Chapter 18
Jules
The grass here is better than in the city. It’s plush and soft, wild even. Sitting here, surrounded by mountains as Genie and Ratrick play in the grass almost feels like . . . home.
The thought is so abrupt, I have to blink as it flits across my mind to drag myself from my thoughts back into the present.
Genie is giggling and crawling around in the grass, Ratrick running with her.
Ratrick likes it here, too. My apartment that changes too often is his usual haven, but it’s clear he enjoys the outdoors.
He’s been tunneling around in the grass, running with Genie like they’re the best of friends.
Oak appears on the porch of the main house, a mug in his hand. The moment Genie sees him, she screeches and takes off toward him. I scramble to my feet, quickly swiping up Ratrick and plopping him on my shoulder before chasing after the little demon.
“Hey!” I say, laughing as I chase her. “You get back here!”
Genie just giggles and runs faster, her little legs still unsteady on the uneven ground.
Oak, to his credit, doesn’t flinch. He sets his coffee mug down and the moment Genie gets close enough to hurt herself crawling up the steps, he sweeps her off her feet.
“Not today, little monster. You’re gonna give your momma a heart attack if you get a splinter,” he tells her, his gravelly voice soft and gentle. The way he holds her, it’s perfectly natural.
I trip on the grass as I hurry over when the sight of this large teddy bear of a man holding little Genie meets me.
It’s not because I’m afraid, but because it looks .
. . right. Oak looks like he was meant to be a dad, and like he’d be a good one.
Genie clearly thinks the world of him. She clamps her little hands on his face and squeezes, giggling at the way it makes his lips look.
“Alright, alright,” I chastise, reaching for her. He hands her to me immediately before picking his mug back up. “Sorry. She’s in the fish face phase.”
“No problem,” he says, smiling at Genie. It makes his whole face light up. “I was coming to find you anyway.”
“Oh?” I ask, watching him carefully.
He nods. “We’re on tonight.”
“Right.” I turn and spot Bonnie, waving to her. She immediately comes rushing over to take the spitfire trying her hardest to get down in my arms. “Can you watch Genie for a few minutes? Just gotta discuss some business.”
“Of course,” she replies, her eyes crinkling. “Wouldn’t want to get in the way of you two’s conversation.” She winks at Oak like she’s hinting at something else, which only makes the large man frown. “Come on, Genie! Let’s go make some slime!”
Genie claps her hands and practically launches herself at Bonnie. That girl, like most kids, can never say no to slime.
Once they’re out of earshot, I turn back to Oak and smile. “What did we need to discuss?”
Ratrick sits on my shoulders, gently making noises at Oak as he watches. I know lots of people don’t particularly like rats. I don’t know why. They’re actually very clean creatures and they’re intelligent. They’ve gotten a bad rap over the years, but Ratrick? He’s family.
“You wanna hold him?” I ask, tilting my head. “He’s friendly.”
Oak shakes his head. “No. Just make sure to watch him out here. We’ve got hawks.”
My eyes widen and immediately dart to the sky. “I didn’t even think about that.”
“I’d hate for him to get swept away. I imagine that would be pretty traumatic.”
“Definitely,” I nod, pulling Ratrick down to my arms in paranoia now. “So, what are we discussing?”
He gestures towards the driveway. “Walk with me?”
I look down at my bare feet and then over at the gravel. “Can we walk in the grass?”
Oak tilts his head, following my gaze to my feet. “I’ll do you one better.” He pops open the screen door, reaches inside, and grabs a pair of boots. When he plops them down in front of me, I raise my brows. “They’re my old ones. They’ll be too big, but they’ll protect your feet.”
I slip my feet inside the warm boots and wiggle my toes.
They are insanely large compared to my feet which isn’t surprising with how large Oak is.
But I look extra silly in my sweatpants bunched up around the top of them.
The moment I have them on, Oak steps down the stairs and looks at me expectantly, waiting for me to follow.
So, I do. I clomp after him in the boots, the too-large shoes moving too much around my feet.
It takes everything in me not to trip and I end up walking like I’m trudging through snow.
When I look up at Oak, I find him watching me with a smile on his face, but the moment I catch him, that smile wipes clean.
“Don’t laugh,” I chastise. “This was your idea.”
He shrugs. “I thought you’d at least be able to walk in them.”
“Says the man with giant feet,” I grumble.
He walks slower so I’m able to catch up with him and then continues to walk slower so I can keep pace in the massive boots. “Now we talk?”
Oak nods. “Everything okay in the cabin? With Genie? You have everything you need?”
Aww, he cares. I nod. “We have everything. Thank you. You’ve been more than accommodating.”
“Good, good.” He stares off into the mountains, his face expressionless. “So . . . about the last scene . . . with Sawyer . . .”
Shit. I was wondering when that was going to come up.
I’ve been replaying the moment over and over in my mind, and honestly, things did get out of hand, but I can’t figure out if it’s because of me, because of Sawyer, or something else.
Maybe I imagined the chemistry there and Sawyer was just damn good at what he does.
Maybe I imagined something that wasn’t happening.
I’ve been meaning to talk to Sawyer about it, but I’ve honestly been a bit of an ostrich, preferring to duck my head in the sand for a little while. But now here Oak is, bringing it up.
“Yeah, about that . . .” I start, wanting to ask clear questions. Oak was watching. He’d be able to tell me if it was real, if I’m imagining things, if Sawyer is actually interested in something with me.
Which is a wild fucking thought. I can’t ask that. I can’t date anyone. Not while I’m in hiding. I’ve lost my damn mind apparently.
“We know that this is a paid collaboration,” Oak says when I don’t continue. He seems to sense my panic and thinks that it’s because of what he’s saying. It’s not. It’s because of my own thoughts. “We want you to know that emotions won’t play a part in this.”
My eyes crash into his. “Okay—”
“Things went further with Sawyer than planned. I just want to reassure you we’re not here to cause any issues or harm and that we’re grateful for this opportunity to collaborate with you,” he says, cutting me off.
“I know that,” I reply, frowning. Where the hell is this going? “I don’t understand—”
“It’s business, Jules,” he cuts in, his eyes hard. “Only business. Anything else you may have sensed was just acting. Nothing more.”
I straighten at his words, understanding what he’s saying.
He doesn’t want me getting too close, doesn’t want me to start having feelings.
It’s a dangerous thing that can happen in this industry.
We’re being intimate with each other, and with me staying on the ranch during our collaboration, it’s far too easy to imagine feelings where there are none.
What Oak is telling me is that what happened with Sawyer was nothing.
Which answers my questions, doesn’t it? I should be grateful.
Instead, my chest hurts just a little too much for comfort.
“Of course,” I reply, nodding, my gaze on his. “Only business.”
He nods, seemingly pleased with my words, before he tips his cowboy hat toward me like any cowboy gentleman would.
Despite what we’d just discussed. Despite my determination to hide the pain in my chest. “See you in a few hours, Vanta,” he says, calling me by my cam name, settling the last brick in place.
“I’ll be leading you through one of my scenes. Wear something . . . sheer.”
And then he leaves me there, standing in his too-large boots, to stare after him as he walks away.