Chapter 15
Ville
Things rolled on steadily at the ranch. I worked either on the remaining tweaks in security or wherever a pair of hands was needed.
I relearned to enjoy mucking stalls, which shouldn’t have surprised me as much as it did.
I’d loved it as a kid at grandpa’s place, after all.
It felt good to do something to both help others and to make sure the animals were well cared for.
Not that there was ever any doubt on that front, because the Harringtons and their staff were nothing if not diligent about animal welfare.
I spent most nights with Emery in my bed, and sometimes, if he was home in the daytime, we’d sneak in a quickie somewhere private.
Becoming addicted to him wasn’t a surprise. The sex was the best I’d ever had. We played with the power exchange a little bit more as the days passed, but not every time.
That wasn’t the issue though. The issue was that I got the vibe that everyone was starting to see us as a real couple, and we weren’t that. We couldn’t be, because I would be leaving with Wren to keep him safe first at the studio and then his tour in another two weeks.
As I waited for the private jet to land, I felt the usual itch to get moving. I was always excited about the tours, traveling aside. It was never boring, and I could concentrate on my job most of the time. It left less time for thinking, which I took as a blessing.
Even waiting like this wasn’t great. I had too much time and it made my mind wander to Emery. He was just such a good person, like all the Harringtons. He deserved someone who could be there for him after long days at work and keep his bed warm at night, and that wasn’t me.
The jet rolled toward the hangar, stopping right in front of the massive, open doors. I grinned and got out of the SUV, unable to stop myself from jogging to the plane.
Grinning, I stopped at a safe distance so they could lower the stairs, then laughed as I heard Wren tell Abigail off for not letting him out first.
“You know Ville would want me to go first—”
He pushed her aside. “He’s right fucking there, Abi!”
And then he flew down the stairs and into my arms, and I felt oddly whole again.
I’d never believed in platonic soulmates before I met Wren. There’d never been an ounce of sexual attraction between us, and that was a fucking blessing in so many ways.
I squeezed him tight. “Welcome to Colorado,” I told him, then let him go to take a look at him while he did the same to me.
The bags from under his eyes were gone. He’d had fun, even if his hours must’ve been horrible like every creative’s who got really into doing their thing.
“Thanks, farm boy.” He grinned and gestured at my clothing. “Abi, can you believe this?”
Chuckling, I did a little twirl. I was wearing sneakers, dusty jeans, and a T-shirt. I might’ve also been wearing a BCR branded, backward ballcap.
“Yes I can. He’s been on a vacation,” she said dryly as she came to give me a quick hug. “Good to see you, boss.”
“You too, Abi. I hope this one behaved?”
She grinned. “Most of the time I didn’t even know he was there.” As no-nonsense as she could be, she had a wicked sense of humor and she really cared about Wren like a brother. For a woman who only came up to my collar bones, she was also scary as fuck when the situation called for it.
“The way we prefer it.” I nodded solemnly. It was an old joke of the immediate team.
Wren rolled his eyes, grabbed his guitar case and didn’t even attempt to take his bag, knowing I’d swipe it anyway. Abi was still working, so she scanned the area as I grabbed her bag, too, and followed Wren to the SUV.
We were on our way to the ranch in no time.
“Do you two want to grab anything from a drive thru somewhere?” I asked as we got away from the airport area.
“A coffee would be great,” Wren said.
“Abi?” I looked at her in the rearview mirror.
“Sure, let me find a place on the way.”
“Thanks.”
We grabbed coffee and a few treats from a local café and then settled in for the drive. It was only an hour and a half, but I knew Wren was ready to be off his ass and moving around.
I could sense his quiet agitation the closer we got to Blue Creek Ranch. I hated that he was feeling this way, but it couldn’t be helped. Not when Bodhi hadn’t been honest with him about being back home.
As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t shield my friend from this pain. I also couldn’t punch Bodhi as much as I wanted to do that.
We chatted a bit as I drove, mostly about his songs he’d finished and which ones he still wanted to fiddle with more, what Abi had done while on her “working vacation” and such.
Too soon, I turned into the long ass driveway. Wren took a deep breath and held it in, then exhaled long and slow. It was a centering thing, and I offered my hand to him, which he took.
None of us talked, because we didn’t need to. We all knew he was nervous but also glad to be home. Blue Creek Ranch was more of a home to him than the property next door where he’d grown up. Sometimes Wren referred to the ranch as home when talking about it and didn’t even realize he was doing it.
He had a nice apartment in Nashville but with all the touring, he rarely stayed there.
I wasn’t even sure if he truly liked the place, but I had a room there and that was my home, too.
We cohabitated easily, and if we’d had any sort of romantic chemistry, we would’ve jumped on that bandwagon ages ago.
Sadly, we didn’t, and he’d forever be in love with Bodhi who probably had no idea about his best friend’s feelings or at least he didn’t know what to do with them.
“You can do this,” I told Wren, squeezing his hand as the donkey alarm went off.
“What the hell is that?” Abigail asked, sounding spooked.
Wren chuckled. “That’s Juanpablo. He’s the guard donkey.”
I stopped at the gate to put my code in the box, then drove through.
“Fancy,” Wren teased.
Rolling my eyes, I gestured toward the road to the Event Barn that snaked off in the distance. “There’s another one for the barn.”
Wren cleared his throat, then asked, “Did you, uh, did you put one in for Bodhi’s side?”
I shook my head. “He doesn’t need one over there. It’s so far and not really connected to the ranch proper.”
“I feel like we’re approaching the living alarm system,” Abi stated dryly, because the braying was getting louder.
I chuckled as I parked next to the farm truck Judson and Keegan liked to use while at home. “His paddock is right over there.” I pointed toward the donkey who was quieting down now that he knew it was the vehicle I’d rented for the occasion.
I’d returned the initial rental I’d had as soon as I had someone to drive me to a rental place for a drop off and then back to the ranch. This one I’d had delivered, because hell, Wren could afford it and it was for him.
“He has to be old by now,” Wren mused as he took off his seatbelt.
I had no idea how old donkeys could get, but I knew he’d been around for a while, so anything was possible.
“No need to take the bags out of the car. We can grab them later once we go to the cabin. Unless you want to change, of course.” I got out of the SUV and stretched my legs a little.
Jenn stepped onto the porch, moving much like her old self before the heart attack. “Wren!”
I got a brief glimpse of Wren’s expression before he was up the steps and hugging her close. “Mama H.”
Abigail looked at them over the hood and smiled. “He was getting antsy in the last few days,” she said quietly. “It’s clear he misses these people.”
“He really does. They’re his family.”
“Jenn, this is Abigail. She’s the other tagalong I have wherever I go.” Wren gestured at her, smirking a little.
“Behave.” Abi went to them and shook Jenn’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Harrington.”
“Oh, just call me Jenn. It’s good to have you.” Before she could continue, Juanpablo began to bray again, and we turned to see a dust cloud approaching. “That’s probably Bodhi,” Jenn said in a pointed tone.
Abi smiled tightly. “I could use a restroom,” she said quickly.
“Of course. Nick, he’s working the kitchen for a bit, has some snacks ready, and we’ll make coffee.” Jenn held the door open for Abi, and they escaped. Traitors.
Before Wren could say anything, I walked to the bench where Payton and Aria often put their shoes on, and sat down. I wasn’t going to leave him alone to have this conversation or whatever it would be.
He sighed. “Ville….”
“Okay fine,” I said, getting up. “I’ll be right inside that door instead.”
He chuckled and rolled his eyes, then squeezed my forearm in passing before walking down the porch steps to meet Bodhi in the yard.
I did as I’d said I would, and went inside, but stayed by the cracked open front door. I didn’t even take note of who was there, but I had a feeling they’d all understand.
The truck stopped and a door slammed. Juanpablo quieted. I moved so I could see through the crack.
I could tell from Wren’s body language that he wasn’t doing well.
He was tense and upset, and I could see that even from just a view of his back.
Bodhi got out of the truck. For a couple of seconds, neither of them moved.
Then as if someone released them, they hugged long and tight, Bodhi burying his face in Wren’s curly hair.
I couldn’t hear what, if anything, was being said, but then Wren stepped back, wiped his face with the back of his hand.
“Okay. Enough of that,” he said. I saw the moment he put on a mask of sorts. His posture changed, and Bodhi’s expression fell.
Wren turned on his heel and headed toward me, so I stepped back out of the way. Keegan, who had clearly been spying through the living room window, sat back on the couch and grinned briefly, before turning his attention to the book next to him.
Wren stepped inside and immediately went to give Keegan a hug. Then he made the rounds through everyone else. It seemed that just about every member of the family, except Emery who was working, had made a point to be here to welcome Wren home.
They didn’t see one another that often, but they were all still his family and something inside him started to settle.
Jenn called out my name from the kitchen, so I went to see what she needed.
“Yes?” I asked, smiling at how healthy she looked now.
If I didn’t know, I wouldn’t have been able to tell she’d had a health scare so recently.
“I was just talking with Abigail about the sleeping arrangements,” she said, pushing a mug of coffee my way.
“Oh?” I glanced at Abi who was peering into a pot of something while Nick explained something to her.
She, much like most people in my profession, could fit in anywhere.
“I assume she and Wren would stay at the cabin, and you would come to the house and stay with Emery?”
I frowned. “Uh—”
“That sounds about right,” Wren said firmly. “I love you, but I want a whole bed to myself. Besides, you have a man to cuddle.”
I almost objected, but Abi sent me a look that said “don’t be an idiot” and I acquiesced.
“Sure. Fine. Whatever. I’ll bring my stuff here later.”
“Good.” Wren stuck his tongue out at me, then went to hug Jenn again.
Nick set up the coffee and treats, and everyone descended. I took mine to the living room to get out of the way a little. I wanted to give Wren room to be with his family for a while.
Bodhi came in, glanced at me with a scowl on his face as usual, and then went into the kitchen.
Eventually, Abi joined me on the couch and looked a bit stunned.
“What?” I asked, pretty sure I knew what the expression was about.
“How can people be that wholesome?” she whispered.
Laughing, I patted her shoulder. “I don’t know. I stopped questioning it years ago.”
Later, we drove to the cabins and grabbed their bags from the back.
Russ was sitting on his porch, and Wren handed his guitar case to me, then jogged to greet the man. Abi grinned and shook her head. Yeah, that interaction was oddly wholesome, too.
“The couch is pretty comfortable,” I told her as I opened the door to the cabin.
Somehow, extra blankets, pillows, and linens had materialized on the couch. I needed to give Jenn an extra hug. I didn’t care who she’d sent to make sure Abi had them, but I knew it had been her.
I left the guitar case in the living room, then went to the bedroom to drop off Wren’s bag and to grab my stuff.
It blew my mind a little that I was moving in with Emery, even if temporarily and not in any serious way. The easy acceptance from Jenn, the assumption that I would go to the house, also warmed my chest.
She and Mike had become pseudo-parents, as much as I felt comfortable admitting that to myself. Like all the lost souls the ranch seemed to gather, I, too, was grateful and somewhat befuddled about the Harrington Effect.
Snorting softly, I gathered my toiletry kit. I needed to tell Emery about the Harrington Effect. I was pretty sure all the spouses would agree with me that such a thing existed.
I put my bag by the door, and hung out with Abi for a while until I heard Wren talking with someone outside.
As I went to investigate, I saw Emery chatting with Wren animatedly.
I leaned on the doorframe, just watching them for a while. Then Emery realized I was there, and beamed at me.
“Oh, that’s disgusting,” Wren teased as he looked between us.
I gave him the finger and went to meet Emery halfway. I kissed him softly.
“So, I hear I get a roommate?” he asked, waggling his eyebrows.
“Your mother bullied me into it, yes.” I leaned closer and said, “If you think I won’t want to fool around in your childhood bedroom, you’re wrong. I just have to come up with creative ways to keep you quiet.”
The sound he made and the blush on his cheeks made Wren let out retching sounds.
“Oh my god. That’s like my baby brother being violated by my best friend. I feel icky. I need a shower. And bleach!” He flounced off theatrically. “Abi? Do we have eye bleach?”
I pressed my forehead against Emery’s as he shook with silent laughter.
Wren being playful was good. It meant he accepted us wholeheartedly and wasn’t too down about Bodhi at the moment. I didn’t know what would come of all of those things, but having his acceptance meant the world to me in a way I hadn’t expected.
“Come on, let’s hang out with them for a bit and then go have dinner, yeah?” Emery pecked my lips and tugged me inside the cabin.