Chapter Thirteen
Nix
N ix should have asked for a phone a long time ago. Reception wasn’t always the greatest, but the ranch had a few spots in out of the way places where the signal was strong.
Phone sex was a lot more satisfying than he had suspected.
Shauna had a real way with words. What was equally satisfying for him, maybe more so, in fact, was the amount of plain talking they did.
Shauna pulled opinions out of him that he hadn’t known he possessed.
She listened. She absorbed what he said and asked questions.
She argued—so politely—when she disagreed.
Their phone conversations were the high point of his day.
Fall was a busy season, however, and it was the first week of November before he got a chance to see her in person again. Taryn had been invited to a friend’s house on a Saturday night, and he had that Sunday off—a rare alignment of stars.
“Earth to Nix,” Levi said. His exasperation suggested he’d been talking, and unlike Shauna, Nix hadn’t been paying attention.
They’d ridden on horseback into the badlands.
The cows and calves had mostly been sorted already so the calves could be vaccinated and weaned.
The heifers—young females who hadn’t given birth yet—hadn’t been rounded up.
These ladies had been left here with one of the breeding program’s prize bulls and Levi was checking for signs they’d been bred.
He studied their genes in his lab, but he also liked to see the animals in action and check out their behavior before and after they were matched.
Meanwhile, in his head, Nix was already with Shauna. Thoughts of her kept him warm against the ice chips that stung his hands and his face and wriggled under the collar of his oilskin slicker to dampen the back of his neck.
And honestly, Levi and genetics were not that exciting on a good day.
“What was the question?”
“I asked how you think the kids will do in the exhibition next weekend,” Levi said.
Rodeos moved indoors for the winter, and one of the small towns in the next county had a nice little arena that was perfect for junior exhibitions.
They were taking two riders per team, and since Miles and Nix each had two teams, they got to pick four kids, for a total of twelve.
Ford, to Nix’s private surprise, had chosen Taryn as one of his riders.
Ford had a huge paranoia about safety, and was a wee bit of a chauvinist, so she couldn’t get any better endorsement than that.
He wouldn’t choose a participant he didn’t believe in.
Miles had picked Remi as one of his four, and Nix didn’t see the weekend going to hell.
Not at all. He didn’t know what was going on between Taryn and Remi, but lately, it wasn’t anything good.
Her nose went in the air whenever he was around, and she’d taken to flirting with another boy when she should be more focused on riding.
“Taryn’s going to have eyes on her because she’s one of the few girl riders in the county.
If she keeps her head, she’ll be fine,” Nix said.
He kept one of his on the bull on the far side of the pasture.
It was a fair distance from them, but it wouldn’t take much provocation to get it riled up, and that big boy could move.
“Jake McGregor’s nephew will do well in his age group.
I considered bumping him up, but he’s a little too reckless and I don’t want him crippled. Zane Parker’s the guy to watch.”
And that was what had Nix so worried. He had a strong suspicion that Zane was almost as well acquainted with Taryn’s panties as Remi, and a deep hope he was wrong.
Taryn was without question using Zane to make Remi jealous, and in a fair fistfight, Zane would pulverize him.
The fairness of the fight was another big red question mark.
Remi wasn’t part of the Endeavour group home project because of his strong moral ethics or lack of self-preservation.
He wondered if he should raise his concerns with Shauna, then decided he wouldn’t.
He didn’t know for certain that both boys were sliding into home plate with Taryn, although Remi had at least made it to third base.
He was glad he was well past these problems. He and Shauna had a good thing going on.
He frowned. He hadn’t been available for more than phone sex for a few weeks. What if that wasn’t enough for her? What more could he offer?
They’d made no commitments to each other.
He had no savings, no property, and while his job paid him decent enough, and it was work that he loved, he’d never have her earning power.
He didn’t have a whole lot to recommend him beyond their current arrangement, and lately, he wasn’t holding up his end of the bargain.
What was to stop her from moving on to somebody else?
The worry remained on his mind for the rest of the day. That night, when they were in bed, he brought it up.
“What do you say we take this out in public?”
She went still. Maybe bringing it up while he had her legs wrapped around his waist wasn’t the best time for discussion, but he couldn’t get it out of his head.
He didn’t want to find out the hard way—which was how Remi was going to learn—that the woman he dreamed about every night was dreaming with somebody else.
He didn’t believe that Shauna would be involved with another man while sleeping with him.
But he also didn’t know for a fact that she wouldn’t because they hadn’t asked for guarantees.
They’d plunged into this like two rowdy teenagers who were hot for each other, and he’d been burned by that approach in the past.
Her expression said she didn’t know whether to take him seriously or not. “Pastor Addams didn’t want us doing this in his churchyard. How do you think people would react if we took it to Yellowstone Drive?”
“Sex in the middle of Yellowstone Drive would be quite the stunt to pull off, but it’s not what I had in mind,” Nix said.
“What if I were to take you to dinner? Nowhere fancy. I was thinking of Lou’s Pub.
The food’s good, the beer’s cold, and the kitchen’s clean.
” It wasn’t Innovoni, but it wasn’t a dive.
The Endeavour owners ate there on a regular basis.
Shauna rolled from beneath him. He flipped onto his back, and she straddled his thighs, her knees pressed against his hips, the heels of her hands on the flat of his stomach.
The ends of her hair brushed his chest, hardening his nipples, as she leaned forward to study his face, probably trying to figure out how serious he was.
He was serious. Too serious. Serious enough that it was going to hurt if she said no. He hadn’t been thinking too far ahead for the past several years, but this afternoon, he’d started wondering what life would be like if he no longer had her to look forward to, and it had felt pretty grim.
“What brought this on?” she asked.
“No idea. Forget it.”
But she wouldn’t let go. “We talked about this. Neither one of us was interested in making a commitment. What changed?”
“I’m not proposing marriage.” Nix was beginning to wish he’d kept his mouth shut. “I just—I want to know I’m the only one sharing your bed.”
She plucked at the hair on his chest, making him yelp.
“I’ll overlook the insult because I understand where your concern is coming from.
It’s not so much about trusting me as it is that someone else betrayed your trust. Which means now we have trust issues, as well as financial and communication ones. ”
“Still just one issue,” Nix said. “Boundary issues cover a lot.” He rubbed his chest where she’d yanked the hair and took a deep breath.
“I took it hard when I found out Peg was cheating on me, but I wasn’t surprised.
Our marriage was on a downward slide from the beginning.
But it occurred to me that if I found out you were sleeping with someone else while sleeping with me, I’d be blindsided by it.
So, I thought we should have the conversation. ”
Shauna tilted her head to one side. “You think taking us out in public sends a hands-off message to other men.”
“Don’t read too much into it,” Nix said.
The tension that had dogged him all day loosened its grip.
She was poking at him, which meant they were good.
“Don’t get me wrong. I mean, the sex is great.
But you’re a lawyer, and I’m not sure if you’re aware of this, but lawyers aren’t especially popular.
You’re lucky to have me. Most men around here wouldn’t touch you. ”
She pressed a kiss to his lips. “Since—according to you—you’re the only man in these parts willing to lower his standards for me, then I wouldn’t be burning any bridges if I say yes.
But a public relationship with a cowboy…
I don’t know. No offense, but it seems kind of risky.
Risque? I’d hoped to set a better example for Taryn. ”
“You already set a good example, Too Good,” Nix said.
“That’s part of her problem with you. Maybe she’d warm to you more if you weren’t quite so perfect.
It’ll be a sacrifice on my part, but I’m willing to help take some of the shine off your halo.
” He grazed his thumbs over her hips. “I’d be happy to start now. ”
To his disappointment, she was too busy thinking.
“Taking us public means putting on a good front,” she warned him, tucking her hair behind her ear.
“People will have to believe we’re serious and not just in it for sex.
You’ll be required to go to work functions with me.
Not a lot. Just the ones that require a date, like the office Christmas party. ”
“I suppose I can do you that favor,” he said. “It’s got to be hard for you—being so much better than everyone else. I’m sure Dan will be grateful to me when I take you to the Endeavour Ranch Christmas party.”
“Dan can thank you at Thanksgiving dinner with his parents and my mother.”