Montana Sky

Chapter 6: Heaven on Earth

When you are at the end of your rope
Come find me
Holding on to your last string of hope
Come find me
Open up your eyes
I'll show you what you're worth
Don't you know it's you and me
In this heaven on Earth
– Melissa Etheridge: Heaven on Earth –

****

She leaned into him, feeling so safe and warm, her head resting on his chest; it truly was amazing how their height difference was just perfect for this, even though she was tiny and Bradley was very tall. He felt so strong and solid against her, like an anchor in the stormy mess that was her life right now and her mind was still spinning from the incredible kisses; sighing softly, Stefani listened to his heartbeat, still a little faster than normal. It made her smile, as clearly the passionate encounter had affected them both in equal measure.

She had woken up alone that morning, Natali having made her way to her own room at some point, had felt just like she had told him earlier, like she was at home, exactly where she was supposed to be. It had rattled her to the core as that sensation wasn't an everyday experience even when she really was at home in LA, a massive load of worries and a list of things to do hitting her immediately; now all that had still been there but only faintly on the background, a wave of contentment washing over her and seeming to wipe her problems away. Then she had begun to stress about that, making her way downstairs in search of the one man who she instinctively knew could settle her restlessness, but he had been out somewhere already, working, and so Stefani had sought solace in his daughter instead, Lea very happy to hang out with her. And everything had felt so right throughout, Gloria's smile at the breakfast table, Mary's incredible coffee, Bobby and Natali's humorous bickering as he tried to keep her from writing slightly dirty messages on his cast, the little girl's bubbling joy as she practiced drawing on a piece of paper and a bit on the floor too... Stefani had just felt so happy, happier than she remembered being in a very, very long time, possibly ever. All these huge, sudden changes should have absolutely, completely and utterly terrified her, and somewhere within her the fears did try to lift their heads, but right now she was enclosed in his arms and she was calm. Despite everything, she was calm.

"Stef," he whispered, moving slightly and framing her face with his hands; she reluctantly lifted her head from its safe place, found his eyes, warm and tender, so blue like the Mediterranean Sea surrounding her beloved island of Sicily. And she didn't hesitate for one moment before pressing her lips back onto his, shivering feverishly as they shared another incredible kiss; her heart already firmly belonged to him, she knew that without a doubt and there was nothing she could do or even wanted to do about it. This gorgeous, caring and sexy Montana cowboy whom she had met a mere thirty-six hours ago had completely bewitched her and as his arms tightened around her, the kiss deepening, intensifying, it was becoming clearer and clearer that they couldn't turn back anymore. Then she remembered reality and a horrible sensation of guilt struck her straight into the gut; she wasn't available, she had a boyfriend and yet there she was, kissing another man like her life depended on it, before having the decency to end things with Christian.

"It's okay," Bradley muttered against her mouth, clearly sensing she had tensed again, waves of pain once more radiating from her hip in an immediate response to her state of mind; he pulled back, a slight sadness in his eyes, shook his head. "I'm so sorry; I'm just making even more trouble for you. We probably shouldn't do this."

"Shh." Stefani pressed a couple of fingers onto his lips, staring into the deep blue of his gaze. "You are not making any trouble for me; you have already brought me so much hope and so much happiness, B. I don't want you to think that you have to..."

She inhaled shakily, tried to close the pain from her mind, moving her hand to cup his cheek. "You have your own... plenty of things to consider: running this place, your daughter, the situation with Irina, and I don't want you to worry about my problems on top of all that. I have a lot of baggage and a lot of... issues, but they are not yours to bear and the last thing I would want is for you to get buried under them too."