Chapter 14
CLAY
The next morning at six on the dot, with the ache in his balls taken care of in the shower last night Clay entered the ranch house kitchen with a spring in his step. He’d gone to bed with the satisfying sounds of Stevie’s climax playing on repeat and the scent of her in his nostrils.
Not to mention the knowledge that he’d been the one to introduce her to her first non-solo orgasm. It had been his name on her lips as she’d bucked and panted and cried out and whatever happened in her future, he would always be a part of her story.
In short, he’d gone to sleep feeling like king of the fucking world.
‘Good morning,’ he said in general greeting to the usual suspects helping themselves to his mother’s breakfast buffet. ‘It’s such a nice day out there, the mountains look amazing this morning.’
Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at him, the room falling silent. Clay looked around at the perplexed expressions, his brow furrowing. ‘What?’
‘Umm… who are you and what have you done with my son?’ his father asked.
Determined not to let their scepticism bring down his mood, he said, ‘What? I can’t be happy?’
‘Of course you can, darling,’ his mother said, also regarding him curiously. ‘You just haven’t shown much inclination to be so.’
Which made him feel like a right prick. God, he must have been awful to be around these past months. That had to change – Stevie or no Stevie. He was a grown adult and taking out his career misfortune on his nearest and dearest, who only wanted the best for him, just wasn’t on.
‘Well, I figured it was probably about time I pulled my head out of my ass.’
‘Past time I’d say,’ Dev quipped.
‘Yeah,’ Kirby agreed. ‘We were about to corral you in the yards, hog tie you and dip you in the water troughs until you agreed to stop being such a douche.’
Clay would have liked to see them try but… he got the sentiment. ‘It’s good to have you back, son,’ his father said, clapping him on the shoulder.
Oddly moved by his father’s words, Clay nodded and said, ‘Thanks, Dad.’ He wasn’t sure he was back, that he’d ever be the carefree Clay of old, but Stevie’s presence, knowing that she had lost so much more than he had, made him feel a lot less sorry for himself.
Their gazes held for a beat, the steady faith glowing in his father’s eyes as comforting now as it had always been even if Clay had chafed against it in his more reckless years. ‘Come on,’ he said with one quick last squeeze before dropping his hand. ‘Can’t let your mother’s food go cold.’
Clay chuckled. That was a sin punishable by cold leftovers at dinner time. Piling up his plate, he sat down opposite his parents, digging in with gusto. Apparently, his appetite was back.
‘This is good, Mom,’ he said after his first taste of perfectly cooked crispy bacon and perfectly runny egg.
She blinked as if startled at the compliment then her face broke into a smile. ‘It’s good to see you eating again.’
Clay, his mouth watering and his stomach growling, could only agree. He’d missed food. For too long he’d eaten it to fuel his body, to supply the correct nutrients for his physical recovery. But this morning he was ravenous.
Conversation flowed around him which he added to between mouthfuls, even laughing at a story that Walt told about one of the guests suggesting they sell plastic snakes with RVR branding to sit with the other merch they sold on the website.
Clay had almost finished his plate before he realised his sister wasn’t down yet. ‘Where’s Mags?’ As with all ranching folk, his sister was an early bird. And she sure as shit never missed a meal.
‘She came down with a migraine last night,’ his mom said.
As far as Clay knew, this was the first migraine Mags had suffered since he’d returned home but she’d been afflicted with them since she’d fallen off a horse and got herself a concussion at the age of thirteen.
Strong medication helped her through an episode and the headaches had reduced in frequency and severity over the years, but they’d not gone completely.
‘Is she okay?’
‘Yes,’ she confirmed. ‘It’s gone now but she’ll be in bed all day sleeping off the effects.’
Clay nodded – that was normal. A migraine usually wiped Mags out for a couple of days. She’d even had to pull out of a competition she’d been expected to win in her first couple of months on the circuit because a migraine had hit.
‘Which means we’re going to need a volunteer to do her one-on-one trail ride with Stevie today,’ his father said, casting his eyes down the table either side to the staff who regularly took the trail rides, who all looked suddenly super interested in what they had on their plates.
Solo trail rides weren’t one of the more fun aspects of the job. The guest always enjoyed themselves immensely but it was full-on for the other person. The usual solo clientele were either divas or guys who thought they were Billy the Kid, which could be challenging.
But there was no way Clay was going to pass up a golden opportunity to spend some time with Stevie and show her some more of the ranch.
And maybe a little sumthin’ sumthin’ else as well.
His body tightened at the thought of lying her down under a tree – he knew just the one – and picking up their lessons from last night.
Fuck’s sake, he was getting a boner under the table just thinking about it.
‘I can do it.’
His parents looked at him with mild surprise. ‘You?’ his father pressed.
‘Yes, me.’ He grinned, refusing to be irritated by their obvious doubt. They had good reason.
His mom’s eyes narrowed a little. ‘Really?’
Uh oh. Clay knew that look. He could sense his mom’s girlfriend radar activating. When he’d been a teenager she’d been able to sniff out any whiff of interest he’d had in a girl in a freakily accurate way. So he really needed to chill.
Forcing his features into neutral, he gave a careless shrug. ‘I don’t have anything pressing to do today that the others can’t handle and you need someone to do it. Let me make it up to you for being such a—’
‘Dick?’ Dev offered out the side of his mouth.
‘Jackass?’ Kirby added, also as an aside.
Clay rolled his eyes. ‘Challenge,’ he supplied.
One more long probing assessment later, his mother nodded. ‘I’ll need to check she’s okay going out solo with you.’
‘Sure.’ Clay absolutely understood why his mother needed to check. All the ranch staff were exemplary in their behaviour or they’d have been tossed out on their ass, but it was imperative that a guest felt comfortable with the situation.
‘Okay. I’ll text her in a couple of hours,’ his mother confirmed.
Clay gave another careless shrug like it was no skin off his nose either way, but then he already knew how okay Stevie would be with the situation.
Forcing himself not to speed through the rest of his meal was surprisingly difficult but somehow, he managed. As soon as he was free from the house, however, his phone was out.
Change of plans for today. I’m taking you on your trail ride. Wear that skirt from The Corral last week. No panties.
Grinning, Clay sent it into the ether.