41. Lettie
Lettie
T he sun was setting when we pulled up to the ranch. Callan and Reed helped us unload the truck while my mom headed inside the house to help my dad finish cooking dinner.
As soon as she opened the front door, Rouge darted out of the house, beelining it for me.
He knew he wasn’t supposed to jump on people, but he did it anyway, the excitement taking over.
Aussies were too smart for their own good.
It was like they knew when they wouldn’t get in trouble for breaking the rules.
I rubbed his neck, then instructed him to get down and came around the back of the truck.
I closed the tailgate to the truck after Reed pulled the bag the canopy was stored in out of the bed.
Brandy came around the side of the truck and Rouge took that as an opportunity to nudge at her hand, begging for an ear scratch. She did just that, and he closed his eyes slightly, leaning into her. “I’m going to turn in early tonight, but I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“You sure you don’t want to stay for dinner?” I asked.
She shook her head. “I’m pretty tired after today. Going to try to sleep early.”
“Alright. Text me when you get home?”
“Always do.” She wrapped her arms around me in a quick hug, then made her way toward her Bronco.
“Have a good night, Brandy. Drive safe,” Callan said as she passed him.
“Goodnight, Cal.”
Reed popped out of the storage shed and I caught him watching her drive away.
“Wouldn’t kill you to say goodbye to her,” I said.
He grunted, pulling the door to the shed shut behind him.
Callan, Reed, and I crossed the driveway, Rouge on our heels as we headed up the porch into the house. Bailey came out of the front door right as we approached.
“Where are you heading?” I asked him.
Callan slipped inside the house after giving a quick nod to Bailey in greeting.
“To the hardware store real quick. Have to get paint for tomorrow morning. Wanna come?” The barn was almost complete, save for a few last minute touches and the paint.
“What about dinner?”
“It shouldn’t be done for another twenty minutes. Won’t take us too long,” he said.
I looked at Reed. “Can you let mom know we’ll be back in time to eat?”
Reed nodded, heading inside. Rouge followed him, his snout in the air as he sniffed at the smell of food wafting from the house.
We strode over to Bailey’s truck and he got behind the wheel as I slid into the middle seat. The nice thing about these old trucks was that they didn’t have center consoles. Unfortunately, most of them didn’t have cup holders because of it.
Bailey started the engine and spun the truck around, heading down the driveway. His hand found my thigh, his thumb running circles on my jeans as he headed toward the hardware store.
“How was the fundraiser?” he asked.
“It went well,” I responded. I was too distracted by his hand to give him any more details about the day.
“Lettie?”
I faced him. “Yeah?” My voice was breathy.
He glanced at me. “You good?”
“I just missed you.” My cheeks heated at my admission.
The corner of his lip quirked up. “Missed you too, Huckleberry. ”
I took him in, from his hair down to his boot on the gas. Bailey made me feel like a teenager with my hormones out of control.
As if he could read my thoughts, he slid his hand higher on my thigh while keeping his eyes on the road.
I sucked in a breath, then reached over to his belt, undoing the clasp.
He glanced at me again. “What are you doing?”
“Making up for the hotel.”
I tugged at his button and unzipped his jeans. “You’ve more than made up for it already,” he said.
“Don’t care.”
He gave in, keeping one hand on the steering wheel as he helped me free his cock. It sprang out, my mouth watering in anticipation.
I used to hate giving blowjobs, but with Bailey, all it did was turn me on.
I bent down, grasping his shaft with one hand and lowering my lips around the head. He let out a breath and I saw his hand shift on the steering wheel from the corner of my eye.
Pulling him deeper, I began sucking, the fullness in my mouth almost too much. He brought his hand to the back of my head and lightly pushed down, shoving himself to the back of my throat.
My pussy throbbed in my jeans from his hand in my hair and his cock in my mouth. I ached to feel friction there as I continued bobbing my head up and down, taking him to the back of my throat.
“Such a naughty girl, taking my cock wherever you want it.”
I moaned and his cock twitched in my mouth.
I heard his blinker flick on, and the truck jostled. He shifted it into park and pulled me up off of him, pushing me back so I was laying on the seat.
He worked at my jeans and slid them off with my panties.
“Don’t have a condom,” he said as he eyed me.
“I don’t care.”
He didn’t hesitate. He shoved into me and my head tilted back, a moan escaping my lips.
“Always so fucking wet for me.” He pulled out, sticking two fingers in me, then brought them up to my lips as he thrusted back inside me.
“Suck,” he commanded.
I leaned forward slightly, taking his fingers into my mouth and sucking just as hard as I had on his cock. He shoved them deeper so they hit my throat for a moment before pulling them back out.
He grabbed my legs, positioning them on his shoulders as he thrust deeper. His hand came around to my neck, adding just enough pressure but still allowing me to breathe.
“You like choking on my dick, don’t you?”
I nodded, unable to form words as pressure built between my legs.
His fingers pressed into the sides of my neck, and I brought my hand up, squeezing his wrist and bringing his hand down harder on my neck. The pressure made me explode, my pussy clenching around him as I released.
“That’s my good girl. Come for me.”
Pleasure coursed through me as he kept thrusting in and out. On a grunt, he reached the edge, pounding into me relentlessly.
Once his pace slowed, he let go of my neck and sat back, bringing my legs down.
“For the record, I really did just want to get some paint,” he said.
I laughed. “You didn’t want that?”
“Oh, no. Trust me, I always want you. I just don’t want you to think I only invited you along because I expected this.”
I sat up, gathering my jeans off the floor of the truck. “I’ll take you anywhere I can get you,” I said, confirming his earlier comment.
He smirked. “I can find some places to hold you to that.”
I didn’t care where it was. I was done hiding.
***
We pulled back up at the ranch forty minutes later. If my family didn’t guess why it took us so long, they had to be blinder than a bat.
I got out of the truck, and Bailey came around and grabbed my hand. We walked to the house, hand in hand, and headed through the front door.
As soon as we entered the kitchen, all eyes landed on us. Reed’s gaze shot to our hands and I inwardly cringed.
“What the fuck?” Reed barked, causing Rouge to perk up from where he laid in the kitchen.
“Uh oh,” Beckham muttered from the island.
I swallowed the anxiety that crept up and tamped down the urge to pull my hand out of Bailey's. This would happen sooner or later. I had to take whatever they threw at me.
“Oh, please. As if you guys didn’t see this coming.” Callan rolled his eyes.
Beckham raised a hand. “I definitely did.”
Lennon entered the kitchen from the hallway, noticing the tension and following everyone’s gaze to Bailey and me. “What’s…” His eyes darted between the two of us. I could see the realization hit him. “Oh.”
“Oh?” Reed practically shouted. “That’s what you have to say about Bailey holding hands with our fucking sister?”
“Watch your tone, Reed,” my dad warned, his frown harder than usual.
Reed shook his head. “When did this start? Is that why you were late this morning? Because of my sister?”
Bailey gripped my hand. “When did it start, or when did it become official?”
That was definitely not the right thing to say. Redness crept up Reed’s neck. “You’ve been messing around with her behind my back?”
Bailey dropped my hand and went to take a step forward, but I shot my hand out, my palm colliding with his chest as I angled my body in front of his. “None of this was behind your back. I’m my own person, I make my own decisions. I don’t need your permission.”
“Like hell you don’t.”
Callan’s face went hard. “Reed, take it down a notch.”
“Personally, I don’t think there’s a better person for Lettie,” Beckham piped in.
Reed crossed his arms. “You think Bailey is best for her? He hasn’t been in a relationship longer than three days.”
Bailey stiffened behind me and my dad looked like he was about to interject from where he stood by the oven, but he was cut off by Bailey’s voice. “None of them were Lettie.”
Reed pointed a glare at him. “As if that’s supposed to make me feel any better?”
“I’d never mess around with her feelings, Reed. I’ve felt this way for a long time. It’s not some new, summer fling.”
I braced myself for his response, but suddenly, his face softened, his eyes drifting to me. “And you like him?”
My eyes landed on each of my brothers, then I looked over my shoulder to find Bailey watching me. Our eyes always found each other, always held a thousand words our mouths couldn’t say .
I turned back to my brother. “I always have.”
His eyes were glued to me as he pondered my response. Reed was always the most protective of me, even though Lennon was the oldest.
After a few seconds of silence, Reed swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing with the action. He nodded and crossed to me, wrapping me in his arms. Once he let me go, he pinned his stare on Bailey. “If you even think about hurting her, just know that this ranch has a lot of places to hide a body.”
Oddly, that made Bailey smile. “I’d be more worried about Lettie hurting me.”
My dad must have been satisfied with the change of mood, as if Reed’s comment was somehow comforting, because his signature frown softened a bit before he turned around to pull the foil off the dish set on the counter.
Reed pulled Bailey in for a hug. In my twenty-three years of life, I’d never seen them hug each other. They slapped each other's backs before they pulled away.
Beckham clapped his hands together. “Thank God that’s over with.”
Lennon chuckled, coming over to grab the plates from the cabinet. “I thought Reed was going to burn the damn house down with the smoke comin’ out of his ears.”
“I’ve got to look out for my little sister,” Reed said.
“She’s an adult, Reed. Let her live a little,” Beckham said before stuffing a tortilla chip in his mouth .
Reed shook his head. “I don’t care how old she is, I’ll always be there to protect her.”
My mom came into the room from her bedroom down the hall. “What’d I miss?”
A snort bubbled out of me. “Nothing. Can we eat, please? I’m starving.”
“Me, too,” Callan said.
Beckham held his hand up again. “Me, three.”
Bailey wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me back against him. “I knew they’d be okay with it,” he whispered in my ear.
My hands hung on his arm draped across my chest. “I thought Reed was going to behead you.”
I felt Bailey shrug behind me. “A little headless horseman roleplay might be fun.”
I rolled my eyes and kicked at his shin. He laughed, pressing a kiss to my hair.
We stood there, watching my family set the table and bring dishes of food over on hot pads.
This was what I was missing.
I was home.