35. Jesse
Chapter 35
Jesse
I pause to wipe off my brow and check on the horizon. I heard the roar of the motorcycle a few minutes ago, which means that Grace is back with Hendrix from riding around for a few hours.
I love that she’s overcoming her fear and having fun with it. And I know Hendrix has had a hell of a good time teaching her how to ride the bike. Helping her find more confidence has helped him to find confidence for himself in his own riding, which makes me glad as hell to see.
Blinking, I shake my head as I pull myself out of my thoughts. Damn it. I’ve been just standing here staring into the distance like a fool thinking about Grace for the past few minutes. It’s far from the first time. I’m a sap over her.
I can practically feel my dad playfully shoving me in the shoulder and telling me to get a move on, boy, this barn ain’t gonna sweep itself.
He would love that Grace was here, making us happy. He’d love that I had officially made the other men my pack and that we were all living together, that the ranch hadn’t died and is still full of laughter and people.
Dad’s death was probably the worst time of my life. I know I couldn’t have gotten through it on my own. Easton and Hendrix have insisted that’s not true, but I know they’re just being kind because they believe in me as their leader. I know myself, and I know I needed my pack to get through this.
I’m just glad that they were here. They were the missing pieces I didn’t know I needed. They were the ones that helped me keep everything afloat and prevented my family’s legacy from dying.
And now we have Grace. The other missing piece.
It’s sort of been something in the back of my mind, the idea of having an Omega or even perhaps a Beta, but someone . But I know Cade’s got his hang ups, and we’re in the middle of a small town where we already know everyone, so I didn’t think it would really happen. Just an idle pipe dream in my daydreams, but nothing more. It’s not like I didn’t have a huge amount of stuff to work on at the ranch, taking up all my time and energy.
Now Grace is here and I don’t know what we’ll do without her. It’s moments like these I wish Dad was here. I could turn to him and ask for his advice.
Dad was the kind of guy who just cut through bullshit. He’d lay it all out for me and make it all feel so simple and easy.
I still miss him. But at least I can think of him fondly and not with the anger and pain I had when he first passed.
I finish up my sweeping, double check that all the animals are good for the night, and head into the house to wash up and then join everyone for dinner. The moment I get inside, I can hear humming coming from the living room.
When I go in, I see Grace sitting there, writing on a laptop while a notebook filled with scribblings sits beside her.
My heart aches, looking at her. I wonder if she has any idea what sort of difference she’s made in our lives being here. Everything feels better with her here.
Grace sets the laptop aside as an alarm goes off on her phone, then gets up from the couch with a smile. She hasn’t seen me yet, and I grin as I take the opportunity to surprise her and stride forward to sweep her into my arms.
I plant a kiss on her, dipping her, and Grace laughs into my mouth, kissing me back. She playfully pushes me away. “You’re filthy, you’re dripping in sweat.”
“You like me all sweaty,” I point out with a growl. “I can help you get dirty too. Make us even.”
“Not tonight, you won’t.” She hesitates, then blushes as she adds, “Okay, maybe later.” She kisses my cheek. “But right now, you need to get ready, because we’re going to the county fair.”
“Well, you can just join me in the shower then. Help make sure I’m all presentable.”
“You know that if I joined you in the shower, the last thing you’d get is clean, ” Grace tells me playfully.
I make a noise low in my throat, heat sliding through me as my cock twitches. Yeah, I’ll get dirty all right. I’ll make both of us dirty—
“You need to get cleaned up,” Cade grunts as he enters from the doorway. “Or we’ll be late.”
I roll my eyes and step back from Grace, letting her go. “All right, all right, I’m going.”
She playfully shoves me up the stairs, and I go up to get ready. The county fair isn’t a fancy event or anything, but I do still put on a slightly nicer pair of jeans and quickly iron my flannel shirt before I put it on, so it’s not a mess of wrinkles. I want to look good for Grace.
When I get back downstairs, everyone else is ready to go. Grace looks sexy and adorable in a cute yellow dress that she and Hendrix got when they went shopping together. The skirt flares a little when she twirls, showing off her legs. She’s got a pair of cute cowboy boots to go with it, and I grin at her.
“Seems like you found your country roots again,” I drawl.
Grace sticks out her foot to show off her boot. “Sure did.”
“There is one thing missing, though.”
“What?”
I take my cowboy hat from where it’s hanging on the line of pegs by the door and plop it on her head. “There. Now you’re ready.”
Grace adjusts the hat on her head and grins up at me. She has to know what it means by now, since we’ve all told her. I can remember us flirting with her that way at the bar, the heat that ran through me at the sight of her wearing my hat for the first time.
I want the world to know that she’s mine. Ours . That she belongs with us. Maybe if she wears my hat, she’ll feel it too, and she’ll realize that this isn’t fake anymore. Not for us. This is real.
The fact that she still might leave us—that she might think this is all casual for us, or that she might not care, that her career and life in New York is still more important to her than anything else—haunts me.
I swallow hard and shove those feelings down. I’m not going to let my concerns ruin the night.
“Let’s go,” I say out loud, keeping my voice cheerful.
Grace tips my hat at me, like a proper cowgirl, and I grin. Whatever else happens, I know tonight will be fun.