Lowlander Silverback(41)

Hers in all the ways that mattered. Her mate. Her love and, someday, he would be the father of her children. Over the past week, he had held baby Rowan anytime Gia and Creed would let him, and Layla had fallen in love with the way he looked at the infant. A tiny baby cradled so gently against his chest as he rocked slowly back and forth and talked to her. Kong would make a great father and teammate to raise a family with. She’d never admitted it to anyone other than Mac, but she wanted lots of kids. She’d grown up lonely, confused by the definition of family, but with Kong, she could have something special—a sense of belonging that filled the hungry hole in her heart.

He opened her door and held out his hand. “You ready, beautiful?”

Grinning, she slid her palm against his and allowed him to help her out of the car. “You know, I always imagined what it would be like if you asked me out. I would see you at the bar and daydream about what you would say and where you would take me.”

“Disappointed?”

“Not at all. Being with you is better than I could’ve imagined.”

His throat moved as he swallowed hard. She wished she could see his eyes, but all she could see was her own smiling reflection in his sunglasses. Turning, he linked his fingers with hers and led her into Moosey’s.

Barbecue sandwiches and sodas ordered, they picked a seat outside on the picnic table farthest away from the lunch rush. There was a red and white checkered umbrella spread open above them, shielding them from the bright day.

“I’m glad the clouds disappeared,” she admitted as she popped the top of her grape-flavored beverage. “The sun came out for our first date. I take that as a good sign.”

Kong reached under the table and pulled her feet onto his lap, then massaged her calf. “You look so fucking beautiful today.”

“Funny, I’ve been checking you out, too. Now,” she said in her best business voice, “I know almost everything about every regular in Sammy’s bar, but I don’t know near enough about you. Tell me your secrets.”

Kong’s sexy mouth bracketed with smile lines when he grinned and poured barbecue sauce onto his sandwich. “I hung out at Sammy’s over the years just so I could see you.”

“You’re teasing me.”

He laughed and ducked the potato chip she threw at him. “I swear. I knew I couldn’t be with you, but I needed to at least see you. When I tried to stop myself and go cold turkey on my Layla fix, my animal got hard to control.”

“I looked forward to work because there was always the chance I would get to see you.”

“No shit?” he asked, rubbing her calf again.

With a definitive nod, she said, “Zero shits.”

Kong took a bite of his sandwich and looked off into the woods behind Moosey’s. He gulped the food down and said, “Remember that guy who wouldn’t stop grabbing your ass a few months back?”

“Yeah, the tourist with the crazy eyes. That guy was a jerk. Thankfully he only came in that one night.”

“Because I followed him to the parking lot and just about knocked his eyes straight. Kirk had to pull me away before I really went to town, but I told the guy if he ever came back, I’d know about it, and then I’d find him. I hated that he’d ruffled you. I know you can take care of yourself, and I’ve watched you put drunk assholes in their place so many times it’s not even funny. But I passed the office on my way to the bathroom to get myself under control, and I heard you crying in there. It gutted me. I went after him the second he left.”

She pursed her lips against the memory of that night. It had been one of the worst shifts she’d ever worked, and she hadn’t known it at the time, but Kong was right there with her. “I think you were mine way before last week.”

Kong licked his bottom lip and bit it as he nodded. “I’ve been yours for a long time.”

She ate for a while in silence, absorbing that eye-opening morsel of information. “So next time I’m working, are you going to ignore me?”

“Hell no. I hated having to do that before. I don’t have to do that anymore. I can even give you rides to and from your shifts if you ever want them. I close down the sawmill around six unless we have a big lumber order.” Kong leaned forward, elbows on the table as he clasped his hands over his plate. “I like this.”

“What?”

“Talking about our future. Of what our future could be. It makes things…easier.”

“What things?” she asked, confused.

His mouth twitched at the corner, and he relaxed back onto the picnic table bench. “This week has been brutal, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed right now. Thinking about our future reminds me of what I’m fighting for. It makes anything seem possible.”