Chapter 29 Brooks
Brooks
I ride up to the stables, ready to get to work with Beck.
He’s just getting back from a ride on one of the horses, so I wait for him to get her back in her stall before we start fixing the fence on the round pen.
It’s a pretty simple fix and shouldn’t take all day.
We’ve got to tear down a section of the fence that has seen better days and replace it with new, sturdier wood.
I used to spend so much time out here when I was younger. Before I took over the ranch, the stables were my second home. I’ve ridden around this ring so many times and taught hundreds of kids to ride here, too. Even Zach.
He was so excited the first time his mom agreed that I could teach him to ride. It’s one of my favorite memories with him. He was a natural. Wasn’t even scared of how big the horse was or anything. He just wanted to ride.
After that, we rode together a lot until he decided he wanted nothing to do with the ranch. It still kills me that he pulled away from me so much, but I’ve tried my hardest to accept his decision.
I’m afraid he’s only going to pull away more when he learns about Aspen and me. I know I fucked up, and I know he’s going to be pissed, but there’s something between us that I can’t deny anymore.
It’s more than a physical attraction. It feels so right being with her.
And last night… fuck. It was amazing. Better than I ever thought it could be.
And when I woke up and saw her lying next to me, her hand gently resting on the pillow by my head like she just wanted to be close to me, I felt like everything was perfect.
In that moment, in our little bubble, nothing else mattered.
I want her to feel important. I want her to know that I want her. As much as I wish I could’ve stayed away for the sake of my relationship with my son, she makes me happier than I’ve been in a long time.
Which becomes embarrassingly obvious when Beck calls me out on it after we’ve been working for a few hours.
“You seem to be in a good mood today,” he says as he hammers a nail into the two-by-four.
“Why do you say that?”
“Uh, you’re whistling, man.”
Oh, shit. Was I? I hadn’t even noticed. “Oh. Guess I just slept good last night.”
He laughs. “Whatever you say, man.”
“What’s so funny?” Harper comes around the stable doors with two bags from the sandwich shop in town. “Thought you two might be hungry.”
We drop our hammers and walk over to her. Even though it’s the end of September and there’s a slight breeze in the air now, we’ve still worked up a sweat rebuilding this fence.
“Thanks, Harp,” I say, taking one of the bags from her.
“Brooks here has been whistling while he works,” Beck tells her in answer to her original question. I was hoping we could all move on from that, but I guess not.
Harper looks at me with furrowed brows. Apparently, I’ve never whistled while I worked. Note to self to never do it again. “Did you get laid last night or something?”
Beck laughs again. “That’s what I was thinking.”
“What the fuck? No,” I say quickly, hoping they don’t pick up on the lie. “Just slept good.”
I wonder how badly they would judge me if they found out what I actually did last night. And with who. Would they tell me I’m a terrible father? I already know I am, but to have someone confirm it to my face would hurt more than I care to admit.
“You slept good?” Harper repeats. Yeah, she definitely doesn’t believe me.
“Am I not allowed to be in a good mood? What’s with the third degree? It’s not like I’m always a grumpy asshole.”
Harper holds her hands up in surrender. “Alright, alright. Calm down. As your friends, we’re just looking out for you.
If you’re happy about something, we want to be happy with you.
” She gives me a pointed look, and I know she’s on to me.
The seed is planted in her mind about Aspen and me, and she thinks she knows what’s going on.
I wish I could talk to her about it. Harper has always been my sounding board when I need it, but this is something I need to handle on my own. At least until I can wrap my own head around it.
“I appreciate it, but really, there’s nothing to report right now.”
“Alright. Well, I wanted to see if you wanted to go to town tonight. Maybe catch a movie or something,” she asks as we all sit down at the picnic table by the stables.
“Can’t tonight.”
“Why? What’re you doing?” At this moment, I’m regretting letting Harper in on every aspect of my life.
She knows I hardly ever have any plans after work.
Most of the time, I sit in my house on my own.
She always tries to get me to go out, which I normally appreciate, but today, it’s getting on my nerves.
Now I’ve got to come up with a believable lie.
“I’ve got a lot of laundry to do.” Dammit. I could’ve come up with something better than that.
“You’re gonna sit in your house and do laundry all night?” she asks skeptically. Beck chuckles next to her. This is one of those times I wish I were better at lying.
“Yes. I’ve been putting it off. So, unless you all want me wandering around the ranch in my underwear, I’ve got to do it.”
“The ladies might like it,” Beck quips.
“Alright, Brooks. Have fun with your laundry then.” She turns to Beck. “What about you, Beck? You busy tonight?”
“Nope. Free as a bird. Jade is with her mom tonight.”
“Cool. Text me when you’re done here, and we’ll meet up.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Harper stands from the table and gives me one more disapproving look before heading back toward the lodge.
“Thanks for lunch!” I call out after her.
“I put it on your credit card!” she yells back.
I roll my eyes. Of course she did. Not that I care.
“So, how’s Jade doing?” I ask Beck after realizing I haven’t gotten an update on her recently.
Beck has been a single dad for a few years now.
I’ve seen him struggle in the same ways I used to when Zach was little.
I’ve always tried to do whatever I could to help Beck when he was getting on his feet, including giving him a place to live here on the ranch.
“Man, she’s great. I swear she’s growing so fast. I’ll bring her by the lodge next time I’ve got her to say hey.”
“I’d like that.”
He goes on to tell me how Jade is doing in pre-school and what she’s interested in. He smiles the entire time he talks about her. It’s great to see one of my friends so happy. I’m glad his shot at fatherhood is going so much better than mine did.
We finish our lunch and then get back to work on the fence. After a few more hours of hammering and tightening and making sure everything is lined up, we’re done with the section we were replacing.
We clean up our work area, and then I head back home.
Aspen’s car is gone, so I head inside to take a shower and straighten up a bit.
Her scent still lingers in my bedroom, and I realize I miss her.
It’s been less than ten hours and I miss her.
I have it so bad for her. There’s no denying that.
Now I’ve got to figure out a way to tell Zach without losing my son forever.
A little while later, I look out the front window and see Aspen’s car. I waste no time walking over there and knocking on her door.
“Hey, what’s up?” she says when she answers the door. Her curls are down today, and her cheeks are pink even though I can tell she has very little makeup on. She’s fucking gorgeous, and now she’s all mine.
“What are you doing?” I ask, leaning against the door frame.
“Oh, I was just hanging out a little bit.”
“Why aren’t you hanging out at my place?”
She shrugs her shoulders. “I thought you might want some time by yourself. I don’t want to overstay my welcome.”
“Not possible. And I don’t want alone time. I want to spend all my time with you.”
She tries to hold back her smile, but it doesn’t work. Good. I want her to be happy about spending time with me.
“Now, let’s go.” I bend down and pick her up, putting her over my shoulder fireman-style. I give her ass a nice little smack.
“Brooks!”
“Everything ok back there?” I ask from over my shoulder.
“I can walk, you know,” she calls back.
“Yeah, but this is more fun.”
She laughs, but I don’t set her down until we’re back inside my house.