18. Bex
Chapter 18
Bex
“I’ll walk you to the door.” Tucker eyed the main house on Sullivan Ranch through the windshield of his truck.
I stopped him before he could hop out. “Probably best if you don’t. We already caused enough of a stir with the dramatic chase scene after dinner last night. No need to add to it.”
He folded his lips inward and nodded in understanding, but I could see it written on his face that he thought I was ashamed of him, of any potential speculation swirling around us after last night.
That was the furthest thing from the truth.
“It’s Aspen and Mac’s day, remember?”
A wry laugh sounded. “How could I forget? My phone’s been blowing up since 6 AM because the groom has zero chill.”
I leaned over the center console, pressing a kiss to his lips. His annoyance was quickly forgotten as he snaked a hand around my neck to keep me close, his tongue demanding entry. It would be hours before we saw each other again, so I opened for him, wishing we had more time before our official wedding duties began .
Gently pressing on his chest, I pulled back, breathless. “Then you should probably get over to the cabin.”
Tucker grumbled, “If his texts are anything to go by, he’s probably bouncing off the walls.”
My hand came up to cup his cheek. “He’s marrying the woman he loves today. Cut him a little slack.”
“Fine.” I couldn’t help but smile at his sullen tone.
“See you later?” It was a silly question, one I already knew the answer to, but I felt compelled to ask it anyway.
“’Course. You’re my date.” Heat curled through my insides at his claiming statement, but the inferno reached a fever pitch when his eyes darkened, and his voice grew husky. “But you can forget about me being a gentleman when I take you home tonight.”
I barely managed to bite back a moan.
God, yes.
“Best get inside before I change my mind about letting you out of my sight this morning and throw this truck in reverse,” he warned.
Unable to break his intense stare, I reached for the door handle blindly. It took three attempts, but I finally managed to snag it and hop out of the vehicle.
Before I could do something crazy, like take him up on his offer to beat it the hell outta here and spend the morning together, I pushed the truck door closed and hustled my butt up the front porch steps.
The urge to peek back was strong. I knew he was watching me walk away; he wouldn’t leave until he ensured I made it safely inside. Putting us both out of our misery, I pushed into the house, praying I could sneak up the stairs without notice.
Latching the door, I finally heard gravel crunching beneath tires as Tucker drove toward the cabin tucked deeper onto the property .
My chest expanded as I pulled in a deep breath, mentally preparing to center my focus on Aspen for the next few hours until she legally became Mrs. Macallan Blaze.
That idea went up in smoke when a voice behind me said, “Lookie who’s marching in the just-got-laid parade.”
My eyes slammed shut. I was so busted.
Turning around, I came face-to-face with Aspen’s meemaw, whose grin stretched from ear to ear. Her glee at having caught me couldn’t be contained.
Given my appearance—wearing Tucker’s oversized T-shirt and sweatpants with my dress from last night bundled beneath one arm—there was no use in denying her assumption, even though I hadn’t officially gotten laid.
And because I needed a greater audience, Daisy rounded the corner from the kitchen to correct her mother-in-law. “I think the kids call it the walk of shame.”
Betsy Sullivan wrinkled her nose. “I like mine better. There’s no shame in a woman getting hers. As long as it was consensual, of course.” Her blue eyes narrowed on me. “It was consensual, wasn’t it, dear?”
I stifled a groan. There was no way this wasn’t getting back to my mother. Though the count was still out on whether she would hear it from Betsy directly or from one of the many people Betsy was bound to tell.
When Betsy and Daisy both stared at me expectantly, I grudgingly answered, “Yes, ma’am.”
“Good.” Betsy nodded.
Daisy granted me mercy. “Aspen’s upstairs with Penny. Would you like some coffee before you head up?”
“No, thank you.” I shook my head, needing to escape this uncomfortable situation before it escalated any further .
“All right, then.” She offered me a kind smile. “Off you go.”
I hustled up those steps like my ass was on fire before bursting into Aspen’s bedroom.
The two women fussing with the dress hung over the closet door turned instantly, identical knowing smiles lighting up their faces.
Aspen’s gaze raked over my borrowed clothing, but before she could get out a single word, I jerked my head in the direction of the attached bathroom. “I’m gonna take a shower.”
“Oh no,” she said on huffed laugh. “You don’t get to come in here looking like that”—she pointed up and down the length of my body from across the room—“and get to run off before you spill what went down last night.”
I knew she wouldn’t let me off the hook that easily, but a girl could dream.
Sighing, I dropped onto her bed. “Nothing happened.” Aspen snorted, so I corrected my statement. “Okay, something happened, but it’s not what you think.”
She arched an eyebrow, tapping her foot impatiently. “I’m waiting.”
Falling back on the mattress, I slung an arm over my eyes, unwilling to look at her face when I said this next part. “We, um, might’ve christened the barn last night.”
“Aw, Bex. It’s adorable that you think you’re the first couple to fuck in that barn.”
My nose wrinkled when the idea of her parents fooling around out there came to mind. “I’m gonna pretend that you and Mac were the first.”
“Pretend all you want. Won’t make it true.”
A squeaking sound that came from Penny had me sitting up instantly. Her pale cheeks turned bright red as Aspen and I gawked at her extremely telling reaction .
Aspen managed to pick her jaw up off the floor first. “Penny Atkins, are you saying you’ve gotten down and dirty in that barn?”
The poor girl’s eyes darted around the room, looking for a way out, but I knew my best friend well enough to know there was no escape for Penny. Not until she spilled the beans about her quite literal romp in the hay, and more particularly, with whom, since there was absolutely no way it was Tripp. That boy would have had her in front of a preacher the next day if that were the case.
Penny sagged against the wall. “It was a couple years ago with a ranch hand who doesn’t work here anymore, okay?”
Aspen’s lips twisted to the side. “I have a follow-up question, and then I’ll let this drop because you’re a grown woman who can do whatever—or whomever—she pleases.”
Blowing out a heavy breath, Penny said, “You can ask, but no promises as to whether I’ll answer.”
“Fair.” Aspen nodded. “Now, does this ranch hand no longer work here because he moved on or because my brother found out and had him fired?”
“What? No!” The high pitch of her screeched words had me wincing. “Tripp doesn’t know.” Her green eyes widened in horror. “And you can’t tell him!”
“Might light a fire under his damn ass,” Aspen muttered under her breath.
While I might be in agreement, I respected Penny’s right to privacy, especially concerning her sex life. So, to take some of the heat off her, I sacrificed that same right for myself.
“Tucker and I didn’t have sex in the barn!” Yeah, that came a little louder than I would have hoped.
“The moans that floated across the yard would suggest otherwise,” Aspen shot back .
My eyes about damn near bulged out of my head. “You all heard?!”
She held up a hand. “Okay, calm down. The only reason I did was because I was coming to check on you after everyone else decided to call it a night. But I didn’t make it halfway there before it became clear that you were being well taken care of. Side note: if you were faking it, you’re really good; you had me convinced.”
“No, I wasn’t faking it,” I snarked. That had never been an issue with Tucker. “But like I said, we didn’t have sex. He only went down on me.”
“If that’s all it was, why did you go home with him instead of spending the night here?”
That question made me wonder what else she had kept from me about Tucker’s life here in Rust Canyon since my departure.
“Have you been to his house, Aspen?”
She shook her head slowly. “No, but Mac has. Why?”
Crossing the room, I rifled through the bookshelf in the corner, wondering if our old dream scrapbook was still there.
“What are you looking for?” Aspen’s footsteps stopped behind me.
My fingers traced the spine of the book filled with every idea we’d once had for our futures, and I pulled it from the shelf.
Aspen saw it, and she breathed out softly, “Oh my God. I forgot about that.”
I laughed. “Safe to say none of your wedding plans came from here, then.”
“Only thing that stayed the same was getting married here on the ranch.”
I couldn’t blame her. The land her family owned was beautiful, featuring multiple locations perfect for a wedding backdrop.
Sitting back on my heels, I flipped the pages until I found the one I was searching for. Spreading the scrapbook wide, I tapped a finger on the magazine cutouts pieced together to form the interior of my dream home. “This is Tucker’s house.”
“What?” Aspen’s brows furrowed as Penny stepped closer to get a peek. “You’re not making any sense.”
“He built it.”
Her blue eyes lifted from the page. “Are you serious?”
Swallowing, I nodded. “Every detail is exactly how I always wanted it.”
“Bex, this is . . .” Her words trailed off, and she swiped at her nose with the back of her hand as a sniffle sounded.
“That house is an apology, a love letter, and a promise all rolled into one.”
Penny clasped her hands to her chest. “That’s so romantic.”
“God damn that Tucker Grant.” Aspen let out a watery laugh. “Making all the other men look bad.”
She had that right. Nothing any other man could ever do for me would ever measure up.
Closing the scrapbook, I slid it back into its spot and stood.
I grabbed Aspen’s hands in mine, squeezing gently. “You found a pretty good man yourself.”
A tear finally spilled over onto her cheek. “Yeah.”
“Let’s get you married.”