Free Western Ties: Compass Brothers, Book 4 by Mari Carr & Jayne Rylon

to be a busy weekend.”
    He started to speak, but talking about the end of this adventure made her stomach ache. Not yet. She silenced him with a quick kiss. For now, they had another whole day ahead of them and she refused to waste a minute of it worrying about what came after.
    “Guess that means I won’t have a chance to sneak in a trip to the beach.”
    “The beach?”
    She shrugged. “I didn’t realize this party would last more than one night until I got to Stacey’s. My flight leaves fairly early on Sunday and I was really hoping there would be time for me to see the ocean. I’ve always wondered what it looks like.”
    Sawyer’s eyes widened in shock. “You’ve never seen it?”
    “I grew up in Wyoming, Saw. My mom and I barely had enough money for groceries, let alone for some big trip to the sea.”
    “What about college? Spring break?”
    She rolled her eyes. “I worked every holiday and summer to afford tuition.”
    “I’m taking you tomorrow.”
    “Is that allowed?”
    It was Sawyer’s turn to roll his eyes. “We’re not freaking captives here, Leah. It’s a party. We can come and go as we please.”
    She put her head on his chest and smiled. “I’d love to go see the ocean with you. Thanks.”
    He tightened his grip and his breathing slowed as sleep came to take them both away.  
    “Good night, rose.”
    “Good night, Sawyer.”

Chapter Four
    Sawyer took Leah’s hand while trying to get a handle on the emotions rumbling around inside him. They meandered along the shore in silence, watching the people pass while enjoying the scenery.  
    He took a deep breath of the sea air and sighed. Leah had thrown him for a loop. Last night, his true feelings for her had come to the forefront when he realized she was wandering around the party as an unattached submissive. The idea of another man claiming what he’d always wanted had him seeing red. He didn’t like to think about what would have happened if he’d arrived at the party too late—if Leah had accepted another man’s invitation. He didn’t doubt he would have made a scene and broken every rule of the house to steal that claim away.
    After spending an entire evening with her tied to his bed, he’d realized Leah offered the best of both worlds—a sub in the bedroom and a partner everywhere else. She reminded him in a lot of ways of his mother, Vicky. Both women were spirited, beautiful, opinionated, loving.  
    Something JD had told him once drifted back to him. Sawyer had come home for Christmas three years after he’d joined the Coast Guard. His mom and dad had put decorations on the tree, retelling the memories attached to each ornament. None of his other brothers had been able to make the trip, so he’d had his parents to himself that year—a rarity.  
    Every now and then, JD would steal a kiss or lightly pinch his mom’s ass, making her giggle, and Sawyer teased them about being worse than a couple of teenagers. JD had told him, “Sawyer, when the Compton men fall, they fall hard and forever. Might take you awhile to find the one, but when you do, it’ll hit you in the face like a brick.”
    Sawyer had first felt the sting of that blow when they were eight years old and as they grew older, the stirrings definitely remained. For years, he had pushed them away for a million little reasons that failed to make sense to him now.  
    Sawyer rubbed his jaw as he looked at Leah and grinned. He halfway expected to discover a big knot from the cinderblock that had finally taken him down last night. When JD was right, he was right.
    Leah kicked off her shoes, tossing them in the sand, wiggling her toes and laughing. She seemed so different from the serious girl she used to be. He’d noticed with each progressive trip home that she was changing, evolving. She was more comfortable in her own skin these days. She was happier, more at ease, freer.
    He recalled her comments about high school and marveled at how differently they’d