Chapter 20 Jesse
TWENTY
JESSE
All of us are tired and mentally strung out when I head out to the barn. The hands are looking to me to figure out what needs to be done, and my brothers look like they’ve been up most of the night.
“Is Truett okay?” Dave asks, his eyebrows raised in concern.
“He will be. I’m not answering questions about what happened. Just know he needs some good thoughts. If you could do your normal tasks today, I’d appreciate it.”
Everyone nods before leaving. Everyone, that is, except for Devlin. He glances at me, his thumbs hooked in the belt loops of his jeans. “We need to hide those trucks and trailers, Jess. I almost guarantee you that Noah will come sniffing around today. We made a lot of noise last night.”
He’s right. “I just can’t even think straight right now. Not after what happened.”
“Let me take care of this. We’ll move them up to the northeast pasture, where it’s almost impassable once the thaw hits. It’ll hide those trucks for most of the year. By then, the heat will have died down.”
I run my fingers through my hair. “Sounds like a good plan. Go on and get to it. We need to act like nothing is different around here today.” Although everything is fucking different, and who knows if it’ll ever be the same again.
I’m heading into the office when I hear a noise at the other end of the barn, and in walks Aubree. “What are you doing here?”
She shrugs. “I couldn’t stand to sit in there and wait for him to move. Cookie is checking on him when he needs it, but I had to get up and move, even if that means mucking out stalls.”
“And here you say you’re a city girl at heart,” I reach up and move a piece of hair out of her face.
She grins, leaning in to kiss me. What’s meant to be a teasing gesture turns serious real fast. Maybe because of what we’ve all just lived through, maybe because if I’m honest with myself, I love this girl. Who knows, but it’s out of control before it even starts.
Her lips are soft against mine, but there’s a desperation in the way she kisses me back that tells me she needs this as much as I do.
The taste of her, sweet with just a hint of the coffee she must have grabbed from the kitchen, makes my head spin.
My hands find her waist, pulling her closer until there’s no space left between us.
“Jesse,” she breathes against my mouth, and the way she says my name sends fire straight through my veins.
I back her up against the wooden wall of the barn, my hands tangling in that honey-blonde hair of hers.
She’s so damn beautiful, even with worry lines creased around those deep brown eyes.
Hell, especially with them. This woman has seen us at our worst, and she’s still here, still kissing me like her life depends on it.
Her fingers work at the buttons of my flannel shirt, and I let her, too caught up in the feel of her mouth on my neck to think about anything else. When her lips find that spot just below my ear, I groan, my grip tightening on her hips.
“We shouldn’t be doing this here,” I manage to say, even as my body argues otherwise.
“I don’t care,” she whispers, her breath hot against my skin. “I need to feel something other than scared right now.”
I know exactly what she means. The adrenaline from last night is still coursing through me, and having her in my arms is the only thing keeping me grounded.
My hands slide down to cup her ass, lifting her slightly so she can wrap her legs around my waist. The sound she makes when I press her back against the wall is enough to make me lose what’s left of my control.
Her fingers trace the tattoos on my chest, and I shiver under her touch.
Every nerve ending in my body is on fire, focused entirely on the places where her skin meets mine.
I capture her mouth again, kissing her deeper this time, my tongue sliding against hers in a way that makes her moan into my mouth.
“God, Aubree,” I breathe, pulling back just enough to look at her. Her lips are swollen from my kisses, her cheeks flushed, and that birthmark I love so much is just visible above the neckline of her shirt. “You’re so fucking beautiful.”
She reaches up to run her fingers through my dark hair, her nails scraping lightly against my scalp. “I love you, Jesse. I know it’s crazy, but—”
I cut her off with another kiss, this one slower, more deliberate. When I pull away, I rest my forehead against hers. “It’s not crazy. I love you too.”
The admission hangs between us, weighted with everything we can’t say out loud. That I might not be able to keep her safe. That what we did last night could tear us apart. That loving someone in this life means risking everything.
But right now, in this moment, none of that matters. All that matters is the way she feels in my arms, the way she looks at me like I’m her whole world. My hands slip under her shirt, fingers tracing the soft curve of her waist, and she arches into my touch.
“Jesse,” she gasps when I find that sensitive spot just above her hip bone. Her reaction sends another wave of heat straight through me, and I press closer, letting her feel exactly what she does to me.
Her legs tighten around my waist, and I have to bite back a curse at the friction. We’re playing with fire here, in broad daylight, where anyone could walk in, but I can’t bring myself to stop. Not when she’s making those little sounds that drive me absolutely wild.
I trail kisses down her neck, stopping to pay special attention to the spot where her pulse is racing.
She tastes like sunshine and something uniquely her, and I want to memorize every inch of her skin with my mouth.
When I reach the collar of her shirt, I push it aside, revealing more of that creamy skin I’ve been dreaming about.
“We need to stop,” I murmur against her throat, even as my hands continue their exploration of her curves.
“Do we?” she asks, her voice breathy and full of want. Her fingers find the buckle of my belt, and I nearly lose it right there.
“Aubree…”
The sound of tires on gravel cuts through the haze of desire like a bucket of cold water. We freeze, listening as a truck door slams somewhere outside the barn.
“Shit,” I breathe, carefully setting her back on her feet. She smooths down her shirt while I button my flannel, both of us trying to look like we weren’t just seconds away from tearing each other’s clothes off.
Heavy footsteps echo through the barn, and I recognize the deliberate cadence before Noah even comes into view. He’s wearing his sheriff’s uniform, hat pulled low over his eyes, and the expression on his face tells me this isn’t a social visit.
“Morning, Jesse,” he says, tipping his hat to Aubree. “Miss Aubree.”
“Noah.” I nod, hoping my voice sounds steadier than I feel. “What brings you out here so early?”
He hooks his thumbs in his belt, a gesture that makes the gun on his hip more prominent. “Had some reports of cattle rustling last night. Trucks and trailers moving around late. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”
I keep my expression neutral, even as my heart pounds against my ribs. “Can’t say I do. We were all pretty beat after the day we had yesterday.”
“That’s right, I heard Truett got hurt. How’s he doing?”
The way he phrases it, like he already knows the answer, makes my skin crawl. But I keep my voice level. “He’ll be fine. You know how it is. There’s a danger being out this far and working the way we do.”
Noah’s eyes narrow slightly, and I can practically see the wheels turning in his head. He’s good at his job. I’ll give him that. Too good sometimes.
“Funny thing,” he continues, taking a step closer. “I had three different calls about trucks heading this direction around midnight. Kinda like y’all’s trucks, from the sound of it. Said they saw cattle on them.”
I shrug, fighting to keep my breathing even. “Sounds like a good night for whoever those cattle belonged to.”
“Mmm.” Noah’s gaze flicks to Aubree, then back to me. “You mind if I take a look around? Just to be thorough.”
Every instinct I have screams at me to say no, but that would be as good as an admission of guilt. Instead, I gesture toward the barn. “Help yourself. Though I’m not sure what you’re expecting to find.”
He starts walking through the barn, his trained eyes taking in every detail. I watch him carefully, knowing that any sign of nervousness could give us away. Beside me, Aubree has gone perfectly still, and I can feel the tension radiating off her in waves.
Noah stops at one of the empty stalls, running his hand along the wood. “This one looks like it’s been cleaned recently.”
“We clean all the stalls regularly,” I say. “Part of running a proper operation.”
“Of course.” He continues his inspection, checking corners and shadows like he’s looking for something specific. When he reaches the far end of the barn, he pauses at the large doors that lead to the back pastures.
“Those tire tracks out there look pretty fresh,” he observes.
“Feed truck was here yesterday afternoon,” I lie smoothly. “Had to back all the way up to get the hay unloaded. When she was in town the other day”—I nod to Aubree—“she only got part of our order.”
Noah turns back to face me, and there’s something in his expression that makes my blood run cold. He knows. Maybe he can’t prove it yet, but he knows we were involved in whatever went down last night.
“You know, Jesse, I’ve been a sheriff’s deputy in this county for going on five years now. In that time, I’ve learned to trust my instincts. And right now, they’re telling me that you and your brothers might want to stay close to town for the next few days.”
The warning is clear, even if he’s couching it in friendly terms. “And why would we want to do that?”
“Oh, just in case there are questions that need answering. Questions that folks might not be prepared for if they’re caught off guard.” His smile doesn’t reach his eyes. “You understand.”
I meet his gaze steadily, calling on every ounce of control I possess. “Can’t imagine what questions those would be, Noah. We’re not hiding anything here.”
“I’m sure you’re not,” he says, but the tone suggests otherwise. “Still, might be smart to keep your schedule flexible. You never know when duty might call.”
He tips his hat again to Aubree, who has remained silent through the entire exchange. “Miss Aubree, always a pleasure. Take care of yourself.”
With that, he turns and walks back toward the front of the barn, his footsteps echoing in the sudden silence. I wait until I hear his truck start and pull away before I allow myself to breathe again.
“Fuck,” I mutter, running both hands through my hair. “That was too close.”
Aubree moves to my side, her face pale. “He knows, doesn’t he?”
“He suspects. There’s a difference, but not much of one.” I pull her against me, needing to feel her warmth to counteract the cold dread spreading through my chest. “We need to be careful. More careful than we’ve ever been.”
“What does this mean for us? For Truett?”
I wish I had a good answer for her, but the truth is, I don’t know. Noah Sanchez is like a dog with a bone when he gets his teeth into something, and he’s clearly gotten his teeth into this. The fact that he knows about Truett’s injury means someone saw something, and that’s never a good sign.
“It means we stick to our story, and we don’t give him any reason to dig deeper,” I say, trying to sound more confident than I feel. “As long as we’re smart about this, we’ll be fine.”
But even as I say the words, I’m not sure I believe them. The way Noah looked at me, the careful phrasing of his warning, it all points to trouble ahead. Big trouble.
I think about the trucks and trailers that Devlin is hopefully moving to the northeast pasture right now. About the evidence that might still be scattered around the property. About Truett, lying unconscious in the house, unable to back up whatever story we decide to tell.
“Jesse?” Aubree’s voice pulls me out of my spiraling thoughts. “You’re scaring me.”
I look down at her, at the worry written across her beautiful face, and I make a decision. Whatever happens next, I’m going to protect her, even if it means sacrificing everything else.
“Come here,” I say, pulling her fully into my arms. She melts against me, and for a moment, the fear recedes. “We’re going to get through this. All of us.”
“Promise me,” she whispers against my chest.
“I promise,” I say, and I mean it, even if I have no idea how I’m going to keep that promise.
The sound of another truck approaching makes us both tense, but it’s just Devlin returning from his trip to the northeast pasture. His face is grim as he walks into the barn.
“Noah was just here,” I tell him before he can speak.
“Shit. What did he want?”
“To let us know that he’s watching. And to suggest that we might want to stay close to town in case there are questions.”
Devlin’s jaw tightens. “Questions about what?”
“About three trailers that someone saw with cattle on them late last night,” I say. “About those trucks and trailers moving around in the middle of the night. About Truett’s convenient accident.”
“How much does he know?”
“Enough to be dangerous. Not enough to arrest us. Yet.”
We stand there in silence for a moment, the weight of our situation settling over us like a heavy blanket. Everything we’ve worked for, everything we’ve built, could come crashing down around us. And there’s not a damn thing we can do about it except wait and see what Noah’s next move will be.
“What do we do now?” Aubree asks quietly.
I look at my brother, then at the woman I love, and I feel the familiar weight of responsibility settling on my shoulders. It’s up to me to figure this out, to find a way to protect my family and the ranch that’s been in our blood for generations.
“Now we act normal,” I say finally. “We take care of Truett, we run the ranch, and we don’t give Noah Sanchez any reason to think we’re anything other than what we appear to be.”
But even as I say it, I know it’s going to be harder than it sounds. Because Noah isn’t going to let this go. He’s going to keep digging until he finds what he’s looking for, and when he does, we’re all going to pay the price.
The question is: will we be ready for him when that time comes?
As Aubree slips her hand into mine, her fingers intertwining with mine, I realize that ready or not, we’re about to find out. And this time, there might not be a way out of the situation we’ve gotten ourselves into.
The ranch has always been worth fighting for. Now I just hope it won’t cost us everything to keep it.