you get under the covers and warm up a bit? Tell me why you’re
feeling lonely.” He did the same as he waited for her to get situated.
When she settled and put the phone back to her ear, she sounded
like her nose was a little stuffy.
“Are you all comfortable now, nice and cozy?”
“Uh-huh,” she murmured, her voice hitching a little.
“Are you crying?” Her sounds tore his heart out, and he thought
about getting up, dressing, and getting in his truck to go to her. The
sound of her fighting tears made him feel territorial and protective.
“No…yes. Ash, I miss you. Even when you’re not with me, you
still make me feel good. I don’t know why I’m being like this,” she
replied with a hiccup. “I want you so much right now, just to put my
head on your shoulder and have you hold me. I just…need you.”
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Heather Rainier
“Is it like how I feel? My body is satisfied, but my heart wants
you cuddled up, with your head on my chest. I miss your scent. If I
could hold you, I’d be all right.”
“Yes. That’s how I feel.”
“I’m sorry. The phone sex was supposed to help us feel better. I
didn’t mean to make you feel worse.”
“I think I’d be feeling this way, regardless of whether I’d come or
not. I’m just sentimental and foolish.”
“I guess we both are. Do you think you can sleep?”
“Yes. Talking to you helped, knowing you feel it, too.”
“I do.” To him, it sounded like she was still trying to hold herself
together. “Maybe the release will help you drift off faster. I hope you
feel better in the morning. Then it’ll only be a few hours until you’re
home.”
“You’re right,” she said, her voice hitching again. “I have to go in
to the store after lunch tomorrow, but maybe we can see each other
after I get off work. I’m visiting with my family for a little while in
the morning.”
“Good. That’ll get your mind off the blues. I’ll see you after work.
Get some sleep.”
“Okay, honey, I—”
“Yeah, darlin?”
“I can’t wait to see you tomorrow.”
“G’night, darlin’” he murmured, smiling into the darkness. I love
you, too.
* * * *
Juliana couldn’t deny that her heart had throbbed a little harder
with each mile that drew them back to Divine from Tillman.
Everybody had chatted quietly on the way back, but her mind had
been filled with thoughts of Ash and her conversation with him the
night before. Their phone sex had been outrageously hot and her heart
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181
pounded with the memory of the way he’d talked her down from it
afterward, when she’d missed him and needed him so much. The need
she’d felt last night echoed in her body now.
She’d wanted so much to say those words and would’ve if he’d
been there with her. The love she felt for him made her feel
vulnerable and her chest ached. She felt exhausted from the last
couple of days, but her heart was in a full gallop as Adam pulled the
SUV onto the long curving drive to the Divine Creek Ranch.
A ranch hand came to check in with Jack, and Juliana heard the
hand tell him that Ash was in Divine running errands. Her eyes stung
with suppressed tears as she loaded her things into her car and bid
everybody good-bye. Her eyelids felt like sand coated them as she
squinted out the windshield. She squelched the urge to tear up
because she had to go in to work. There was no point in arriving at the
store looking like a tear-stained drama queen. She wondered if
perhaps she should call Dr. Guthrie and hoped that she wasn’t coming
down with a cold or the flu.
She did her best to focus and by the afternoon she felt much
better. She had catch-up work that needed to be accomplished today
and thought about the plans she’d made to visit Discretion with Grace
and Teresa. They’d told her about the store, and she’d been intrigued
by the concept and was looking forward to meeting the owners in the
near future.
She needn’t have worried about the store. All was in order, and
the stockroom and sales floor were both running like a well-oiled
machine. Leah and Evelyn greeted her in her office, and she gave
them the highlights of the last twenty-four hours, minus the more
personal details regarding Michael’s monstrous grandparents.
When she saw Ash that night, he was his usual, attentive self.
After supper, they made up for the night before, by going to bed early
and staying entwined after making love until it was time for him to