28. Presley
Chapter 28
Presley
You know that feeling you get when something is going so well that you’re waiting for it to blow up in your face? That’s how I feel right now, but I’ve been trying to ignore it because I want to bask in the excitement of things finally going right after so long.
Kade smiles across the barn aisle at me, his ball cap turned backward on his head as he whistles a country tune along with the radio like he normally does while working. It’s been almost two weeks since our night at Devil’s Rock, and to be honest, I’m a little worried about him. He’s been…
Chipper.
When I first met him, I wouldn’t have used that word as a descriptor for him. Flirty? Yes. Annoying? Yes. Mostly salty and sweet? Yes. But chipper?
I’m not complaining that he’s happy—I want him to be happy—but sometimes I wonder if his new attitude is a way for him to mask all the pain and emotions he has inside him. Especially since I haven’t seen him touch a drop of alcohol recently, the crutch he tended to use before.
Again, I’m not complaining. I just know that talking about your problems once doesn’t solve them.
I’ve gently tried to speak to him about it, but he insists he’s fine, that he feels better than he has in a long time. He said that if he needs to talk he will, and I have to respect that, especially since he respects me in the same way .
A small smile tugs at the corner of my lips when I think about how patient and caring he is with me. He’s even gone out of his way to do things he knows will make me feel safe and comfortable, like buying me the brand-new pair of wide-calf cowboy boots that are currently on my feet. I cried when he put them on me—nobody has ever done something like that for me or gotten me such a thoughtful gift. They weren’t cheap, either, so knowing that he spent his money to make me comfortable is something I don’t take lightly.
To top it off, he started carrying an extra one of my calming inhalers in his pocket in case I forget to bring one with me or lose the one I have. But like Kade not drinking, I’ve found I’ve been using it less and less, to the point I’ve gone days without. Last night was the only exception.
When Jake asked me last week to play a gig with a few of his friends for their costume event tonight, I said yes. I was excited at the prospect of being onstage and playing my fiddle for more than just Kade. But the more I thought about it, the more anxious I got. Then, while I was practicing last night, my anxiety got the best of me, and I used the inhaler to stop the onset of an even bigger attack.
Kade asked me what I was so nervous about, and I couldn’t answer. It’s not like Night Hawk is the Grand Ole Opry. It’s a small gig in front of locals and customers; I shouldn’t be freaked out about it. But it’ll be the first time I’ve played in public since leaving the band, and I want to do a good job.
“Are you thinking about the gig tonight?” Kade calls over to me.
The sounds of other ranch hands and country music whooshes back into my ears, and I’m reminded of where I am. I also realize I’ve been sifting the same pile of shavings for probably five minutes now.
I smile sheepishly at him as he walks—with a pep in his step—across the aisle and props his pitchfork on the doorframe so he can put his hands on my shoulders. He’s sporting a lopsided grin on his face, and there’s light shining in his hazel eyes. Like I said, chipper. But who knows? Maybe I am overthinking his new attitude. I’m not used to being around happy people. I’m not used to being happy myself. And Kade, he makes me happy. Really happy. Maybe this attitude is because I make him happy, too.
He shakes me playfully, and my cheeks flush. “Sorry, I was thinking about it.” Among other things.
He chuckles, squeezing my shoulders. “You have nothing to worry about, Lemon. Even if you got up on stage and completely bombed, which we know you won’t, everyone will love you.”
“You’re ridiculous, you know that?”
“Not ridiculous—I’m just speaking facts. You’re going to do great. I can’t wait to cheer you on.”
I blush, a permanent side effect of being around Kade, and picture him front and center tonight wearing this goofy smile of his.
Like he knows what I’m thinking, his grin gets wider. “You know, I have an idea about how to take your mind off it for a while.”
I quirk an eyebrow at him. “What is it?”
He steps back and rubs his hands together excitedly. “It’s time to go eat lunch before we preg-check some heifers!”
I groan. He’s way too excited about eating food then going to check cows for pregnancy. “I thought you were joking about that earlier.”
His eyes shine with laughter, and he shakes his head. “Ranch life isn’t glamorous, darlin’. Sometimes you gotta stick your arm up a cow’s ass.”
Just as Kade finishes, Art walks by with a wheelbarrow full of muck. “You’re a kinky motherfucker, Kade,” he says, shaking his head with a grin.
“You have no idea, Arturo.” Kade winks and turns back to me. The heated look in his eyes now dark with lust has me forgetting about ranch life and clenching my thighs together. Only Kade could make me do a one-eighty like that.
It also has to do with the fact that we haven’t had more than make-out sessions and heavy petting since that night in the truck. Not only has ranch work increased significantly, but Jake also asked us to pick up extra shifts at Night Hawk. A social media post went viral, and we’ve been slammed with wedding parties.
It didn’t help that Gavin took a break from his shifts to focus on the dude ranch as well. Kade said he expected that news at some point, but I could see it shocked him. Not because of the reasoning, but because he learned it from Jake and not from Gavin himself. Kade divulged to me that it hurt his feelings to find out that way, but when I suggested he speak with his brother, he said he wasn’t ready to go there yet, that he was still thinking about everything we talked about at Devil’s Rock.
I think a part of him also wants Gavin to be the one to break the ice. At this point, it feels like a vicious cycle that someone needs to break, but I’m letting Kade work through his feelings because I know he’s been pushed enough.
I just hope he talks to Gavin soon so it’s at least less awkward between them. When they see each other, they keep things strictly business, but I can tell that they both want to say something and are too prideful to do it.
“Presley.” My name brings my attention back to him. “What are you thinking about?”
I brush my more serious reflections away, my eyes moving to his mouth. My lips part, and when I meet his gaze again, his pupils are darker, and the way he’s focused on me makes goosebumps pebble across my skin despite the warmth of the day. Now I’m only thinking about what his lips feel like on mine and how his hands feel on my body.
“Kade,” I say, the arousal evident in my voice.
“Tell me what you’re thinking about,” he repeats. His tone is commanding and heady this time, but before I can answer, the distant sound of Art and the other ranch hands talking outside reaches my ears.
While Kade and I haven’t exactly hidden our attraction to each other, we haven’t publicly made any sort of declaration regarding our budding relationship or kissed in front of anyone. Jake is really the only one who knows exactly how much time Kade and I spend together outside of work. But the rumor mill has spun their theories since the night Derek came to Night Hawk, enough that Blake and June tried to ask me if there was something going on between us one morning over breakfast, but I played coy, not wanting to dive into it with anyone when Kade and I haven’t even talked about it. That fact would have given me anxiety in the past, but after going through my last toxic relationship, it’s nice to just take things day by day and spend time together when we can.
Kade encroaches on my space, backing me up until I’m against the stall wall. “Lemon,” he whispers. “Do I need to take you over my knee?”
I suck in a sharp breath and study the planes of his square features. My nipples go hard against my bra at the suggestion. “I was thinking about you,” I finally say. “About us and how much I miss you.”
He grins, knowing exactly what I mean. “Then what do you say we spend our lunch break getting a little up close and personal.”
I lick my lips as he takes the pitchfork from my hand, propping it next to us before pressing his warm body into mine. It reminds me that we’ve been working all morning. “We’re all sweaty—and anyone could walk by.”
He waggles his eyebrows. “Even better.”
I swat his chest playfully, but I’ll admit a part of me loves that he doesn’t care about showing public affection for me or that I probably look like I rolled around in shavings—two things my ex would have balked at .
Kade tucks a piece of hair behind my ear. “I know it’s been hectic lately.” He nips at my lips. “So let’s be a little reckless, darlin’. Let me kiss you”—his lips move to my ear—“touch you a little.”
I stifle a groan from his hot breath on my ear and grind my hips into his.
“Presley.” He runs his hand up my neck, thumb pressing into my pulse. “Can I kiss you?”
I look into his eyes and think how the old Presley would’ve never considered making out with a guy in a horse stall with people nearby. But Kade has made me more than just happy—he’s turned me into a woman I hardly recognize. But I can’t say I don’t love it.
“Yes.”
Not wasting another moment, he grips the back of my skull and crushes my lips to his. I open my mouth with practiced ease, letting him lick inside so our tongues tangle together. I moan into the feeling and taste of him, the sounds of the barn and my worries about our coworkers fading to the back of my mind.
He keeps one hand in my hair then runs the other down my side and over my stomach, still being careful not to press too hard and make me uncomfortable. The thoughtfulness he shows, even in our heated moments, has me wanting to tear his clothes off. That image has been running through my mind more and more each day.
When my nails dig into his biceps, he groans into my mouth and presses his cock against me, moving his hand to my thigh so he can hitch my leg up over his hip. The new angle has my sex right over his length, pressing the seam of my jeans into my clit. I let out a cry into his mouth, thankful it mutes the noise.
Just as I tug the damp strands of sandy-blond hair at the base of his neck, a throat clears.
I let out a squeak of surprise and pull back. Kade doesn’t jump away quickly like I would’ve if I was in his position. Instead, he releases my leg and kisses me on the nose before turning to tip his hat to his brother.
“Gavin.”
I think I turn the color of a firetruck. I knew someone seeing us was possible, but I thought if anyone did, it would be Art or another one of the hands. Gavin is usually with Blake doing office work or watching over the new builds and repairs.
Seeing him, the man who’s technically my boss, after making out with his brother is awkward. This also means that if Gavin thought Kade and I were just a rumor before, we aren’t anymore. Now he’s seen us together, and he knows it’s real. We’re real.
Gavin stares at Kade, his brow pinched and lips pressed together. “Can I talk to you for a minute, Kade?” he asks.
Kade puts his shoulders back, the ease and playfulness he had with me gone now.
“Presley and I have somewhere to be,” Kade says.
Gavin looks away from his brother’s steely gaze and turns to me. “You can have the rest of the afternoon off, Presley.”
I take a step forward from where I’d been frozen on the wall. My mind is still reeling with the realization that Kade and I are real. I think I knew it before, but this has just solidified it for me. Our relationship is not just something Jake knows anymore, not just a rumor going around. And while being together, or whatever it is we are, complicates everything—including what our futures may hold—I can’t help but feel excited, even in this awkward situation.
I make eye contact with Gavin, my mouth opening to argue that I can stay and help, but the stern look on his face makes me think twice.
I turn my focus to Kade, and he shakes his head at me. “You can stay,” he says.
“That’s not necessary,” Gavin retorts.
“Presley is helping me today. ”
“I think she’s helped enough.” As soon as the words leave Gavin’s mouth, I feel insulted and embarrassed by them. The urge to run out of the stall and never come back takes over me, but I don’t. Presley from her first shift at Night Hawk would have, but after everything that’s happened, I don’t want to leave Kade alone.
I open my mouth to say something, but Kade beats me to it. “Fuck you, Gavin.”
Both Gavin and I stiffen at the intensity of his words, but they seem to snap Gavin out of whatever made him say that. The cowboy’s face relaxes, and his eyes soften. “I’m sorry, Presley. That was extremely rude and uncalled for. Please, I would just like to talk to my brother in private.”
I don’t move from my spot, instead glancing at Kade to see what he wants me to do. He tries to give me a weak smile, but that pain I’ve seen lessen in his eyes since I’ve met him starts to come back, as if speaking to his brother transforms his entire personality. That makes my decision for me. Maybe Gavin will fire me, but I don’t want to leave. Not right now, not when Kade has been doing so well.
I square my shoulders and make sure I’m maintaining eye contact with Gavin. “I think I’ll stay.”
Gavin’s nostrils flare in surprise. I know I haven’t given him the impression that I would ever stand up for myself, and even if he heard about me punching Derek through the grapevine, he doesn’t truly know me. And he doesn’t know anything real about my relationship with his brother.
Putting the pieces together in my mind now, I think it’s probably easy for Gavin to assume that I’m just another one of Kade’s conquests and nothing more than that. It makes my heart hurt for Kade a little more, seeing how misunderstood he is by his brother .
“Presley—”
“Whatever you have to say, Gav, you can say it in front of her.” He pulls my hand into his, and I squeeze it, trying to give him some strength.
Gavin’s Adam’s apple moves tightly in his throat as he swallows. His eyes dart to our hands, causing more surprise to permeate his expression. It confirms what I just thought about his opinion of us. “This is family business, Kade. It will just take a minute.”
“She’s staying,” he says more firmly.
Shock zaps through my body as if I’ve been struck by lightning, and my heart beats faster in my chest as I tilt my head to meet Kade’s gaze.
He smiles at me softly even though his eyes are stern. “You’re staying,” he reiterates.
I try to swallow the emotion in my throat as he squeezes my hand. The implication of his words truly settle into my bones, so heavy with meaning that I want to cry. Does Kade consider me family? The thought alone causes the bridge of my nose to sting and my palms to sweat. He knows I’ve never felt like I belonged. That I’ve never felt like I’ve had a family.
I press my lips together and try to keep my composure as Gavin looks between us. He takes a moment to collect himself then rubs the back of his neck. “Alright.” He exhales. “Kade, I want you to come up to the house tonight for dinner. We need to discuss more ways to sublease our land. I thought you’d want to be a part of it and give your input, especially since it was your idea.”
Despite the tense emotion of the moment, my shoulders relax, and I feel relieved. I half expected Gavin to yell at Kade for kissing me in public or say something about us being together in general.
I look back at Kade, who’s still holding my hand. His jaw is clenched, and I can tell he’s fighting with himself because he thought the same thing. What Gavin implied about me was rude, but I can understand it was said in frustration. It’s not like these brothers are good at communicating; that much is clear. But this could be the moment I think Kade’s been waiting for: his brother reaching his hand out again. I just hate it started off the way it did.
There’s silence for a moment before Kade says, “I’m working tonight. But most importantly, Presley is playing her fiddle with the band. I’m not missing it.”
Gavin is quiet at his words, his brow raised in silent question. My heart aches more for Kade. I almost can’t believe that his brother is having such a hard time believing Kade would say no because he wanted to support me instead.
But then my mouth drops open. I stare at Kade, gripping his hand so tightly it’s probably cutting off his circulation, when I truly realize what that means: He’s willing to miss dinner with his family for me. Gavin just offered what he’s been asking for on a silver platter—to be involved with the dude ranch, to be actively asked to participate and be heard. Yet he’s willing to give that up for me, to see me play my fiddle. For him to do that, it’s—I can’t even put into words how that makes me feel.
“Kade,” I say softly, trying not to cry. “It’s okay. There will be more.”
He shakes his head firmly. “No, I told you I’d be there. I want to be there, Presley.”
Gavin clears his throat. “You’ll still have time to get to Night Hawk for the show.”
“It’s fine, Kade,” I say, urging him to take this opportunity, to have his family hear him out, especially Gavin. I just hope they’ll listen to him this time. “You can do both.”
Kade studies me as if he’s trying to see if I’m serious. I nod again, and he finally turns to Gavin. “Okay.”
The brothers’ eyes lock, and a silent conversation passes between them. Eventually, Gavin says, “Dinner is at five.”
“I’ll be there,” Kade answers.
Gavin curtly nods and presents a half smile before he walks off, leaving Kade and myself alone in the stall once more. We just stand there for several seconds, our hands still joined and Kade unmoving.
“Are you okay?” I ask when the silence becomes too much.
Kade turns so we’re facing each other, then, without another word, he kisses me. His mouth is almost brutal against mine as he backs me up into the wall. My hands fly to his neck, grabbing on for balance as he delves into my mouth, his palms gripping my ass. He does this for a while, as if he’s drinking me in, memorizing my lips and my taste. By the time he’s finished with me, I can hardly breathe.
He rests his forehead against mine. His cap must’ve fallen to the stall floor at some point during our kisses.
“Kade.” I exhale, my chest heaving.
He kisses my lips softly again before cupping my cheek so we’re looking into each other’s eyes. “Thank you.”
“For what?” I ask, still breathless.
“For staying. For standing up to my brother.”
I place my hand over the one he has on my cheek. “You needed me.”
He lets out a tense breath and closes his eyes, his forehead still leaning into mine. “Later,” he says, after another beat, “before the show. Let me show you how much I need you.”
Kade strokes my cheek, pulls away slightly, and opens his hazel eyes, his gaze boring into mine. The promise in his stare, telling me exactly what he wants from me, makes my entire body tingle. The promise of doing more than just using our hands and mouths to explore each other is impossible to ignore.
“Will we have time?”
That makes him chuckle. “I’m trying to be romantic, and that’s your question?”
A laugh bubbles out of me, and I kiss his cheek before he steps back a bit. I bend down to pick up his ball cap, dusting off the shavings and then placing it on my head .
He looks at me in question as my lips tip up in a smile. “What’s that saying?” I tap my chin teasingly. “Wear the cap, ride the cowboy?”
Kade’s eyes dilate at my words, and he presses his body into mine again. “Careful, City Girl.”
“Or what?” I ask, his lips hovering near mine.
“Or I’ll turn you into a cowgirl.”
I close the distance between us and kiss his lips with a short peck. “Is that a promise?”
“It’s a fact.” He punctuates the T as he says it then adjusts his cap on my head, pulling my ponytail through the hole in the back. “Now let’s get to work. We’ve got a busy night of roping and riding ahead of us.”
Roping?
I want to ask what he means, but he’s already walking away. However, I think I know. All of his threats and mentions of “his rope” come to the forefront of my mind.
My body hums as anticipation fills me. Tonight is going to be a good night.