Chapter 10
Tagger
There’s no hiding my growing desire for her, even in frigid water.
Pris wraps her legs around me and lifts, rubbing herself against my erection. She feels so good, too good to be fucking her in a river. But I also know that once we get out, things will never be the same between us. I’m not sure how to feel about it.
I like her company.
I like looking at that pretty face of hers.
I like her.
I’m so fucked.
She pulls back and licks her glistening lips. Her chest swells with heavy breaths, the weight of them matching mine. Her eyes soften as her gaze drops back to my lips. “It was better than I ever imagined.”
Those words, her soft blue eyes watching me with trust encircling the gold centers. It’s like she’s set off a reminder in my brain.
It’s a compliment, nothing but an innocent remark . . .
The idealism rattles me back to reality. But it strikes a familiar chord that I don’t want to revisit. I’ve been someone’s fantasy of what they thought they wanted in life, only to turn me into a project that needed fixing. I won’t be that guy again. Not for anyone.
“We should probably dry off before the sun heads below the trees.” Looking back at where we left our clothes, I see the horses have gone. “Guess it would have been wise to tie them up.” I release her and move back through the water in slow strides.
“They’re used to roaming. They’ll be up at the barn before we get there, ready to have their saddles taken off.” As the water between us grows, she asks, “Why are you sneaking away?”
“I’m not sneaking,” I reply, struggling to keep the defense out of my tone. “I’m right here.” I shake my head. “I just think we should go.”
“Because I kissed you?”
“No, because I kissed you.” I turn around and paddle my hands through the shallower waters until I’m standing on the flat boulder again.
I hear the water rustle behind me as she works her way out, but I’m already drying off with my T-shirt before she’s standing behind me. “What’s wrong with kissing me?” I couldn’t hide my defensiveness, and neither can she.
When I glance over my shoulder, she’s shivering with her arms wrapped around her chest. Hard bud nipples push against the cotton, which is already see-through from being wet.
I look down at her entire body because I’m an asshole, even if I pretended I wasn’t this week.
The pink of her panties is smooth against her pussy, revealing more than she’s probably aware.
I meet her gaze again, where I’m met with a tinge of anger she’s not bothering to hide.
“Nothing, that’s the problem.” I turn around and grab my jeans because I can’t be showing up at the house with her daddy sitting there with a rifle at his side seeing us both soaking wet and basically naked together.
“That doesn’t make sense, Tagger.”
Of course it doesn’t. None of this makes sense, even to me, other than I just played with fire and feel burned in the aftermath. I need to get out of here because she’ll never understand. “Get dressed, Pris.”
“And just drop it because you don’t want to answer?”
“Exactly fucking that.” I finally get the denim over my wet legs and button them up.
She finally reaches down and grabs her shirt to slip on over her head. Reaching underneath, she unfastens the bra and slips it off before it soaks through the fabric. “That’s really weak, you know that?”
Grabbing my socks, I bend to put them on, not bothering to respond. We’re only going to end up arguing, and that’s not what I want despite being the instigator.
She pulls on her jeans and then walks to where she left her socks and boots. She says nothing more as she finishes getting dressed.
If she were most women, I’d probably be grateful they got the message. With her, though, I feel like shit. Standing tall in my boots again, I lower the temperature of my tone, and say, “Listen, Pris—”
“No. I don’t care what you have to say, so save it for somebody else.” She walks to the softer covering of the needles and then calls out, “Sunrise? Here, girl. Sunrise.”
Sticks crack under her feet as she makes her way through the trees, taking her hat with her to the openness of the rest of the property. “Sunrise?”
Taking my hat off the branch, I start behind her but stop when her horse comes trotting into the woods. Her saving grace from me. Animals know these things. She gets on without any assistance needed and takes off toward the barn.
Hurting her feelings was the last thing I intended, much like her comment in the water. But I fucked up, and I’m not sure she’s the forgiving type.
Guess I’ll find out as soon as I get up to the house. To avoid the long walk back, I try her trick, and call out, “Nightfall?” Clapping my hands, I keep walking. “Come on, boy. Come, Nightfall.”
Fifteen minutes later, I’m walking my ass up the last hill, finally spying the house ahead.
When I pass the barn, I see Nightfall. His saddle is put away, and he’s content eating just outside of the open doors.
“Traitor,” I mumble and keep walking. Not like he cares.
The ornery thing didn’t even bother looking in my direction.
I’m hoping to make it to the truck before Mr. Greene sees me and wants to have a sit-down. No such luck. Fuck.
He stands from the chair on the porch and rests his hands on the railing. “You sure have gone and done it, son.”
I lift my hat to run my fingers through my hair. I stretch my neck to the side but keep walking, hoping to get out of here in one piece. “Sir, I, uh, I can explain—”
“You best be getting to it, and real fast now.”
I stop at the front of the truck, not planning on going anywhere near that front porch. “I know I shouldn’t—”
“Shouldn’t? I feel betrayed, Tag.”
The sweat beading at my hairline falls in buckets under the intensity of his eyes on me. “I’m sorry. I’ll apologize to Pris right now.”
“Your apology is no good here.” He comes down the steps steadier on his feet than he was yesterday. Guess anger does that to a man. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“There was no need to upset you. She handled it just fine on her own. You raised a fighter.”
His forehead creases as he narrows his eyes at me. “Pris? She holds her own.” He stops a few feet from me. “Are you okay? You look poorly.”
The question stumps me. Am I okay? Is she okay? What’s happening here? “Yeah, sure.” Holding the hat to my chest, I graze over my head again, my nerves still on edge. “But I should check on her. I didn’t mean to hurt any feelings.”
“Pfft.” He waves me off, crossing his arms over his chest and resting them on his belly. “She’s not upset. Not even bothered.”
My brow flattens over the top of my eyes. “Alright . . . I guess that’s good.”
“It’s not like she expected you to drop your life in the Big Apple to come play cowboy here on the ranch.” More salt is tossed on my wounded pride before he continues like nothing happened, “But you have a job if you ever want it.”
“Huh?”
Moving in, he claps me on the shoulder. “Yeah, Pris said how you held more than your own out there today. It was a big help.” He glances at the house, and then lowers his voice to add, “I’m not the same help as I used to be.
She can do any task she’s given, but I wish she didn’t have to every time something arises.
” Stepping back, he crosses his arms like before.
“So I really appreciate you stepping up to help herd today.”
Too stunned to make sense of what just happened, I stumble to say, “I’m glad it worked out.”
“I hear you’re leaving Friday, but if you’re looking for work, Davey won’t be back until next week. We sure could use the extra hands around here.”
My eyes trail upward to see Pris duck from the window. She wouldn’t let me fix my reaction today, so maybe I can fix it tomorrow. I reach my hand out. When he takes it to shake, I say, “I’ll be here bright and early tomorrow morning. Is it okay if I bring Beckett with me?”
“Bring him. I can show him how to clean out the horse stalls.” His chuckle bounces his belly before he turns, heading back to the house. “I’ll see you in the morn.”
Should I have said no? Probably.
Do I regret saying yes? Not one bit.
“See you tomorrow, Mr. Greene.” I get in the truck and start the engine. I miss the convenience of leaving the keys in the vehicle and not having it stolen. I turn around and head for my parents before Pris gets wind of the offer her dad just made.
Pris will be pissed.
I get back before the sun finally sets and hop out, excited to see Beck. He runs from the house like a dust devil let loose, right into my arms. Lifting him, I kiss the top of his head. “Missed you, buddy.”
“Missed you, too, Daddy.”
I shift him to my back, where he holds on like a little monkey. “Tell me everything about your day."
My mom stands in the doorway with a smile on her face. “Did you work up an appetite?”
It’s been a long time since I heard her ask that question. Hearing her now makes me homesick. “Sure did. What’s for dinner?” I asked that every night growing up. It’s weird how it’s starting to feel like I never left home.
“Rollingwood Ranch steaks tonight, baked potatoes, and—”
“Broccoli,” Beck snarks, and I’m already imagining his scrunched face. It’s not his favorite vegetable, but he won’t push it away. Even though Anna calls him picky, I’ve never seen it. He’s a good eater like his dad when he’s with me.
Rollingwood Ranch wasn’t such a name back then. It was just steaks from the Greenes. They were always the best. I step up onto the porch. “What’s the fancy occasion?”
“You and Beck being home.”
She’s about to walk inside, but I take her hand to stop her from leaving. Hugging her, I then kiss her cheek. “It’s good to be here again.” With her arms around both me and the monkey on my back, she sniffles. I release her and whisper, “Don’t cry. It won’t be so long next time.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.” And a promise is something I always keep . . . except when it comes to the one I made my best friend. Fuck. Some friend I am.
We move inside, where Dad is putting the food on the table. He takes one look at me. “Shower or dinner?”
“Dinner. I’m starved.”
He sets a plate down on the table with cornbread squares and a bowl of broccoli next to it. “Sit. Eat. Looks like you’ve had a day.”
My mom sets a plate of food in front of Beck, then makes one up for me, though she doesn’t need to. I think part of her misses taking care of my brother and me. My dad is a good partner to her, but she’s a mom through and through.
“Thanks, Mom.” I dig into the steak, savoring how good it is. I’ve had the best steaks around the world, but nothing beats this one.
“You’re welcome.” She sits down with her own plate and asks, “What did Thomas have you do?”
“Not Mr. Greene. Pris had me herding with her today. Davey was out because his wife had a baby.”
“Oh, that’s great news,” she replies, clasping her hands in front of her. “I think I’ll deliver a meal out to them tomorrow.”
“I think they’ll appreciate that, Mary.” Dad takes a big bite, then washes it down with water. “So you were herding? How’d that go? It’s been a long time since you were driving a herd like that.”
I can feel my shoulders slump forward, the adrenaline of the day wearing off as exhaustion replaces it. “I’m sure I’ll feel it tomorrow.”
“Looks like you’re already feeling it,” my mom says with concern running through her eyes. “You might want an early night.”
“Yeah, I’ll get Beck to bed and head up after that. I promised him Beck and I would help out tomorrow again.”
Throwing his arms in the air, he says, “I want to herd cows.”
“Do you know what that means?”
“No,” he says so honestly. I miss this when we’re apart. The openness, the trust he instills in me, the love that he gives without question. I’m not the bad guy Anna calls me. To him, I’m his hero, and I intend to live up to the title like my dad did.
Speaking of . . . my dad chuckles. “It means you need a good night’s rest because tomorrow will be a busy day.”
“You sure you don’t need help around here?” I ask.
“No. You go ahead. I only have fishing on the schedule tomorrow.”
I know his code now. Fishing means a nap during the day. I’ll let him have it, especially because Beckett was probably a handful today. To my son, I say, “It also means you get to ride a horse with me.”
“Yay! Tomorrow is going to be the best day ever.”
That might be a warning before the storm, considering how Pris and I left things, but maybe it won’t be so bad. She didn’t tell her dad, so that’s a good thing. And she said good things about me, to boot. I find her utterly unpredictable, though, so who knows what I should expect.
I spend time with Beckett after ushering him through the nighttime routine and settling him in bed. One book is the plan, but he talks me into two, then falls asleep before the end. I don’t blame him. My eyes have grown heavy.
My legs feel like dead weight I’m dragging upstairs as I head to bed myself.
Since I took a shower after dinner, I’m glad I can fall straight into bed.
In the room, I fold up the pallet where Beck slept the first two nights.
Tonight, he insisted he was a big boy and chose to sleep in the spare room downstairs all on his own.
He’s comfortable here. It’s good to see him acclimating, but I knew he would if given the chance. And it’s great to see him expanding his wings.
I barely get the light turned off before I pass out.