Chapter 28
Kacey
Icomplete the rest of my chores at lightning speed. He’s coming back, already. He’s only been gone a couple of weeks. I don’t let myself think about what this might mean. I don’t want to read too much into it.
After chores, I head back to the house and do a quick check in the mirror. I swap my old beat-up jeans for a pair of Kimes—I know they’re his favorite. Then I go to the kitchen and make breakfast burritos. I haven’t eaten and I’m betting they haven’t either.
By the time I’ve finished, I’m walking down my porch steps as they pull in the driveway.
Knox has his rodeo truck and camper. It’s newer than his other truck, but it’s still black, and it’s partially wrapped with a sponsor.
It’s a fourth gen Ram dually with a matching black Capri camper and toolboxes with a generator mounted to the back.
I have to take a couple deep breaths and calm my heart rate.
I’m so excited to see him. After he answered during that interview, things have changed between us.
Yes, we talked more, but it’s more than that.
Something feels different now, I just can’t put my finger on what.
I think him showing up here after only being gone for a couple weeks also shows that.
I meet them at the drive and Knox jumps out of the truck and picks me up, wrapping me in a big hug.
“Hi, sweetheart,” he whispers with his head tucked into the hair at my neck.
“Hi,” I reply as he sets me down and our eyes meet. I hear the other truck door shut and gravel crunching, but I can’t look away yet.
“Where’s my hug?” I hear the man who must be Trey ask.
I can’t help but laugh. After everything Knox has told me about him, this tracks.
“Shut up,” Knox tells him.
I turn to face Trey while Knox introduces us. He takes off his hat and shakes my hand like every good cowboy does. Once introductions are complete, I go into the house and grab the burritos while they move the truck and camper down by the bunkhouse where they can plug into electricity.
I walk to the bunkhouse and hand them their burritos. I look over the truck and camper as we eat standing next to it.
“Have you ever seen such a beautiful rig before?” Trey asks with a mouthful of food.
“You could try talking after you swallow your food, or at the very least, cover your mouth,” Knox scolds him.
“Okay, Dad, I’ll be more polite.” He swallows and clears his throat. “Kacey, have you ever seen such a beautiful rig?”
“I can’t say I have. Everyone I know has a horse trailer.”
“Come on, I’ll give you a tour,” Trey says and heads for the door.
I look at Knox.
He just smiles and nods toward the camper, telling me to go ahead.
I step up onto the toolbox as Trey opens the door.
It has a six-foot counter on the left side with cabinets underneath and wall-mounted ones above.
Between the counter and the upper cabinets is a TV on a swivel mount that pulls out.
On the righthand side is a shower, then a twin-sized bed.
Up in the nose, over the truck cab, is another bed that looks queen size.
“The twin is my bed, Knox is up top. When another bull rider hops in, there’s another twin that folds down from the wall.” Trey pulls a latch, and another bed drops down.
“Well, this is a cozy set up y’all have here. It’s surprisingly clean for a couple of bull riders,” I say, walking out of the camper.
“I’ll give it to Trey, his life may be a mess but, I never have to clean up after him,” Knox says, crumpling his aluminum foil into a ball.
“Hey, my life is organized chaos—exactly how I want it,” Trey retorts.
“Oh yeah? Where are we entered after Vernal?” Knox raises a single brow.
“You see, I don’t need to know, because you know. It’s all part of my strategy.” He shrugs.
Knox rolls his eyes, then points to the box I’m standing on. “In the lower toolbox is extra equipment and tools. In the upper is our gear bags and hanging clothes.”
I step down from the toolbox.
“Sooo, I’ve gotta ask about your red-headed friend,” Trey says. “Knox refuses to tell me her name.”
Ha, of course he wants to know about Jessie.
“I was trying to keep the peace as long as I could,” Knox explains.
I nod. “It’s true, they’ll meet eventually, but I agree—it’s best to keep the peace.”
“The two of them together is a liability; we may need a lawyer on standby.”
“You do realize I’m standing right here. I can hear you,” Trey interjects.
We both turn to him and say at the exact same time, “Yeah, we know.” Turning back to each other, Knox gives me a wink, and we laugh.
“You ready to head out? I have the horses saddled. We need to meet Chet and the guys in ten minutes.”
“Yep, let’s go.” Knox grabs his cowboy hat out of the camper and my stomach does a little flip. I love him in a cowboy hat.
“Okay, well, I guess I’ll just hang out here. All by myself,” I hear Trey whine as we walk away. “No redhead or nothin'.”
“You’ll be fine. Go take a nap. You bitched all morning about how tired you are,” Knox hollers back.
We get the cattle moved and put the horses away before heading back to my house. Knox grabbed a change of clothes out of the camper and said Trey is happily playing Xbox.
Once we get to my house, we both take a shower.
I take my time and do an everything shower.
I need a few minutes alone to calm my raging hormones.
Spending all day with him, watching him handle a horse, the lingering feeling of his arms wrapped around me .
. . I wanted to grab the man by the belt and yank him to me more than a few times today.
Once I’m showered and dressed, I feel more in control. He said he didn’t want to sleep with me and leave for the summer, and I need to respect that. Even if I don’t necessarily agree with his logic, I can respect it.
I walk out of my room and down the hallway. Right before I get to the guest bathroom door, Knox walks out in nothing but a towel.
Fuck. Me.
So much for having my hormones under control. He still has water running down his chiseled chest. He turns his shoulders slightly, making his abs flex, and I can see the tattoos on one rib cage clearly.
This is so not fair.
I know I’m staring, but I can’t stop myself.
I’m also pretty sure Knox just said something to me, but all I can hear is the pounding of my heart.
I’m running my eyes over his torso when he moves his arm, reaching up to run his fingers through his damp curls.
My eyes snap to his and I see him watching me with a shit-eating grin on his face.
“Like what you see?”
I shake my head. “Sorry, you just caught me off guard, is all. Not used to having someone else in the house.” I hurry past him and into the kitchen as he chuckles behind me.
Knox follows me into the main living area, grabs his bag, and heads back to the bathroom.
I start prepping dinner and it’s not long before he’s moving around the kitchen helping.
I finish seasoning the burgers and he offers to grill them.
When he reaches around me to pick up the plate they’re on, I can feel his body heat and smell him.
That bergamot and sandalwood with a touch of leather.
He grabs the plate with one hand and places the other on my hip, sliding in next to me.
I have to stop myself from leaning into him.
We make small talk while we eat, and I catch him up on what’s been going on at the ranch since he left.
He tells me about his upcoming rodeos and asks about Estes Park.
Jessie and I booked our rental cabin the day after Knox answered during his interview.
She said there was no way we weren’t going to see him after that.
So at least I know I’ll see him again in a few weeks, even if it’s just for one night.
My kitchen isn’t overly small, but as we clean up dinner, it seems like we can’t go a full minute without brushing up against one another or touching in some way.
By the time Knox finishes washing dishes, my skin is on fire, and I need to touch him.
I need to feel his hands on me, my lips on his.
I know he can sense it; I’ve felt the tension coming off him all night.
This attraction between us has never been one-sided.
I put the last plate away and shut the cupboard. When I turn around, he’s leaning against the counter, his hands propped on the edge. His blue eyes search mine. What he’s looking for, I don’t know. I walk over to him and start to lightly run my fingers up his arms.
He flexes beneath my touch. “What are you thinking?” he asks.
I look up and meet his eyes. “That you’re a lot more patient than I am.”
“What do you mean by that?” He takes his hands off the counter, and they find my hips to pull me closer.
“Are you going to see anyone else this summer? Or is it just me?” I watch his face change from shock to curiosity.
“Sweetheart, I think you know the answer to that.”
“Still, I want to hear you say it. You know I’m not seeing anyone else and have no plans to.”
“Alright,” he says as he pulls me even closer.
He looks me straight in the eye. “It’s just you.
” He dips his head and runs his nose up the side of my neck to my ear.
“I don’t want anyone else. I’ve never wanted anyone else as much as I want you.
” His husky voice skates over my skin, causing goosebumps to run down my arms.
I run one hand up his arm and gently tangle my fingers in his hair. I pull him to me for a kiss, and he meets me halfway. The kiss is long and deep—neither of us can get enough. He nips my lower lip while gripping my hips hard, like he’s trying to hold himself back.
Screw that, I don’t want him to hold back. I want him to lose control.
I rock into him just like he depicted that night on my porch. He hums into my mouth, and I can feel him already getting hard for me. But the next second, I break the kiss and step back, creating some distance between us.