Page 56 of Stormswept Colorado (Hart County #3)

FORTY-SEVEN

Teller

Morning light caught in Ayla’s hair, turning the strands to silver and pale gold.

I had been awake for a while, just watching her sleep in my bed.

Ayla was home safe. She had survived what happened with Jarod Carpenter. It had only been three days, and I knew from firsthand experience that true healing took longer.

Yet when Ayla stretched and opened her eyes this morning, she had a smile on her lips. “Hey,” she whispered, voice hoarse from sleep.

I kissed her temple, running my fingers through her silky hair. “Morning.”

Ayla shifted, rolling onto me, so I lay on my back and let her stretch out on top of me. We wrapped our arms around each other and held on tight. “I slept a little better that time,” she said. “I actually feel rested.”

“That’s good.”

We’d been up several times during the night. Ayla had been struggling with nightmares. Waking up crying and afraid.

And I’d shared every moment of her agony. Just trying to be here for her every time she reached for me .

“What about you?” she asked. “Did you sleep?”

“A little bit.”

She propped her chin on my chest to look at me. “So, not at all.”

I laughed softly. “I’m getting what I need.”

When I had driven up to that farmhouse and seen Jarod alone with a gun in his hand, I’d thought the worst. That Ayla was gone. Those had been the worst few moments of my life.

And then she had stepped into view, trying to stop Jarod from ending his life. Showing mercy to the man who had terrorized her. Who had murdered two others.

I only wished that Jarod had listened to her. For Ayla’s sake. But perhaps Jarod had known exactly what would happen.

By aiming at Ayla, he gave us no choice but to take him down.

I had no idea if the bullet I fired had killed Jarod.

River was a sharpshooter, so he was likely responsible for the wound to the center of Jarod’s forehead.

The coroner’s report would detail everything, but I hadn’t read it.

I wasn’t being the chief right now. I’d been taking care of the woman I loved.

In the immediate aftermath of Jarod’s death and Ayla’s rescue, she had been to the hospital to get checked out.

The doctors had said her hearing would return to normal within a week or two.

Then she’d been interviewed by multiple officers to detail everything Jarod said and did.

The truth about how he’d ended up in Silver Ridge.

His motivations. As much as we were able to make sense of them based on what he’d told her.

I wasn’t sure I could ever forgive myself for trusting Finn Mackie. Not seeing what was actually in front of me. But he’d managed to do an excellent job of hiding his true self, and I was far from the only person he’d fooled.

One of the brief times I’d been away from Ayla was to give my condolences to Seth Duncan’s brother, who arrived the day before yesterday to collect Seth’s remains. His brother would hold a funeral and lay Seth to rest in their hometown in the Midwest.

I wished I had gotten to know Seth better. Ayla felt guilty about his death, though she didn’t bear any of the blame, and she had spoken over the phone to Seth’s brother as well. She’d made a large donation to a charity for law-enforcement veterans in Seth’s honor.

Ayla also had a brief conversation with Paul Ruxton’s father, the owner of her record label. Of course, that subject was more complicated. I hadn’t wanted her to talk to Ruxton at all, but Ayla had insisted.

When she’d told the official interviewers about her ordeal, she’d been stoic. But alone in my bedroom, she’d given me more details of how it had felt. How afraid she’d been when Jarod locked her in that basement.

And when she’d realized what he wanted from her. You and I belong together .

If I could’ve gone back and killed Jarod again, I’d do it. Unlike Ayla, I didn’t have it in me to be merciful toward the man.

But I was awed by her bravery. She’d gotten away from him. Bought enough time for me and my reinforcements to show up. If Ayla had still been down in that basement, we would’ve had a hostage standoff, and she likely would not have made it out alive.

Fuck . I couldn’t breathe around the mass of anger and regret in my chest and throat. My thoughts were going around in circles.

“Teller?” Ayla murmured. “You alright?” She rubbed my sternum.

I blinked, smiling down at her. “Yes. I’m here with you. I love you.”

“Love you too.” She inched up my body to kiss me.

We were making it through this, together, one moment at a time.

Of course, outside my bedroom, the world had continued to turn. And the future, the big unknown of how we would make this relationship work, kept speeding toward us.

There’d been a lot of more urgent logistics to deal with.

Several of the officers in my department, including myself, had been involved in the shooting.

Which meant a CIRT investigation. Sheriff Douglas had been involved too.

It was a bit of a mess, and we had state authorities crawling all over the place to help untangle it.

Thank goodness Susan Nichols had stayed back at the station. That had been foresight on my part. I’d named her acting chief in my absence.

And you know, Chief Nichols had a pretty nice ring to it.

Since I’d brought Ayla back to my place, the O’Neals had been a constant presence.

Emma, Ashford, and Maisie had shown Ayla so much love.

Callum had brought guacamole and cracked jokes, while Grace and Dane had brought food from the ski resort’s elegant restaurant.

Piper and Ollie had come to see us too. They were doing well after the break-in, back home after some repairs to their house.

I’d been conscious about tiring Ayla out with visitors. Maybe I’d been a touch overprotective. I know, me ? Ha. But having our family and friends around had been making a difference.

Ayla’s friends from LA had called a lot too, and Hayleigh had sent a massive box of gourmet chocolates that Maisie and Ollie had loved sampling.

One step at a time.

In my bed that third morning, we kept kissing. “Want you,” she whispered.

“Then you’ll have me.”

My hands wandered beneath the T-shirt Ayla had worn to sleep in, dipping between her legs and finding her wet. We’d actually been having a lot of sex in the past three days. As if getting as close as possible physically could speed along the healing, and it certainly wasn’t doing any harm.

I pushed down my pajama pants and kicked them off. My erection sprang up, thick and eager. Spooning her from behind, I slid my cock inside her, rocking our bodies gently together in a slow, sensual rhythm.

After our mutual orgasms, we managed to get out of bed. Lingered in the shower for more kisses and caresses. After we got out and dressed, Ayla went out to the living room.

I heard her gasp. “Teller!”

I rushed out to follow her. And found her grinning ear to ear.

“It’s snowing. It’s so beautiful.”

A late spring snowstorm. “It is.” I circled my arms around her and pecked her cheek.

“Reminds me of getting stuck in the snow with you.”

“I love being stuck with you.”

“Me too.” She laughed, a sound full of joy. Light and free for the first time in days. Such a relief to hear.

We still had rocky times ahead. She’d made an appointment with a therapist, probably the first of many. But for right now, we were good.

This storm brought just a couple inches of snow, but we made the most of the chill.

I built a fire in the fireplace, while Ayla spread out a blanket so we could have brunch as a picnic in front of the hearth.

Toast, scrambled eggs, and coffee. Glasses of fresh-squeezed orange juice, which Dane and Grace had brought yesterday because they were fancy like that.

Then we cuddled, enjoying the warmth, and watched the snow glisten in the sun as the flakes melted outside our window.

“You have some other visitors who’d like to see you today,” I said, “if you feel up to it. They arrived yesterday but asked me to let them know when you seemed ready.”

Ayla’s eyes narrowed. “I can’t decide that for myself?”

“I’m asking you to decide right now.” I kissed her nose. “Don’t be grumpy. That’s my job.”

“Who wants to see me?”

“Cheryl and Bryan.”

Ayla’s eyes brightened. “Yeah? I texted with Cheryl. She wanted to see how I was doing. But she didn’t say she was heading to Colorado.”

“She checked in with me. She’ll be here at least a week. She wanted to give you whatever time you need before she came at you with business stuff. It does seem like she cares,” I added, only slightly grumbly. “Like you’re not just an asset.”

Ayla’s fingers squeezed my side. “I guess you’re not the only one who’s protective of me.”

“I wouldn’t let her near you if I thought otherwise.” I’d had my doubts about Cheryl before. I’d warned her about putting Ayla’s needs first. She’d listened.

But Cheryl coming here meant another step closer to that unknown future. I just hoped that, in the end, Ayla would still want to share hers with me.

I made a phone call to Cheryl at the ski resort hotel, where she was staying. Bryan was in town as her driver, but I’d made sure he had a nice room at the resort too. Comped by Dane at my request. Geez, those favors were racking up.

Half an hour later, Bryan pulled up my driveway in a rental after passing through our security perimeter. Cheryl sat in the back of the vehicle.

That agency Ayla used had sent some guards to keep an eye on my property since Silver Ridge PD was already overtaxed. A necessary evil given the swell of media attention.

Oh, had I not mentioned that? Yeah. News had broken about Ayla’s kidnapping by a crazed stalker who’d murdered an executive from her label. Understandably, the story was getting worldwide attention. Reporters had descended on Silver Ridge yet again.

It was a very good thing I had the woods as a natural barrier around my property, but we’d still needed constant security patrols. The tabloids had even tried flying drones over my house.

But I’d managed to create a tiny bubble of normalcy here for Ayla, and that was what mattered to me .

Ayla was all smiles as she greeted Cheryl and Bryan. “Come in! Have you guys had lunch?”

She led Cheryl inside, while Bryan hung back with me. He grabbed my hand and held it, pulling me into a one-armed hug. “I’d say it’s good to see you, Teller, but I’ve been seeing plenty of you on every screen that I pass.”

“Fuck, please don’t remind me.”

In addition to the story about her stalker, my identity as Ayla’s boyfriend was out there too. It had been inevitable. I’d avoided looking at news and social media myself, but we’d had updates from friends and family.

“At least I can say it’s good to see you .” I clapped Bryan on the shoulder. “How’s Mikaela and Brody?”

Inside, the four of us chatted, keeping the conversation light at first. Then Ayla shared a little of what the last few days had been like, and there were lots of hugs.

It helped when Bryan pulled up his latest pictures of his baby son on his phone.

Yes, this was a working trip for him, but he was also here as Ayla’s friend. I was beyond grateful for that.

Cheryl was much more formal. I could tell she was antsy to talk business with Ayla. It was her job, after all, to manage the big picture of Ayla’s career. And that stood at a crossroads.

“Have you heard back from Ruxton Records about my request to nullify my contract?” Ayla finally asked.

Cheryl glanced from her to me. “I have. That’s one of the reasons I’m here. Would you like to discuss alone? Or…”

“We can talk in another room,” Ayla said, standing up.

I nodded in acknowledgment. Because she certainly didn’t need any permission from me. Ayla’s career was her own, and that hadn’t changed.

But was I nervous about what this would mean for us? I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t.

After she and Cheryl disappeared down the hall toward my home office, Bryan shook his head. “Man, I do not envy you. I’m around famous people all the time, but I’m in the background. I can’t imagine being there in the spotlight.”

“It’s a lot to get used to. And I’m nowhere near used to it yet.” The reality of dating a celebrity, of loving a woman like Ayla Maxwell…it was like everything else lately. One step at a time.

But of course, it had been on my mind.

“She clearly loves you. It’s obvious. Pretty funny when you consider you almost arrested the both of us a few months ago. It must be one of those opposites attract things. You and Ayla. I never would’ve seen that coming.”

“Neither did I.” I laughed along with him. “Sometimes, I feel like a fool to think I can hold on to her,” I admitted.

“Can’t blame you. But I’m rooting for you. You’ve got a plan, right?”

“It took me a while to work it out. But yes, I do have a plan.”

Before all this, Ayla had worried I would resent the attention our relationship would bring. The trouble . But she was worth any bit of trouble and so much more.

She was worth any sacrifice.

And Piper had given me some wise words last week, before I jetted off to LA to be with the woman I loved. Those words had stuck with me. Like a signpost guiding me toward what I was supposed to do.

You don’t have to give her the whole entire world. You just have to give her yours .

So, that was what I intended to do.

I just had to hope it would be enough to make Ayla mine forever.