Chapter 11
Lauren
I wake up feeling the warmest I’ve felt in years. I glance over to see Bronco staring down at me. His expression is one of contentment and pure delight.
“What is it?” I ask, reaching to pat my hair. I hope I don’t have a major case of bedhead.
Last night, I tried to go to my room, the guest room where I’ve been staying, but he grabbed my arm.
“Where do you think you’re going?” He asked in that deep, rumbly voice that always makes my insides flutter.
That’s how I ended up sleeping in his bed. Well, sleeping is the wrong word. We made love so many times I lost count. Every inch of me has been kissed, caressed, and touched by Bronco. His lovemaking isn’t just gentle, it’s thorough. So very thorough.
“It makes me happy to wake up next to you,” Bronco says, that soft smile still on his face.
I fight a yawn and glance toward the sheer curtains. Underneath the covers, I flex my toes but my leg feels amazing this morning. “It’s still dark out.”
“You stay here. I’m going to take a shower and get started on some chores.” He presses a gentle kiss to my forehead before getting out of bed. I watch the way he strides across the room, so confident in his body.
I lean up on one elbow, wondering if I could entice him back to bed. “My leg feels a lot better. It doesn’t even hurt anymore, and it’s no longer swollen.”
“Still take it easy today,” he says, completely oblivious to what I’m doing. “Besides, it’s early even by cowboy standards. Go back to sleep. I’ll wake you when it’s time for breakfast.”
I snuggle back into the warm blankets that smell like Bronco. I think about the way last night he kept touching me. We did everything. Well, almost everything. There was one thing I wanted to do that we never quite got around to.
Now seems like as good a time as any, I decide before I walk into the bathroom. Through the steamy glass, I watch the water running down my big, strong man. I give myself a moment to appreciate his bulging biceps and thick thighs before I join him in the shower stall.
He finishes rinsing the shampoo from his hair and opens his mesmerizing blue eyes. “What are you—?”
I don’t let him finish the question before I’m dropping the towel and kneeling on it. Instantly, I’m eye level with his cock, which hardens considerably the longer I stare at it.
He threads his fingers through my hair, pulling it away from my face. “Sweetheart, you don’t have to—”
Once again, I don’t let him finish his sentence. Instead, I lean forward, pressing gentle kisses along his cock to everywhere but the tip. When I finally run my tongue along it, he makes a soft groan like I’ve put him in heaven.
I work him until he’s moaning and muttering swear words under his breath. I can tell the moment he’s close because he tries to pull away. But I just grip him tighter, nails digging into the sinewy flesh of his ass then he’s coming down my throat with a roar.
Afterwards, he pulls me into his arms and takes me again against the shower wall, holding me close and murmuring sweet words against my hair.
It’s hours later before we’re in his truck. Menace is in the back seat, chewing contentedly on a rawhide bone while I’m plastered against Bronco. We spent the morning in his house. He never even made it out to do his chores.
Now we’re on our way to the retirement community. I have my usual work to catch up on, and Bronco is needed for some more pipe work. When we walk into the reception hand-in-hand, I’m not prepared for our audience.
“Love looks good on you,” Mr. Dunn says as soon as he sees me from where he and Mr. Humphrey are sitting at a table. Looks like they found the chessboard. I’ll have to hope the pieces don’t start flying again.
My heart beats hard in my chest, and I open my mouth to respond. I’m not sure what to say, but it doesn’t matter because Bronco speaks first. “Damn right, it does!”
“Hmm, sounds like a keeper,” Joyce murmurs from her place, watching daytime talk shows with her friends.
“And don’t let her forget it while I’m gone,” Bronco says before giving me a passionate kiss then leaving to find Dalton.
I settle at my desk and wait for our crowd to go back to their normal routines. Without Bronco hovering nearby, most of them return to their activities. I glance at Ryan and ask softly, “How was everything while I was gone?”
“Just the usual boring days.” Despite his words, he doesn’t sound all that bored or that disappointed. I always thought that he read thrillers because he wanted more action in his life, but maybe he prefers his action on the page.
I catch up on my work easily, and it only takes me a couple of hours to do that. When Joyce invites me to her poker game in her room, I agree. I settle at the table across from her, along with her friends, Miss Patty, Mr. Dunn, and Mr. Humphrey.
“Wait, I don’t have any cookies to ante,” I say when I see that each one of them has a large box of cookies from Courage Cookies to play with.
Joyce gives me a sly look. “Let’s just say that you can ante with information.”
I narrow my eyes at her. “I’m not gossiping with you about the other residents.”
“Of course not,” Mr. Humphrey agrees.
“Just maybe tell us a little bit about Bronco,” Miss Patty urges with a dreamy sigh.
Mr. Dunn gives me a fond smile. “You never should have taken that seat.”
I roll my eyes. “That’s what the invitation was about?”
“And the chance to win cookies. Don’t forget that,” Joyce says as she deals a round of cards before I even have the chance to tell her no.
“Are you sure you’re not cheating?” I ask Joyce as I evaluate the stack of cards I’ve just been dealt. I’ve lost every single hand I’ve played, and these nosy Nellies have asked me a million questions about Bronco and what we spent our time together doing.
I told them about the horse ride, the beautiful pond on his property, the campfire and the amazing veterans who work on the ranch.
I even told them about falling and injuring my ankle.
I didn’t tell them about what Bronco and I did together afterwards, but they pretty much figured it out by the blush on my face.
“You might have a little bit of a tell,” Mr. Dunn says, giving me a wink.
Joyce scowls at him.
I have no idea what my tell is, but it doesn’t matter because it’s almost time for me to leave. Bronco said he was taking me back to the farm tonight. When I tell them this, the whole table erupts into big smiles.
“Proud of you, girl,” Mr. Dunn says, giving me a fist bump like his five-year-old grandson taught him to do last month.
I return his bump and chuckle as I leave the room. Joyce follows, trailing after me, and I intentionally slow my steps so she can catch up.
“Aren’t you late for your tango class?” I ask, detouring to the employee kitchenette where it’s more private.
She pins me with an intense stare, her warm brown gaze filled with worry. “Are we…are we losing this place?”
“What do you mean?”
“I saw the newspaper article. The fundraiser.” She blows out a breath. “In all of my years here, Elaine has never let anyone hold a fundraiser or help her out. It makes me think something happened.”
I hesitate, not sure what to say. Aunt Elaine will be returning in a few hours.
By that point, I’ll be on Bronco’s ranch, but I don’t want her coming home to a group of worried residents.
“Things got a little bit hard,” I finally admit.
“But we’re seventy-five percent of the way to the funding we need.
I think by the end of the week, we can expect to hit our goal. ”
She nods. “You’ll tell me if it doesn’t?”
“I’ll tell you what I can when I can.” It’s the best promise I can give her. After all, I know Aunt Elaine doesn’t want what’s happened to become public knowledge. No one would blame her or me, but she’s a strong woman. She won’t accept pity or sympathy. It’s not in her nature.
She seems to accept this and gives me a quick hug before hurrying off to teach her tango class.
I blow out a soft breath when she’s gone, hoping I handled that the right way. Without Aunt Elaine nearby, I had to wing it. I’ll make sure to text her later so she knows that the residents are worried. She’ll find a way to reassure them.
“She worries about you,” a voice says softly.
I look up to spot Ryan in the corner of the breakroom. There’s a little alcove that’s easy to overlook if you’re not paying attention.
He’s sipping a soda with a soft expression on his face, the kind that you have when you’re thinking about someone you love. He’s always seemed fond of her, and she appreciates his doting.
“You must think of her like a grandma,” I tell him.
He chuckles, but it’s wrong. It sounds sad instead of filled with mirth. “Do you want to hear a secret?”
“What?” I ask going to the fridge to dig out my own soda. I’m not thirsty. I just want to do something with my hands while he talks.
“She’s my grandma.” His shoulders slump. “She doesn’t know it.”
“What do you mean she doesn’t know it?” I uncap my bottle and frown. Joyce has never once mentioned having grandchildren. She told me that she has no living family, so maybe she doesn’t have a clue about Ryan.
He shrugs. “I grew up in foster care and got bounced around here and there. I finally did one of those DNA tests. Turns out I had a living relative in a place called Courage County.”
“And that’s why you got the job here as the security guard,” I say after setting my soda on the counter.
He nods. “Kind of nice to think I have some family.”
“You should tell her. She’d probably be really excited.” My own heart swells at the thought. If anyone deserves some good news around here, it’s definitely Joyce. She spends so much of her time trying to bring cheer.
“Yeah, but if she’s not…I mean, it’s better this way. At least, I have the idea of family. But if I talk to her and she doesn’t want me—” He swallows rather than finish the sentence.
“She would adore you,” I insist, knowing deep in my gut that it’s true. Joyce would love to have a grandson to spoil.