to his knees as he uses both hands to tickle me.

I laugh so hard, they turn high and pitchy, a snort slipping out here and there.

I try to roll away, but it’s useless; he’s stronger and larger. The bedroom door opens, and Lila walks in, a look of confusion on her face before she notices my laughter and runs and jumps on the bed.

“Save me, Lila. Get your dad,” I plead through my laughter.

She looks between the two of us as if deciding whose side she should be on before moving closer to Everett and sticking her little fingers under his arm. I can tell it does nothing to him, but he plays along, pulling that arm away from me, laughing as if he’s the most ticklish person in the world.

I manage to roll and escape his other hand before I get on my knees, and Lila and I work together to tickle Everett. He plays along for a bit before he grabs both Lila’s and my sides and we collapse in a fit of laughter on his chest.

When he finally stops, we’re all panting for breath, wide smiles on all our faces. He kisses the top of each of our heads before saying, “Good morning, my beautiful girls.”

I press my lips together, my cheeks heating, not from being called beautiful, but from being called his.

“Good morning, Daddy,” Lila singsongs.

“Good morning,” I say. I turn and face Lila, my hand pushing her hair out of her face and behind her ear. “Good morning, Miss Lila.”

She grins at me, and it’s blinding. “Good morning, Chloe.”

There’s something about the three of us all together in Everett’s bed first thing in the morning that feels right. Like this is exactly where we’re all supposed to be.

“I’ve got to shower and get ready for work,” I say, sliding out of bed.

I make my way downstairs to my room, gathering my clothes for the day before heading to the washroom downstairs and hopping in the shower.

When I come out, Everett’s made breakfast and Lila’s sitting at the table.

She hasn’t touched her food, and she looks at me with a smile as I settle in the chair across from her.

As soon as I’m seated, she digs in, and I chuckle.

Everett places a plate in front of me and says, “She insisted on waiting for you.”

“Well, thank you, Lila.”

Everett returns with his plate and hands me a cup of coffee, and I take a sip, closing my eyes as the flavour hits my tongue.

I’ ve heard the phrase to be known is to be loved, but I never really understood it until Everett.

It’s the way he’s picked up on little quirks and my likes and dislikes and doesn’t make fun of them or make comments, he just notices and implements little things into actions, like making me the perfect cup of coffee.

“I was thinking I’d take Lila in with me today,” I say, and she and Everett both look at me. “I’m already heading there, no reason for you to go, too.” I hear the slight edge of nervousness in my voice, but I hide it with a smile.

Lila looks at Everett with the biggest smile, “Daddy, can I please?”

“Yeah, Peanut, you can go in with Chloe today.”

She practically jumps in her seat with excitement.

“I know you’re heading back to West Bridgejaw today, so Lila and I are going to head to my parents’. If it’s not raining, we’ll get some riding in, otherwise I’m sure my mom has some crafts for us to do.”

Everett’s hand finds my leg under the table and squeezes it. “Thank you,” he says.

I smile and nod, not sure I can have an actual conversation about his grandma and everything else that’s going on right now without breaking into tears.

“Sweetheart, why don’t you head upstairs and get ready and then we can head to school,” I say.

Lila nods, sliding out of her chair before she races upstairs. The second Lila is out of the kitchen, Everett leans in and kisses me.

“I didn’t get one of those earlier,” he says against my lips when we break apart.

“Needy, now are we?” I tease.

“For you,” he says matter-of-factly, and there’s no fighting the heat that fills my cheeks. He leans in and pecks my lips before grabbing our plates and heading to the sink.

“You doing okay?” I ask.

He braces himself against the counter and dips his head. Tension radiates off him, and I hate that there’s nothing I can do for him. I walk up to him and gently rub my hands over his back. I do what I can to lend him my strength .

“I’m not sure,” he finally admits, and his shoulders droop slightly.

“I don’t know. There’s so much going on and as happy as some things are making me…

” He looks at me over his shoulder and smiles.

“There’s other things that scare the shit out of me and have me feeling like there’s a weight sitting on my chest.”

I push past my shock at how much Everett is opening up to me with little prompting and say, “You’ve got this. You’ve had so much thrown at you, it’s all bound to feel overwhelming, but I’m here for you. Just let me know how I can help.”

He turns and wraps his arms around me, pulling me in close to his chest, and presses his lips to the top of my head.

“Being here,” he whispers against my hair, and I know what he means. I tighten my hold on him just as Lila bolts into the kitchen.

“Ready,” she declares and does a spin, showing off her dress and leggings.

I clap my hands together. “Well, let’s get to school, then.”

She heads to the front door, and I rise on my tiptoes, dusting a kiss over Everett’s lips before I follow her. Everett is hot on my heels, helping make sure Lila has everything before kissing her goodbye and watching us head to the car and pull out of the driveway.