Chapter 22
Marcela
W e’ve been driving for just over an hour on the freeway, with a blur of pine trees passing as we go. Theo stopped to grab us drinks for the drive, getting my favorite chamomile tea. I don’t even remember telling him it was my favorite, but he somehow knew.
I’m slightly nervous to meet Theo’s family, especially since his dad looked intimidating the last time I saw him, and Theo seems to despise talking about him. Spending Thanksgiving with his father isn’t exactly high on my list of things I’m excited to do.
But knowing Theo will be there eases most of my worries, because if there’s something I know for certain, it’s that I’ll always be safe with Theo. It’s why I found myself gravitating toward him at Aurora’s birthday party yesterday.
And absolutely nothing to do with the fact that we’ve gone down on each other.
Theo takes the exit off the freeway, and within minutes we’re going down a lone country road with a house every once in a while. There are bushes and trees everywhere, and we’re surrounded by farmland. It’s a stark contrast to the white picket fence suburban life I was raised in.
I like it a lot. Seeing kids and animals run around with freedom, and nothing but an open field makes my chest feel warm in a way I never expected.
I’ve never been to a farm before, but I’m beginning to think I might enjoy today more than I’d anticipated.
Theo turns into a long winding driveway where a white ranch-style home and a few large red barns come into view. It’s a picturesque country home with a wraparound porch, a swing loveseat, and a dog that is eagerly waiting for us to get out of the truck.
Theo shuts the engine off, exits his door, and runs around to mine to open it for me. But before he can say anything, the fluffy black, white, and brown Australian shepherd is on his hind legs, jumping up at him.
“Sorry, Louie. I had to be a gentleman, but I see you, buddy.” Theo crouches down as he scratches the dog’s ears, who gives him a lick on the cheek.
As soon as my feet hit the ground, Louie loses his interest in Theo and turns his attention to me, his tail wagging excitedly back and forth as he sniffs my hand.
“Lou, this is Marcela,” Theo introduces us.
“Hi, Louie,” I greet him, my voice a higher pitch, as I crouch down to pet him.
“Uncle Teoooo!” a young voice squeals, drawing my attention to the porch where a small brunette boy is excitedly running down the wooden steps.
“Sunny boy,” Theo shouts back, lifting his nephew Mason in his arms.
Mason looks at me with his big, brown eyes. “Wow, you’re pretty.”
I blush at that. “Thank you. I’m Marcela,” I introduce myself.
“I’m Mason, and I’m three. My mom is Allison and my dad is David. My gramps lives here too,” he overshares, with an excited smile on his face.
“Well, Gramps had to help our aunt in the city, so he’s not here,” A woman with shoulder-length, light-brown hair and brown eyes says as she bounds down the steps toward us.
Theo lets out an audible sigh of relief. “Really?”
Knowing his dad won’t be here today causes the tension in my shoulders to melt away. Not only was I worried about dealing with him, but I was worried about Theo too. Now we get to both relax and enjoy the day with his family.
“Yup, it’s just us four today,” his sister explains. “I’m Allison by the way. It’s nice to finally meet you.” She smiles before wrapping me in a hug. Clearly, the Millers are huggers. I kind of love it.
I wrap my arms around her and hug her back. Once we separate, I say, “It’s nice to meet you too.”
“Where’s David?” Theo asks as Louie and Mason begin chasing each other around us.
I remember Theo telling me about how his sister and her husband met. David, who’s sixteen years older, used to be one of her professors at RLU. Being a reader, I’ll never judge a love story. If anything, it makes me intrigued to hear more about how they fell in love.
“He had to fly back home this weekend to see his dad. Robert’s not doing great—stage four lung cancer,” her voice lowers to a whisper, a knowing look across her features. Their own mom passed away from cancer, so I can only imagine what feelings that brings up.
“Shit,” Theo murmurs. “I’m sorry.”
Allison nods, and her lip quivers. “Yeah, it’s just a lot. It’s a holiday and Dad’s gone, and now David too. I love Mason more than anything, but he’s driving me up the wall today and I need to get some work done this weekend. Our busiest time of year starts next week, and I need to get things ready.”
From what Theo has told me, Allison oversees the business side of things at the farm. She plans events and activities with local businesses, and deals with logistics. Basically, she’s the brains of this place, while their dad does the physical work.
“I can hang out with him while you guys get some work done,” I offer, knowing I’ll most likely be useless at whatever manual labor needs to be done in the barns.
“No, you guys came to visit, not to work,” Allison says, shaking her head.
Theo rests his hand on her shoulder. “You already know I love working on the farm, it’s no problem. Just tell me where to start,” he tells her softly, letting her know he’s not budging on this.
“Okay,” she concedes as her shoulders sag in what must be relief. “Dad already did all of the barn work before he left. All that’s left to do is some inventory stuff, and I’m going to get a head start on pricing the Christmas trees. You can’t help me with that, but you could take the horses out for a walk. They need it.”
“You’re sure nothing else needs to be done?” Theo double checks.
“Yes,” Allison groans, shoving his hand away. “Now get out of here and watch your nephew for a few hours. I’ll be done in time for dinner.”
“Whatever you say, Ally!” He gives her a salute, before walking toward Mason.
She rolls her eyes at his antics, chuckling. “I can’t believe you’re signing up for this,” she says, meeting my gaze.
“He makes life fun.”
Theo’s not afraid to be loud and excited, or do the silliest things to make people laugh. It’s genuine and real, something a lot of people are afraid to be.
“That he does.” Her eyes warm as she watches her brother putting Mason on his shoulders. “Drop my son and you’re dead!” she chastises him as Theo and Mason head for the barn.
“Uncle Theo never hurt me,” Mason yells, hanging upside down across Theo’s shoulders.
Theo turns and motions for me to join them. “Celly, follow us.”
“I’m coming,” I shout after them, and turn to Allison. “I’ll see you later.”
“Have fun,” she winks, then spins on her heel and heads towards the house.
I jog the few steps to catch up to them, thankful I wore my pink cowboy boots just like Theo suggested. I bought the pair with Jade on our family vacation to Nashville years ago. I never really got an occasion where I could wear them, but they’re perfect for today.
Once inside the barn, my nose crinkles at the smell, not used to it. There’s stall after stall of horses, and they all begin to neigh happily as Theo walks by.
He mentioned how much he loves being on the farm, and now I’m beginning to see it. Theo Miller seems like a country boy at heart.
And I must say, he fills out a pair of jeans pretty well. Who am I kidding? More than pretty well—especially with his cowboy boots. He looks hot. Really, really hot.
Theo sets Mason down on the hay-scattered ground, reaching for the cowboy hat hung up on the wall. He places it on top of his nephew’s head. “Mason, stand with Marcela while I get the horses ready, okay?” Mason nods before coming to stand by my side.
We watch as Theo rolls up the sleeves of his button-up, and my mouth suddenly starts watering at the sight. Why is this so attractive? There has to be something in the country air that they don’t tell people about.
Theo unlatches the stall closest to him, taking out a midnight-black horse. He gives it scratches and the horse nestles its nose against him, clearly familiar with Theo.
“How’s my Stormy girl doing?” he coos. “I missed you too.”
He walks her over to the open fenced-in area outside the barn, tying her to the post as he begins to saddle her up. His arms flex with each movement, and the image of his arms doing the same thing while driving inside me blooms in my mind, sending warmth to pool low in my core.
Once Stormy is ready, he returns to retrieve a sandy-colored horse named Maple, and Mason and I watch as he repeats the same process. With Maple and Stormy both ready to be ridden, Theo claps his hands together coming to stand in front of us.
“Who’s ready to go for a ride?”
Me, my brain responds almost instantly.
“Meeee!” Mason exclaims, pulling me out of my very inappropriate thoughts.
“You have to ride with me, Sunny. Okay?” Theo tells him, giving his head a ruffle.
“Okay. But one day I be big enough to ride myself,” Mason points to his chest as he looks to me.
“You sure will, buddy,” I agree, giving him a big smile.
“Celly, will you be okay to ride by yourself? Maple is our best-trained horse, she’s perfect for beginners. I’d trust her to take Mason by himself if I didn’t think my sister would kill me.”
Nerves churn in my gut, but I do my best to ignore them. If Theo says it will be safe, then I know nothing bad will happen to me.
“Sure, sounds good. I might need help getting up there though,” I say, gesturing to my five-foot-five frame.
“I’ve got you.” He eyes me intently, and without breaking eye contact, he says, “Mason, wait here while I get her up on the horse.”
“‘Kay,” Mason gives us a double thumbs up, making me laugh. This kid is so sweet and silly, it’s adorable.
Theo takes my hand in his, leading me out towards the area where the horses are waiting. “This here is Maple.” he pats the sandy horse on the back.
“Hi, Maple,” I say sweetly, walking around to face her and let her sniff me. She does exactly that, and before I know it, she nibbles on my hand.
I giggle and back away. “It’s nice to meet you too, girl.”
“Huh,” Theo tongues his cheek.
“What?” I ask, giving Maple a scratch on the nose.
“She likes people, don’t get me wrong, but I’ve never seen her do that,” he remarks, then holds his hand out to me. “C’mere, let’s get you up on her.”
I take his hand and let him guide me to Maple’s side, where a step stool rests.
“Step up on that and then I’ll help you swing your leg over,” he instructs and I do as he says.
Theo steps up behind me, his body crowding mine, and it makes a shiver roll down my spine. His hands land on my hips, and that rough, sultry voice of his hits my ears. “Lift your leg up.”
My mind instantly transports me to when he told me to spread my legs for him, and it takes everything in me to not react. Instead, I lift my right leg and suddenly he’s lifting my entire body up and onto Maple.
She sways slightly underneath me, and I grab onto the thing sticking out in front of me.
“Good girl,” I hear Theo whisper as his hand squeezes my thigh. My hips buck forward on their own accord, his words a shot of warmth to my core.
His hand lingers, slowly trailing from my thigh down to my calf. My eyes don’t leave his, watching as they darken with desire.
I swallow as our eyes lock while his hand switches from a light caress to a tight grip around my leg that has my core tightening. His bottom lip lowers as the tip of his tongue glides along the top of his lip, with his eyes not once leaving mine.
Stormy neighs, interrupting the moment as we both snap out of it. Theo releases his grip on me and takes a step back.
“That’s called the horn. Hold onto it to keep your balance and use your legs to keep you grounded,” he explains as he hands me the reins. “Use these to guide her. If you pull really hard, she’ll come to a stop, and if you pull slightly one way, she’ll follow. But you shouldn’t have to do either, she’ll follow us with ease. Okay?”
I nod as I take in all the information while trying to decipher why I wanted to kiss him just now. “Yes, I think so.”
“I’m going to untie her and then get Mason and myself up on Stormy. I wouldn’t put you up here if I thought you’d get hurt, you know that right?” his light-blue eyes bore into me, intent and serious.
“I do.”
“Good,” he tips his cowboy hat at me, giving me a wink before he turns to untie Maple. He’s completely unaware of how attractive he looks right now. I’m thankful we’re not in this setting everyday, because I think we’d be getting through our lessons very quickly.
A few minutes later, we’re slowly moving through the property and out onto a wide expanse of green grass that never seems to end. There are mountains in the distance, and a clear blue sky above, making it absolutely breathtaking.
Theo leads with Mason on Stormy, while Maple and I trot slowly to the side and behind them. It gives me the perfect view of Theo smiling widely, and this look of content on his face that I’ve never ever seen before.
It’s even better than the view.
He makes Mason laugh as we move along, and he constantly looks back to check that I’m okay. Each time, it makes my belly swirl with butterflies at the thoughtfulness. But I try to remind myself every time that he’s just being a good friend. Although, my previously trusted reasoning is beginning to weaken every time that I’m with him.
The day goes by better than I could have imagined. Our horse ride was relaxing but fun, and I got to see so many beautiful sights along the way, Theo’s unbidden joy being my ultimate favorite one.
It gets me thinking that this place is where Theo is truly meant to be. Surrounded by nature and animals. With his family.
We’re sitting around the dining room table, and it’s the first time I’ve sat at dinner and wasn’t afraid of someone yelling at me.
Every time I have dinner with my parents, there’s always an underlying fear of not knowing when things will get worse.
“So, Marcela,” Allison says, snapping me out of my thoughts. “Tell me about yourself.”
My stomach sinks. That is quite literally the worst question you can ask me.
“Ally, I talk about her all the time.” Theo eyes her over a forkful of his roasted veggies.
“Zip it. I want to hear from her.” Allison shoos him with her hand.
Theo mocks her under his breath and I stifle a giggle.
With a deep breath, I answer her the best I can. “I was born in Costa Rica, but my mom and I moved here when I was two after she got remarried. I’m studying English literature, and love books, tea, anything pink, and my mom’s cooking.”
“Do you ever go back home and visit?” she asks.
“We try to go every year, yes.”
Wanting to shift the focus off me, I quickly add. “Tell me about you and David. I love romantic stories.”
“Yes, Allison. Tell us all about your forbidden relationship,” Theo grins, placing his hands under his chin.
After horseback riding, Mason was exhausted and Allison tucked him in for a nap, so I’m hoping she’ll give me the full story since he’s not around to hear it.
She takes a small sip of her wine. “I was twenty when we met in my fourth-year business ethics course. He was my professor, and obviously I had a crush on him, like the other girls in my class. He’s gorgeous, how couldn’t I?”
“Gross,” Theo mutters.
I shush him, wanting to hear this.
“So, I set my mind and pursued him. I wore my best outfits to class, and showed up to his office hours to ask about assignments I absolutely didn’t need help on.” Allison chuckles, making me laugh with her.
“We formed this unexpected bond and ended up talking about everything. I would catch him staring at me, and honestly, I couldn’t take my eyes off of him either. I know it probably sounds strange, but we were drawn to each other. One thing led to another, and here we are. I never expected to fall for him, let alone have him feel the same way.”
I open my mouth to ask Allison more about her relationship, when suddenly we hear a cry on the baby monitor.
Theo stands from his seat. “Don’t worry. I’ve got him,” he says, before exiting the dining room. We hear the thump of his feet on the steps as he goes to get Mason.
“How did your dad take the news of your relationship?” I ask.
“I thought my dad was going to kill me. But now, he and David are besties.” She shrugs just as Theo and Mason enter the dining room.
“Mommy!” Mason yells, squirming out of Theo’s arms.
He jumps right onto her lap and they snuggle into each other. The sight makes me smile and think about how I can’t wait to have kids of my own someday. Not everyone dreams of being a mom, but it’s something I’ve always wanted.
After finishing dinner with Allison’s homemade pumpkin pie—which was absolute perfection—Theo and I offered to clean up, since she cooked.
We’re side by side, him washing and me drying the dishes, the atmosphere feeling peaceful while we work together. I immensely appreciate it after a day spent socializing in a new environment.
Once we’re finished, Theo puts a hand on the small of my back as he guides me to their living room, where Allison and a sleeping Mason are curled up on the couch watching a movie.
“We’re going to head out,” he tells his sister. “Thanks for everything, Ally,” She moves to stand, but he gestures for her to stay put. “Don’t get up. We’ll walk ourselves out.”
“Thank you for coming and hanging out with Mason while I got some work done,” she whispers back, not wanting to wake her son up.
“It was so nice to meet you, and thank you for dinner. It was amazing,” I say.
“Come back soon,” she says, waving to us as we exit the front door.
Theo and I make our way to his truck when he stops me.
“How comfortable would you feel driving my truck?” His voice is curious with a hint of playfulness.
“I’ve driven my stepdad’s truck before, so I’d be okay. Why?” I ask, intrigued.
He takes a step forward forcing my back against the hood of the truck. Theo dips his head lower, his lips brushing against the shell of my ear. “You’ve been driving me crazy all damn day with your pink cowboy boots and tight jeans. It’s time for a lesson.”
I inhale a sharp breath.
“I saw the way you were staring at me all day, pretty girl. Have a thing for cowboys, do you?” he drawls.
“I might now,” I say breathily.
Theo’s lips press against my neck, and I gasp. He continues pressing kisses up my neck as his hands grip onto my hips, keeping me in place. My hands latch onto his thick biceps, squeezing as he drives me wild with kisses.
I feel him harden against me, and I instinctively grind against him. Just as his lips are about to press against mine, he pulls back, leaving me breathless and panting for more.
His hand travels from my hip to my ass, giving it a squeeze.
“Get your perfect ass in the truck. Class is about to be in session.”