Chapter 1
Chapter One
Garrett
Addington Ranch took up almost the entire square footage of the ‘small’ town of the same name, just outside of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Its vast pastures gave room for cattle, horses and fields of fruits and vegetables. Plus whatever else the women of Addington Ranch came up with to sell at the local farmers markets.
It was home to the entire Addington Family, or at very least the place they always came back to. And had been my home since I was eighteen.
The Addington Family took me in when I had nothing and made me one of their own. I worked my ass off every day to earn my keep here. Working my way from the bottom of the barrel ranch hand to one of their farm managers, working alongside the elder Addington men.
I was no dummy. The Addingtons were the only family I had. I’d be a damn fool to jeopardize it.
Carrying the last dish in from the kitchen, I take my usual seat at the dining room table for Sunday dinner. Harriett joins us, taking a seat right next to her husband Neville, the family patriarch. Neville Addington extends his hands for all of us to join in and say Grace while we bow our heads. With each Amen said, we begin passing the food around.
This week it’s pot roast with green beans, mashed potatoes, carrots, and Harriett’s homemade gravy with biscuits on the side. And from the smell of cinnamon in the air, there’s no doubt she’s made her famous apple pie for dessert.
Every Sunday, for the last fifteen years this was how I spent my Sunday evenings. The only exception was when William or Neville sent me out of town to scout cattle or a horse or two.
Kevin Addington, one of the heirs to the Addingon Ranch, was just two years my senior and one of my very best friends. I met Kevin six months after I moved to Addington Ranch. Kevin was on his first deployment overseas when I became a ranch hand here. He came back home and “re-married” his longtime sweetheart, Fallon, that Fall. That was after they eloped and didn’t tell a soul the morning before he left on that first deployment. I still remember how shocked everyone seemed to be and the huge celebration that followed their traditional wedding that the Addingtons and Fallon’s family insisted on.
Kevin divided his time between the Army and ranching for years while Harriett, Neville and Kevin’s dad, William, waited patiently for grandchildren. Kevin and his wife build their own house on the west side of the Ranch property and Kevin bought Fallon her ‘heart horse’, Ranger, instead. For whatever reason the couple made their family wait quite some time for Garrison Addington to join the world.
Garrison was a wild and rambunctious three year old now. One who had damn near everyone around here wrapped around his chubby fingers. Including my sorry ass. Garrison loved horses and damn if the tiny little shit didn’t love trying to rope calves too.
I’d lay my life down for any one of the people in this room. And the one woman who was missing from this table.
After swallowing my first bite, I kick Kevin under the table and give him a little nudge, “Alright, Kev. Out with it. What’s got you sitting over there smiling to yourself?”
He smirks and says, “I talked to Lindsey today.”
If Kevin knows I’ve been crushing on his sister, he’s never let on, but the smirk on his face tells me that there’s a good chance he knows something.
Doing my best to school my emotions I nod and ask how she’s doing. No one needs to know that I’ve been sporting a hard-on for Linds since the day she turned 18, truthfully, probably before that too. Far too many nights I pictured her face while I stroked my cock before drifting off to sleep. Of course, if anyone in this room knew that, I’d probably be a dead man so it’s a good thing that the Addington’s Pony Princess ran off to college and didn’t bother to look back.
It’s been a good ten years since I’ve actually seen her in person but I’ve managed to keep up with her on social media and of course word of mouth from her family. I knew she finished her Master’s Degree in Occupational Therapy while still showjumping which took a fuck ton of hard work and time management. Then she decided to take a sabbatical year to join a travel showjumping team where she caught the eyes of the USA Olympic Team.
I knew she had talent but I never thought I’d be sitting in my loft apartment on the Addington Ranch watching the 2016 Summer Olympics while the rest of the Addington family flew to Rio to cheer on their twenty-four-year-old family star. She was the youngest rider on the team and brought home a gold medal that year.
Rumor had it that she was headed to Tokyo this year to try and repeat her gold medal win. Or at least that was the plan. There was a goddamn global pandemic that put the whole world on hold and there were whispers that the Olympics may not be happening.
The girl I knew back then had other plans. Lindsey wanted to open an equine-therapy center to help children and adults with physical and mental health issues, but the Olympics calling did not surprise me one bit. It was show jumping that got her a full ride to the university of her choice and kept those equine therapy dreams alive.
I had no doubts that making it to the Olympics only helped to solidify her future and her dreams in the real world whenever it was time for her to come back home.
“This year’s games got postponed.” Kevin’s sentence breaks through my thoughts and I nearly choke on the mashed potatoes.
Lindsey was so excited about training and how well things were going. I remember seeing posts on her Instagram. I can only imagine how devastated she must be right now. Even if everyone knew that was the outcome that was likely coming.
“So…” before Kevin can say anything more, the sound of gravel flying echoes through the open dining room windows and an Addington Farms truck and horse trailer stops in the drive. I can’t see who steps out but soon the front door opens and the sound of bags dropping to the floor thumps. Neville’s entire face lights up and everyone suddenly pushes their chairs back and stands.
I don’t even need to look up to know who’s just walked in. A tiny spark crackles in the air and I know she’s home.
“Lindsey Jean!” Harriett calls out, running straight for her granddaughter.
The princess has returned and standing beside her is some jerk with a goofy grin plastered on his face.
While the Addington’s all welcome her back, I take one more bite of my dinner then pick up my plate and I move into the kitchen to scrape my plate before I place it in the sink and do my best not to let Lindsey’s presence affect me.
“Good to see you, kid.” Wiping my hands on my jeans to keep from reaching out and touching her, I give Linds a nod and excuse myself. “I’ll let y’all catch up. I’ve got some work to finish before I turn in for the night.”
Because I know if I stay, I’ll wind up doing something stupid. Like punching the rich kid with slicked-back hair that is looking at her like she hung the moon.
There’s the slightest hint of hurt in her eyes but she doesn’t stop me or say anything in return.
Out in the barn, I check in on all the horses then tack up Domino, a ten-year-old black and white Pinto that I rescued two years ago with some help from William - Lindsey’s father. A ride to check on the fence line back by the lake is the perfect excuse to get my mind off of the gorgeous woman who’s just walked back on to the ranch.
Needing to put as much distance as I can between myself and the house, I work Domino up to a gallop and head for the far end of the Addington’s property reminding myself over and over again all the reasons why getting involved with Lindsey Addington, is a bad idea.
The creek that meets the property line comes into view several long beats later and I’m not any closer to feeling settled than when I left the barn. Hell, I think coming all the way out here was probably an even stupider idea as memories of a few hot summer nights roll through my mind.
How many times did Kevin and I go for a ride out here to cool off after working all day? And how many times did Lindsey show up in her tiny cut off jeans and string bikini top, taunting me and every one of the boys we used to hang out with?
I came all the way out here to clear my head the night before she left for college and somehow she followed me then too. Pinned me up against the very same tree that I’m about to tie Domino to and kissed me senseless before hopping back on her horse and vanishing into the sunset.
That was the last time I truly saw Lindsey. And if there was one thing I learned tonight, it was that the woman she has become in the last ten years is even hotter in person.
Jumping down off of Domino, I tie him off and take a few minutes for myself before walking along the fence line out here. Kevin and I make it a habit to check on things every few days and the cattle usually never come back this far so I’m sure there is nothing to worry about. Again, it’s merely an excuse to get away from all the uncomfortable feelings that surround Lindsey.
I know what you’re thinking, I must be some kind of pathetic asshole who is so desperate and hung up on this girl that I can’t move on. That’s not it at all. I certainly haven’t saved myself for Lindsey and I’ve dated plenty of other women in my lifetime, hell even in the last ten years. And I’ve been happy with said women most of the time until the relationship ran its course and we all went our separate ways.
Some were far too Goddamn prissy which happens when you live not far from the Chicago suburbs and aren’t far from the city limits. While others were more interested in getting to Kevin - the youngest heir to Addington’s farm, one of the Midwest’s biggest cattle and horse farms. Didn’t seem to matter to those women that Kevin has always, openly, been madly in love with Fallon and committed to her and their relationship.
I don’t know how much time has passed but the energy around me starts to shift, and in the distance, I can hear hooves clopping.
“I thought I’d find you back here.” Lindsey’s soft voice washes over me and I hear her feet hit the ground after she jumps off her horse. Shadow and Domino softly neigh at each other.
Needing to calm myself, I count to ten in my head before turning around to meet her gorgeous face.
“Still the quietest place on the ranch,” I let out a sigh.
Lindsey
Watching the man in front of me, I do my best not to drool on myself. Time has certainly been good to the cowboy.
“I guess not much has changed,” I say to Garrett with a gentle smile when he finally looks me in the eyes. “You always did hide out back here whenever you needed to get away.”
“And you always managed to follow me, too.” He gives me a playful wink and I hope that means we’re making some progress from the cold nod he welcomed me home with.
Taking a seat in one of the Adirondack chairs surrounding the newly built fire pit with two beers in my hand, I wait for Garrett as he continues to pace along creek bank. “Yeah, well. It’s the only place where I felt like we didn’t have to worry about everyone else’s prying eyes.”
“Wasn’t really much to hide,” he shrugs and that familiar sting of rejection reminds me of why I left in the first place.
Sure, Garrett Everleigh may have a good five years on me but a part of me has always been in love with the dark hair, dark-eyed cowboy, even the eleven-year-old little girl with stars in her eyes couldn’t help but drool over the sixteen-year-old kid who came to work on my family’s ranch as part of a work-study program. Or the eighteen-year-old man who moved into the bunkhouse a few years later.
He never treated me like a kid, even back then. Probably because deep down he was still a kid himself.
I looked forward to every single summer he spent on the ranch and may have even found myself watching out my bedroom window for his uncle to drop him off every weekend when we needed extra hands. When he finally moved in, I felt like a kid in a candy store. I no longer had to wait days at a time to see him. Garett was always around.
He is loyal. Trustworthy. Hardworking. Smart. And sexy as sin.
A deadly combination in cowboy boots and faded Levi’s.
Did I mention he also happened to be my brother’s best friend? Maybe that’s what always made me feel safe around Garrett - and made him the ever-alluring forbidden fruit.
Memories of my 18th birthday party come rushing back. The sweet pony necklace he’d given me as a gift. The steamy kiss right against the trees out here. And how he hid from me nearly every day after that, until I left for college.
I had big dreams out in California. And for a long time, I wanted to get as far away from Addington Ranch as I could. In part because of a broken heart. The other part, because I thought I couldn’t make my dreams happen here.
Gramps said I could always come back home but now I’m not so sure that was a good idea. I came home because I really had nowhere else to go. With the world shutting down around us and all the shows, and the Olympics, canceled - I had no choice but to load up Shadow and head back to the ranch that built me.
I thought the time at home would give me a chance to reflect. Maybe even start over and figure out where Lindsey Addington and her dreams fit in.
When Garrett finally gives in and takes a seat across from me, I hand him the cold beer and crack the top on mine.
“Tell me what’s new with you,” I say after a sip of liquid courage. The last thing I want to do right now is talk about myself. I’m sure there will be plenty of time for that later.
“Not much to tell, Linds. Same shit different day. Up when the sun rises, in bed not long after it falls,” he grunts and leans back in the chair with the cold beer in his hand.
“Oh come on now, I’m sure there’s still plenty to talk about,” I shoot him a playful glare. “Maybe a special lady friend in your life?”
He snorts and shakes his head. “Your little fishing expedition isn’t going to get you very far, Lindsey. No special ladies in my life, princess.”
“Ew. You’re really going to call me princess?”
“That’s what you are. The Addington Princess.”
“No,” I flick my beer bottle cap at him. “I’m not that little girl anymore. I haven’t been for a long time, Garrett.”
“I know, Linds.”
“Yeah well, maybe you can stop treating me like one.” Maybe coming out here tonight wasn’t a good idea. I’m too caught up in all the emotions. I can’t do this with him. “I don’t want things to be like this between us, Garrett.”