Page 34 of Roots of Redemption (Hicks Creek #4)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Sutton

I wake up to the steady rhythm of Wade’s breathing, his chest rising and falling beneath my cheek.

The first thing I notice is the warmth—his body heat wrapping around me like a cocoon.

His arm is draped over my waist, heavy and secure, and I’m nestled so close to him that I can feel the slow, steady thump of his heartbeat against my skin.

For a moment, I don’t move. I just lie there, letting the quiet peace of the morning settle over me.

I smile to myself and inhale the sweet moment.

I asked him to stay, and he did. He held me all night long, and I didn’t know how much I needed that. It felt so nice. In the warmth of his arms, I feel happy, strong, protected, and safe.

I don’t know that I’ve ever felt like this before. I’ve never woken up in the morning, wanting to stay in bed for as long as possible. I’m always the woman who rolls over, puts her feet on the floor, and is ready to hit the ground running.

Right now, I don’t want to move and cause this moment to end. I want this every day for the rest of my life.

It feels nice. I’ve never felt so safe in my life.

It feels like… home.

Holy shit.

The realization hits hard, and I suck in a sharp breath, my chest tightening as the thought takes root. Home. The word echoes in my mind, and I don’t know whether to laugh or cry at the absurdity of it. I blow out my breath slowly, trying to steady myself.

This is Wade, for God’s sake.

Wade, with his quiet strength and his maddening smirks and those damn kisses on my forehead that are starting to feel like a promise I’m not sure I’m ready to claim.

He’s the same man who, in high school, had a different girlfriend every night.

“Mmmm, good morning, beautiful,” Wade whispers.

His voice is rough with sleep, the deep rumble of it vibrating through me. He tightens his arm around me, pulling me closer as he presses a kiss to the top of my head.

Damn him and those kisses. They’re going to be the death of me.

“Good morning.”

He shifts slightly, and I tilt my head up to look at him. His hair is a mess, sticking up in every direction, and his eyes are heavy-lidded with sleep. He’s so damn handsome it’s unfair, especially when he’s looking at me like I’m the only thing in the world that matters.

“We should probably get up,” he says, his voice still low and gravelly. “I need to get back to the house before Caleb wonders where I’m at. Or before the whole ranch starts talking.”

My heart sinks.

Is he embarrassed?

The thought twists in my chest, and I start to pull away, but his hand shoots out, catching my face and gently forcing me to look at him. His thumb brushes over my cheek, and his gaze locks onto mine.

“Hey,” he says, his tone soft but firm. “I don’t care if the entire ranch or the whole damn town knows about us. That’s not what this is about.”

I blink up at him, my breath hitching as I try to process his words. “Then what is it about?” I ask.

Damn, why do I sound so weak?

“It’s about you,” he says simply. “I want to make sure this is what you want. That you’re okay with everyone knowing. Caleb might be fifteen, but he’s still my son. I don’t want to introduce him to the idea of us before you’re ready for it. He’s not met any woman I’ve dated…this is different.”

I inhale sharply, surprised by what he’s saying. It’s the kind of thing that knocks the air out of you because you weren’t expecting it, and you didn’t realize how much you needed to hear it until it was said.

“You mean that?” I ask, my voice trembling slightly.

He gives me a look, and a small smile tugs at the corners of his mouth. “Of course I mean it. I’m not here to play games, Sutton. I’m here because I care about you. And because I want this—us—to work. But only if you’re ready for it.”

I swallow hard, my throat tight with emotion. “I… I don’t know if I’m ready,” I admit, my voice barely more than a whisper. “But I want to be.”

He smiles then, a slow, genuine smile that makes my heart skip a beat. “That’s all I needed to hear,” he says, his thumb brushing over my cheek again. “We’ll take it one step at a time, okay? No rush. No pressure. Just us.”

“Okay,” I whisper, my chest feeling a little lighter.

He leans down, pressing another kiss to my forehead, and I close my eyes, letting myself sink into the moment.

How does this work, Sutton? How does this work when you’re employed and have a home in Montana?

What are you doing?

I brush away the thoughts. I can figure all of that out later. Right now, I just want to be present in this moment.

He pulls me on top of him in one smooth motion, his hands sliding to my waist as his lips find mine.

The kiss is hungry and demanding, and I lose myself in it, my fingers tangling in his hair.

Whatever thoughts I was having are completely gone.

But just as quickly, he shifts me back down beside him and climbs out of the bed.

I melt a little inside, realizing he’s practically reading my mind. I nod slowly and whisper, “I’m okay with it.”

“I need you to know,” he says, standing at the edge of the bed and looking down at me, “that I don’t want to leave right now. But if I don’t, we’ll never leave this room.”

I giggle and kneel on the bed, grinning up at him. “Fair enough.”

His eyes soften as he takes me in, and he reaches out, his hand cupping my face gently. “You’re the most beautiful sight I’ve ever laid eyes on,” he says, his voice low and full of emotion.

I automatically put out my bottom lip in a pout.

Damn it, whyyyyyy does he have to say stuff like that?

My heart stutters in my chest, and I can’t do anything but smile at him as he lets his hand fall away and starts to get dressed.

I watch him as I kneel on the bed, while he pulls on his jeans and shirt.

When he’s fully dressed, he leans down and presses one last kiss on my forehead before heading to the door.

“See you in a bit,” he says with a wink, and then he’s gone.

I’m practically floating as I climb out of bed and head to the shower.

The water is warm and soothing, but my mind is a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions.

By the time I’ve finished and made myself coffee and breakfast, I know one thing for sure: I’m really going to need to get my head in the game today.

My phone rings, and all the floatiness comes crashing down as I look down and see Ronnie’s name flash across the screen.

“Hey, Ronnie,” I say.

“Hey, Sutton, I went to the lab you sent the cattle to for necropsy.”

“You’re still in town?”

“Yes,” he snaps. “What in the hell happened to the one from the Callahan Ranch?”

“It was attacked by a cougar. He wasn’t showing any symptoms of the disease before death, so I wanted to see if there were invisible signs. Maybe I can get a better idea. Everything I think that it could be is ruled out because it’s not showing the normal signs.”

“Sutton,” he sighs. “I understand why you did it. There’s a process for these things, though. You can’t just send them to a lab without filling out the proper paperwork or without looking for the ones in our network.”

“It’s not insurance,” I reply drily. “The lab was built to get to the bottom of these illnesses and diseases so that we can save cattle. Your dad started the lab as a way to save all animals and further animal medicine. You can’t keep putting a dollar sign on this stuff.”

“I can because I’m trying to run a business.”

“And you know damn well that I don’t spend frivolously or cause unnecessary expenses. If the lab tells me that those animals had internal symptoms, then I can treat the whole herd with confidence that they all already probably have it.”

I can hear him half-sigh, half-groan on the other end. He knows I’m right. He just wants to complain about everything I do since I continue to turn him down.

“You need to be clearing these things with me. I understand that you think I’m out to get you, but I’m running a business, and I have to be the bad guy and say no in certain situations.

Had you gone through the proper channels, I would have told you that this particular lab has a longer turnaround time than any others in the area.

They also have numerous complaints about wrong diagnoses. ”

I pinch the bridge of my nose as I let out a sigh. Is he just making this stuff up? I asked Doc Lucy to help find it. I assumed she’d have used it before.

“Also, because the Department of Ag is involved, we are limited because it’s now a government case.

The payments to the lab are different, and these guys don’t work with government contracts.

I had to barter with them to get them to release the cattle and to get them sent to a different, better lab. We’ve lost valuable time.”

I let out another sigh. “Are you making this up?”

“Jesus, Sutton. No. I get that you don’t respect me as your boss, but if you want to continue working at the lab, you’re going to have to get on board.

These are protocols that my father put in place for a reason.

You can’t go rogue with these things, especially not when we’re dealing with something so time sensitive.

If I hadn’t intervened, this could have ended really badly.

I am not the bad guy. I also know that I’ve let my ego and my feelings bleed over into our work and I’ll work on stopping that. ”

I suck in a breath. I pull the phone away from my ear to make sure that I’m talking to Ronnie. Apologies have never been his thing, and neither has admitting when he was wrong. I put the phone back to my ear.

“You’re right. I will follow the protocols from now on. Thank you for fixing it.”

“You’re a damn good vet, Sutton. I trust you.”

“I need to get out on the ranch to see what I’m dealing with today. If the lab calls you with results before me, please let me know.”

“Will do. I’m flying back home tonight. Will you be going with me?”

“What kind of question is that? You know I haven’t solved the problem here. I’m not going home.”

“Doesn’t hurt to try.”

He goes from tolerable to intolerable really fast. I roll my eyes and shake my head.

“Bye, Ronnie,” I groan into the phone before hanging up.

Well, at least I won’t have to deal with him for a bit.

He admitted when he was wrong, and maybe I need to admit that I was wrong, too.

He was right, I don’t respect him, so I skirt the protocols to avoid him because I don’t believe he says no for the right reasons.

Maybe I should see that it’s not all about me.