30. Camcorder Link
CAMCORDER LINK
A spen
“You can take my truck to work today, and I’ll ride my bike over to Oliver’s.
We have to work a bit late this afternoon, getting the bulls ready for the rodeo in town tomorrow.
It’s the last one of the season,” Rowan said as he pressed a kiss against my forehead, my nose, and then my lips.
That was one of his favorite things to do.
He’d say I could always use the extra affection since it took him twenty-six years of life to find me.
“Sounds good, cowboy. I’ll text you when I make it in,” I told him and wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him back down for another kiss.
I’d been staying with Rowan for just over two weeks now, and life felt really good.
My apartment had been cleaned up, and the locks had been changed.
Rowan, Ivy, and I were the only ones with keys now, but I hadn’t gone back.
The police didn’t have any new information to offer me about who broke in or how they even got in to begin with.
The door wasn’t broken, and I know I didn’t leave it unlocked—but I was trying not to think about it too hard.
Rowan had made it clear between his words and actions that he didn’t want me to leave.
He said I was welcome to stay as long as I wanted to and forever sounded perfect to him.
We’d been sleeping in his bed every night together, but my stuff remained in the guest room.
It was as if I needed that small bit of distance for myself to feel as if I had some control over everything in my life.
I knew logically that I did, but part of me was still terrified about all the changes that had happened fairly quickly.
Rowan never made a big thing about it anyway.
He let me have my space, telling me the closet was big enough for both of our belongings, but left it at that.
The door was open for me when I wanted it or needed it, but it was my door to open when I was ready.
That was what he’d told me, and it made me love him even more.
We had moved quickly because of everything that Sam was causing, but it felt right, natural even to be here with him right now.
He kissed me one more time before he grabbed his bike helmet and walked out the front door, locking it behind him.
Safety was everything to this man now. He’d even installed a new security system for us with a code and cameras around all the exterior and interior of the house.
He said he could put one in the bedroom, too, if I wanted to have extra fun, but I smacked him and told him to slow his roll.
Plus, when I asked what he’d do if someone as smart as Wyatt was able to hack it and see me naked, what would he do?
That shut him up pretty damn quickly. So, no online cameras for the bedroom now, much to my own pleasure.
Then he sent me a camcorder link instead.
We’d made do with the interior ones, though, and when I was feeling a bit spicy while he worked, it ensured I was able to torture him slightly.
I pulled out my phone and texted Ivy.
Me: Buns of Delight before work tonight? I could use a sweet treat with my sweet treat.
Ivy: Oh, you speak so heavenly into my ear. Absolutely.
Ivy: Do I need to come pick you up?
Me: Nope. I’ll meet you at your house. I have the big man’s truck today.
Ivy: Sweet! He loves you.
Ivy: See you soon?
Me: Absolutely.
I got dressed for work and jumped in Rowan's truck, headed to Ivy’s apartment. It wasn’t a long drive into town, thankfully. When you were on his property, it seemed as if it was ages away from everything, but truly, it only took about twenty minutes to get into the heart of town.
Pulling into a parking spot across from Ivy’s apartment, I turned the truck off and locked it up, tossing the key in my pocket. Ivy walked out in her work clothes and a giant smile.
“Oh, hello, beautiful. Look at this stunning glow you have about you. Where oh where do I find myself a Carragan man to rub up against?” Ivy asked with a wink. We linked arms and started walking towards Buns of Delight.
I could feel the blush set onto my cheeks. “Do you want one? There are a couple available, but you’d have to ditch the boyfriend first. I’ve grown quite fond of the brutish Carragan brothers now. We hang out and all, ya know,” I said with a knowing smirk.
“Alas, I cannot. I am now bound to move in with my prince charming once my lease is up next month,” Ivy said, and I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk.
She was yanked back with me and turned to give me a wide-eyed look.
“Oh, stop. I told you a few weeks ago we were talking about it…please don’t give me shit, Aspen, okay?
I decided. It’s decided. We signed the papers yesterday, so just…
help me pack later?” The pleading look in her eyes broke my heart, and I nodded, keeping the rest of my thoughts deep inside my heart where they’d stay locked until they were needed elsewhere.
I’d do this for my best friend, and if it all went horribly wrong? Well, my boyfriend had a pickup truck and a lot of land we could dump Todd’s body on somewhere.
We walked into Buns of Delight and up to the counter to find Ember looking even more frazzled than normal. She was rummaging through a stack of papers at the counter, and I glanced around to realize we were alone, which was normal given that it was late afternoon. We’d just missed the lunch rush.
“What’s going on, Em?” Ivy asked, the worry in her tone matching exactly how I was feeling.
Ember looked up at us, slightly startled it seemed. “Oh, hey, ladies!” Her tone sounded fake as hell as she shuffled the papers out of the way and stood up straighter, throwing her long braid over her shoulder, her fake customer service smile plastered across her face.
“Oh, absolutely not, Ember. Drop the shit. What’s going on?” I asked before Ivy could even open her mouth again to ask what I knew was the same question.
Ember’s chocolate brown eyes bounced between the two of us before she deflated and sat on the stool behind her, leaning her elbows on the counter and sitting her head in her hands.
“Someone hacked into my personal bank account and now they’re trying to get into the bakery’s and I’m just…
stressed out. I’m sorry, it’s just been a lot, and the bank hasn’t been any help whatsoever.
” She let out a deep and slow breath. “Anyway, enough of my whining. Coffee before your shift tonight?” she asked with another forced smile that appeared to be more of a grimace.
We both nodded and paid for the coffees before sitting down to wait. Ivy and I stared at each other for a moment before I jumped to my feet and walked back to the counter.
“Ember?” I asked, and she turned back towards me.
“Listen, I absolutely understand not wanting anyone all up into your personal life, trust me. But, Rowan’s brother is actually into computers and security stuff…
he uhm, helped me with some security issues recently.
Would you let me send him over? Just to see if he can help, at least figure out who’s stealing your money? ”
Her braid was back over her shoulder now, and she was twisting the bottom of it between her fingers before she finally relented and nodded. “Yeah, I’d appreciate it, Aspen, thank you,” she whispered.
She handed me both the coffees and gave me another brief but sad smile that spoke to how much of a toll this was taking on her. So when I handed Ivy her coffee, I pulled out my phone and texted my cowboy to get his brother's number.
Who knows, maybe they’d hit it off and I’d have one more Carragan brother hooked on someone who deserved it.
Work was absolutely slammed tonight. Thankfully, we’d known about the rodeo coming into town again this time, and we had extra servers on staff as well as busboys and bartenders.
According to Rowan, this was the last big show of the summer, so everyone who was anyone wanted to be here and a part of the action.
Thus, a busy bar night, while everyone arrived.
Drinks were served, food was eaten, and by the end of my shift, my feet were killing me.
All I could think about was going back to Rowan and sinking into a bubble bath with him.
As I counted my tips and cashed out for the evening, I waved bye to Ivy, Lucas, and a few other servers.
I walked out, got in Rowan's truck, and started it up.
Pulling out my phone, I sent him a quick text letting him know I was on my way back to him and to pretty please have a bath ready for us.
He sent back a winky face along with some water droplets that I knew didn’t mean water in the way they were meant to be used. Giggling quietly to myself, I slid my phone into the cup holder and backed out of the parking spot.
The roads were dark and slightly damp this evening from earlier showers we’d had.
Clouds covered up any light the moon and stars would normally provide deep in the mountains where Raven Creek sat.
I’d just come out of the town's city limits and onto the small road that would take me toward The Carragan Ranch when a pair of high beams from a truck behind me lit up the entire cab.
“Good lord, really?” I muttered beneath my breath.
I tried to slow down slightly, thinking maybe they wanted to drive around me.
I was going the speed limit, but then again, sometimes that wasn’t fast enough for everyone.
What did I know? I was just a city girl trying to drive a big ass truck on a dark as fuck country road. I was doing my best.
The truck must’ve been the same size as Rowan’s because the headlights sat where mine did. But they didn’t pass me. They just got closer to my back end.
“What the fuck, dude…” I whispered as unease sank into my gut.
I knew I was overthinking this situation, but I reached down into the cupholder to grab my phone and dial Rowan.
But as soon as I unlocked my phone, the truck behind me sped up and tapped my bumper.
I jerked forward, and my phone slipped from my hand onto the floorboards.
“You’ve got to be kidding me. Fine, asshole, I’ll move!” I hollered, obviously more to myself than the jackass behind me.
Hitting my turn signal, I slowed down and slowly maneuvered myself off the road. Glancing behind me, I realized that he wasn’t going around me, though…he was driving at me.
Before I could think of what to do, his truck hit the back of mine, and my head hit the steering wheel. The last thing I thought was that Rowan was going to be so pissed that his truck crashed into a ditch.