Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Garrett
It’s late evening when I finally make it back to the barn with Domino after repairing part of the fence line along the far end of the property line where a tree had fallen.
I’ve already missed dinner and I’m sure by now Lindsey thinks I’m avoiding her again. In a way, I am, but only because I want to talk with the eldest Addington men before anything else happens between me and Lindsey. If anything else happens.
I laid awake all night deciding how I was going to handle everything and praying that Lindsey wouldn’t wake up hating me this morning. Her absence at breakfast made me nervous and when Kevin pulled me to the side to tell me she was having breakfast in town with her dad and grandfather, I didn’t feel any better about my odds.
Moving slowly out of pure exhaustion, I untack Domino and brush him down before putting him in his stall for the night with some freshwater and grain.
By the time I make it to the top of the steps leading to my loft, I’m ready to pass out.
The door is unlocked and the hair on the back of my neck stands. Out of habit I always lock the door even though I know the Addington’s have a master key. They’ve never just let themselves in though. I slowly open the door, more than a little worried about what I might find waiting for me but as soon as it’s all the way open Lindsey’s stunning form fills my line of sight.
“Breaking and entering? Really, Linds?” I tease, hoping that this isn’t a bad sign.
“You missed dinner. Kev said you and Austin were working on the fence and wanted to get done. I figured you still needed to eat when you got back.”
The urge to kiss her is like a magnetic pull. I may be a thousand steps ahead of myself but it would be all too easy for me to get used to the idea of coming home to Lindsey in my space every day.
“I appreciate you thinking of me. I should probably hop in the shower real quick and get all this dirt off.” I tell her while my feet are still planted firmly in place near the door. Over and over again, I remind myself that I want to do the right thing by her even though I want to do all the very inappropriate things right now.
Lindsey grabs the end of her t-shirt and flings it over her head, letting it drop to the floor. “Hm. You look like you could use a little help.”
“Linds,” I groan. She’s not making this easy for me. In fact, she’s making things pretty damn hard.
“Let me go warm up the shower awhile,” she teases before stripping out of her cowboy boots and jeans and sauntering her perfectly shaped ass to my bathroom.
One. Two. Three. I try counting in my head while I debate what to do. I can only be a gentleman for so long and when she sticks one hand out of the bathroom door to ceremoniously drop her bra and panties to the floor, the last of my resolve crumbles.
I toe off my boots and nearly trip trying to get my pants off as I rush through the loft and into the bathroom where she’s waiting for me. Scooping her into my arms, her legs wrap around my waist and I carry us both into the warm shower. As the water cascades down my body, I pin her to the wall and give in to what we both want. Thank fuck she doesn’t seem to mind when I’m all hot and sweaty.
Once I’ve made her come, I pull out and jerk myself until my own release coats her tan stomach. Then I take my time getting her nice and clean. By the time she returns the favor and rubs her magical fingers all over my body, I’m ready to go again. This time, I dry us both off and spread her out in my bed.
Dinner can wait. Right now, I only want dessert.
The next morning my alarm clock buzzes and Lindsey snuggles a little closer, pressing her warm and naked body against mine. I’m caught between sheer panic and absolute happiness with her here by my side. I’ve never let anyone sleepover before. I was always the one crashing at their place when I dated in the past. But that’s not why I’m on edge. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to fully enjoy being with Lindsey and having her around until I’ve got her father and grandfather’s blessing.
When her hand wanders lower down my chest, over my abs, and wraps around my cock, everything else falls away though.
Almost.
Until my cell phone rings and Neville’s name flashes across the screen. Pushing her hand away, I jump from the bed and answer the phone call, putting as much distance between us as possible as if I’ve just gotten caught.
“Garrett.”
“Morning, Sir.”
“William and I wanted to have a word with you right quick, before breakfast, and before you get started for the day. We’ll be waiting in the office. Come see us before you head to the house.”
“Yes, Sir. I’ll be down in just a few minutes.”
“Sounds good. Quit calling me, Sir, ‘for I whoop your ass boy.”
I let out a nervous laugh.
“Oh. And one more thing, Garrett.”
“Yes.”
“Tell my granddaughter, Harriett is looking for her. Needs some help with the biscuits this morning.”
Oh fuck. I scramble to come up with something to say back to that. Something that isn’t a lie but isn’t an omission that Lindsey spent the night. I’ve got nothing. A click on the other end gives me a temporary reprieve.
I flop back down on my side of the bed and put my head in my hands. I’ve got about ten minutes before I face my fate. Somehow I just know this is going to be the end of it. They’ll fire me and tell me to get the hell off their property.
Lindsey’s smooth hands rub my shoulders and I can feel her chuckling behind me. “Problems, cowboy?”
“Pretty sure I’m about to face the firing squad.” I sink back into her touch and enjoy my last few seconds as a free man.
“What do you mean?”
“Neville said to tell you Harriett needs your help with the biscuits this morning. He and your father have summoned me to a meeting before breakfast too. I need to get going.”
Lindsey giggles. “I’m so sure Grams needs help with the biscuits. Nosey ol’ bird.”
“You’re not worried that they know you’re up here?” I groan.
“I’m an adult and make my own choices. Right now, I’m choosing to give you one peck on the cheek and go help Grams with the biscuits.” She climbs out of bed and walks around to me, doing just as she promised before getting dressed in last night’s clothes. “I’ll see you at the breakfast table.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure,” I mumble as she walks away.
Moving as quickly as I can, I get ready for the day and head down to face my fate.
Neville is sitting behind the desk and William is leaning against the wall when I walk in, shutting the door behind me. William reaches for an extra cup of coffee and hands it to me.
“Splash of half and half, no sugar. Did I get it right?”
I try to relax and give him a thankful smile. “You did. Thank you.”
“Garrett have a seat,” Neville points to the chairs in front of the desk. “And for the love of God don’t be so damn nervous.”
“That’s a little easier said than done…” I pause, nearly about to call him Sir again. “I waited to talk with you both and I swear I had plans to, sooner rather than later.”
“You planning on quitting?” Neville gets serious for a moment.
“Only if I need to.”
“Son. We’re not firing you,” William chimes in. “As Dad said, relax. Yesterday something came to our attention and we wanted to talk with you about it. In fact, we should have talked to you about it around the time we hired you.”
Shit.
“Garrett, we didn’t know who you were the first time you came to the ranch. We figured it out when we hired you full time but never said anything because we thought you either didn’t remember or you wanted to forget. But it seems that’s where the problem is,” Neville says.
William pipes up and squeezes my shoulder, “You’re in no way responsible for what happened to Annie. Nor do you owe us anything.”
“If I had known you felt this way all along…” Neville hesitates and his voice goes soft. “Well, I wouldn’t have let you carry the burden all these years and for that, I’m really damn sorry.”
“I wasn’t ready to ride. And even I knew that horse was too much. My dad, he wouldn’t listen,” I do my not to choke up in front of these two men. I don’t cry and I’m damn sure not about to break down here.
“Son, you were six. He was an adult and he put you in harm’s way. Listen to me...you are not responsible for what happened. We’ve never blamed you. And to be honest, sure we were angry in the beginning but we never blamed your father either. Because even the best horses can have bad days. What happened to Annie was an accident. No one could have predicted it.” Neville pulls out his handkerchief and dabs his eyes. “Annie died doing what she loved and she wouldn’t want you sitting here feeling sorry about it.”
“But she pulled me off of that horse and if she had just let me fall…”
“Then an innocent child would have gotten hurt and she wouldn’t have been able to live with that,” William tells me, matter of factly. “And since we’re all coming clean today, Neville wasn’t exactly honest when he said that we didn’t know who you were at sixteen.”
Neville grunts. “What the hell did you do William?”
William chuckles and shrugs. “I had a pretty strong hunch that your father was involved in some shady things after that incident. I kept tabs on you and when I heard the local vo-tech school had a program for future farmers, I put in the request. Made contact with your Uncle and arranged to bring you here. At the time, your Uncle seemed to think it was a good idea not to bring up the accident since you’d been doing so well. And to be honest with you, it never crossed my mind again. But Garrett, we meant what we said - we didn’t bring you here because you owed us anything. I wanted you here so that I knew you were taken care of and away from whatever it was your father was into.”
“I’m not really sure what to say,” I admit. I want to believe what William’s just said but I’ve been blaming myself for twenty-six years, that’s a hard thing to just turn off.
“You don’t have to say a thing. Go on up to the house and get yourself a bite to eat if you want then take the day for yourself. Christ knows you’ve earned it.” Neville tells me.
“I can’t do that. We do need to talk about my paycheck for this week though. See, someone’s been doing some of my work and she needs to be paid for it.” Instead of worrying about me, I change the subject to Lindsey.
“You think I don’t already know that? There’s not much that happens around here that I don’t know about,” Neville chuckles. “She’s earning a paycheck too, and no I’m not docking yours. Don’t think I haven’t noticed all the other stuff you’ve been doing around here with the few extra minutes Lindsey’s mucking stalls has afforded you.”
“Speaking of Lindsey,” William nudges me. “Was there something else you wanted to tell us? Maybe about those donations you made to her sponsorship.”
“We all donated,” I quickly defend.
“Yeah, everyone did. That’s not what I’m asking though.”
I look between the two men and contemplate my next sentence.
“Oh for fuck sake,” Kevin pulls open the office door and waltzes in. “Put the damn man out of his misery already. Garrett, they already know about you and Lindsey. They’re not the least bit surprised either. Are you?” He looks at his father and grandfather.
Neville and William both burst into laughter.
“I swear I planned to talk with both of you. I wanted to tell you both straight up how I felt for her and I was going to vow to stay away from her if you didn’t approve, though since we’re all being honest - I don’t know that I can. I’m in love with her.”
“I knew it!” Neville whoops.
William smirks. “Son, you just cost me $20.”
“What is it with you people? Y’all took a bet on me?” I shake my head in disbelief.
“We all knew Lindsey had feelings for you, and then you went and looked at her like she hung the moon. We just wondered how long it would take you to come to us. How far she’d push you before you gave in.” William says through his laughter.
“Meanwhile, I was worried you two would kill me,” I grumble.
“Treat her right and don’t give us a reason to,” Nevile adds.
“Christ the three of you are all the same.” I look at Kevin who shrugs back at me.
Neville stands and taps on the desk. “What do you say we go see what the ladies have cooked up this morning?”
“I should have taken that vacation day.”
“Too late now, Garrett. You’ve got work to do,” William claps me on the back.
“From here on out, you tell us if you need something. No more bullshit. Christ knows I can’t take Harriett being pissed at me for being an insensitive jerk.” Neville says before shaking my hand. “And Goddamnit, don’t you dare call me, Sir.”