Chapter 29
ETHAN
“Are you sure he’s not going to eat my hand along with this carrot?”
“I promise. Let him sniff you first.”
Whiskey is Jett’s pride and joy, but he’s intimidating to me, even behind his stall. He’s got a beautiful painted coat, but he’s still a huge freaking beast. A beast with big eyes and even bigger teeth. He shoves his nose into Jett’s palm and Jett coos at him.
“Go on, you’ll be fine.” Jett smiles at me. “Just don’t grab his face.”
I slowly hold up one hand so the horse can sniff it. When Whiskey shifts his attention to me and snorts in my hand, then licks it, I chuckle. It tickles. Jett hands me a carrot, and I offer it up to the inquisitive horse. It takes Whiskey all of five seconds to inhale the whole damn thing.
“This is my boyfriend Ethan,” Jett whispers as he pets Whiskey’s neck. “You be nice to him, you hear, and don’t bite his clothes.”
“He bites?” I squeak.
“Gentle nips. He’s an attention hog, and if you don’t give him all of yours, he’ll make sure you know it.” Jett laughs. “Sound familiar?”
“Whiskey, I think we’re gonna get along just fine,” I murmur to the horse. “Now, I know you’re Jett’s first love, but he’s got a big heart, and there’s room for both of us. And yes, I can be loud sometimes, but you’re going to have to put up with me.”
Whiskey makes a sound like a sigh, and I turn to Jett.
“That’s good. He’s relaxing around you.” Jett nods. “You can pet his neck if you want. Slowly.”
I reach up and do just that, and I’m surprised to find that my nerves are fading away.
“What’s his story?”
“Whiskey was born here. His mother, Betsy, was brought to us as a rescue. She was found badly injured and wandering near Angel Lake. It took my grandfather six months to get her healed and trained.”
“Do you have a lot of rescues?”
I glance around and count thirty stalls, fifteen on each side. And this is one of three stables on the ranch.
“Only a handful right now. The rest of the horses are raised and bred for sale. Most of them for racing, some for work and recreation for other ranches. But I’d like to expand and bring in more rescues, maybe offer riding lessons too.”
I hear the click of boots and turn to see Gifford walking up to us. Harry and Cate are down at the other end of the stable, talking to one of the ranch hands.
“Whiskey takin’ to you?” Gifford asks me.
Whiskey leans into my hand as I pet his neck, his hair velvety soft.
“So far, so good.”
“Jett, Bandit has a shoe that needs fixin’. Can you give Quinten a hand?”
“On it.” Jett turns to me. “I’ll be back in a bit.”
“Don’t worry,” Gifford states. “I’ll get Ethan settled in.”
Jett stalks off, but I’m no longer nervous about the horses. Not when I sense that my boyfriend’s grandfather is about to give me the third degree.
“When Jett was a little boy, you could never get him out of this place,” Gifford comments. “Still can’t.”
“He loves the ranch more than anything.”
“He does,” Giff replies and nods at me. “And he loves you.”
I meet Giff’s unwavering gaze.
“I love him too, Giff.”
He moves closer to Whiskey, stroking his flank.
“It broke our hearts losing Amy. For Jett to lose his mama. Did he tell you?”
“Yes, he did. All of it.”
Gifford sighs.
“For a while, it looked like we might lose him too. But with time, therapy, and most of all, love, we made it through. Jett’s strong, but he’s not invulnerable.
And a parent, or grandparent, never stops worrying about their child.
When Jett came out to us, I won’t lie, I was more than concerned.
Still am. Not about him being gay, I just don’t want to see him get hurt.
” He pauses. “And after that business with his asshole ex—”
“I know.”
“All I want is for Jett to be happy.”
“He is.”
“I can see that. In fact, I haven’t seen him laugh or smile so much in years.”
“We bring out the best in each other,” I proudly admit. “We’re different in a lot of ways, but we fit.”
Gifford nods.
“You take care of his heart, Ethan. It’s the most precious thing in the world to me. That’s all I ask.”
“I will.”
I offer my hand, along with my promise, and Gifford takes it, pulling me in for an unexpected hug.
“Okay, now that’s settled, let’s get to work. We got horses to feed and stalls to clean, and you have a trail ride to prepare for.”
Gifford, like Jett, is kind and patient, explaining all the ins and out when it comes to the ranch chores until my boyfriend reappears, followed by Cate and Harry.
“I’ve got fencing to fix, so I’ll see y’all later,” Gifford offers with a wave and heads out.
One by one, Jett moves each horse out of their respective stall, and I do my best not to freak out during the process.
My boyfriend, on the other hand, is totally in his element.
I didn’t think I could fall any harder, but watching Jett like this—how gentle he is with the animals, how patient he is with me, my ten million questions, and my siblings—it makes me love him even more.
I am not, however, in love with the volume of horse shit that requires removal from this stable. But surprisingly, I get into the rhythm of the work, and even if it’s stinky, I’m anything but bored.
With the horses back in their clean stalls, it’s on to feeding time. It takes us another hour and then we’re done. It’s not easy work, but it’s satisfying.
“You guys ready to hit the trail?” Jett asks.
“Actually, Harry and I are going to wash up and go help Jules prepare for our Thanksgiving feast.”
“But—” Harry starts and glances at Cate. “Uh, right, absolutely. We can go riding with you guys tomorrow.”
“Are you sure?” Jett asks.
“Of course.” Cate smiles at him. “I want to do some baking, and Jules offered to share some of her prized pie recipes.”
“Please tell me Harry isn’t going to help you with that,” I snark.
My brother offers me a rude gesture, and I swear I hear Whiskey snort behind me.
“I cook better than you, Ean.”
Jett chuckles.
“Anyone can.”
“Hey!”
“Have fun, we’ll see you guys later,” Cate adds and ushers Harry out the door.
“So—” I amble up to Jett and slide my hand around his waist, pulling him in close. “It’s just you and me, cowboy.”
“This would be a lot sexier if we didn’t smell like horse shit.”
I laugh and kiss him anyway.
Jett
After we clean up, I get Ethan’s horse, Whisper, ready for our ride.
My boyfriend has taken to ranch life a lot faster than I expected, and it’s all too tempting for me to envision a future where this is our place, our home, not just mine.
“How far are we going?” Ethan asks as he puts on his helmet.
“Down along the western ridge. It’ll take us about an hour, there and back.”
Ethan looks confident, even when it’s time to mount his horse. With a bit of guidance from yours truly, he settles into the saddle.
“She’s not going to take off on me, is she?”
“Of course not. Whisper is a calm, sweet baby. She’d never.”
I show him how to hold the reins and offer instructions, and once I feel that he’s comfortable and ready to go, I mount Whiskey and lead us out. The day’s unusually warm for late November, and it’s the sun feels so good. Man, I’ve missed this. All of it.
We ride slowly through the fields of bunchgrass, and every couple of minutes we pause and enjoy the scenery.
“I like it here,” Ethan comments when I pull up alongside him. “The space, the quiet. I mean, it’s not too quiet with the animals and all, but still, it’s peaceful. Normally my brain is always running ahead of itself, but not now.”
“I worried maybe it would be too much. That you wouldn’t like it. Country life isn’t for everyone.”
“I figured city living would be my thing. But I was wrong.”
Does that mean he could picture himself living here? My heart wants to grab that dream and make it come true, but my head is telling me to be pragmatic.
“You’ll probably think I’m foolish, but I swear this place has magic,” I confess.
“I believe it. I read that there’s a vortex in Aura.”
I nod.
“The old silver mine. Some locals claim they’ve seen ghosts there. Not only that, but the minerals in the site have healing properties. We’ll go out there while you’re here. We can head into town too, if you want to buy some boots.”
Ethan grins at me.
“It’s a date.”
I bring Whiskey as close to Whisper as I can get.
“Come here,” I encourage Ethan as I lean toward him.
“I won’t fall?”
“No. Promise.”
Our mouths meet in a tender kiss that leaves me hot and breathless.
“See? You’re a natural. Still on the horse,” I whisper. “And now we’re going to find a secluded spot to rest.”
“But I’m not tired.”
“You will be when I’m done with you.”
Ethan’s laughter echoes in the wind.
“Lead the way, Sugar.”
It takes us another ten minutes to ride to one of my favorite spots by the river. There’s no one out here but us, and once I get the horses settled, I grab a blanket from my saddlebag and spread it out.
I’ve barely got the blanket set to rights before Ethan playfully grabs me and we tumble onto it.
“No more teasing,” he groans as he rocks his hips into mine.
My semi turns to a raging hard-on, and fuck, I need him. He slides one hand down my back and over my hips, tugging on my chaps.
“Baby, you should wear leather every day.”
“I’d rather wear you.”
“I’m on board with this plan,” he chuckles, then manhandles me until I’m flat on my back and he’s covering me. “I need to touch you.”
We’re a frenzied tangle as we yank at each other’s belt buckles and zippers.
I spit in my hand and delve it into his briefs, reaching for his cock and giving it several fast, firm pulls.
Ethan’s guttural moan makes me shiver in response.
He dips his talented hands into my jeans, one gripping my ass cheek, the other my dick.
“Never enough.” Ethan takes my lips in a scorching kiss. “I can’t ever get enough.”
“I know.”
We don’t stop kissing, and when he sucks on my tongue, I lose all control. I’m going to climax way too fast.
“Come for me, Jett.”
“Ethan.”
“Come with me.”
It only takes a few more strokes and I’m there, spilling my load into his hand. My grip on his dick falters, but it doesn’t matter because he’s right there with me, his body jerking hard.
“I swear I have more staying power,” He chuckles and collapses on top of me.
“You got me so amped up, there was no other way.”
“Am I heavy?”
“Don’t even think of moving.”
Ethan leans back and his dark eyes survey my face slowly.
“What?” I ask.
“You.” He punctuates with a kiss. “You wreck me every time, every day, in every way, Jett Brunswick Hawthorne.”
I smile up at him.
“You do the same to me, Ethan I-don’t-know-your-middle-name-yet Walker.”
He laughs.
“I have a boring name.”
“I don’t believe it.”
“James,” he admits.
“Ethan James Walker. I love it.”
I kiss him soundly.
“James would like to take a dip in that river.”
“I thought you’d never ask.”
We strip down and race for the water. It’s shockingly cold, but wonderfully refreshing, and the sun warms us up in no time.
The sun, and another makeout session.
After we dry off, we hustle back into our clothes and return to the horses. The ride back is slow and easy, and both of us are wearing grins that I’m sure are brighter than the sun.
By the time I get the horses back into their stalls, it’s already late afternoon, and Ethan and I head inside to shower, change, and help with dinner.
Most of our Thanksgiving meal is already in progress, but I get put in charge of the green bean casserole while Ethan peels potatoes.
All the Walker siblings tease each other—and me—as we work, and I’ve never laughed so much on kitchen duty in my life.
Three hours later, it’s time to feast.
Thanksgiving is big deal here at the Silver Feather.
It’s not only me and my grandparents and Ethan and his siblings, but several of our ranch hands too.
There’s twelve of us around the table, and Ethan is in his element, telling stories and making everyone laugh.
I spend most of the evening watching him, and somehow miss eating half the food on my plate.
My heart starts wishing for more of these celebrations with Ethan.
For all of them.
And for something I’ve always wanted but never thought I’d have.
When dinner’s done, I help clear the table, grab an apple from the pantry, and excuse myself. I need a moment alone to get my emotions under control.
I find myself wandering down to the stables, my home at home. Even though my mom is gone, I always feel her spirit here. I hold on to all the loving memories, thankful for them, especially today.
Since it’s Thanksgiving, I offer Whiskey the apple as a special treat. Sensing my mood, he nickers softly and nuzzles his nose into my shoulder.
“I’m alright,” I whisper to my horse. “Just a bit overwhelmed. But it’s a good feeling. I promise.”
We’re not alone for long.
I heard the click of boots and turn to find Ethan standing nearby.
“Can I join you?”
I nod and run a hand along Whiskey’s thick mane.
“I hope I wasn’t talking too much at dinner,” Ethan offers as he walks up to us. “You know me, I get going and I don’t know when to quit.”
“Are you kidding? You had everyone laughing so hard, our bellies are going to hurt for days.”
Whiskey nickers again, and Ethan looks at me with concern.
“It’s alright. That sound means he’s happy to see you.”
Ethan’s expression relaxes as he slowly offers his hand for Whiskey to sniff.
“You took off from the kitchen so fast, I got worried,” Ethan adds. “I thought maybe it was because of something I said or did.”
“No, not at all,” I reassure him.
He slides one arm around my waist and tugs me in tight to his side.
“Then what’s wrong? And don’t say nothing, because your beautiful eyes give you away every time.”
I bite my lower lip.
“Nothing’s wrong,” I admit. “The total opposite. Everything is wonderful and that kinda scares me.”
Awareness dawns in Ethan’s eyes.
“Tell me.”
“I love having you here. And watching you with Pops and Nan, and having your brother and sister here, it makes me so happy. It feels like—”
“Like you and I are a family?”
I swallow hard.
“Yes.”
Surrounded by the scent of horses and hay, Ethan pulls me into his arms, swaying us to imaginary music. It makes me smile so wide my cheeks hurt. Nothing in my life has ever felt as right as this moment, and this man.
“It feels like that because it’s true.”
“Ethan.”
He pauses and cups my face in his hands.
“It’s true, baby, and it’s okay that it scares you. It scares me too. Most days I’m in awe that you and I ended up here and that we’re so fucking happy together. But we are, and I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.”
I nod, blinking away tears. Ethan pulls me in for a kiss that’s slow and sweet.
“No matter what, if I stumble—when I stumble—I know you’ll catch me,” he whispers. “And I’ll catch you.”
“Because that’s what our love is.”
Ethan smiles against my lips.
“Sugar, I couldn’t have said it better myself.”