Chapter 14
ROYCE
Royce grabbed Penny’s hand and hurried her around the side of the barn.
“Royce,” she whispered, half laughing and half breathless, “what are you—”
He tugged her into the shadows and pressed one finger lightly to his lips, his eyes flicking toward the yard. “Shh.”
She stared at him like he’d lost his mind.
Which was fair, seeing as how he probably did.
Glancing over his shoulder, he strained to hear whether they’d been followed. Nothing. Just the soft rustle of hay, the distant sound of livestock, and his own pulse thudding harder than it needed to.
Then he swung his attention back to his wife and winked.
Penny’s eyes narrowed. “What are you doing?”
“I told you, we can’t get caught.”
Penny had the most adorable scowl. He nearly kissed the frown lines between her brows, but she gave him a little push before he could.
“Are you sure they’d even recognize me? I’m not exactly at the farm all the time.”
“Oh, they’d know.” He didn’t need to tell her that his brother had recognized her when they’d been at the country club. If she knew just how crazy his family could be, she might actually go running for the hills.
He placed one hand against the wall beside her shoulder and grinned down at her. “Besides, you like sneaking around.”
“Do I?”
Royce leaned in closer, his lips grazing her ear. “Every now and again, there’s something exciting about breaking the rules. What was it you called it? Oh yeah. Being reckless.”
Her breathy laugh warmed him, and when she turned her face to capture him in a kiss, he groaned.
“Careful, my wife,” he murmured. “You don’t know what you’re doin’ to me.”
“I thought tonight was supposed to be romantic?” she said teasingly.
“Hmm?”
She giggled and gave him another firmer push. He stumbled back a step and chuckled as he held out his hand toward her. She took it, and he led her into the barn so they could saddle two horses for their little outing.
It was dark, and no one was usually out in the barn this late. Nearly bumping into someone already had been a fluke.
He tightened his hand around hers and, not for the first time, reveled in just how happy he was. Being here with her, showing her everything he loved about his home, was worth the risk of being caught.
Or at least that was what he’d told himself until a hard voice interrupt them.
He was just about to cinch the saddle on Penny’s horse when he stopped cold.
“What are you doing?”
Penny gasped.
Royce’s head popped up, and his eyes connected with Morgan’s. Instinctively, he shifted closer to Penny, but he stopped himself from putting her behind him like she needed to be hidden or protected from his sister.
Morgan’s arms were folded, and she’d tipped her head slightly.
The way she was watching them unnerved him.
Out of all his siblings, she was supposed to be the reasonable one.
She wasn’t a sheep. Not normally. How many times had she told Lincoln he was being an idiot when he complained about Rose Taylor?
“Morgan,” he said quietly, “what do you need?”
She scoffed. “I asked you a question first.” Morgan nodded toward Penny. “What is she doing here? Do you have any idea how dumb it is that you brought her to our property?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Royce insisted.
Penny was standing right there, so there was no denying what she was talking about.
Morgan’s eyes narrowed. “I’m not an idiot, Royce. I know who she is. And we both know that if Dad knew you were spending time with her, he’d threaten to disown you.”
Penny sucked in a quiet breath beside him, and Royce flinched.
That had been a threat once upon a time, but he hadn’t heard his dad bring it up in a while. He shook his head. “She’s a friend.”
He felt sick to his stomach the second the words left his mouth.
And he prayed Penny wouldn’t take offense. Otherwise, he’d be in hot water for more than one reason.
“Don’t lie to me, Royce. You’ve never been interested in a girl enough to bring her home. And the first one you brought is a Taylor?”
“She’s not a Taylor,” he snapped back.
Of course, he wasn’t going to tell her that technically Penny was a Meyers now. That would set Morgan off even more than she already was.
“Whatever. She shares their blood.” Morgan glanced toward the barn doors, then back at him. “Look, I get it. Dad is unreasonable about this whole thing. But what you’re doing is reckless.”
He smiled. He couldn’t help it.
“You think it’s funny?” she demanded. “What is wrong with you?”
Royce sobered, though the smile didn’t vanish completely. “Nothing is wrong with me. And nothing is wrong with her.” He glanced at Penny, letting the truth settle where Morgan could hear it. “I love her.”
Morgan’s eyes widened, and her focus flicked over to Penny. “Does Rose know?”
He held up a hand. “You don’t have to tell her anything.”
“No,” Penny said quietly. “We’re keeping our relationship quiet for now.”
“Relationship?” Morgan hissed. “Seriously, Royce?” She slapped her hand to her forehead and dragged it down her face. “I can’t believe this.”
“You’re not going to say anything,” Royce said, taking a step forward before he caught himself.
The last thing he needed was to make this worse by acting like Morgan was the enemy.
His sister’s gaze sharpened. “Are you telling me or asking me?”
Royce exhaled, then rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “Asking. Badly.”
Penny made a tiny sound behind him that might have been amusement.
Morgan stared at him another second, then shocked him completely. “No, I won’t.”
“You… won’t?”
She sighed. “No, dummy. I won’t. Because someone has to put their money where their mouth is. I think this feud needs to end. And who knows? Maybe you dating one of them would be enough to knock some sense into Dad.”
She muttered something else he couldn’t understand, but it almost sounded like, “Heaven knows friendship wasn’t.”
If that was what she’d said, he had no idea what she meant by it.
“Morgan—”
She held up a hand and glanced over her shoulder. “Shh. Hear that?”
He froze and stepped closer to Penny on instinct.
The quiet pressed in on them. He didn’t hear anything but his own pulse racing in his ears. Then Morgan turned toward him and sighed again.
“I’ll make sure no one is out there. If you’re going on a ride with her, you better get out of here while you can.”
“Royce?” Penny whispered. “Do you think we should…”
“It’ll be fine,” he assured her, turning to look at her. “But it’s your call. We can leave if you want.”
Penny studied him for a moment, then shook her head. “No. Let’s go.”
He shot an appreciative look toward his sister. “You okay if I text you when we’re on our way back?”
Morgan gave him a sharp nod. “Have… fun.”
“Thanks, Morgan.”
They got out of the barn and onto the trail without another mishap.
The ride wasn’t too long to get to his favorite place to go stargazing, and Penny seemed comfortable enough on the horse she rode.
They were halfway to his spot when he realized he should have shared a horse with her to give him an excuse to hold her in his arms.
He’d never get enough of her, no matter how much time they spent together.
After sundown, this place appeared to be in the middle of nowhere. Light pollution was practically nonexistent.
He helped Penny off the horse, her body brushing against his until her feet landed in the grass beneath them. Her hands linked behind his neck, and she smiled up at him.
But then she looked up and gasped.
Penny pulled away from him, and he let her, smiling as she took in the stars.
“I’ve got a blanket so you can lie down.”
She flashed him an excited smile, and he stepped away to get the blanket prepared.
Once they were lying side by side, he finally allowed himself to go over the conversation with his sister. Apparently, that was where Penny’s thoughts had drifted as well.
“Would your dad really disown you?”
He sighed. “I’d like to think he’d draw the line at disowning me, but no one has gone against his wishes to this extent. Honestly, I don’t know.” He rolled his head toward her and stared at her profile. “I’m sorry.”
She turned toward him. “Whatever for?”
“That couldn’t have been an easy conversation for you.”
Penny smiled and brought her hand to his cheek. “It was harder for you than me.”
“Do you think her reaction…” He frowned up at the sky. “It was strange, right?”
“How do you mean?”
He placed his hand over hers to keep it close. He loved her touch. “Why did she ask you if Rose knew? Wouldn’t it make more sense to ask if your uncle knew?”
Penny chewed on her lip for a moment, then faced toward the sky again. “Probably because they’re friends.”
He shot into a seated position. “What?”
She watched him from where she still lay. “Yeah, I’ve seen them hanging out when they’re not with the whole family. I think they’re pretty close.”
What in the world was going on?
How long had this been happening?
Granted, he’d had suspicions that Morgan was hiding something, but this?
Penny must have sensed his growing irritation because she laughed and sat upright. With some careful maneuvering, she climbed into his lap and held his face between both of her hands.
“Don’t be the pot.”
“What?” he asked, distracted by her closeness.
“Or the kettle.” She laughed quietly. “Whichever one it is. Don’t judge her for being friends with a member of the Taylor family when you married one.”
“Yeah, but it’s not the same. She’s friends with the ringleader—”
“Royce,” she admonished. “She’s friends with one of them. You married one of them. Which choice is the bigger offense?”
He studied her in the dark, the glow from the moon the only light that allowed him to see her features.
Dang it.
She was right.
Out of the two of them, he’d be the one who got in the most trouble.
“That’s why she was willing to keep quiet,” he murmured.
“Probably. She didn’t want to be the kettle either.”
His mouth twitched, and she giggled again.
“How long have you known Morgan was a double agent?”
That had her laughing more. “Double agent? Really?”
“Well? How long have you known?”
“I don’t know. A little while. She’s nice.
And your family’s business is none of mine.
I don’t think she knows I know. And honestly, it was only a suspicion for the longest time.
I didn’t make the connection until I found out her last name and my brother mentioned the issues that were still ongoing between our families. ”
He sighed. “I would have called her a hypocrite, but I suppose that’s not fair. She’s always been on my side when Lincoln and I have gone head-to-head.”
Penny’s hands moved up to his hair, and she ran her fingers through it. “Do you think she was right?”
He turned his head and pressed a kiss to her wrist. “About what?”
“That a marriage would unite your two families?”
Royce considered her question, then shrugged. “I can’t say for certain. I’d like to hope so, but my dad and Lincoln can be unpredictable. They might try to tear us apart before they accept our relationship.”
She frowned.
He brushed his thumb along her cheek, hating that he’d put that look on her face. “I won’t let that happen, Penny. Not if I can help it.”
Her eyes searched his.
“I know I can’t control everything,” he said, softer now. “But I can control my determination to stay married to you forever.”
Her frown eased, and she leaned closer until her forehead touched his.
“Forever. I love the sound of that,” Penny murmured.
Royce smiled in the dark and wrapped his arms around her.
Under that wide stretch of stars, with Penny tucked close and the whole world waiting to find out what they’d done, he let himself believe they might actually survive the storm coming for them.