Chapter 30
30
JOHNNY
Aurora’s laugh fills my kitchen, and I feel like the luckiest man alive. She glances around the table with a soft, genuine smile and stabs the prongs of her fork through a piece of pancake before running it through a river of syrup.
Eliza sits on her opposite side, finally joining us at the table after ushering in and plating up for the two loiterers, Thomas and Loren, as they appeared at my door like hounds with the scent of food in their noses.
My four-seater table isn’t enough room for everyone, so the two of them have made home on the couch, their boots lined up nice and neat in the entry. Four cowboy hats rest on the counter, Eliza having threatened us with a swift kick in the ass if we didn’t take them off to eat.
“How come you make pancakes for Aurora and not us?” Thomas asks Eliza, his cheeks stuffed full. “They’re damn good.”
“Because you don’t care what it is that goes into your mouth as long as you’re fed. Now, don’t complain, or you can eat with the horses from here on out. Be like Loren and eat in silence.”
“Jesus, woman. You’re goin’ to scare off my employees. This is because of those women of yours,” Wade mutters between bites of extra-crispy bacon .
“Don’t speak about my friends in that tone, Wade. One of those women is your future granddaughter-in-law, in case you forgot.”
“As if Brody’d ever let me,” he grumbles.
Aurora reaches for the pitcher of orange juice, but I beat her to it and fill her glass. She blushes, and I have to clench my fingers around the pitcher’s handle as I set it back down to keep from reaching out to feel her pink cheeks.
“Loren’s only silent because he doesn’t know how to make conversation with anyone. He’s been stuck in the bull pen for too long,” Thomas says.
I glance behind me at the two of them and catch Loren’s eye roll. “You’re an ass, Tommy. Watch your back, or he’s going to be shoving you in with ’em instead.”
“I’m too good-looking to risk winding up in there,” Thomas says, food muffling his words.
“You saying I’m ugly?” Loren asks, the first words he’s uttered since getting here.
It’s not unusual for him to be so quiet. He’s always been the silent, broody type. Women love it, from what I’ve seen at Peakside. I’ve yet to be able to crack him the way I’ve done everyone else.
“Your words, not mine.”
“Thomas is just jealous, Loren,” Aurora says, drawing everyone’s attention, especially mine. Noticing that, she lifts a shoulder and swirls her final piece of pancake in syrup.
“What does that mean?” I ask her, some beastly, jealous part of me demanding to know exactly what she’s thinking.
“You know what I meant.”
“Nah, say it out loud, Rory,” Thomas says, egging her on with a shit-eating grin on his fucking face.
I flip him off, and he howls a laugh.
Eliza tuts. “You’re a bunch of asses. Leave her alone.”
I rest my fork on my plate and drop my hand to my girl’s thigh, leaning close as I whisper, “If you’re trying to make me jealous, darlin’, it’s working.”
“Hey! Don’t whisper to one another. Share with the class!” Thomas shouts. “I’ve always wanted to see Johnny punch someone. Never expected it to be Loren, though.”
Rory turns her head just enough to catch my gaze, her mouth twitching at the corner. “What are you talking about?”
I grin nice and wide, squeezing her thigh. I’d have planted a big, sloppy kiss on her lips right here, right now, if I felt like I needed to make a statement. But when she surprises me with one on my jaw, I can’t think of much else besides the sudden cramped sensation in my chest, like my heart is too big to fit.
“She said you look like the rear end of a donkey, Lo. Sorry to break it to you,” I say, not looking away from my favourite set of blue eyes.
Even Wade laughs then, the rare sound of it settling over everyone. Rory shakes her head at me, but sometimes, true happiness is impossible to hide. It’s too bright. I feel the same sensation blazing in my gut and lean into it without hesitation.
“If we’re at Johnny’s, does that mean he has to clean up everyone’s dishes?” Loren asks.
“Fuck no?—”
“Yes,” Eliza cuts me off.
Rory pinches her plate, lifting it. “I’ll help.”
“Not yet. I’ve got something to talk to Wade about first,” I say, lowering her hand.
He stares at me with his typical blunt, unforgiving gaze. “About what?”
It doesn’t intimidate me anymore. Hasn’t since I was a teenager.
“I need a few days off.” Aurora’s thigh tenses beneath my palm, and I start massaging it. “I’ve got to go with Rory somewhere.”
“You gonna tell me where?”
“You know where, Wade,” Eliza says softly, glancing between Aurora and me .
“You don’t want to go there, Rory,” he grunts.
Eliza turns in her chair and speaks to the other two guys. “Go see if Frost and Joker need anything, yeah? We just need a minute here.”
Loren doesn’t hesitate to get up, not bothering to put his boots on before stepping outside. Thomas, though, he’s always been curious. He’s my friend, a good one at that, but it isn’t my place to answer whatever questions he has.
“There’s some dried apples in the cupboard for them,” I tell him instead, pointing to the one closest to the fridge.
With a huff, he gets up and joins us in the kitchen to grab the bag of treats. When he spins to leave, he says, “This better not be about anything bad. For any of you.”
“Everyone’s fine, Tommy,” Eliza promises.
A jerk of his head. “Fine. Alright.”
Only after the front door snaps shut behind him does Eliza speak again.
“Wanda gave you your father’s address? I haven’t had a chance to ask you how your meeting with her went.”
“It went . . . alright. She gave me his address, amongst other things. Most of which were warnings and examples of how shitty of a father he is,” Rory replies, that blissful look in her eyes stomped out.
“Lee Rose is a selfish bastard. Leave him in the past, Aurora,” Wade says, his tone as stern as the one he adorns before every breeding season.
Safety isn’t an option; it’s a necessity.
Eliza rests a hand over the one Aurora has clenching the edge of the table and scoots forward to peer up into her eyes. “I told him about Lee being your father. I was curious if he remembered much more about the Roses than I did. Your grandfather helped on the ranch from time to time, and they spoke often.”
“And did you remember more?” I ask Wade when Aurora doesn’t show any sign of being upset with Eliza. “Have you told them about her? ”
He stares across the table at Rory. “No, I didn’t tell them about her. And I didn’t remember anythin’ of use. They’re good people, James and Bernice. If you want to meet them, I can make that happen. I guarantee they’ve got more of the answers you’re lookin’ for than we do. If you want my advice, I say talk to them instead of goin’ to your father. This town, it’s better for you.”
“I need to meet him. Even just once. I should have that right,” Rory says, back straightening. “I’ve spent the past thirty years of my life thinking my mother never knew who my father was because that’s what I was told. I could have known who he was the entire time. Maybe that wouldn’t have changed anything, but I’ll never know now. If this is the only chance I have to see him face to face and ask why he left, then I’m taking it. I know the risks that come with that just as much as I appreciate your efforts to protect me from them.
“If he’s as bad as everyone says, then that’s for me to see. I just . . . I want this done with. I want to move on with my life without this hanging over me. Okay?”
Silence falls over the table. I look nowhere but at Aurora, my heart in my throat and stars in my eyes. A rush of adoration fills me from head to toe, and I lean closer to her without meaning to.
The determination in her expression has my dick trying to punch a hole through my jeans as I spread my legs to alleviate the pressure. This is my fucking dream girl, and I want nothing more than to take her back into my bedroom and keep her there for the rest of our lives.
I never could, though. She deserves room to run, and as long as I can be beside her while she does, I’ll leave the door wide open.
“Okay, sweet girl. When are you leaving?” Eliza asks.
Aurora doesn’t hesitate. “As soon as possible.”
“And you’re goin’ with her?” Wade’s focused on me now. “You’ll take care of her? Beat that fucker’s ass if he steps out of line?”
“I will,” I declare. I’ve already gone over every outcome in my head five times over. Lee Rose already hates his hometown, but I’ll make it my personal mission to make sure it hates him more if he hurts Aurora the way I fear he will.
He nods just once. “Then go. We’ll make do without you for a few days. But sleep in again like you did today and we’ll be havin’ a very different conversation.”
“Thank you,” Rory says, blowing out a long breath.
Eliza pats her hand. “You’re family. And we take care of our family out here. No matter what.”
I can see the moment her words hit Rory. The visible shake of her features has me pulling my chair toward her until we’re so close my knees jam into her thigh. I wrap my arms around her and pull her into my chest, kissing the side of her head while meeting Eliza’s waiting stare. Her concern is evident, but so is the love she feels for the woman in my arms.
All I can do is nod, hoping she can tell that she isn’t alone in that department. It’s nice seeing someone else who cares this much about Aurora showing it. There are so many of us now, and it pains me that she doesn’t have any idea.
In this moment, I decide to make it my mission to help her experience this feeling over and over again. I’m done allowing her to feel so alone when we could fill a football team’s roster with the number of people who care about her and still have leftover players.
Cherry Peak was exactly where Aurora was supposed to be, and if I have anything to do with it, she’ll be staying for as long as possible.
Not just for me either. But for her. For the family that she deserves.