Chapter 42 #2
“Your son, though? He could use that Sunday smile far more than I ever would. There’s a lot of time left for all of us, and I’d really hate for you to waste all of yours punishing him for being the man you raised him to be.”
I feel the tingle of eyes on me the moment I finish speaking.
It’s not from Jed’s blistering stare, which can only mean my cowboy’s just heard everything I’ve said.
With a swipe of my tongue over my dry lips, I shift and find Rowe approaching us.
Wraith’s tied to a post a few yards away, his attention glued to his rider’s back.
Rowe’s not as sensitive to the heat as I am and is still wearing one of the same black work shirts that he shrugs his huge frame into every morning.
He’s got the sleeves unbuttoned and slid high on his forearms, at least, exposing the swirls of ink that cover his skin.
And fuck me, not even the tan chaps can hide how well his jeans hug his thighs.
I stare at the hand reaching for me and the veins that strain along the back of it before blinking up at him and meeting his gaze. The slight inward tug of his brows reveals his discomfort with this predicament I’ve found myself in, but I try to play it off with a wink.
His hand finds my knee and then glides a few inches up as he shifts his focus to his father. “Slow day?”
“No. I was just checking in on your progress,” Jed replies, awfully snippy still.
I cover Rowe’s hand with mine and thread our fingers. He steps between my legs, leaning his perfect ass against my inner thigh and searching his father’s expression.
“I was telling your dad how grateful he should be to have such an amazing trainer working for him. If you ever opened yourself up to moving on from this place, you’d be a hot commodity.
I’d bet even Steele Ranch would beg for you to work on their horses, and we all know how big they’re getting.
Maybe they’ll expand big enough to start breeding them instead of just cattle,” I drawl.
Jed’s glare is sharp and glacial. I smile innocently and lean forward, resting my cheek against Rowe’s bicep. The kiss he presses to my crown doesn’t help matters. If anything, I grow far more brave knowing he isn’t going to be mad at me for taking a few rightly deserved shots at his father.
We both know there won’t ever be any affection shared between them.
It’s a shame, and if I thought I could make it happen, I’d force them to make up.
But there are too many years of resentment between them.
Jed’s never been a good father to him, and Rowe stopped trying to earn his respect years before he went away.
All these years since have only made them root themselves to opposite sides of the chasm between them.
Rowe’s the heir to the Painted Sky legacy, and that’s that.
I fold my other hand over Rowe’s, sandwiching it in place when he disregards his father and tells me, “This is our home. We’re not going anywhere.”
Our home.
We’re not going anywhere.
It’s like his father isn’t there anymore.
Whether his presence stays or goes, it doesn’t stop me from craning my head back and waiting for the kiss he presses to my lips.
He tastes like salt and open air from a day spent in the sun.
There’s nothing better out there for me, not from here to the fucking moon.
“No need to entertain the idea of working elsewhere. This is where you’ll stay, Rowe. Both of you,” Jed says tightly, interrupting. “Let me know if that horse gives you any further issues.”
It’s as close to acceptance as I’ve heard from him.
“The horse’s name is Wraith,” I declare.
He doesn’t reply, and I don’t waste my time looking to see how far away he’s already gotten, his footsteps loud and heavy.
Rowe’s grey eyes search mine, calm and soft.
I let him look and release his hand so that I can pinch his shirt and bring him closer.
He moves easily, forcing my thighs further apart so he can fit between them.
“You fucking did it, Rowe. He let you ride him.”
“He’s still not where I want him. But it’s progress.”
“Be proud of what you’ve already done, not what’s still left. Do you think it’ll take much longer for him to let you take him out for a real ride?”
Rowe palms my nape and strokes the back of my ear. “No. He trusts me now. I think he could be a good workhorse.”
“It would be a real shame if Diesel found himself a new rider, then, wouldn’t it? Especially if said owner was the same woman who’s currently keeping your bed warm every night,” I tease, unable to hide my grin. It blows out wide, teeth and all.
“Is this your way of asking to keep him for yourself, hellcat?”
“Well, are you going to say yes?”
He rakes his teeth over my lower lip and hums softly. “He’s already yours. I haven’t gotten to ride him in weeks. You hog him.”
“That’s because he likes me better.”
“You’re bratty today.”
“Wanna tame me?” I whisper, slipping my finger down to where he’s got his shirt tucked into his jeans.
With a tug, I pull it free and touch his bare stomach.
The skin is hot, almost burning to the touch as I stroke my way up, over the V-shaped groove leading beneath his jeans and between the thick ridges of muscle.
He breathes out a groan and tugs at the hairs at the base of my skull.
Lust shoots through me like an arrow and lands between my legs, leaving me damp.
“Careful, or I’ll take you right here against this fence.”
“Now, that would be a real sight for everyone to see today.”
His grip grows possessive as his eyes dart past me and then return. “Get your perky ass in the stable before I take you in a fucking truck.”
“Yes, sir.”
His following growl is one of my favourite sounds. Without thinking twice, I twist out of his hold and hop off the fence. He lets me get a head start, and I let a laugh fly free, knowing that soon enough, I’ll have gotten exactly what I wanted today.
Or rather, what I want for the rest of my life.