24
I slam into the Bullshit Box to find Wyatt flinging darts while Davis and Charlie shuffle through paperwork on their desks.
Davis arches a brow. “Lookin’ for Reese?”
I glower. “No.” Yes. All damn day. She’s been MIA and I’ve been losing my mind.
I lower myself into the chair at my desk and pretend to be interested in the guest log. I scan the list of names booked into the chalets.
Austin, Reese, West
Ingalls, Charles, East
Ketchum, Brian, East
O’Brien, Ashley, East
“Reese and Ruby went into town,” Charlie offers.
“Fuckin’ fabulous,” I mutter, frustration bleeding into my tone. I’m not her keeper, but I don’t like not knowing where she is. Despite the fact that we argued, I want her to know she can come to me for anything.
Wyatt snorts. “She’s got your ass stressed.”
Davis twists in his chair. “What did you do?”
“What makes you think it’s my fault?” When my brothers stare at me silently, I sigh and give up the fight. “I asked her what her deal was with her secrets, and when she wouldn’t tell me, I told her we should take a break.”
Wyatt’s whistle sounds like a bomb dropping.
Davis arches a brow. “A break sounds like y’all were together.”
“We ain’t,” I argue. “We’re friends.”
“Ruby was ready to run when she thought I was gettin’ too close,” Charlie says.
I think of Ruby and Dakota. Women with secrets, yet they were the best things to happen to my brothers.
I pop a cinnamon candy in my mouth. “Y’all relationship experts, now?”
Davis and Charlie share smug glances. “We’re married.”
I don’t want to be married . I should say it, but the thought doesn’t ring true. Not anymore.
Hell, I’ve been looking for my dream girl for a while. Tried to tell myself it wasn’t meant for me. Tried to pretend I didn’t want what my brothers had. But I do. I always have.
“If you’re not serious about her, then why do you care?” Wyatt flings a dart, then plops onto the couch. “Just keep shit to the bedroom.”
It matters because I miss her. I miss her like crazy. I miss cooking her breakfast and coming home to her after a long day on the ranch. I miss her turning up wherever I am. The sound of her bangles that’s now damn Pavlovian to me because it means she’s near. I miss her pouty kisses, the feel of her, all soft and sweet and sleepy in my arms.
There’s no getting over this girl.
Fuck but I like her. More than friends. I let my fear push her away. When she called my bluff and walked out, I knew I had made a mistake calling things off. I’m the asshole who blew it because I was selfish.
Regret eats at me. I should have been patient. Whatever her story is, it’s hers. Not mine.
“It’s too late for that.” I scrub a hand through my hair, hating myself for what I’m about to admit. “I do care about her.”
Davis groans.
“I let all my shit with Savannah wind me up and I pushed her away. I was an idiot.”
Charlie and Davis stare at me with sympathy.
Wyatt shrugs. “No arguments here.”
I open my mouth ready to remind him about the time he pissed his pants in third grade, but the vibration of Davis’s phone fills the room.
He takes the call. From the soft, low tone he uses, I can tell it’s Dakota.
Hanging up, he says, “Girls are at Nowhere.”
Charlie scowls.
The thought of Reese being out at a bar without me has my hands pulling to fists.
The corner of Davis’s mouth kicks up. “Need someone to pick them up. Drunk as skunks.”
I shove out of my chair before anyone can beat me to it. “I’ll go.”
“Damn, man,” Wyatt says, looking embarrassed for me. “Show a little restraint.”
Fuck restraint.
When it comes to Reese, I’m a man on my knees.
The women are tightrope walking on parking blocks when I pull up to Nowhere. Wobbly and giggly, they’re adorably drunk.
“Get in the truck,” I call out, taking inventory of them. No one looks manhandled, near tears, or drunk enough to puke.
“We called Davis,” Fallon argues.
“Yeah, well, you got me. You wanna walk, there’s the road.”
“Ford!” Ruby cheers, throwing her arms around my neck. Her blue eyes are bright, her smile a beam. “You’re here.”
I chuckle. “Hey, Fairy Tale.”
“A rider to our rescue,” she announces drunkenly.
“Charlie’s gonna love you,” I tell her, grabbing her elbow before she can face-plant.
I glance over to where Dakota and Reese stand. Dakota hops off a parking block with a gymnast’s flourish. Reese, looking hotter than she has any right to, avoids eye contact and steps around me. The scorch of her cold shoulder, the sight of those high heels and short little skirt, sends a shock of need through my veins.
I deserve it, but damn, her distance pisses me off. I want to drag her against me and tell her to drop the fucking attitude.
But that’ll have to wait.
“Okay, focus,” I blast and all eyes whip to me “We have two objectives tonight. One is get in the truck.”
“What’s the second?” Fallon asks.
“Two is shut the hell up.”
I yank open the passenger side door, watching as Reese, Ruby, and Fallon take the backseat. Dakota climbs up front. I join them and accelerate out of the parking lot. The sooner I get back to the ranch, the sooner I can get Reese speaking to me again.
Radio up, windows down, I take the windy county road back to the ranch. “Seatbelts on?” I ask.
Fallon salutes. Snickers. “Yes, Dad.”
Ruby giggles. “Cat daddy.”
“Been talkin’?” I ask Dakota dryly.
She keeps her pretty face neutral. “Your name may or may not have been mentioned.”
Unable to help it, I glance at the rearview mirror. Reese’s eyes meet mine. Heat sparks. Then, just as quickly, her gaze darts away.
Fuck it.
She can have her secrets; I just want her. I don’t care anymore. If I push her away and she avoids me the rest of the summer…I can’t handle that. Her on my ranch and not in my bed?
Absolutely fucking not.
My thoughts are diverted when I see Fallon with her head out the window. Her lonesome howl sounds throughout the cab.
“Christ,” I mutter. Twisting around, I try to grab her pant leg. “Fallon, get your ass back in here. Stop acting like an idiot.”
With a glare, Fallon slumps back down in her seat. “I’ve already been kidnapped and stabbed. What else can happen?”
“You wanna ease up on the death-defying stunts?” I grump at Fallon. “My brother’s trying to look out for you and all you’re doin’ is giving him high blood pressure.”
“Wyatt doesn’t take me seriously,” Fallon hisses. Her eyes are wild. “He doesn’t think I can ride.”
Dakota’s head slowly swivels to me, a look of shock on her face. An awkward tension fills the cab.
“Hey, Fallon, shut the fuck up,” I say. “That’s not true.”
When Wyatt came to the ranch, twelve years ago, at twenty-two, he was the cocky bad boy of rodeo. Fallon was still a sophomore in high school. I wasn’t around to witness any of their early interactions. But apparently Fallon still holds a grudge.
I give her a long steady look in the rearview mirror. “I’ll tell you right now, on the whole wide world of Wyatt, if he said that he didn’t mean it. And if he did, he doesn’t believe it now.”
Fallon’s face softens momentarily before turning to a scowl. “Whatever.” With a flap of her hand, she says, “Koty, put some music on so I don’t have to hear this cowboy’s teeth gnash together.”
Before I can stop her, Dakota hits CD on the player.
Fuck.
Instantly, Reese’s sweet husky voice fills the cab.
My knuckles tighten on the wheel.
A giggle comes from the backseat. Once again, my eyes flash to the rearview. Reese has a hand over her mouth to hide a smile.
“Number One Fan Club?” Dakota asks as Reese and Ruby belt lines from the backseat with invisible microphones.
I blow out a bad-tempered breath as the truck turns into one big karaoke session.
Three songs later, we roll up to the lodge. My brothers are out front.
“Everyone’s back in one piece,” I say as the women pile out of the truck. I look to Fallon. “Attitudes and all.”
She flips me off and storms for the Edens, with Wyatt on her heels.
“You girls have fun?” Davis asks, wrapping Dakota in his arms.
“I did. How’s Squish?”
“Sleepin’ like a baby.” He kisses Dakota. “Which is what we should be doing.”
“C’mon, Sunflower. Let’s get you to bed.” The way Ruby giggles, and the way Charlie looks at her makes me think sleep’s the last thing on their mind.
With that, the party breaks up as everyone heads to their respective homes.
Which leaves me and Reese.
“Excuse me,” she says, doing her best to step around me.
Not fucking happening.
I step around her, blocking her path before she can go. I can’t handle her being mad at me. Not for another damn minute.
“What do you want, Ford?” Nostrils flaring, she props her hands on her waist in a challenge, her bratty attitude a pretty little poison in my bloodstream.
“I want to talk to you.” It feels like she’s got my heart attached to a yo-yo.
I fucking love it.
“Well, I don’t want to talk to you.” She looks toward the barn. Crosses her arms. Does that haughty little chin tilt that pushes me right over the edge. “I’m mad at you.”
My cock twitches. That pink pout of hers. Those beautiful emerald eyes flash fire. I can tell she’s faking it, because I know her. Every goddamn inch of her.
Either way I have no intention of letting her walk away this time.
“I miss you,” I rasp, stepping closer.
All my cards are on the table. Undeniable power over me. It’s what this girl has.
She sniffs. “I don’t miss you.”
My hand shoots out, snagging her bangle-clad wrist. Her breath catches in her throat.
With a few gentle steps, I move her back toward my truck, pinning her there. “I don’t believe you.”
After what feels like an eternity of silence, her pretty face softens. “Fine. I guess I missed you, too.”
Damn music to my ears. I blow out a breath. Smile. “You did?” It sounds too goddamn desperate but her missing me does something warm to my soul.
“I did.” She touches the stubble on my cheek, then yanks her hand back. “But it doesn’t matter. We’re friends. That’s all.”
Friends.
The term makes me want to punch a wall, but I don’t want to ruin it. Not when I just got her back.
“I was wrong,” I admit, causing her eyes to widen. “I pushed you away, Birdie. I shouldn’t have.”
Her haughty chin lifts. “You did.”
“I’m sorry.” Truth pushes me to be honest. “I kept thinking about Savannah and what she did and—” I exhale roughly. “You’re not her. I know that.”
She gives me a small smile, understanding in her eyes. “Good. Maybe you’re not an idiot after all.”
I chuckle. “Maybe we’re still friends?”
“Yeah. Still friends.”
I lift a brow, tug on her arm. “Friends talk to each other.”
Her lips thin. “I can’t give you my secrets until I’m ready, Ford.”
“I know. That’s what I realized when you were at the bar tonight. I don’t want your secrets.” I lean in and her eyes widen. “I want you, Reese.”
“That’ll change once you know.”
“Not happening.” I catch her by the hips and pull her into me, instantly feeling calmer. “Whatever you tell me doesn’t matter, so keep your pretty lips closed or don’t. Either way, rest of the summer, I want you sleeping in my bed.”
Her smile is happy. Beautiful. “Pretty big demands, Country Boy.”
“We lost a week together, baby. Which means…” Grinning, I pick her up and she squeals. My heart wants to punch through my chest to hers. “We better get started. Fast.”
I kiss her. Like it’s the most primal need in the world.
Fuck Reese’s secrets.
I just want her.
As long as I can have her.