Chapter 9
KAI
Itake the corner into the ranch driveway doing about forty, tires screaming, gravel spraying, and I’m grinning like an idiot the whole time.
My electric-blue Mustang fishtails beautifully before I straighten her out, music still blasting through the speakers of some old rock song about wild hearts and open roads.
I kill the engine and sit here for a second, drumming my fingers on the steering wheel, trying to contain the energy buzzing through my veins.
June is moving in.
June is moving in.
I’ve been repeating it to myself since I left the café, and it still doesn’t feel real. The woman who’s been driving me crazy since the moment she face-planted into my chest is going to be sleeping down the hall from me. Eating breakfast at the same table. Existing in my space. Our space.
The universe finally decided to cut me a break.
I climb out of the car in the late afternoon just as Carter appears on the wraparound porch of the ranch house, arms crossed, watching me with that knowing smirk he wears so well.
“You’re going to destroy that transmission one of these days,” he calls out.
“She’s my car. And she loves the abuse.”
The ranch house looms behind him, a gorgeous beast with enough land surrounding it that you can’t see another building in any direction. I’ve stayed in a lot of places over the years of traveling with the circuit, but this one feels different. More like home than most.
When we’re not on the road, the three of us have a place out in Colorado, in the middle of nowhere, just us and our horses and the kind of silence that lets you actually hear yourself think.
We’ve got a team that takes care of things when we travel, which is more help than I usually want, but it’s necessary when you’re gone as much as we are.
Years of this life. Barely staying anywhere long enough to remember the street names. Never putting down roots because what’s the point when you’re leaving in several weeks anyway?
But fuck, I’m ready for something different. Something permanent.
And I’m starting to think June might be the key to all of it.
“You going to stand there staring at the sky, or you going to tell me why you look like you just won the lottery?” Carter descends the porch steps, boots crunching on gravel.
“Better than the lottery.” I pop the trunk. “Come help me with this.”
He rounds the car and stops dead when he sees the contents.
The trunk is stuffed. Shopping bags crammed into every available inch, some of them overflowing, fabric and packaging spilling out in a riot of colors. Mostly pink. A lot of pink. Also some cream and white and soft lavender, but definitely a pink emphasis.
“What the hell did you buy?”
“Everything.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“Everything that will make June smile.” I start grabbing bags, loading up my arms.
“Everything that will make her feel like this is her place. Comfortable. Safe. Wanted.”
Carter stares at me for a long moment. Then he starts laughing.
“You’ve lost your mind.”
“Probably, but she’s agreed to move in with us for a few weeks while the plumbing at her place is being fixed. And I’m making the most of it.” I shove a bag into his arms. “Plus, there’s a method to the madness. If she feels at home here, she’ll relax. And if she relaxes…”
“Her true nature might slip out.”
“Exactly.” I wink at him. “See? Strategy.”
“I see a man who spent what looks like too much money on throw pillows.” He peers into one of the bags. “Pink fluffy cushions. And is this a faux-fur blanket?”
“Three with different textures. Women like options.”
“They also like men who aren’t completely unhinged.”
“They like those of us who pay attention to what brings them happiness.” I grab the last of the bags and click the trunk closed. “Now stop judging me and help me get her room ready.”
We head toward the house, arms full of shopping bags, and I can’t stop the grin spreading across my face. Carter notices, because he notices everything.
“You’re really excited about this.”
“Are you not?”
“I didn’t say that. But I just learned about it.”
Carter follows me up to the second floor, his boots heavy on the wooden steps. “I’m cautious.”
“Bullshit. You’re thrilled.”
“I’m… interested.”
“You’re over the moon and trying to play it cool because that’s your whole brand.
” I stop at the door to the best bedroom on the floor, the corner room with windows on two walls, an attached bathroom, and enough space for a king bed plus a sitting area.
“But I saw your face at the fair and how you looked at her. You’re just as gone as I am. ”
Carter doesn’t deny it. He drops his bag with a thud and scans the room like he’s assessing a stallion, or a fight, or both.
“This is Seth’s room.”
“Was Seth’s room.”
Carter’s brows lift. “He’s going to lose his shit.”
“He’ll survive.” I step in and start unpacking without hesitation, pulling out cushions and blankets like I’m setting up camp in enemy territory. “June gets the best room. End of story.”
Carter follows, slower, eyes narrowing as he takes in the details. “You moved his stuff.”
“Sure did, without telling him.”
Carter lets out a low sound, half laugh, half warning. “That’s how you get buried.”
I toss a pale pink cushion onto the bed, then another in cream. “He’ll want to act civilized in front of June.”
Carter steps closer, voice dropping. “You’re doing this because you want her to be comfortable.”
“Yeah.”
“And because you’re staking your claim,” he adds, blunt as a hammer.
I pause, then keep arranging the cushions like I didn’t just get called out.
“Call it whatever you want.” I continue decorating.
The bed gets the full treatment—Egyptian cotton sheets in soft white, a fluffy duvet in pale blush, and then layers upon layers of blankets draped artfully across the foot and sides just as I saw on Pinterest. The cushions pile up against the headboard in varying sizes and shades.
I even bought some with little tassels because they looked cozy.
The sitting area in the room gets attention too, with a cream-colored throw for the small couch, a few more cushions, and a soft rug I found that looks like clouds. The bathroom already has towels, but I bought new ones in pink-and-white stripes because the ones Seth had were boring as hell.
“You got snacks too.” Carter states the obvious, pulling items from another bag. “A lot of them.”
“Quality over quantity. Or in this case, both.” I take the snacks from him and arrange them on the chest of drawers.
Fancy cookies, good chocolate, sea salt chips, gummy candies, a selection of nuts and dried fruit for when she wants something healthy.
Mountain spring water in glass bottles because plastic is tacky.
“You’ve thought about this way too much,” Carter says. “What happened to training for the rodeo?”
“I’ve thought about it exactly the right amount, and this is more important.”
We step back and survey my work. The room has been completely transformed—what was once a perfectly nice but somewhat bland space now looks like something out of a magazine.
“It’s very pink.”
“She’ll love it.”
“You don’t actually know that.”
“I know she deserves to feel special.” I cross my arms, satisfied. “And this room screams ‘You are special, and we’re thrilled you’re here.’ ”
Carter opens his mouth to respond, but I hold up a finger. “Wait. Almost forgot. The pièce de résistance.”
I grab the last bag and pull out my masterpiece.
It’s a body pillow. Full length. Custom printed.
With my face on it. Well, my whole body, technically.
A photo from one of our promotional shoots, printed life-size onto pillow fabric.
I’m posed in full cowboy gear, with a hat, boots, jeans slung low on my hips, and a shirt unbuttoned all the way down, showing a good portion of my torso.
The expression on my face is somewhere between smoldering and playful.
It’s glorious.
Carter stares at it for a full five seconds before he loses it. “What the fuck is that?”
“It’s me.” I hold it up proudly. “In pillow form.”
“Why does that exist?”
“So she won’t miss me too much when I’m not around.” I carry it to the bed and arrange it lovingly against the cushions. “See? Now she can cuddle with me even when I’m not here. Problem solved.”
Carter is bent over, hands on his knees, laughing so hard no sound is coming out. His whole body is shaking.
“You—” He gasps for air. “You actually—”
“Same-day rush order, as I had the photo on my phone already. The print-shop guy nearly passed out when I told him I needed it in three hours.”
“That is the wildest thing I have ever seen in my life.”
“The most thoughtful thing you’ve ever seen.” I adjust pillow-me’s position so he’s looking extra inviting. “She’s going to love it.”
Carter finally straightens up, wiping tears from his eyes. He walks over to the bed, stares down at the pillow, and then—without warning—grabs it and starts dancing with it.
“Oh, Kai,” he says in a high-pitched voice, clearly meant to be June. “You’re so handsome. I can’t believe I get to hold you every night.”
“Very funny.”
“I just love your smoldering expression.” He dips the pillow dramatically. “And the way your shirt is open. So mysterious. So sexy.”
“Give him back.”
“His name is Flat Kai. And he’s mine now.” Carter spins Flat Kai around, then looks at the pillow’s face with exaggerated adoration. “We’re going to be so happy together, Flat Kai. You understand me in ways Real Kai never could.”
“You’re disrespecting both me and my pillow self right now.”
“Flat Kai doesn’t mind.” Carter holds the pillow at arm’s length, studying it. “Actually, Flat Kai is pretty hot. Look at those abs. Did they airbrush these?”
“Those are my real abs, asshole.”
“Sure they are.” He runs a hand down the pillow’s torso. “Hello, muscles I’ve never seen in real life…”
“I will end you.”