Chapter Twenty-Three
Ty looked around the kitchen and smiled. Everything was back in order and clean. He liked to make sure that the place was perfect before he left for the weekend.
Christian smiled at him. “You should take off. Go see your girl. I can handle it from here.”
“Thanks. You have yourself a good weekend.”
“Will do. You too.”
Ty still didn’t feel entirely comfortable with the guy. He was good, and he was friendly enough, but it was obvious that he wanted Ty’s job. He was probably a better fit for it, too. Ty had bigger dreams than feeding a bunch of tourists. He blew out a sigh as he headed for the back door. He was fine right where he was. He was helping Wade out and that meant a lot. More than that though, working at the lodge meant that he was right here on the ranch. And now that Shayna was here, too, he had no desire to go anywhere else.
He jumped in his truck and headed for the cabin. She’d been helping Tanner with the horses this morning, and she was going to meet him back at the cabin so that they could go to the bakery. It was something of a tradition in the valley for people to meet up at the bakery on Friday afternoons. Ty couldn’t stop smiling – this was the first time that he was taking Shayna with him.
He knew that she was looking forward to it. Everyone had gone out of their way to make her feel welcome. Laney had been over to work with her and Tanner in the mornings for the last few days. Shay had been a little intimidated by his sister at first – it seemed that most women were, but last night, she’d told him that she loved her, and they were getting along well.
Laney had confirmed that this morning when she’d called Ty as she was leaving the barn and told him that he’d better not screw up because Shay was awesome, and Laney loved having her around.
They’d been over to the bakery a couple of times during the week; just quick visits. The first time, Ford had asked if she could run over there to pick up an order for the bunkhouse. Ty had gone with her – partly because she wasn’t sure of the way, mostly because he didn’t want her making the delivery to the bunkhouse by herself when she got back.
Rocket and Spider had made her welcome, and when Frankie had come in, she’d dragged Shay off to sit and chat with her for a while. She’d texted Ty later, informing him that his girlfriend was awesome and that she and Laney would be taking her out with them soon – and he’d better get used to the idea.
Janey had come by the cabin one afternoon, just to hang out for a while, and she and Shay had gotten along well. And last night, he and Shay had gone over to Kolby and Callie’s place for dinner. He loved that out of all the girls, she seemed to have the most in common with Callie. They just clicked. They weren’t the most obvious pair to team up, given that Callie was a megastar country singer, and Shay was, by her own admission, a small-town girl, but it was clear that they were becoming fast friends. Ty couldn’t be happier about it. He’d hoped that she might make a real friend – someone who she’d get along with even if they weren’t part of his family. It was all the sweeter that Callie was Kolby’s wife. It’d suck if his girl didn’t get along with his twin’s wife.
“Hey, Shay!” he shouted as he let himself into the cabin. “You here?”
He had to adjust his pants when she stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel. Her hair was still wet, and her skin was pink and damp.
“Sorry. I just got out. You can have your turn now.”
He stalked toward her and gripped her hips as he chased a drop of water down her neck and over her shoulder with his mouth.
“Ooh!”
He held her closer when she shivered against him. “I’ll need you to make good on that promise when we get home.”
He tugged on her towel. “I’ll make good on it right now, come on.”
Her eyes widened and he grabbed her hand, tugging her into the bathroom. It was still steamy in there and the smell of her soap or shampoo or whatever it was filled his nostrils.
“You said it was my turn.”
“I meant in the shower.”
He grinned. “So do I.”
He stripped down as quickly as he could and turned the faucet, holding his hand under the water until it was warm, but not too hot.
He cocked at an eyebrow at her. “Do you wanna?”
He stood a little straighter as her gaze traveled over him. The look of lust in her eyes when she nodded had him walking her straight into the shower, not stopping until her back was pressed up against the wall, and he was pressed up against her.
He claimed her mouth and let his hands roam all over her. He’d been thinking that he’d soap her down and take his time on her breasts and ass but … the hunger in the way she kissed him back ignited something in him. He’d taken things slowly in bed with her. Well, as slowly as he could. He’d needed to know that she was comfortable with him – that she felt safe and trusted him.
When her hands closed around his ass and she pulled him closer, he figured that he was probably safe to get a bit more adventurous.
She beat him to it when she put a hand to his shoulder, pushing back as he she got down on her knees in front of him.
He ground his teeth together at the sight of water flowing down over her breasts, her pink nipples hard and peaked. He had to rest a hand on her shoulder to keep his balance when she gave him a naughty little smile and slid her hand between his legs.
A low groan escaped from his lips when she cupped his balls in one hand and then closed her fingers around him with the other.
He looked down into her eyes, but the sight of her tongue traveling up and down the length of him, before her lips closed over him was enough to make him come right then and there if he didn’t get ahold of himself.
He let his head fall back and gave himself up to the sensations – the water running down over him, her hands – one now gripping his thigh while the other gripped the base of him as she bobbed her head.
His hands curled into fists at his sides. He wanted to tangle his fingers in her hair, wanted to hold her still so he could fuck her mouth but more than anything else, he wanted to see her beautiful face when she came for him.
He turned his face into the spray in an attempt to hold on a little longer while her hot little mouth drove him to the edge. When she took him deeper into her throat, he pulled back with an agonized groan.
She looked up at him in confusion, but he hooked his hands under her armpits and pulled her to her feet.
“I … You don’t …?”
“Inside,” was all he managed to say. He backed her against the wall, intending to lift her, but she turned to face it. The sound that left his lips could only be described as a growl as he ran his hands over her rounded ass.
When she pressed back against him and breathed, “Please, Ty,” he had no choice.
He positioned himself behind her, notched his throbbing head at her entrance and drove in hard.
“Ty!”
“Fuck, Shay!”
He closed his eyes and held deep as he fought for control. She was so hot, so tight, and so damn wet for him that he could let go with just a couple of thrusts, but he wanted to take her with him.
She whimpered as she pressed back against him. “Please?”
He had no choice; he gripped her hips and pulled her back against him as he pounded into her in an unrelenting rhythm.
The sight of her forearms against the tiled wall, her breasts swinging with every thrust as he drove deep inside her had him on the edge and ready to let go.
He reached around and when he found her clit, her inner walls clamped down on him, making him gasp. He closed his other hand around her breast, teasing her nipple. The harder he squeezed, the harder she pulsated around his cock.
He drove them both as close to the edge as he could then gripped her hips and slammed into her harder, faster until she gasped his name.
He held on tight and threw his head back as he found his release deep inside her. He came so hard that he saw black spots behind his eyes. He never wanted it to end. He’d known that she was it for him, but in that moment, he felt like they bonded in a way that made them one.
His legs were shaking when he finally slipped out of her body. She turned around to face him, and he pressed her up against the wall.
“Damn!”
She nodded. “You can say that again.”
He chuckled. “I could, but now that I’m getting a few more brain cells back online, I’d rather say, I love you, Shayna Rose.”
Her smile was so sweet and gentle. “I love you, Tyler MacFarland.”
He pressed a kiss to her lips. “I ever tell you that I love your name?”
“No.”
“I love it so much that I don’t even want you to change it.” Shit, why was he bringing that up now? They needed to get dried and dressed and pick up Tanner and get to the bakery, but he’d gone and said it and he’d have to explain what he meant.
He pressed a slow, sweet kiss to her lips. “That sounded wrong. I’m saying that I don’t want to take your name away from you.”
She raised her eyebrows, and he realized that in the afterglow of amazing sex, he wasn’t just talking about names, he was talking about them getting married. It was too early for that, and he’d told himself that he needed to wait awhile – a long while – before he broached the subject.
But he’d waded in and made such a mess of it that she looked worried.
“I’m not saying I don’t want to marry you – I do.”
He looked into her eyes and the small smile playing on her lips encouraged him to continue. “I mean, I’m not saying next week or anything like that, but that it’s where we’re headed – if you want it to be?” He cocked an eyebrow and waited.
“I … yeah, Ty. That’s where I hope we’re headed, too.”
He grinned. “Then how would you feel about keeping your name – when we get there?”
“I don’t understand.”
He chuckled. “You don’t understand because I’m screwing this up. I want you to be my MacFarland Rose. That’s what I mean.”
Her hand came up to cover her heart. “Oh, wow! I love that, Ty.”
“Me too, sweetheart, but not as much as I love you.”
~ ~ ~
On the ride over to the bakery, Shayna was glad that Tanner was in the back seat and couldn’t see her face – she was sure that he’d be able to read in her eyes exactly what she and Ty had been doing just before they picked him up. Thankfully, he seemed oblivious.
“Any chance you guys want to come and keep me company at work tonight?”
Ty glanced over at her, and she gave him a puzzled look.
“He hasn’t told you?” Tanner asked. “I work behind the bar at the local resort. It’s called Chico.”
“Oh.” She remembered now; Ty had told her about the place – it was where he used to hang out and meet girls. She raised her eyebrows at him. She wouldn’t mind going; it felt like forever since she’d had a night out. She was usually behind the bar.
Ty took hold of her hand. “It’s up to you, sweetheart. You might need to be prepared for two nights in a row if we go tonight, though. The girls are threatening to drag you out tomorrow.”
Tanner laughed. “And you’re going to let them?”
Ty glowered at him in the rearview mirror.
Tanner leaned forward between their seats so that he could see Shay better. “It can be a bit of a cattle market in there. I reckon you’d have to beat guys off with a stick if …”
Ty squeezed her hand. “I’ll be right there. The girls hang out and do their thing, and Spider and Luke prop up the bar – Rocket, too, when they can talk Janey into going.”
“And Kolby, since Callie’s gotten more used to being here.”
“Maybe we should wait till tomorrow,” she suggested. She still had an assignment to finish, and if they were going out tomorrow night, she’d need to work on it tonight.
Ty nodded. “Works for me.”
Tanner blew out a sigh. “Looks like Ford might have been right.”
“About what?” she asked.
Ty laughed. “He told Tan that before you know it, he’s going to be the old geezer at the bar by himself.”
“Aww! I’m sure you’ll meet someone someday.”
Tanner laughed. “I meet lots of someones.”
“I think what Shay means is someone special.”
She nodded and Tanner sat back in his seat. “I didn’t think I wanted to but …” He laughed. “Seeing you guys together? You make it seem less scary.”
“Scary?” Shayna asked.
“Yeah. It’s … I dunno. It’s always seemed to me like a relationship is a lot of responsibility – you know, you have to make someone happy. You have to do what they want instead of what you want …”
She glanced over at Ty, wondering if he saw it that way. He shot her a quick smile before turning his attention back to the road. He surprised her when he spoke.
“I know what you mean, Tan. I used to think the same way but it’s not like that when you meet the right person.” He grinned. “It doesn’t feel like there’s a responsibility to make each other happy – it’s more like you make them happy just by being who you are. It’s not hard work, you want to do it.” He glanced over at her again. “At least, that’s how it is for me.”
“Me too,” she said. “And I don’t think it’s a case of giving up what you want in order to do what they want – more like deciding between you what will work for both of you. And when it’s the right person, it seems that you want to do a lot of the same things – and you want to support each other in doing your own thing, too.”
Tanner blew out a sigh. “I guess. I’m glad you guys have it figured out.”
Ty pulled into the parking lot at the bakery, and they all climbed out of the truck. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and Tanner came to her other side and slung his arm around her too.
It made her laugh. They were still laughing when Tanner opened the door, and they stepped inside. She was surprised to see the place was so crowded. The couple of times she’d been in here, there had been a few customers, but nothing like this. The place was packed.
It seemed like there were wall-to-wall cowboy hats. Ty kept his arm around her as they made their way to the counter.
Rocket smiled when he saw them. “Hey, guys. Janey, Laney, and Frankie are in a booth in the back.” He looked at Ty. “And be warned – Ace and Ari brought Nessa, and that girl is bubbling over with excitement.” He smiled at Shayna. “She’s a great kid, but you might be exhausted by her enthusiasm by the time she’s done.”
“Aww, she’s the one who set up your profile, right Ty?”
“Yeah, I should have made the time to introduce you to her before now. She is a bit over the top, but I will be forever grateful to her.” He looked toward the back of the seating area. “Who else is back there?”
Rocket grinned. “Miss Candy and Deacon, Libby’s here, and Trip brought Travis with him.”
“Trav’s back already?”
“He is. You know he was looking at properties last time he was here? Well, sounds like the perfect place has come on the market and he’s here to snap it up. But what can I get you?”
After they’d ordered, Tanner told them to go and join the others and he’d wait and bring everything over.
Ty led Shay by the hand through the crowded space. It seemed as though he knew everyone, and everyone knew him – and most of them were more than a little curious about her.
He stopped dead when a broody-looking cowboy stepped out in front of him, and Shayna held her breath for a moment. She let it out in relief when the cowboy smiled and slapped Ty’s shoulder.
“Told you I wanted to hear about it.”
Ty grinned and wrapped his arm around Shay’s shoulders. “Shayna, this is Mason. He was the first person I called when I got a weird message from some chick named April about her friend Shayna.”
Shayna stepped forward with a smile. “Thank you for helping out!”
Mason laughed. “You’re welcome. Glad things worked out for the two of you. Oh, hang on.” He turned away from them and beckoned to someone she couldn’t see through the crowd. It seemed as though everyone here was taller than her, and she felt as though she was walking under a canopy of cowboy hats.
She smiled when she saw who Mason had summoned over – Chance.
He smiled at her, and although she could still see that he was a good-looking guy, it didn’t send a thrill through her like it would have before.
“Hey! I heard you were here. How’s it going?”
She nodded happily. “Great, thanks.”
His smile faded. “And what about the guy at the lake? April said that you left town because you had some kind of stalker?”
She shrugged as she looked up at Ty. “Is it bad that I’ve forgotten about him? I mean, it’s not as though he’s going to find me here, is it?”
Ty pursed his lips, and Mason and Chance exchanged a look. “Don’t bank on that, will you?” Chance said.
Ty shook his head. “We’re not taking any chances.”
“Good. And if you need …”
Chance’s words were drowned out and all three men ducked their heads at the sound of a shrill squeal behind them.
“Ty! Oh my gosh, Ty! You’re finally here! And you’re Shayna! I love your name – it’s so beautiful! And so are you! Wow, Ty! You got so freaking lucky!”
Shayna couldn’t help but laugh at the way the girl – she had to be Nessa – babbled on. While she talked, Chance and Mason disappeared back into the crowd. Shayna spotted Tanner giving them a wide berth, carrying a tray with their drinks toward the booths in the back.
“You can thank me any time now,” Nessa was telling Ty.
Shayna loved that as he leaned in to hug Nessa, he gave her a rueful smile over her shoulder.
When he leaned back, he said, “This girl right here may be a pain in my ass, but she will forever be one of my favorite people, since if it wasn’t for Ness setting me up with a dating profile, I never would have met you.”
“You’re one of my favorite people, too,” Shayna told her. “Saying thank you doesn’t seem like enough.”
Nessa grinned at her. “You are so freaking welcome. There’s no need to say thank you.”
“Well, I owe you. If there’s ever anything I can do for you.”
Nessa tilted her head to the side and Shayna wondered what she was about to say.
“The only thing I’ll ask of you is if you know any beautiful places, will you tell me your secrets? I travel a lot and I share photos of the places I go and stuff online. You’ll have to follow me, and you’ll see what I mean.”
Ty grinned at her. “We could send her to Summer Lake – it’s beautiful there.”
“We could,” said Shayna. “I … I don’t know when I can go again but …” It hit her all of a sudden that she really didn’t know when she’d get to see the lake again – or Alexis, and Davin, and Booker and … she inhaled deeply. It was fine. She’d go back when she could.
Nessa gave her a puzzled look, and Ty took hold of her hand.
“We’ll figure something out, Ness. For now, let me find a seat for my girl, okay?”
Shayna recovered from her moment of sadness when Nessa squealed. “Oh my gosh, Ty!” She grinned at Shayna. “I knew he had it in him to be great boyfriend material. He just needed the right girl to bring it out of him. I’m so glad he found you!”
Shayna nodded as Ty towed her away.
To her surprise, he didn’t take her in the same direction that Tanner had gone with their drinks, instead he led her toward a side door and didn’t stop until they were outside.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m good.”
He closed his arms around her and looked down into her eyes. “Talking about Summer Lake made you homesick, didn’t it?”
She shrugged. “Kind of … I guess.”
He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “It’s okay, Shay. You can tell me. I’m not going to get upset about it. I want you to be happy.” He frowned. “I want you to be safe, too, and that’s the reason you’re here instead of there.”
“I know. I’m okay. Honestly, Ty.” She rolled up onto her tiptoes so that she could kiss him. I’m happy that I’m with you. I’m happy to be here. I just … I miss them, too, you know?”
“I know, sweetheart. If you’re really not interested in going to Chico tonight, maybe you should give them a call – have a catch up?”
“Yeah, I think I will. I might need to call again tomorrow to speak to Booker; he’ll be at work tonight, but Alexis and Davin will probably be home.”