In Your Dreams, Holden Rhodes (The Queen’s Cove Series Book 3)
In Your Dreams, Holden Rhodes: Chapter 39

“I LOVE THIS PART,” Sadie said in my ear through my headphones as we watched the second Twilight movie in separate locations.

I tilted the screen of my laptop so I could see the movie better. “What’s with the bad wig?”

She let out a peel of laughter and my chest warmed. “I knew you’d notice. She cut her hair for another movie so they put her in a dollar store wig for filming.”

I stretched out on the hotel room bed and listened to her talk about Twilight.

I didn’t care about the movies. I just liked hearing her voice. I wanted to be near to her in any way I could.

I’d spent the week in Victoria, the biggest city on Vancouver Island, a three-hour drive from Queen’s Cove. It had been days of negotiations with a potential client who wanted to build a dozen apartment buildings in neighboring towns to Queen’s Cove. It was a big job, and it seemed like we’d get it. Worry flared in my chest at the idea of taking on more work, but I pushed it aside.

All week, I missed Sadie. The meetings started Monday morning so I left Sunday afternoon but I regretted it, since I had to cut our day together short.

I pictured us fucking in the front seat of my truck and my eyes closed as I sighed. Fuck. Every night, I pictured her riding me, gasping and tucking herself into my chest as her wet pussy fluttered around my cock.

The inside of my truck was covered in paint, but every time I saw those splashes of color over the seats, I grinned and thought about what we did in there. No way was I getting it detailed.

“What’s the bed like in your hotel room? Did you jump on it?”

I smiled. “I think I’d break it if I jumped on it.”

“I’d jump on it for you then.”

“I should have brought you.”

I pictured it. We could go for dinner together, explore the city, replace a little Italian restaurant and order a bottle of wine. We could walk back to the hotel through the sidestreets. Maybe she’d slip her hand into mine.

My heart squeezed.

Maybe I’d take her back to the hotel and we’d fuck in the shower again. I stiffened in my pants.

“But who would irritate Olivia at the bar all week?” she asked.

“I’m sure we could replace someone to bug her.”

There was a pause on her end before she spoke. “I, um. I’ve missed you this week.”

I smiled openly in my hotel room. “I missed you too, honey.”

Fuck, it felt good to say that to her. There were a thousand things I wanted to say to her but held back. Our conversation at that art rave changed things, but I didn’t want to rush her. She had let me stay over that night. That was a big deal for her.

My mind wandered to the next morning. Waking up next to her was heaven. I had snuck out early to pick up coffee and breakfast for her before slipping back into bed to cuddle. The surprised smile on her face when she woke up to see me before she relaxed into my chest made me feel like everything was right in the world, and I was exactly where I should be.

My chest pulsed with something warm and languid.

This had to be it, right? This was love.

I was in love with Sadie.

Anxiety weaved and dipped through my stomach. She was leaving, so there was no point in saying anything.

The thought of her leaving made me sick, so I tried not to think about it.

“My parents want you to come for Christmas dinner,” I told her. “I wasn’t sure what you were doing for the holidays, whether you were flying home or not.”

“I’m staying here. My parents are staying in Mexico for the winter, and Willa’s going on some art retreat. I was going to order takeout from whatever’s open and watch movies.”

I pictured her sitting alone, curled up in bed, eating takeout and watching Christmas movies while I sat around my parents’ dinner table, talking and laughing with everyone.

No fucking way was she spending the night alone.

“Come for dinner.”

“It’s a family thing. I don’t want to impose.”

“You’re not.” My tone was firm. “I want you there. You’re coming and I’ll throw you over my shoulder and haul your ass there if I have to. We can watch movies and eat takeout on Boxing Day.”

She laughed and the sound made me smile. “Alright. That sounds great.” She hesitated for a moment. “I painted a portrait of Katherine the other day.”

My brows lifted. “You did?”

“Yep.” She made a happy, humming noise. “I gave it to your mom. It was how I remembered Katherine, smiling and all tanned after working in the garden all day.”

I rubbed my chest, thinking about Sadie sitting at her easel, painting and feeling good about herself.

“It’s easier to paint here.” She let out a light laugh. “I forget my problems in Queen’s Cove.”

My throat knotted and I hoped with my entire fucking being I had something to do with that. That I made her life better, made her problems fade to the background.

I wanted to be that guy for Sadie.

I thought about what my dad said at their anniversary party. He said his marriage and his family were his greatest achievements, and everything came next after us. Nothing mattered but the people he loved, and he was grateful to know all of us.

While he talked, I thought about Sadie. I studied her pretty face, lips turned up while she listened to my dad. Her glance had shot over to mine and when our gazes connected, her smile turned up even more, like looking at me made her happy.

If I ever wanted the things my dad had talked about in his speech, I needed to make a change. Tension wrapped around my chest, suffocating me. The idea of giving up control still made me sick, even if it was for her.

I just didn’t know how.

I sighed, missing her even harder, and dragged my hand back through my hair. “I wish you were here. I wish you came with me.”

She laughed. “You’re just horny.”

“I am. Been fucking my fist all week, thinking about having my head between your legs.”

“Holden,” she chided but I could hear the grin at my dirty words.

“What are you wearing?”

She laughed. “You are not asking what I’m wearing like you’re on a nineties phone sex commercial. Although, with your voice, you’d be perfect for that job.”

I grinned. “You like my voice.”

“You know I do. And I’m butt naked, wearing the yellow raincoat.”

My chest shook with laughter. “I wish.”

She snorted. “I feel like I haven’t taken it off since you gave it to me. This winter is bumming me out, dude.”

“Still raining there?”

She sighed. “Every single day. All day. Just pouring. The property is like a marsh. The forest walks help, though. I love when the forest gets all foggy and spooky.”

Katherine’s property was a low point in the surrounding area so all the rainwater drained to the yard. In the summer, the grass was lush green and never needed watering unless we were in a serious drought, but in the winter, you couldn’t take a few steps without sinking into the muck.

I heard the sharp intake of Sadie’s breath.

“What?” I asked, frowning.

She was quiet a moment, listening. “Nothing. I heard a noise. I wonder if the raccoons are going through my garbage again. Oh yeah, they retrieved my stupid fucking dildo from the bear den,” she said in an irritated tone.

“I thought it wasn’t yours?”

She groaned. “Don’t start, asshole.”

I grinned ear to ear, remembering her bright red face at the anniversary party while we watched the bear swing the dildo around.

“The park ranger came into the bar the other day to assure me I’d get it back. I kept telling him I didn’t want it and he kept telling me it was nothing to be embarrassed about.” Sadie laughed. “What is wrong with this place?”

“Everyone wants you to feel comfortable. They like you.”

“This place is weird, Holden.”

“Do you like it, though?” I stared out the window at the dark sky, listening hard for her answer.

“Yeah.” Her voice was soft. “I do. I can see why you won’t leave.” She made a noise in her throat. “There’s that noise again.” I could hear rustling. “I’m going to check it out at the window.”

Worry streaked through me and I frowned. “Sadie, don’t go to the window.”

“I’m just going to look for a second.”

A memory rushed at me. The freshly fallen tree in the forest. Me telling her I’d call an arborist to check out the trees around the inn.

I forgot. Fuck. I jerked upright. I’d been so busy between the inn and work and having the time of my goddamned life with her, I forgot to call the arborist.

My pulse picked up. “Sadie, get back in bed.”

“Don’t boss me around,” she joked. “I can’t see anything—” She gasped before there was a deafening crash.

“Sadie? Sadie!” I yelled. “What’s going on?” My pulse hammered with terror.

She swore. “The window. A tree just fucking fell through it.” Her voice shook. “Oh my god.”

“Don’t move,” I demanded. “You’ll step on glass and cut your feet. Stay where you are.” My heart beat pounded in my ears and I was already standing. “Are you okay?”

“I’m, um.” She broke off, breathing hard. “I’m okay. Oh. My arm. It’s bleeding.”

“How hard?”

“Not so bad.” Her voice was quiet. She might be in shock.

“Send me a photo. Right now.”

“How did the tree fall through the window?” She sounded lost and confused.

I knew exactly how. It was storming all week, the ground was soft, and combined with the wind, some of the old trees couldn’t handle it. Every year, we had a handful of downed trees. They fell on power lines, in yards, across streets, and on the rare occasion, on houses and cars.

Every instinct in my body told me to get there. Get to Sadie, right now. This was my fault. I didn’t call the arborist. This could have been prevented. She could have been hurt. My stomach twisted with anxiety.

I put her on speaker while I began to pack, throwing everything I owned in my bag without care.

“Sadie, send me the photo of your arm,” I barked.

“Okay.”

A couple seconds later, my phone buzzed with the text. I studied the picture. A dribble of blood ran down her forearm but it didn’t seem severe.

Shame and fury at myself gripped me by the throat. This was my fault. I could have prevented this and now my sweet, trusting Sadie was hurt.

I told her I wouldn’t let her get hurt.

I swallowed past knives in my throat. “Honey, I’m going to call Emmett to get you.” Wyatt was out of town.

“Why?”

“You can’t stay there tonight.” I tried to keep my tone calm and reassuring even though my shoulders were brittle with tension. “There’s a hole in your bedroom and another tree could fall. Is there glass all over the floor in front of you?”

“Uh-huh.”

I weighed my options. If she stayed where she was, another tree could fall, but the likelihood of it falling in the same spot was low. If she moved away from the window, she’d step on glass and cut her feet.

“Don’t move, okay? Can you stay standing there for ten minutes?”

“I think so.”

“If you hear that noise again, the creaking noise, I want you to get to the doorway as soon as possible, even if you cut your feet. Do you understand?” I swept my toiletries off the bathroom counter into my bag.

“Uh-huh.” She sounded dazed and my heart twisted.

“Repeat it back to me, please.” My pulse pounded in my ears. My fault. I did this.

“Stay here unless I hear the noise, and if I do, get to the doorway.”

“You got it, baby.” I zipped my bag up. “Emmett’s coming take you to their place and I’ll pick you up there.”

“You’re coming back?”

“You bet your goddamn ass I am. No fucking way am I letting you sleep alone tonight.”

She breathed a sigh of relief, or maybe that was wishful thinking on my part. “Okay. See you soon. Drive safe, okay?”

“Call me when you get to Emmett’s. I need to know you’re safe.”

“I will.”

“Bye, honey.”

She said goodbye, we hung up, and I called Emmett.

“Hey,” he answered on the second ring. “What’s going on?”