Chapter 24 Beau
beau
The sun filtered into the room, slowly giving the room a beautiful glow.
I looked down at Iris sleeping on my chest, pushing a stray hair out of her face, enjoying her beautiful, relaxed expression.
Nash cuddled her from behind, his arm thrown over both of us like he couldn’t go too long without touching us.
It had been two days since I had come home to her crying with Nash and I had never been more gutted in my life.
She wasn’t just crying, they were gut-wrenching sobs, like she was cleansing her soul from all the baggage she had been carrying around.
Nash and I had laid with her, comforting her and existing for her.
Nothing had ever felt so right and that shook terror into me.
Yesterday was a better day, even if she was trying to hide her sadness.
I called out of work, staying home with them as we stayed in, watching movies, cooking, baking, and just being together.
It felt good to be us in our little bubble, but I was afraid of what was happening today.
Nash was leaving for another rodeo, alone.
He invited us, but Iris had declined yesterday.
I wouldn’t go without her, and he didn’t want me to leave her either.
Nash had done hundreds of rodeos alone and this wouldn’t be his last one either, but it felt weird to not be traveling with him.
There was an air of sadness to it, like something was about to happen and I couldn’t put my finger on it.
I hoped I was just being paranoid.
“Good morning,” Iris whispered.
“Hey, beautiful,” I said, kissing her forehead. “It’s still early. Go back to sleep.”
“I felt you staring.” She nuzzled against my chest.
I chuckled. “Shut up.”
“I gotta pee,” she said, getting up, peeling herself away from Nash.
Nash grumbled, trying to pull her back, but she was quick to jump over me. I wasn’t safe as he scooted over laying his head on my chest, throwing his leg over my own, holding me tightly. I ran my hands through his hair.
“How am I supposed to get a good night's sleep without this,” he murmured, kissing my pec.
“Request a lot of pillows and bury yourself,” I chuckled.
“That’s not helping, Kitten,” he mumbled.
“You’ll be fine,” I said, kissing his forehead. “Four days isn’t that long. You’ve traveled alone before and plus, you might do better without us.”
“Yeah, you say that because you’ll have her to cuddle next to,” he sighed. “And I know I've done this alone before, but I like doing it with you and her. I never realized how lonely the rodeo circuit could be.”
“Nash, the big bronc rider, are you whining?” I chuckled.
“Shut up.” He pinched my side, biting his lip. “I just… well I just—”
“Are we waking up?” Iris walked back into the room, sitting on the edge of the bed.
Nash hid his face in my chest. “I should get an early start. I have a long drive to Utah.”
Iris looked down at her hands, biting her lips. Was she worried about something? She took a deep breath, “I’ll go get the coffee and breakfast started.”
What just happened?
“Fuck, I better shower,” he said, lifting his head. “Care to shower with me?”
He smirked at me, trailing his hand down my abs.
“You’re a menace,” I said, as my breathing changed the closer he got to my cock. “Was last night not enough for you?”
“I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of you and Iris,” he said, getting up, kissing my nose and hopping off the bed like he hadn’t just said something huge.
I wanted to believe that this would never end but—
“Come on, sexy. I want to be on my knees one more time.” He winked before walking into the bathroom.
Damn this man. I got up because who could turn down a blow job?
After our shower, Nash and I walked into the kitchen to Iris setting things on the table.
“Shit, you didn’t have to make all this,” Nash said, walking up to Iris, wrapping his arms around her from behind.
“You need a good breakfast before you leave,” she said, looking over her shoulder. “Plus, I made some burritos for the road so you don’t have to stop unless you need to.”
I saw the bag she had packed for him, peeking inside and helping her pack the rest of it.
“Damn, woman, if we weren’t already married, I’d ask you to marry me,” he chuckled, but I saw the admiration he held for Iris.
Times like these, I felt like an interloper.
“Shut up, I know it’s going to be a long drive and you need to keep your protein up and—” Nash interrupted her with a kiss.
She melted into it as he devoured her almost reverently.
My stomach swooped like I was falling down a roller coaster as I felt a rush of emotion for them.
I bit my lip going back to packing the bag for Nash before I did something stupid like confess I was catching feelings.
I was an idiot for letting it happen, but how could I not fall for them.
“Damn, I’m gonna miss you, Petal,” he murmured, kissing her forehead.
Maybe it was time to move on. They were married and I was… I didn’t know what I was, what we were or what I was to them. The unknown made my anxiety worse and the urge to cut ties was growing stronger each day.
“I’m going to miss both of you,” he said, a little louder.
I glanced up to see them looking at me.
“You’ll be fine.” I rolled my eyes playfully. “Don’t be a baby.”
“It won’t be that long,” Iris said, laying her head against Nash’s chest.
“I hope not, but if I have to, I might have to head to the next rodeo,” he said, sounding unenthusiastic about it.
“Where at?” I asked zipping his lunch bag.
“Going up to Wyoming.”
“Well, maybe if you're a good boy we can meet you there,” Iris suggested, kissing his shoulder. “Come on, eat. It’s getting late.”
“I’m going to hold you to that,” Nash said, spanking Iris, walking to the table immediately, making himself a plate.
We had breakfast in our usual fashion, talking about everything and nothing at the same time.
It was something I would miss when I went back to Denver and each time I thought of leaving, I always thought of our easy conversations.
As Nash got the rest of his things, I picked up our mess and Iris hugged me from behind as I washed some dishes.
“Are you ok?” she asked, kissing my spine, hugging me tight. “You seemed like you had something on your mind.”
“I do but it’s nothing you have to worry your pretty head about,” I said, patting her hand.
“That didn’t help me not worry,” she said, rubbing my back.
I sighed, “I’m just overthinking things.”
“About?” she pressed.
“I might have to head to Denver,” I lied.
“Oh.” Her disappointing tone hit me hard. “Well, if you need some company, let me know. I know an unemployed gal who has nothing better to do.”
I chuckled, turning around with my wet hands, pulling her close and kissing her. Iris squealed as I copped a feel with my sudsy hands.
“You little shit.” She pulled away, her beige shirt becoming a little translucent.
I dipped my hand in the water as she held her hand out. “Beau, you better not!”
“It’s just a little water,” I grinned, as I dove for her, grabbing her breasts, soaking her as much as I could.
Nash walked into the kitchen with his bags, dropped them immediately and grabbed Iris.
“No!” Iris squealed, as I wet her shirt even more, her pink nipples even more noticeable. “You guys suck.”
“Yes, we do. Very well.” Nash kissed her neck, reaching for me.
“I have a bachelor’s degree in sucking, you should know that,” I said against her temple, placing a soft kiss.
“I think we can both agree on that,” Nash chuckled, kissing my cheek, wrapping an arm around my waist.
The silence that followed felt heavy, like we all had something to say, but none of us dared.
It felt like we were at this delicate crossroad, none of us knew where the hell any of us were going, and no one wanted to lead for fear of rejection, at least I was hoping we were all on the same page.
For the first time in a long time, I had never wanted anything more than these two and that scared me so much.
Nash
The open road used to be soothing, and the excitement of driving to a rodeo was even better.
I lived for rodeo season because it was one step closer to getting away from my father.
This might be the year I finally did it, except the normal excitement wasn’t there, and I wanted to kick myself for letting this happen.
My phone rang and I immediately picked it up, desperate for someone to talk to after six hours of driving alone.
“Hello.” I answered without looking at the call.
“Mr. Yarbrough?”
“This is he,” I answered.
“Hello, this is Lance. I have the appraisal for the land, and we also surveyed it as you requested,” he said.
“Oh yes, what did you find out?” I sat up straight, spitting out my gum.
“Your wife’s sizable land is ninety-two acres with two ponds and a stream. It seems it used to be a part of the farm that was close at one point,” he said, as I heard papers shuffling. “After careful consideration, we estimate the entire property to be worth about a half a million dollars.”
Holy fuck.
“How much is the estimation per acre?” I asked, knowing the price in the Texas panhandle varied a lot.
“We are estimating fifty-five hundred dollars an acre,” he said. “If you decide to sell, your realtor will help you on a final number.”
“I appreciate all your help on this, Lance,” I said, glad I had done this.
“Of course, I will email everything to you,” he said. “Call me if you need anything else.”
“I will, thank you.”
I ended the call feeling relief, but also feeling a storm on the horizon.
My father was likely going to offer Iris pennies for the land.
He paid good money for the farm because he knew he could make money off it, but this was land that would need to be cultivated.
Brooks said he was selling, so why did he want the land so badly?