The world eventually stopped spinning and our heart rates slowed to a normal pace. Staying inside her, I rolled to my back and folded her securely into my arms. She sighed and nuzzled her nose into my chest.
After a few minutes, her breathing evened out and I gently rolled us to the side so I could watch her sleep. She looked as magnificent as ever, but I frowned at the faint purple smudges around her eyes. She had to have been exhausted, raising a newborn all on her own. The thought sparked the simmering anger I’d practically forgotten about, building the rage once again. I needed to find out who was responsible for this bullshit. I was going to destroy the motherfucker.
I used two fingers to brush some of her hair off her forehead, then slowly ran them down to the ends of the golden strands. I would have loved to stay there all day, to take care of Carter and let her rest. But, I had shit to do if I wanted to get everything settled and I’d be back in a few hours. I wasn’t going to spend another night without her, or miss putting my son to bed. I’d already lost too much time with them. Whether Aspen was ready or not, I was moving in that evening until I found us a house.
I brushed a kiss along her cheekbone, then carefully slipped out of the bed to avoid waking her. Gathering my clothes, I dressed quickly and checked the baby monitor to make sure she’d hear Carter when he woke. I spotted a tiny desk shoved into a corner of the small, “master” bedroom. I shook my head as I headed toward it. Whatever house we ended up in, our room would be large enough for a spacious bed, big enough to accommodate . . . energetic activities.
I found a pad of paper and a pen, quickly scrawled a note telling her I had some things to take care of and would be back soon. My hand hesitated at the end, unsure of how I should sign it. I glanced back at the sleeping goddess—the woman I loved, and decided not to hold back. I wasn’t playing any games.
Love, W.
I folded the note in half and laid it on the pillow, then tenderly kissed her once more before dragging myself out of the room and away from her.
I looked in on Carter, tempted to forget my errands and stay there, staring at my precious boy. It was still hard to wrap my head around the fact that Aspen and I had produced this perfect little bundle. Using a single finger, I traced his forehead, his cheeks, and his little button nose. “I’ll be back, buddy. Don’t forget my promise,” I whispered.
Reluctantly, I forced myself to leave the apartment and headed back to my hotel. On the way, I called my sister and asked to see her the next day. I would only tell her I had a surprise and laughed when she started grilling me like I knew she would. Jenna hated surprises and therefore, I loved surprising her. It was my duty as her older brother to drive her nuts. She finally accepted that I wouldn’t budge and grudgingly agreed.
She was always predictable, and so I knew I would gain back any lost brownie points when I asked for the name of a good realtor. I had to pull the phone from my ear when she shrieked.
A male voice rumbled in the background, “Jenna, you’ve gone ultrasonic again. You’re going to make your brother deaf.” I grinned, silently thanking Jenna’s fiancé for saving my ear drums, but not the least bit sorry when I heard the tell-tale thwack of Jenna smacking him on the arm like I’d seen her do so many times.
She took a deep breath and said calmly, “I’ll get you a few names. See you tomorrow!” Then she promptly hung up and I laughed. I had a feeling she and Aspen were going to get along great.
Back at my hotel, I grabbed my unpacked bag and went to the front desk to check out. The same woman was working and she looked at me oddly, but didn’t comment, and I didn’t bother answering her silent question. I signed the bill and walked towards the exit as I dug my cell phone out of a pocket.
I pulled up my contacts and scrolled through until I found Kat’s number. Reaching the car, I threw my stuff in the trunk and dropped into the driver’s seat before hitting send. She picked up after the second ring.
“Hello, Weston,” she greeted me in a low voice. I briefly wondered what she was doing that caused her to speak in that way, but I really didn’t care.
“Kat, I need you to look into something for me.”
“Anything you need, Wes. I’m always available for you.”
I almost pulled the phone away from my ear to look at it, as though it would have an answer as to why she was acting so strange. Instead, I skipped over the weirdness and got down to business.
“Someone must have tampered with the email account I set up for Aspen. She was sending messages all fucking year that weren’t getting to you.” Rage began to surge through me and my tone hardened. “You need to find out who the fuck was behind it and deal with it, because if I find them first, I’ll fucking kill the son of a bitch,” I snarled.