Lib Novel Page 24
We pull up to the ranch, and a black and white blur races out of the barn, barking at the truck. I open the door and Cherokee, my favorite ranch worker, dances in front of me until I stoop down to scruff the back of his furry neck.
“I swear that border collie has a tracking device on you. He could be across the field, and he’d still be at your door by the time you park.” Jordy reaches down and pets Cherokee too, who licks her hand before going back to saying his hellos to me. “I’ll just wash up and see if your mom needs help,” she laughs, keeping her soiled hand away from her outfit and pulling her bag out of the bed of the truck with the other.
I take a moment to head to the barns to check on my girls, Cherokee close to my heels. The staff has long since gone home, and the guests are all in their cabins, so I’m quiet as I give each horse a nose rub and a handful of cob. We have eighteen horses in all, enough for two tours at a time along the many trails that border the coastline. Salt and Sea Ranch has been a Sunset Bay destination for horse lovers my whole life, starting the year before I was born. And now, with my dad in a wheelchair, it’s up to me to make sure the place continues running for many more years to come. But will I be the one to keep it going? I don’t know the answer to that.
Once I get married, everything will change.
I reach the last stall, and Sara nickers at me as my hand brushes against her nose. She’s my favorite of all the girls, with her rust-colored fur, the white stripe that centers her head, and the long black mane that’s now sectioned into braids with little daisies peeking through the wave. I smile, plucking one flower from the braid and twisting it between my thumb and forefinger. My sister Hazel, most likely. She’s always showering Sara with attention, probably because she’s my horse.
“That’s my girl,” I say as Sara takes the rest of the cob from my hand, then laugh as she searches my shirt for more. “You’ll get more tomorrow, sweet thing. For now, it’s time for bed.”
“For you too,” my mom says behind me. “And you have someone waiting not so patiently for you to say goodnight.” She hands me a napkin with a piece of persimmon cake on it, then nods in the direction of Jordy’s cabin. “We already had some, but I brought you a slice so you don’t get lost in the house too.”
“I’ll just say goodnight and then be right behind you,” I say, taking the cake from her hands.
“Sure you will.” She winks at me. “Your dad is already in bed, and I’m heading there too. I doubt we’ll be awake to notice what time you make it to your bed.” She pats the side of her thigh. “Come on, Cherokee, it’s time for you to go to bed too.”
I lean in and kiss her cheek. “I’ll be in soon,” I promise, because those are my intentions. A curious look crosses her expression. I take a bite of the cake, then hum my appreciation, trying to sidestep whatever question is on her mind. “That’s some good cake, Mom.”
She smiles, her curiosity disappearing, just like the last of the cake. “Goodnight, Bray.” Then she leaves the barn, taking my dog with her.
I leave the barn a few moments later, turning right and heading to Jordy’s cabin. I’m not actually sure if she’s waiting for me, even if she hasn’t been to the ranch for a couple weeks. We’ve been going through the motions lately, and I haven’t let it bother me. I’ve been busy with work, and she’s been overwhelmed by school, so things have been lukewarm between us for a while. It’s like we’ve just been throwing kindling on the fire of our relationship, only to make sure it doesn’t go out. But I’ve noticed the distance I’ve been feeling hasn’t felt very one-sided lately. That said, I know she still loves me and wants to make this work.
Yet, my doubts have escalated the past few weeks, starting with her plan to move closer. Meeting Nina didn’t help, but this has been going on for much longer than that. I thought it would pass, that I might actually feel excited to have her closer—instead, there’s dread. Am I just too used to the long-distance nature of our relationship? Will she tie up all my time once she’s here?
Maybe. But any plans we’re making just brings me that much closer to the day we get married and plan a life away from the only home I’ve ever known. I’m trying my hardest to find something in this to get excited about.
And I’m failing.
I push through Jordy’s cabin door. She’s already in bed, a book in her lap, but she looks up with a smile as soon as I enter.
“Well, hello there, cowboy,” she says, putting her book aside. She makes room for me on the bed, and I join her, wrapping my arms around her as she backs herself into the cove of my body. I inhale the sweet scent of her hair and neck. But all I can think of is the way my body reacted to Nina’s scent when I grabbed her car keys, how consumed I was as her natural perfume filled the cab of my truck, how it felt every single time I touched her.
“Long day, huh?” I’m setting the stage for an early exit, but Jordy has different plans in the way she scoots closer. Despite my earlier thoughts, my dick twitches at the invitation.
“We could put a bow on it,” she murmurs, arching against me. It’s all the coaxing I need as my hands wander over her thin tank top, finding the peaks of her erect nipples, then coasting over the hard smoothness of her curves. Jordy has a smoking body. With her silky tan skin and toned muscles, she’s like a Victoria’s Secret angel. She works hard on her appearance, spending hours each day in the gym and eating mostly foods that grow out of the ground. It’s what turned my head before I knew her. She was turning everyone’s head back then—still is—and yet, for some reason, she only has eyes for me.
But as I climb over her, lining my hard cock against her slit, my hand brushing over the firmness of her body, I can’t help thinking of someone a little softer. I try to keep my mind with Jordy, staying in the present as my hands weave through her hair, our hips keeping perfect rhythm; but Nina infiltrates my mind with her sweet scent, her luscious curves, and her careful smile. I breathe into Jordy’s neck, trying to forget about the softness of Nina’s skin under my hand, how I wanted to run my palms over her bare thighs, massage her feet before sucking on her pretty toes, grab the cushion of her hips, and bury myself in her.
I come so hard, muffling my mouth into Jordy’s shoulder to keep from saying Nina’s name. I lay there for a moment, catching my breath, and willing my guilty heart to slow its beat.
“Wow, that was some pent-up energy,” Jordy laughs. I slide off her, then to a sitting position on the bed. She pulls the blankets up to her chin, then looks at me with sleepy eyes and a soft smile.
“I guess it’s been a while,” I say with a light laugh, then lean forward to kiss her forehead. But inside, I’m dying. She can never know what just happened, and it can never happen again. It’s not fair to her that while I’m fucking her, my mind is fucked by her cousin.
Chapter Eight
Nina
I wake up unsure of where I am. I know I’m in my house, but where in my house is unclear. Through groggy eyes, I try to make out my surroundings. Crown molding. A tall ceiling fan covered in dust. Huge curio along the wall beside windows with the curtains drawn. Ah, my living room. I’m buried in a nest of clothes, still wearing the ones I had on last night. Ugh, including my bra.
I make quick work of that, letting the girls fly free as I throw the bra onto the pile. Then I pad to the kitchen to down whatever is left of yesterday’s coffee in the pot. It seems a crime, as I sip the cold, burnt brew, especially since I work in a coffee shop. But desperate times and all that.
The phone rings as I wait for the new pot to percolate, and I groan as I see the 805 area code. I deleted Jordy’s number from my phone a long time ago, but I still recognize it when she calls, which has been two times in the past five years—yesterday, before she and her fiancé kidnapped me, and now today.
I decline it, then tap my long fingernails on the counter, willing the coffee to hurry up.
I wonder how much shit she talked to Brayden about me once they dropped me off at my house. Not that it matters. Brayden doesn’t need to think any good things about me. He’s with her, and she’ll likely poison him against me. It’s probably better that way, anyway.