Wild Child Page 22

  Ellie’s sniffle brought me back. Tears dropped onto my neck until she pulled away and tilted her head back. Her lower lip trembled.

  “We almost died.”

  I reached up and brushed the hair out of her face with my hands. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry about—”

  She shook her head. “No. Don’t.”

  My heart cracked right down the middle when tears welled back up in her eyes. When was the last time I’d seen her cry? Years. Years ago. So many that I’d forgotten how beautiful the emotions made her.

  “Ellie, I love you.”

  She went completely still. Her heart leapt into her eyes, both frightened and hopeful and I knew at that moment that my world would never be the same.

  “You do?” she whispered.

  “I’ve always loved you. From the moment I saw you hiding behind the counter in the Frolicking Moose to this one. The years in North Carolina were torture without you. I thought you hated me. That we’d never speak again. Then after I almost died so many times on deployment, I swore I wouldn’t let another moment pass without telling you how I felt.”

  She swallowed, the graceful column of her neck smooth and elegant. I trailed my fingertips to the hollow at the base of her neck, where I’d wanted to kiss her all my life. Feel the pulse of her heart against my lips. The thought robbed my breath until I gave into it. She tilted her head to the side to let me press my lips there and sighed.

  “You’re mine, Ellie." I kissed the side of her neck, her jaw, then braced her face in my hands. "You always have been.”

  “What does that mean?” she asked, wide-eyed vulnerable.

  “It means that I won’t live without you. That you won’t leave my world, my sight, until you have to. That I’m going to spend the rest of my vacation convincing you to give up everything and follow me across the country. It means that if you tell me I can, I will kiss the breath out of you again and again and again. I will kiss you the way I’ve always wanted to kiss you.” My trembling hand touched her cheek. “Ellie, it means I give you everything.”

  Her lips caught mine again. She held my face in both her hands. I locked my arms around her as the bottom fell out from my world. She pulled me close until space didn’t exist. Her legs locked around my waist. I clawed her closer until I couldn’t breathe, her lips slanting over mine in a kiss that had been tucked away for years.

  Everything I once knew about Ellie totally unraveled. I lost myself in this new side of her. She pulled away with a gasp, and half a sob. Her forehead pressed to mine.

  “I don’t want to leave you again. I don’t want you to leave me. I accept that we can’t live every waking moment together, but we can always have each other. Because Mama was wrong. She was wrong.” She pressed her lips to mine, then pulled away. “I love you. I love you. I love you.”

  I locked her in my arms with the feeling that I couldn’t breathe. Relief left me weak, and the past three years of questions, fear, and dreams evaporated into mist. Everything had come together.

  And Ellie was mine.

  23

  Ellie

  “Here.”

  Hernandez draped a blanket around my shoulders and gazed at me with concern. I had a sip from a thermos filled with coffee that he’d conjured from the depths of his vehicle, and my ravenous stomach did a little jolt. Despite the warmth of the fading afternoon, the straight black coffee drove comfort all the way to my bones.

  “Thanks.”

  Devin bumped my arm, a hand held out. With a little smile, I passed the thermos over to him. He had a sip, then a long, long draught. I watched his throat move as he swallowed, unable to tear my eyes off of him.

  “Slow down, stallion,” I murmured with an adoring smile.

  He laughed and passed it back. “That,” Devin declared, “is the best coffee I’ve ever had.”

  “That new girl, Dahlia, knows what she’s doing. Funny, too.” Hernandez motioned to me with a nod. “Have some more. We’re going to ask a lot of questions soon. You'll need some caffeine. I have some protein bars, too. Let me grab them for you.”

  Despite missing meals and days of dreaming of what I’d eat first, I couldn't fathom eating right now. A general queasiness lived in my body. Devin had shielded me from the grisly parts of what we left behind, for which I was grateful. But my mind quickly substituted all the things I didn’t see. The boxes I had tucked away for so long kept flopping down, defeated. I stopped fighting them and let the shocked feelings flow with a powerful sense of relief.

  Devin loves me, spiraled the thought. It buoyed me up amid all this horror. He has loved me this whole time.

  Aside from the general shock of his confession, I couldn’t help but feel a giddy relief. A disbelieving awareness that we’d danced around the same feelings for years. If one of us had just gotten up the gumption to say something, maybe all of this could have been avoided.

  Except, that may not have been the right path either.

  After all I’d learned about myself without him, and the path that life set both of us on, I couldn’t imagine any other circumstances that would have served us better. Now, we knew our path.

  And we were on it together. Totally. Entirely. Completely. No questions asked, no dreams held back.

  “Ellie?”

  Blinking out of my thoughts, I glanced up to see Hernandez staring at me expectantly. Too late, I realized they had been talking to me and I’d missed it.

  “Sorry.”

  Devin’s arm lay heavy on my shoulders. “Give us a sec?” he asked Hernandez. He nodded and stepped back, calling for someone else with a quick whistle. Devin curled me closer into him. I leaned into his side.

  “I don’t want to talk about it with him,” I whispered. Tears filled my eyes again. “I just want to go home.”

  “Me too.”

  Panic seized me when I realized that home meant away from Devin, and I couldn’t fathom the thought of being away from him. Not now. Not after all that—

  “You won’t leave me?" I asked without attempting to hide my panic. "You’ll stay? Come to—”

  “I’m not leaving.” He put a hand under my chin and tilted my head back. The tips of his fingers caressed a gentle line down my cheekbone and my throat, then he gripped my neck in his hand. “After we're done with this, we'll go to Mav and Bethany's. You get first dibs on a super-hot shower. I'll be in the other room, trying not to picture you in that shower and all the things I want to do to you."

  A roguish gleam in his eyes sent heat through me, sending away the darkness of the past few days.

  "While we're getting cleaned up," he continued, "Mav will fix us a massive meal. I'll call my parents, they can come over. I'll tell them everything so you don't have to, and we just get it done. Then, you and I will go into your old bedroom and fall asleep for the next three days together. You will be in my arms the entire time. Got it? There are no other alternatives."

  Relief swam through me. "Got it," I whispered and sagged against him in relief.

  “We have to talk to them first,” he said, “but we can do it together. Okay? I’ve got your back.”

  Macabre week aside, my lips twitched. My Devin was definitely back. In fact, he’d never really left.

  “Sounds like a dream.”

  He pressed a kiss into my temple. “It's going to be all right, Ellie. Everything will be all right."

  24

  Devin

  Ten Days Later

  Mom's old camo banner with Good Luck Devin scrawled across the front flapped across the entrance of the Frolicking Moose. An extra “^ and Ellie” had been added underneath the obnoxious red-white-and-blue lettering in white paint that still dripped.

  The smell of charbroiled meat and barbeque sauce filled the air, along with the happy shrieks of my niece and nephews as they galloped around the parking lot. My big sister, Kendra, pretended to be annoyed with them when they asked, "Is grandpa really cooking cow brains?" She gave a heartfelt eye roll, ruffled their hair, and said, "Yes
, and they're good for you."

  Warm sunshine fell on my face as I surveyed the mingling crowd. Half of Pineville filled the place now with warm chatter. At my side, Ellie said, "Everyone is showing up. I didn't think there would be so many people."

  Her glossy black hair shone in the sunlight and spilled down her back. The ends curled on her shoulder, covered with an emerald green shirt that so perfectly matched her eyes, I couldn't stop looking at her.

  "They're showing up for you," I murmured into her temple, then planted another kiss on her. She hooked an arm around my back and pulled me into her. As if we could get any closer.

  Ellie's gaze hovered over Lizbeth, who lingered not far away, her pregnant belly visible through her shirt. Bethany stood next to her with a bottle of water in hand, while her son galloped in and out of the coffee shop with my youngest niece. Sauce smeared their faces and shirts. Small American flags waved in their hands. Next to Bethany stood Maverick, his prosthetic leg gleaming, while Mark said something in his usual animated way.

  Behind it all worked the new full-time barista and Frolicking Moose tenant—a girl named Dahlia. With tireless energy, she pumped out macchiatos like she was born to it. Her cheeks had high color, and her dark eyes were bright with amusement. Hernandez nearly choked on his coffee when Dahlia tossed a lid on his to-go cup and slid it all the way down the counter, into his awaiting hand, like a bartender. When she said something I couldn't hear, Dagny laughed until she doubled over.

  The Frolicking Moose would be just fine without Ellie.

  "I'm going to miss this," Ellie whispered.

  Her voice caught a little bit. Ever since the disaster, as she called it, her emotions had been more unbound than I'd ever seen. Like she'd finally accessed them again after not giving in for years.

  My fingers squeezed hers. "You don't have to—"

  "Don't say it." She sent me a chilling glare. "Don't even finish it."

  Unbothered by her tough display, I just laughed. "I won't. But you need to know it. You're giving up a lot to be with me."

  "It's worth it."

  She softened, because Ellie was never really that tough in the first place. Inside the shop waited two bags stuffed totally full, two carry-ons, and a box full of treasures she'd dug up from their old house and always carried with her. Once the barbeque ended, Maverick and Bethany would drive us to the airport in Jackson City and Ellie would fly home to North Carolina with me.

  "I belong with you, Dev," she murmured. "Even if there's sadness in letting go here, I want to be with you there more. Adventure finally awaits."

  "Yes," I whispered, and my heart wrung itself out like an old rag. "You do belong with me." I glanced at my watch with a little hiccup in my stomach. "We need to leave in ten minutes. Are you ready?"

  "Yes." She smiled up at me. "I'm finally ready for you, Devin Blaine."

  As if she sensed our conversation, Mom cut across the blacktop, her hair gently wafting around her shoulders as she approached. A radiant smile filled her eyes from the moment she learned that Ellie and I had finally been fully open with each other.

  "Seen it for years," she'd said breezily. "I knew you'd come around. You're stubborn, like your father."

  Now, she held out her arms and Ellie stepped readily into them. They embraced for a long time. Once Ellie pulled away, she returned to my side. Mom's eyes filled with tears as she looked at me.

  "You are sure you're ready for this?"

  "Finally," I said. "Yes."

  She laughed, but it was teary. Her gaze traveled between us, then landed back on me. "You're one lucky man, Devin Blaine."

  Ellie grinned when I squeezed her hand. "Trust me, Mom. I know."

  Mom embraced me, her arms tight around my waist. Then she stepped away, wiped the tears off her cheeks, and made space for Dad to step up. He spit out some gruff advice, told me he loved me, then dissolved into tears when Ellie hugged him goodbye. I hid an affectionate eye roll.

  Of course only losing Ellie pushed him to the brink of emotion.

  One at a time, people began to fade away. I hugged, joked with, and cajoled more people than I thought possible. The anxiety of being home had burned away one piece at a time, particularly after a few video calls with my psychologist after the disaster. A long, in-person appointment with her awaited tomorrow. Ellie would attend with me. Together, we'd create an action plan to tackle the PTSD—both from this weekend and the deployment. Something we'd both need.

  A long road awaited, but this time it wasn't a lonely one.

  Daniel stepped up to Ellie with a grunt. She stared at her boss from the Outfitters for a moment before she did the unthinkable and hugged him. He stiffened like a board, then wrapped his arms around her.

  "Best damn guide I've ever had," he muttered into her shoulder, then stepped away. "You keep it up, Ellie. Those mountains need you when you get back."

  She smiled wide. "I'll be back, Daniel. Give me three years. Then I'll return and run the store while you retire. Got it?"

  He grinned. "Got it." Then he turned to me with a threatening finger. "You're the only twenty-one-year-old I can tolerate. Don't lose your position by doing something stupid, all right? You wouldn't face just Maverick if you break her heart again. You'll face all of Pineville."

  Ellie laughed when I pulled her into my side again.

  "Roger, sir."

  Daniel's lips twitched with a smile, then he nodded, shook my hand, backed away, and disappeared into the gathering. As the crowd thinned out, only Bethany, Maverick, my parents, and a few others remained behind. Bethany walked up, eyes sparkling and happy.

  "You're taking my girl, Dev," she said. Then she winked. "It's about time."

  Behind her, a booming laugh rippled out of Maverick. He stepped up behind her, put a hand on her shoulder, and said, "Let's get the two of you to the airport. It's time for your next great adventure."

  I pulled Ellie into my side and kept her there.

  Where she's always been mine.

  Forever.

  Author’s Note

  Ellie and Devin first met me about thirteen or fourteen years ago.

  I can't remember the details. The only thing I do remember is a deep yearning for a relationship as deep as they had. Their friendship and depth of relationship were actually inspired by an NSYNC fan fiction story that I followed on an Angelfire website back when I was twelve or thirteen.

  (And boy, if that doesn't date me, I don't know what does!)

  I wrote Ellie's original story on Google Drive while working night shifts at a pediatric hospital. My dating life was tough on a good day, and I longed to connect with someone that just got me. The story poured out in surprising speed.

  So a few years ago, I revisited those Google documents. One thought led to another, and the initial concepts for The Coffee Shop Series began. Even though Ellie ended up being book six, she was the original inspiration for all these stories. She was going to be book one, was nudged to book three, then finally to book six.

  This was her rightful place.

  It's rare that I finish a novel with the feeling of this is exactly how I wanted this to puzzle together, but it's how I wrapped WILD CHILD up. I'm so proud of the two of them, and gratified to bring her to light after so many years.

  Acknowledgments

  First and foremost, a huge and heartfelt thank you to Christy and JaiHo, the original readers of Ellie's first iterations (which are so painfully boring I'm not sure how you made it through!)

  Thank you for supporting my work when I didn't even know I was an author. I was just a kid in a grown-up world trying to find her way.

  To my team and all your quick responsiveness to really tight deadlines—thank you for bleeding on my work, pointing out my strengths and faults, and making me a better team leader and author.

  To my readers, I hope that Ellie and Devin live up to everything you wanted them to be. I know they did for me.

  To my family, you are my life, my drive, my inspiration. I
adore every single one of you and appreciate your loving support for this wild child right here.

  Do you want to join my community?

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  Also by Katie Cross

  The Health and Happiness Society

  Bon Bons to Yoga Pants (Lexie)

  I Am Girl Power (Megan)

  You’ll Never Know (Rachelle)

  Hear Me Roar (Bitsy)

  What Was Lost (Mira)

  * * *

  The Health and Happiness Society Collection

  The Health and Happiness Cookbook

  Recipes from I Am Girl Power

  * * *

  Finding Anna

  * * *

  Bonus Scenes from Bon Bons to Yoga Pants (Lexie)

  Never Came Back (Rachelle)

  Operation First Date (Bitsy)

  * * *

  Coffee Shop Series

  Coffee Shop Girl

  Lovesick

  Runaway

  Fighter

  Shy Girl

  Wild Child

  * * *

  The Coffee Shop Collection, Volume 1 (Books 1-4)