33. Lettie
Lettie
A fter parking the truck, Brandy and I got out to unload the supplies we’d picked up in town.
As we were bringing the bags of supplements, electrolytes, and grain into the barn, a familiar deep chuckle sounded from the Chevy parked by our storage shed.
Swiveling in that direction, I saw one of our volunteers, Valerie, with her hand on Bailey’s arm as they both laughed together.
I audibly swallowed in an attempt to push away the pang of jealousy that was creeping in. She was just being friendly and making small talk while he helped her load the truck for the fundraising event tomorrow. There was no harm in that, right?
Brandy noticed me watching them and failed to hide her shit-eating grin. I ignored her and got back to work unloading our truck, grabbing the last few bags of dewormer from the back seat.
With my hands full, I kicked the door shut with a little too much force. I turned around to find Valerie looking over at me. She waved, her white teeth flashing as she smiled.
I raised my hand in a poor attempt to wave, the plastic handles on the bags squeezing the life out of my palm. Brandy had to have grabbed more than just dewormer. It felt like these things were loaded down with horseshoes.
Realization dawned on me and I dared a peek inside, but right as I maneuvered one of the bags open slightly, Brandy swooped in and grabbed them out of my hand.
“Hey!”
“Poking your nose where it doesn’t belong, Lettie,” she said over her shoulder as she brought them into the barn.
“I know that’s not just dewormer!” I shouted after her.
There was only one man on this ranch that needed horseshoes, and if my guess on what was in those bags was correct, she’d be hearing it from me.
I was sure Reed wasn’t the one to ask her to buy them, though.
My dad tried to keep horseshoes on hand so Reed didn’t have to dip into his own stash when he worked on our personal horses. Reed never minded, but my dad insisted.
Bailey was loading a folded-up plastic table into the bed of the truck, but I knew Valerie was more than capable of loading the rest, seeing as Bailey already did all of the heavy lifting .
I debated going over there when I saw Beckham perched against the fence, watching the rescue horses graze. The horse he’d had us pick up was a few feet from the fence where he stood, content as he chewed.
I walked in Beck’s direction, coming up beside him. “Hey.”
“Hey,” he replied.
“Going to do anything with him?” I jerked my head in the direction of the bay.
He shook his head. “Nah. The guy deserves to retire, live out the rest of his days in a wide open field. He’s already put in more work than some horses do in their entire lives.”
He was right. The best thing we could give these horses was freedom and food.
I glanced behind me at Bailey and Valerie chatting.
“Why don’t you just go over there?”Beck asked.
“Huh?”
He faced me, keeping a hand on the fence. “I see you looking at him.”
“And? He’s just helping her.” But I knew he caught the slight bit of jealousy in my tone.
He turned away, looking back out at the field. “Won’t go anywhere if you don’t confront your feelings.” I hated that he was right.
He was one to talk, though. He’d hid his feelings from the one person in his life we all knew he felt something for, and now she was off the grid.
Knowing bringing her up wouldn’t do any good, I decided to listen to Beck. “Talk to you later?”
He nodded, the movement jostling his black cowboy hat slightly. I turned and headed in Bailey’s direction.
I came to a stop at the corner of the tailgate. “Hey. Can I borrow Bailey?”
Bailey was wearing a baseball cap backwards instead of his typical cowboy hat. The fact that he was all sweaty, sexy, and around a woman other than me grinded my gears. Bailey wasn’t mine to be jealous over, but I felt it all the same.
I didn’t miss the smirk that lifted the corner of Bailey’s lips. I also didn’t miss the way his ass looked with his bandana sticking out his back pocket as he jumped off the edge of the tailgate. “You good with the rest, Val?”
Val ?
She totally ignored me, instead reaching down to lift the tailgate and acting like it was too heavy. Bailey lifted it for her, slamming it closed. How do you volunteer at a horse rescue and you can’t close a tailgate?
“I can load the rest into the back seat. Thanks for your help, Bailey.” She flashed him a sweet smile, all her teeth on display. “Nice seeing you, Lettie.” She regarded me for less than two seconds before walking around to the back door of the truck.
Bailey wiped at the sweat on his forehead with his forearm as he faced me, the moisture glistening on his tan arms.
Before I could say anything stupid, I grabbed his hand, tugging him behind me over to the halfway repaired red barn. Once inside, I dropped his hand, spinning around to face him.
“What’s the emergency?” he asked.
“I didn’t like that.”
His brows furrowed in confusion, but a few seconds later, a smile reached his mouth as realization dawned on him. “Are you jealous?”
I crossed my arms. “Jealous? Please.”
He took a step closer, towering over me. “You’re jealous of Volunteer Valerie.”
How many more nicknames did he have for her?
I pursed my lips, then threw my hands down to my sides. “Okay, fine. I’m jealous.”
He shook his head, a small chuckle coming out of him.
“What?” I demanded.
“You don’t need to be jealous of her, or anyone, in fact.”
“Why do you say that?”
He lowered his head slightly. Fuck, I wish he wore backwards baseball caps more often. I didn’t think he could get any sexier, but twist that hat around? I’d drop my panties in this damn barn if he asked.
“Because I only have eyes for you, Lettie. It’s always been you.”
I barely had time to swallow before he pressed his lips to mine, cupping my face in his hands. My fingers wrapped around his wrists as I met his pace, our lips melting together.
I wanted to be able to kiss him whenever and wherever I wanted, but that wouldn’t happen unless I admitted how I felt and what I wanted. I needed to start voicing my feelings and stop hiding from them. That was the only way this would work.
I pulled back, his hands lowering slightly to cup my jawline, his thumbs rubbing circles on my cheeks.
“It’s always been you, too, Bailey.”
His eyes narrowed the slightest bit. “Really?”
I nodded. “I don’t want this to ruin us.”
“No ruination can come from the two of us being together. I promise.”
I searched his face, seeing that he meant it. There was no hint of humor or sarcasm in his voice. “How do you know? How are you so willing to risk it?”
“Because I don’t think I could go through this life without risking it for you.”
Within a breath, his lips were back on mine, devouring me, a sense of urgency and demand in the way his hands tangled in my hair, pulling me closer.
Now that I knew what he tasted like, how much he truly wanted me and me alone, I never wanted this to stop.
Kissing, touching, whispered sweet-nothings, I wanted it all.
His tongue slipped past my lips as he brought one hand down the side of my body to fist my shirt at my waist.
“Fuck, Bailey, you make it so hard not to ride you in this damn barn right now,” I mumbled against his mouth.
He smiled into our kiss before pulling back an inch. “What’s stopping you?”
“Only the fact that it’d be so obvious to anyone who saw us come in here.”
He shrugged like that wasn’t a big deal. To him, it probably wasn’t.
He licked his lips, my eyes following his tongue as it trailed along his slightly swollen lower lip. He reached up to the bill of his hat, pulling it off to run his hand through his hair before fixing it back in place, still backwards, thank God .
“Come to my place tonight,” he said.
I was at a loss for words for a moment, my mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. “Like...” I cleared my throat. “Like a date?”
He nodded. “Like a date.”
“Do I need to dress up?”
“Wear whatever you’re comfortable in. I honestly wouldn’t mind if you wore nothing at all.”
I shoved at his shoulder playfully, hard enough to make him take a step back. He grabbed my chin, tilting my head up to him. “My house at eight.”
I couldn’t say no to those green eyes, but his mouth was on mine before I could respond. He already knew what my answer would be.
He pulled back again, scanning my eyes for a moment before turning around without another word and heading out of the barn .
I was tired of letting my overthinking get the best of me.
From now on, I’d keep saying yes to Bailey Cooper.