23. Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-three
Blue
This coffee just isn’t cutting it.
Neither one of us slept much last night. I came so many times my nuts ache this morning.
Well, maybe around two or three am we finally passed out.
Spent and blissful.
Four came awfully fucking fast.
Knowing Clay was going to be here still made us stagger when we arrived. I may have dozed back off for a little while after she left.
I must be getting old. There was a time when I was younger I could stay up all night standing on my dick and jump out of bed raring to go.
Huh. Maybe? Can’t remember that ever really happening before.
There’s just something about Libby. I have this push to keep that flush of pink in her cheeks and make her come so hard she levitates.
Jesus. It’s giving me a chubby thinking about it.
“Heya, sexy.” She breezes into the office like she’s had a week of vacation, looking rested and full of energy.
Yep, she’s gonna kill me.
But damn if it doesn’t feel right when she loops her arms around my neck and nuzzles her soft lips against mine.
Screw paperwork.
I lean back, pulling her onto my lap, and let my mouth explore hers like it’s the first time. “I could get lost in you,” I whisper, pulling her tighter to my chest.
She writhes on my thighs, digging out her phone. “Only for the next, um, twenty minutes. Then I have to take Dad to the hospital.”
“You keep wiggling like that, it won’t take me very long at all.” I grin down at her.
Her laugh tells me she already knows better. But then her smile fades. “So, the bad part is, I can’t stay at your place while he’s gone. Devon might be pretty grown up for his age, but he’s still a kid.”
My stomach twists.
Two nights and I’m already hooked. Eh, who am I fooling?
I was netted and landed weeks ago, I just didn’t know it.
We both freeze when we hear the door handle turn, then she leaps off me in a whirlwind.
Just before Clay rounds the corner.
“Oh good, you’re both here.” He looks like he’s had less sleep than me, but for all the wrong reasons .
His palm runs over his face as Lib and I exchange a guilty glance.
Did he catch us?
Certainly isn’t acting like it.
“Blue, I was wondering if you’d mind keeping an eye around here while I’m gone?
” He takes a deep inhale. “I don’t know if you’ve heard, but Shufflebottom’s place got hit by some assholes harassing their cows.
” His shaggy graying head shakes. “Seems like no one around here can catch a break. Heard Mason had some trouble last winter?”
“Yea, but Ford caught ‘em. Thought that’d be the end of it.” I don’t know if I should mention the pictures that Wade found.
I still haven’t told Libby, but I probably should pretty soon.
If anything would happen to her, I’d—
“Bastards,” Clay spits. “Serves ‘em right.” His lips flatten. “Makes me glad we’re getting out of the cow business.”
“You are,” Libby blurts. “I’m sticking with them until the day I die.”
Shit. She’s poking the bear.
But Clay doesn’t seem to notice. He waves his hand idly. “Whatever you want to do. I’m done with all of this. ”
“Well, I think I have a solution. Just a few more pieces to fall into place.” I parrot what Libby and I have already discussed.
She’s the one who suggested it come from me.
Clay might take it better.
It’s frustrating he’s so stubborn when it comes to her. Maybe that’s what put the fire in her veins, she has to fight for everything she wants.
Damn.
He made her fierce.
I can feel her watching me closely. We’re both on edge over how this is all going to go down.
“That would be a helluva good news,” Clay grunts. “Sooner the better.”
“I’ll get everything in place.” I nod, but it’s not to him.
Libby returns the gesture from behind his shoulder, meeting my gaze.
This is a step in the right direction.
“Shit, Blue. I owe you big.” Clay claps my back. “That’ll be such a relief.” He turns to his daughter.
I can tell she’s struggling to hold in her frustration. Her fists bounce off her thighs as she holds herself rigidly in front of him.
“After the herd is gone, we can put this place up for sale. You’ll be free, Lib. You can finally get out there and live your life.” Clay shuffles past her towards the door. “And don’t give Blue a hard time,” he calls out before the handle clicks shut.
She slumps against the wall, sliding to the floor, and tilts her chin towards the ceiling. “I like my life,” she sighs.
Her Muck boots and overalls bunch as she rests her elbows on her knees.
“You know, I don’t really know what he could give me.” I give her a sideways smile. “I already have his firstborn.”
She snorts and a flicker of a grin dances over her lips. “Yea, you do.”
Dropping her nose down, she buries her face in her palms. “What am I going to do if he sells the building out from under me? Do you think Mason would go for a land lease as well?” When she looks up, her eyes are red from rubbing them.
“Fuck, that’s a lot of money. He’d be crazy to invest that much in me. ”
I’d give anything to see her happy.
“If he doesn’t, I will,” I say quietly.
Am I jumping in with both feet?
Yes.
Are my hands shaking like a leaf?
Also, yes.
Yet in all of my forty-one years, I’ve never felt this way about anyone.
For months, every thought and action has been for her.
And now that I’ve finally given in and made her mine, I never want to let her go.
That’s worth everything to me.
“Are you serious?” Her lower lip trembles. “I’m a high risk investment. That’s what the bank called me.”
“You’re a damn hurricane, baby. But I also know that you never give up once you’ve set your mind on something.” I unfold from the worn chair and squat in front of her so my knees frame hers.
Cupping her jaw, I wipe a tear off her cheek with my thumb.
“This is me, promising I’m in for the long haul.
At least if I have a stake in this place, I can replace the office furniture without feeling guilty.
” I twist on my toes, glancing to the far wall.
“Maybe we can put a futon in the corner for ‘entertainment purposes’.”
“When Devon was a baby, Mom used to have his playpen there.” She rolls her bottom lip between her teeth.
I turn again, appraising the space. “Ah, yea. I can see that. We might need one because of the futon.”
Her laugh makes a wave of heat roll through my chest. It’s my second favorite sound, only falling behind her screaming my name.
And a million times better than any crusty old tune I can belt out. But those songs have given me a pretty substantial nest egg. It’s not like I’ve had much to spend it on.
My legs start to protest. Standing, I offer her my palm.
“You take your crotchety dad to the hospital, I’ll finish working on this proposal while you’re gone.
That way, when we go pick up your cows, we can talk it over with Mason.
” I point at the tiny stack of papers on the desk.
“I’m all caught up. The numbers are in your favor. ”
“Now I just need Dad to agree.” She slips her fingers into my hand and lets me lift her easily to tuck into my side.
Where she belongs.
“He won’t be able to resist the package deal. Once he signs, he won’t have a say. He’ll have money, the house, and he can focus on healing.” I drop a kiss to the top of her head.
Why is it, as I watch her leave, that the unspoken question is if she’ll keep Taylor on the sign out front, or change it to Pierce once I really make her mine?
Easy, big boy. Things are already moving fast.
Except it makes me sick knowing I won’t be able to hold her tonight. And I hate this feeling.
I’ve never experienced it before.
For the first time, it’s like a piece of me exists outside of my body.
She’s carved it out and taken it with her.