31. Lincoln
lincoln
. . .
Josie’s melodic laughter and the scent of bacon and eggs hit me before I knocked on the front door. The window in the kitchen was cracked, giving me a peek into their picturesque Sunday morning.
Doug was singing Brooks and Dunn off-key at the stove while Josie and Cleo set the table. He danced, moved, and wiggled about, striking poses I wasn’t sure a man his age should be doing.
Once upon a time, my dad had been a good man. My mom had died giving birth to me, leaving the two of us to fend for ourselves in a brand new world. He’d always said she was the light of his life, but that quickly changed as the bills began piling up. It wasn’t long before he turned into a drunkard who cared more about the contents of a bottle than his own flesh and blood.
Seeing the way Doug was with his girls made my stomach churn. It was a glimpse of everything I wanted out of the past and future.
Josie’s smile grew when she saw me standing there, motioning toward the door. When I stepped under the carport, she was standing barefoot at the door. She wore a t-shirt that was easily two sizes too big for her, with an old Coors Original advertisement on the front and her hair piled up on her head in a messy bun. Her face was red from laughter, and I hoped it never went away.
“Mornin’ darlin’,” I said, placing my hand on her waist and pulling her in for a chaste kiss. I half expected her to stop me before I got too close, but she surprised me. She wrapped her arms around my neck and held me close, deepening the kiss until she bit my lip.
My fingers dug into her soft flesh, forcing her away before I did something stupid. It would’ve been too easy to slide my hand into her shorts and find out just how wet she was.
Josie’s eyes were glazed as I pulled back. “How was your evening in the bunkhouse with three other guys?” she asked, biting her lip. “Such a shame, really…”
“Think that’s funny, huh?” I asked, grabbing her around the waist and hoisting her in my arms. She kicked and laughed and begged me to put her down, but I didn’t want to. Not yet.
I turned her so that she could wrap her legs around my waist and pushed her against the rough brick exterior. She fit so perfectly, molding herself against my body like we were two halves of one puzzle.
“I bet you won’t when I have you begging for my touch,” I whispered, leaning in and rubbing my stubble along her exposed neck.
“Or maybe you’ll be begging me,” Josie breathed. “Two can play that game, and I’ve seen how badly you’re down for me.” She leaned in and took my earlobe into her mouth, letting her tongue run along my skin. “You’ve shown your hand, cowboy. Now, fix your dick, and let’s go eat some breakfast.”
My head fell back in laughter as I freed her from my hold. She wasn’t wrong. My cock was straining against my jeans, and there was no way in hell I could walk into her dad’s house with a hard-on.
“Alright, give me a second. I’ll meet you in there.”
Baseball, baseball, baseball ? —
She turned over her shoulder, biting her lip in the way she knew I loved. God, she was a tease. I’d have to turn her little ass red for this someday. “Maybe if you weren’t dead set on being such a gentleman …”
Christ… What was she doing to me?
“Inside, Josie. Please,” I groaned, adjusting myself.
Before I change my fucking mind.
I hadn’t been with anyone since her, and it’d been a damn long time before her, too. So long, I was ready to blow in my pants if she so much as touched me. That would’ve been my undoing; I didn’t know if I could live past the embarrassment.
It took every un-sexy thought I could muster to convince my dick to go down just so I could enter her house. The tiled entryway was messy and lived-in. There was a shoe tower that no one used, and a shit ton of hooks with more worn cowboy hats and slickers than I could count.
Their living room was huge, a big, open space for entertaining. In the middle of the room was a giant stone fireplace, and I wondered if they’d ever really needed it. Texas didn’t seem like a place that saw much snow, but I supposed it was nice to have just in case.
“Lincoln!” Doug exclaimed, jerking his head in greeting. “How the hell are you? Take a seat. I’m almost finished here. Josie, sugar, will you get the man some coffee?”
“Of course, Daddy.” Josie smiled as I slid into the seat at the breakfast nook across from Cleo. She was pale, clasping the cup like it was all she had .
I was going to ask her if she was okay before Josie sat down a steaming mug in front of me. “Here you go, cowboy. A cup of dark sugar water just for you.”
I shrugged. “Life’s too short to be denied what you really like.” I let my gaze travel slowly along Josie’s body. She lit up like a goddamn beacon under my attention, and damn if that didn’t make my chest hurt.
“See!” Doug called, pointing at the table with his spatula. “That’s how I feel too. You know these girls won’t even let me have bacon?” He shook his head. “Criminal.”
Cleo sighed and sat down her cup. “Daddy, we’ve talked about this…”
“I know, I know. It’s all about my heart, but I’ll tell you what… I don’t think a little bacon every now and then would kill me, and if it does, then I’ll go happy.”
Josie and Cleo glanced at one another with wide eyes before dropping their gazes to the table. I didn’t know Doug was sick, but it wasn’t my place to poke around.
Was that why he’d offered me a job in the first place—because he didn’t know if he’d be here next year?
“A breakfast with no bacon?” I shook my head. “Criminal. You girls run a tight ship.”
Doug laughed, and it was so rich and hearty that it nearly broke my heart, especially when Cleo and Josie looked distraught. It reminded me too much of when I lost Frank.
“The man gets it! I swear, I’m gonna keep you around. Bishop and I have been outnumbered for too long. These girls are no fun.”
He hummed around the kitchen, finishing setting up the food before calling on us to make our plates, but the mood had changed already. There was a heaviness in the air I couldn’t place, and I suddenly felt like an intruder in what was previously a heartwarming morning .
I sought Josie’s hand under the table when we all took our seats. It was clammy, but the moment I touched her, she interlaced our fingers and squeezed so hard it took an effort not to make a sound.
If this was what she needed, I’d gladly bear a little pain.
Doug prattled on about the next clinic starting like he hadn’t just dropped a bomb on the table—one I wasn’t meant to know about. He asked me questions about the first group I taught and how it went, and I was honest when I told him I loved it.
Frank had been the only one I’d ever told my fears to. I was worried I’d never step foot in an arena again, living out the rest of my days behind the bar instead. Which would have been fine. It’d given me a purpose and a reason to keep going, but I didn’t want that to be all I had.
“You given any more thought to my offer?” he asked, stabbing his fork into a pile of eggs.
Josie’s head whipped toward me. “Offer?”
Inwardly, I cringed. I hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to Josie about it. There’d been too much shit going on in the past twenty-four hours, and not a damn good time to bring it up.
“I asked Lincoln if he wouldn’t mind a permanent position on the ranch—depending on how the rest of the summer goes. Don’t want to bring someone on who doesn’t know their stuff.” Doug smiled, pointing his utensil in my direction. “But I like you, Lincoln, and I’m not an easy man to please.”
Cleo rolled her eyes, but hid a smile behind her coffee cup. “He’s really not.”
I wiped my beard with my napkin and cleared my throat. His words struck a chord of pride, and it took everything in me not to puff out my chest. “Yes, sir, I have, and I’m grateful for the consideration.”
“Are you saying no?”
Josie was staring at me. I couldn’t tell if she was happy or if he’d just dumped the worst news onto her plate. “No sir, not at all. There are just some things I need to consider back home. I have Frank’s land and the bar. I need to make sure those fall into the right hands if your proposal turns into an offer.”
He nodded. “Absolutely. The land would be no issue. It’s close to the cabin, and I’ve been meaning to buy something up there with ready-made stables. We have several clients from Tennessee that make the trek down here. It’d be nice to take our show on the road a few times a year. You could keep the land, and we could work out a lease agreement.”
I could barely contain my excitement the more he talked, but as Josie’s hand dropped from mine, my world began to crash.
“The bar’s more difficult, to be sure. Frank’s is a staple there, and I sure as hell don’t wanna see it go. We could put out some feelers?—”
“You don’t have to do any of that, sir,” I said quickly, anxiety rising at an alarming speed. “I appreciate the offer—more than I can say, really—but he left it to me, and it’s my responsibility to sort it out. I don’t want to add more to your plate.”
“Nonsense!” he said, leaning back in his chair. “We’re all family here, and if you’re brought on, that includes you, too. I wasn’t lying, Lincoln. To be frank, it’d take one hell of a fuck up to change my mind about offering you a job. It’s just formalities stopping me from dragging you to my office and drawing up an employment contract.”
I forced a smile. “Thank you, sir. I sure appreciate it, but can I get back to you? It’s a big change, and I need to think about a few things first.”
“Why? You got a girl back home?” Doug chuckled, but I didn’t miss Cleo’s glance at Josie. “Take the rest of the summer to get your mind right. My offer will still be on the table whenever you’re ready.”
My breakfast had gone cold as I murmured thanks and cleaned my plate. When Doug made a move to stand, I held up my hand. “Let me clean up since you cooked. It’s the least I could do.”
“Have at it, son,” he chuckled, waving me off as each person passed me their plate. Josie wouldn’t even look at me, and as I stared at the ranch out the window, I wondered if my time at the ranch would be coming sooner than I thought.