Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Elle
Am I second-guessing myself?
Hell yes. Every second. Every breath. Every word.
I’ve gone over and over the decisions I’ve made tonight in my head. And while there is a part of me that is very, very excited about the possibility of my oldest fantasies coming true, there’s another part of me that knows there’s no way in hell my father will see even the most stable relationship with two men as ‘settling down and being responsible’.
But the two of them smile at me and I can’t bring myself to care. I’ve got all year to settle down. Tonight… it’s just a date. Just fun. A gift to myself for everything I’ve gone through recently.
That’s what I tell myself, but the truth is, even now I can’t imagine being in the same town as these two hunky cowboys and being with someone else.
I’m fucked. And I’m going to kill Sadie. Tomorrow. Tonight, I’m going to see where the mood takes me and enjoy every second.
We turn off the highway to a long gravel driveway lined on both sides with sturdy wooden fences that guard sprawling fields. I see barns in the distance, and horses. I wonder where the cows are and then question if I even know what a working ranch is.
I don’t know what I’m expecting their home to look like but the two-story farmhouse with the pillars out front and the wrap-around porch surprises me. It’s utterly charming just like the two of them. And when the truck rolls to a stop in front of it, Bo slides out and runs around to my side. Nathan stays put. Bo helps me out first, offering his hand after he reaches around to unlatch my seatbelt for me. I hop down and watch in wonder as he helps Nate out the same way.
Interesting. The small gesture raises questions about their relationship I may not be ready to hear the answers to.
“Welcome to our humble abode,” Bo says with a smile. He crooks his arm to offer it to me and I weave mine with his as Nathan does the same on the other side.
The home on the inside is anything but humble. It’s as fancy as any upper-crust New York home, in its own way. High vaulted ceilings, statement lighting, gleaming appliances, stunning furniture. The whole picture is more Southern Living than Vanity Fair , but it’s still elegant and not at all what I was picturing.
“It’s gorgeous,” I gasp, then cover my mouth because I’m embarrassed that I sound so surprised. They’re going to think I’m a horrible snob. The worst part is they might not be wrong.
“We like it,” Bo says. He takes me around, giving me a tour, and I try to listen to all the little details and anecdotes he shares, but I’m too hyper-aware of his hard body beside me, the intoxicating scent of his cologne and the fact that there’s two of them.
He shows me the whole house, several guest rooms, the office he and Nate share, Amelia’s nursery, a few bathrooms, including one with a garden tub beneath a window that looks out on the mountains behind us.
The whole thing is far more luxurious than I ever could have anticipated.
They skip their bedroom, and though I’m disappointed, I jump at the chance to see the rest of the property when Bo offers a tour of the property and barns.
I want to see the horses and answer my question about cows, and continue the intimate peek into the life the two of them share, but … I glance down at my leather flats. “I’m not sure I’m dressed for a tour.”
Bo follows my gaze and frowns. “We’ll have to get you some boots,” he says, as if he’s already planning for the future. My heart flutters with happiness, but the sweet words don’t solve the current problem.
“We can take the tractor,” Nate pipes up.
I wrinkle my brow in confusion, then quickly smooth out my face so I don’t end up with early frown lines, and so they don’t see how ignorant I am about this life I’ve dropped myself into.
“Take the tractor?” I repeat dumbly. As if it’s a car? I suppose it's not too big a stretch but it's certainly not a mode of transportation that would have ever occurred to me.
“Sure.” Nate grins, and there’s a smirk to it that tells me he’s not oblivious to my confusion. Damn.
Bo looks between the two of us and rolls his eyes. “Tractor’s at the barn. We’ll take the truck.”
“I was just trying to give her the full ranch experience.”
Bo looks at my feet again and frowns. “You’re right about the footwear. And I doubt I have any boots that would fit you.” He shrugs. “Might have to carry you in a few places.”
He says this like it’s nothing, like it’s totally normal, and my eyes bug out of my head. I wonder if he’s teasing but before I can ask, we’re back in the truck, heading out to the barns with Nate and Bo pointing out different spots and telling history and sharing plans. They have a grand vision for their business and their excitement is so pure and genuine I can’t help but join in for a minute before I remember that these are their plans, ones that ultimately, I’ll have nothing to do with because this can never be anything more than an exciting romp in the hay, if it even ever goes that far.
When we reach the barn, I realize it’s a lot bigger than I could see from the drive up. It’s nearly the size of the house, if not bigger. The ground outside it is muddy though, and as I peer down, I know my shoes will be ruined in one step.
They’re several years old, and I have dozens of other pairs, so I grit my teeth and tell myself it doesn’t matter. Before I can step down though, Bo scoops me into his arms and carries me, bridal-style over the muddy ground. Inside the barn, the floor is cement. It’s dusty and covered in hay, but there’s no mud. Stalls line the walls. On my left, horses. On my right, cows.
Well, that answers that question.
Bo sets me down on my feet and I run to my left, to a stunning Ahkal Teke that takes me back to my years of riding lessons. “Oh, she's so pretty!” I squeal.
“He,” Nate corrects. “That’s Dexter.”
I put my hand out and Dexter nuzzles it, tickling me with his hairy horse lips.
Bo walks away, then returns a minute later and drops a sugar cube into my outstretched palm, which Dexter immediately eats up.
“Ohhh, good boy!” I squeal. “Do you ride?” I ask Nate. I’m not really sure what other use horses would have on a ranch like this one. I’ve never thought about it, and I’m not sure I want to.
“Of course we do,” Nate answers with a chuckle. I breathe a sigh of relief.
“Oh maybe we could…” I cut myself off with the reminder that this can’t be a thing. But I haven't been on a horse in over a decade and as I stare up at Dexter I realize how much I’ve missed it.
“Shall we take a tour?” Bo asks when I drag my gaze away.
I nod, somewhat reluctantly, but allow myself to be dragged away. Bo and Nate take me through the massive barn, stopping at every stall, both cows and horses, introducing me to each animal. They show me the back where the milking machines are, and explain the process, even though it makes me squeamish.
And finally we’re at the back of the barn where the tractor is. It’s massive, like nothing I’ve ever seen. “Wow” I crane my head to look up at it and notice the ladder against the eaves.
“What’s that?” I point.
“Goes to the hay loft,” Bo explains. He looks at Beau and they share a glance I can’t decipher.
“What’s it for?” I ask. “Just… hay storage?”
Bo snickers. “Something like that.”
At the same time, Nate answers, “It’s actually our favorite spot on the whole property.”
“Really?” I turn to stare at him and cock my head. Obviously I’m missing something. The property is beautiful and I’m sure there are tons of areas of hidden beauty I haven’t even seen yet. “What’s so special about it?”
My question is drowned out by a crack of thunder, louder than I’ve ever heard. I jump and all but leap into Nate’s arms.
The crack of thunder is followed immediately by a flash of light and then a torrential downpour.
Bo wrinkles his nose. “Probably should have checked the weather before we came out here.”
There’s a crack in the barn door and I tiptoe up to it, peeking out. The rain is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. It’s practically apocalyptic. We’ll get drenched even going the fifteen feet to the truck. “Holy crap,” I breathe.
“Don’t get weather like this in the big city?” Bo asks with a chuckle.
Eyes wide, I shake my head. “I mean, we’ve gotten a few blizzards, but I’ve never seen rain like this.”
Nate smirks, his eyes twinkling as he looks between us.
“Maybe we should go wait out the rain in the hay loft, Daddy.” As soon as the word slips out, he slaps his hand over his mouth and cringes.
“Daddy? Oh, is that because of the baby?” I assume it is, but the blush creeping up both their cheeks tells me otherwise.
Nate scuffs his toe on a pile of hay, and Bo clears his throat. “Heading up to the loft seems like as good as an idea as any,” he concedes. “Seems like we may have a few things to talk about.” He cocks his head at me. “You up for it?”
I’m not sure, but if the choice is between that and the rain, I’ll take the unknown. I nod.
“You go on up first, and I’ll be right behind you to spot you so you don’t fall.”
I’m nervous. I’ve never climbed more than a stepladder, but I think I’ve shown off enough naivete for the day, so I don’t admit it, and Bo stays right behind me, the whole way, blocking me from falling with his body.
As soon as I get to the top my jaw drops open. Apparently ‘hay loft’ is cowboy code for ‘love nest’.
There’s hay, all right, the bales arranged artfully and covered with blankets to create a platform-style bed, complete with actual pillows. Beside the ‘bed’ on each side is another hay bale, fashioned like a nightstand. One boasts a lantern, another a wooden bowl. I don’t have to go further to see that said bowl is stocked with essentials like lube and condoms. There’s even a little cooler, though I can’t see what’s inside it.
Behind me, Bo clears his throat and I remember I’m supposed to be going up so I take the last few rungs, and Bo boosts me up with a hand across my bottom. His touch sends shockwaves to my pussy and the setup in front of me isn't helping matters.
“Holy crap,” I whisper. After a minute Bo joins me, and then Nate. “Wait,” Nate says. “You haven’t seen the best part.” He sort of crawls across the platform, over by the bed setup, and rustles around on the floor. “Ah here it is,” he grunts. And then the space is awash with twinkle lights.
“Wow. This is…” What is it? Charming? Sexy? Weird? All of the above?
“It’s my favorite spot,” Nate says with a grin. He climbs onto the bed and scoots back against the pillows but doesn't lay down, instead sitting cross-legged, he pats the spot beside him.
The rain actually sounds worse up here, because of the tin roof. But it’s warm somehow, and kind of cozy, so I quickly join him and then Bo sits beside me.
“So now you see what a hay loft is,” he says with a grin. “A lot of ranchers use it for storage, but for us… Well, a hay loft has always been special.”
They share a glance between them, not for the first time, and I wonder how far back their history goes. Is there really space for a third in their obviously tight knit relationship? Dare I ask? I remind myself it doesn’t matter and go with a more pressing question.
“So… What’s up with the Daddy thing?”