Chapter 38
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
JASMINE
Every day, I met Gabe in the barn when I knew no one would be around.
Sometimes all we did was kiss because we didn’t have time to do much else, but even our kisses were hot and heavy, the air between us charged and ready to ignite.
The moments we did have time for more, he had me bent like a pretzel as he took me on every surface in the loft.
He typically trained with Nash right after lunch, so I made sure to be gone before my brother showed up.
Nash was currently on hiatus from the bull riding circuit after all the trouble he’d been in lately.
Fortunately, the judge had decided to show him mercy and only gave him probation and community service.
He’d decided to make good use of that time and threw all his energy into training.
My parents were holding out hope that if he was focused on that, he would be less likely to go looking for trouble.
Aside from our secret rendezvous in the barn, Gabe and I went about our business as usual.
He did his job, and I did mine. On Friday evening, I expected to see Rory for her riding lessons.
When she didn’t show at her normal time, I texted Gabe.
No response. I told myself he might be busy and that Celeste could just be running late.
Fifteen minutes passed and there was still no sign of Rory.
I began to panic, worried they’d had an accident, so I called Gabe, frantic, my voice cracking despite my attempt to stay calm.
“Shit, I’m sorry. I forgot to tell you she’s not coming until Sunday,” he said.
“She’s not?” I asked, unable to hide the disappointment in my tone.
Gabe explained that since school was out for the summer, he would now have her for two weeks at a time with her arriving and leaving on Sunday.
During the week, she’d spend a couple days at the ranch with him and the remaining few attending a summer enrichment camp.
Celeste had agreed to take her anytime one of my races fell on a weekend he had her so he could continue to travel with me.
Luckily, it wasn’t an issue for my upcoming race the following weekend.
It was only a couple hours away—just outside of Pigeon Forge—and was a single day event, so Gabe brought her with us.
She had a blast. She got the full behind the scenes experience.
From loading Juniper in the trailer to warming up and preparing for the race, she was there absorbing it all like a sponge.
When I won, she cheered louder than anyone else in the entire arena.
She was so tired when we finally headed for home, she fell asleep in the back seat of the truck.
It gave Gabe and I a chance to let our guard down.
We held hands and kissed for the first time all day.
We’d gotten so used to daily contact, it had been hard having to pull back this past week.
When Rory was at the ranch, we couldn’t risk her seeing us together, so our lunchtime romps were out of the question.
When she was at camp, though, that was a different story.
We came together in a frenzied tangle of limbs and clashing of lips.
The following week was much of the same. I started eating lunch with Gabe and Rory on the days she was at the ranch. She loved to help me with my chores and was so good with the animals. You would never know she didn’t grow up on a ranch.
When Friday evening rolled around, we began our riding lessons a little earlier than usual.
Since Rory had been helping me most of the afternoon, I was ahead of schedule.
When Gabe was finished with work, he came to watch from the sidelines, admiring her progress.
She had become quite the proficient rider and was itching to start racing.
She wasn’t quite ready for that just yet, but she was getting there.
“I have something fun planned for us tomorrow if you’re up for it,” I announced when Gabe strode into the barn while Rory untacked Petunia.
“I wanna go,” Rory replied excitedly without hesitation.
“You don’t even know what it is yet,” Gabe said with a chuckle.
Rory shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. I get to hang out with Jasmine.” The sweet statement was a balm to my soul. It meant so much to me that she enjoyed our time together.
“That’s fair,” Gabe agreed, offering me a panty-dropping smile that melted me on the spot.
He leaned in close to speak into my ear.
“I don’t care what we do either as long as I’m with you.
” Butterflies took flight in my belly at his sweet words, but his hot breath on my neck made my pulse race.
The effect this man had on me was dizzying.
It was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before.
“What are we doing tomorrow?” Rory asked, skipping toward the door.
“I can’t tell you. It’s a surprise,” I said.
“I like surprises!”
“Make sure you wear something you don’t mind getting dirty,” I instructed.
“Okay,” she agreed before bounding out the door and heading for Gabe’s truck.
“I wouldn’t mind getting you a little dirty.
” Gabe’s low, husky voice sent a shiver down my spine.
He watched as Rory climbed into the truck, and once she was safely inside, he shut the door and pressed me against it.
His lips met mine in a fervent kiss. He gripped my waist possessively as his tongue probed inside my waiting mouth.
“I wish I didn’t have to leave. I wish I could have you all to myself again,” he whispered against my lips.
“I know,” I groaned in commiseration. “Soon,” I promised.
“What time should we pick you up in the morning?”
“Nine thirty.”
He gave me one final parting kiss before walking out the door. The ghost of it lingered on my lips long after he was gone.
Jacek: I don’t know which one of you assholes gave my kid this rubber chicken, but when I find out, I’m going to make your life a living hell
Jacek: He even sleeps with the damn thing. You can’t take it from him, or he cries and squeezes it aggressively. And I just got rid of the kazoo.
Rowan: I don’t know why you would assume it was one of us. It could’ve been anyone.
I snorted a laugh, imagining my big brother’s feigned offense and innocent expression as he typed that out, especially since he was the one who gave Asher said kazoo.
Jasmine: My money is on Gigi. I’d take it up with her.
Rowan: Gigi has too much dirt on him. He’d rather listen to Asher squeeze that chicken all day, every day than confront her.
Jasmine: Gigi has dirt on all of us. She runs her empire on extortion. Like a mob boss.
Jacek: This thing is going to drive me nuts. I’m ready to pull my hair out and it’s not even nine a.m.
A throaty chuckle I hadn’t heard in far too long drew my attention to where Nash sat across from me at the table eating his breakfast. His eyes were full of mischief, and his lips were quirked in a devilish grin as he glanced at his phone.
“You wouldn’t happen to know anything about how this rubber chicken came into our dear nephew’s possession, would you?” I asked.
He peered up at me from under his lashes and attempted to conceal his mirth. “Not a thing,” he replied, but the twitch of his lips gave him away.
“Well played,” I commended before heading upstairs to get ready.
Half an hour later, I was slipping on my shoes by the door when I heard the rumble of Gabe’s truck coming up the driveway.
I didn’t exactly want anyone to notice him picking me up even though my whole family knew I hung out with him and Rory occasionally.
Now that we’d crossed that line into intimate territory, I feared someone might catch on before we were ready to tell them.
I grabbed my bag and slung it over my shoulder before bolting out the door. I was almost to the steps when my grandmother’s voice stopped me in my tracks.
“Where are you off to in such a hurry?”
I turned to find her sipping a cup of coffee in her favorite rocking chair.
“I-I’ve got plans this morning,” I answered, hoping she wouldn’t ask for too many details.
Her eyes flicked to the familiar truck closing in and back to me. Her lips turned up in a knowing smirk. “With Gabe?”
“Yes.” There was no sense in lying when she could see him rolling up in front of our house.
She studied me for a moment, and I squirmed beneath her assessing gaze. “Have fun,” she said finally.
I scurried down the steps and hopped into Gabe’s truck. I almost leaned over to kiss him, but caught myself at the last second. Instead, I turned to face Rory in the back seat. “Hey, kiddo.”
Gabe turned the truck around and led us off the property. “Are you going to tell us where we’re going now?” he asked.
“Nope.”
“Can you give us a hint?”
I shook my head. “I can give you directions.”
“Good enough,” he relented with a chuckle.
Thirty minutes later, we pulled up to our destination, and I directed him where to park.
“What is this place?” he asked, looking out over the fields bursting with rows of produce.
“This is my cousin’s farm.”
“What are we going to do on a farm?” Rory asked, her tone inquisitive.
“We,” I began, throwing my arm over her shoulder, “are going blackberry
picking.”
“Oh, I love blackberries!”
“Me too.”
“Today is the first day Bluebell Farms is open to the public, and they agreed to let us in an hour early before anyone else gets here,” I revealed as we walked up to the gate.
“We get to pick the first blackberries of the season.” My enthusiasm was contagious.
She bounced on the balls of her feet and let out an exuberant, “Yes!” She practically vibrated with excitement as we waited for my dad’s cousin, Lily, to let us in.
She could barely hold still long enough for Gabe to apply her sunscreen.
“Thanks for letting us do this,” I said when Lily opened the gate.
“Of course. You’re always welcome here,” she declared, wrapping me in a hug. Her scent was just as I remembered: a mix of potting soil and cinnamon since she was always baking or working in the garden.
I quickly made introductions before she handed us each a pail for collecting blackberries and sent us on our way.
“How do we know which ones to pick?” Rory asked, and I showed her what to look for. I’d done this so many times over the years, it was like second nature.
“If they have any red left on them, they’re not ready yet,” I reminded her a few minutes later after spotting a few in her pail that weren’t quite ripe. Moving to the next row, I plucked a berry off the vine and popped it into my mouth, savoring the tart, sweet flavor.
“Is this why you always smell like blackberries?” Gabe asked, coming to stand next to me.
He reached out and picked a plump berry and inspected it before turning to me and bringing it to my lips.
His eyes remained glued to my mouth as I took the blackberry from his fingers and chewed, swiping my tongue across my lips to capture the bit of juice that dripped onto them.
“Maybe,” I replied tauntingly. “They are my favorite fruit.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“But to answer your question, it’s actually my perfume.” It had been the one decent gift my ex had given me. I got rid of him but kept the perfume. I wouldn’t tell Gabe that, though. It might ruin it for him.
“Well, it’s my favorite scent in the entire world,” he proclaimed, moving in closer, "especially when the source is that delicate spot just below your ear.” He pushed away the hair that had fallen over my shoulder, and goosebumps spread across my skin at the gentle brush of his fingers over my neck.
“If we weren’t in public right now, I’d bury my nose in that spot and kiss my way down your throat.
” He grazed his thumb over my pulse point, and I drew in a sharp breath.
“But I wouldn’t stop there. I’d run my tongue along the valley of your breasts, down over your belly, until I reached—”
“Dad!” We both jumped and moved away at the sound of Rory’s voice in the next row. “My bucket is full. Can I get a new one?”
Gabe backed away, his eyes glowing with promise as they drank me in. “You can have mine,” he called to her. “Jasmine and I can share.”