"Good thing I'm motivated." I set the lantern down on the windowsill, pulled her back against my chest, and wrapped my arms around her waist. "Or, there's a perfectly good sofa out there once we shake the dust off."
She turned in my arms, her eyes dancing with mischief. "A sofa? How romantic."
"Best I can do on short notice." I brushed a strand of hair from her face. "Unless you'd rather head back to the homestead."
"Hell, no." She rose on her toes and kissed me, soft and sweet. "I like it here. It feels like you. The real you."
My chest tightened. Hannah had always wanted me to be someone else, more polished, less rough around the edges. But Charlie seemed to want exactly who I was.
"Come on." I pulled back with a grin. "We've got work to do if we're going to make this place habitable."
As we pulled plastic sheets off furniture, wiped down surfaces, and opened windows that hadn't seen daylight in years, we smiled at each other a lot, and slowly my house became a home again. Charlie didn't complain once, just worked alongside me as if we'd been doing this all our lives.
When we finally stepped onto the front porch for a rest, the house felt alive again. I grabbed two beers from the pack Bella had made for us and handed one to Charlie. We sank onto the old porch swing, and I pushed off with my foot, setting us into a slow, steady rhythm.
The moon was full, the air cool, and Charlie felt perfect at my side. Real. Extraordinary. Mine.
I took a long pull from my beer, then turned to her. "You really like this place?"
"Absolutely. You should see the dump I live in."
"The one that bastard Tommy wants you to move out of."
"Wow, you have a good memory."
I huffed. "That's not always a good thing."
"Oh, I know exactly what you mean." She rolled her eyes.
"You know, you don't have to live there anymore."
She curled her bottom lip into her mouth. "Be careful what you wish for, cowboy."
I grabbed her hand. "Actually, I heard a rumor that there was some big dinosaur skull found on Koolaroo Ranch. You don't happen to know a paleontologist who needs work, do you?"
She nearly choked on her beer, and she turned wide-eyed to stare at me. "What? Are you serious?"
"Well, I'm no expert, but I met this crazy woman who was up to her neck in mud, yelling about something called Banjo. Anyway, somebody needs to figure out if those bones are real dinosaur skeletons or just giant kangaroo bones."
She burst out laughing and slapped my arm. "I'm not crazy."
"Hell yes, you are. But I love it."
"Oh, you love that I'm crazy?"
I turned to face her, serious as hell. "I love everything about you, Charlie."
Her smile faded, and mischief twinkled in her eyes. She took my beer and set both bottles down on the porch floor. Then she climbed onto my lap, straddling me, her hands sliding up to my shoulders. "Do you really mean that? We barely?—"
I cupped her face and brought her lips to mine. The kiss was slow, deep, and said everything I didn't have words for.
When she pulled back, her eyes were glassy. "Okay, you win. I'll stay."
I grinned. "Good. Now that we have that settled, we could make love under the stars again."
"Oh, I'm very okay with that." Her smile took my breath away. "Take me to the moon and back, cowboy."
I slid my hands down to her ass and stood, lifting her with me. She wrapped her legs around my waist.
"I hope you're ready," I said, grabbing the blanket from Cassidy's pack. "Because now I’m going to take my time with you."
Her lips were soft against my skin as she kissed my neck. "Careful, Mitch. I think I'm falling in love with you."
"Good. Because I'm already there." I kissed her forehead, then her nose, then captured her mouth again.