Chapter 32
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
REECE
B ooker and I spent that afternoon lying in bed and trading stories about our childhoods in between soft kisses and gentle caresses.
It was possibly the best time I’d ever had in my life and the perfect way to push the memories of Camden aside.
All of Booker’s stories were about the trouble he got into with his brothers, and we both pretended to ignore the sad look he got in his eyes whenever those stories involved Gage.
He hadn’t responded to the message I’d sent him on Facebook, and I was thinking he maybe wouldn’t. But we at least had a link to him now, and as soon as he was active on his accounts, it would be up to Booker to decide if we wanted to go to his brother and have a conversation that was long overdue.
For now, we had the ranch expansion to keep us busy and another Farrington brother who Booker was building a relationship with again.
Xander had been disappearing, working on something he said he wasn’t ready to discuss yet. But when he was on the ranch, he was doing his best to fill in where Booker couldn’t with his broken arm. And day by day, the city doctor image was slowly slipping away, and the boy who’d grown up in a small town was coming back.
“What have we got on for the rest of today?” Xander asked, striding into the dining room, which had turned into a full home office now.
I pulled up the calendar on the computer and checked our appointments. “The building inspector is coming to check the first two cottages that have been completed, hopefully, to sign them off. We have Cole stopping by later in the afternoon to check on Spirit and the foal, and the contractor wants to talk to you and Booker about the next projects that are on the board.”
Booker had pushed up the timeline for the ranch. I didn’t think it was a good idea at first, but everything was running so smoothly that we might actually be ready to open in the next three months.
“I’ve got a delivery coming at two as well that we all need to be here for,” Booker said, wiping his hands on a towel as he came in from the kitchen.
He tossed it over his shoulder and then grabbed some papers from the desk to look through.
“I don’t have that on the calendar,” I said in confusion, shuffling through the stack of things that I still had to do.
Had I forgotten something? Damn it, it was all going so smoothly in a slightly chaotic fashion, and it would only take for one piece to crumble, and this shaky stack of organization I had was all coming tumbling down.
“It’s something I arranged,” Booker said evasively, turning to look out the window like he did when he was trying to hide something.
Xander looked between the two of us like he was getting ready to referee an argument, and then his shoulders visibly slumped when I just went, “Okay.”
“Ugh, come on, guys. It’s gotten so boring around here. Can’t we have a little drama? Something to give the rest of us to gossip about in town?” he asked, looking between us.
Booker glared at him like he’d lost his mind.
“No,” he said, and then he stalked out of the room.
“Awww, I’d almost missed that,” I said dreamily. “Say it again!” I shouted out of the office.
Booker grumbled. “No.” Then he sighed when he realized what he’d done, and I sniggered.
Just like the good old days.
“Ugh, that’s not interesting. That’s you two being all lovey and crap.” Xander sighed and slumped down into the chair on the other side of the desk. “I’m bored,” he said dramatically.
“Oh, I know what. You could meet the building inspector. That sounds exciting, right?”
Xander rolled his head to the side to look at me. His nostrils flared as he rolled his eyes at me. “Sure, Reece. That’s super exciting.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be some kind of mature city slicker doctor? What’s gotten into you today?”
“Nothing,” he huffed, scuffing his boots across the floor as he refused to meet my eyes.
“He’s lovesick,” Booker shouted from the kitchen.
Xander glared at the door, but then, when he didn’t deny it, a grin broke out across my face.
“Xanderrrrrr, do you have a secret?” I asked, leaning forward and putting my elbows on the desk so I could prop my chin in my hands. “Is it a juicy one? Who is she? Ooooh! It’s Blake, isn’t it?”
“What! No! Have you met her? She’s the most annoying woman I’ve ever come across. Did you know that she actually asked me if she could paint me naked this week? In the middle of the bakery! Like it was a normal conversation. I saw Marie looking at my ass then like some kind of sex-starved predator. I’ve never been so objectified in my life.”
Booker barked out a laugh from the kitchen, and Xander picked up the stapler from the desk, leaned to the side, and threw it out the door at him.
“Oh my god, this is amazing.” I shook my head and leaned back in my chair. “You’re going to do it, right? I mean, you’re bored. What else do you have to do? Oh, she could turn it into a life drawing class.”
I pulled my cell out of my pocket, and Xander physically dived across the desk to wrestle it from me.
“Don’t you dare!”
He scurried across the office, clutching my phone to his chest with his eyes wide. “I’m going to meet the building inspector, and I’m taking this with me. You’ve lost your communication privileges, missy.”
Then he strode out of the house, taking my cell with him.
I didn’t care. It wasn’t like I actually used it.
“At least Blake has found someone else to torment,” Booker said from where he was leaning in the doorway watching me. “Wow, this is what it feels like when you have everything you need in life. It’s pretty awesome,” he said, rubbing his chest with his good hand.
It was weeks until he’d be getting the cast off his other arm, and I still hated it every time I saw it. I doubted I’d ever get used to the thing. It was a reminder of the single most frightening thing that had ever happened to me. And that was saying something.
But right now, the house was empty, and we had nothing urgent we needed to do for the next couple of hours.
I looked at Booker, a wicked thought entering my mind.
“I know that look,” he murmured, standing straighter and taking a step closer, just as his cell rang. “Damn it. I need to take this,” he said as he pulled it out of his pocket and glanced at the screen.
I stood from my seat and walked over to kiss his lips gently. “I’ll be waiting for you,” I whispered, slipping out the room to the sound of his groan as I left him to take his call.
This was perfect. It gave me time to have a quick shower and put on something I’d had delivered yesterday that I knew would blow Booker’s mind.
I rushed through the shower, not knowing how long Booker’s call was going to take and wanting to quickly give my legs another shave before it finished. When I came out of the bathroom and found him sitting on the end of the bed, I sighed in defeat.
“Damn it. I thought I had more time,” I said, clutching the towel at my chest and then shrugging because this was as good as anything else.
But then I saw Booker’s face and his look of annoyance.
“What happened?” I asked, sitting beside him on the bed.
“One of the backers just dropped out,” he said, looking at me grimly.
That wasn’t good, especially with the accelerated rate we were going for opening.
“Okay, did they say why?” I asked.
“He said that it didn’t seem advisable in the current political climate to be investing money in a project that could face issues in the future?”
I frowned, not understanding at first what he was talking about. What issues? There was nothing we hadn’t covered, and when Booker had talked me through his business plan, it had seemed absolutely solid.
“No,” I said when the wording he’d used ran through my mind. “You don’t think…”
“Camden,” Booker said grimly. “Or maybe his father.”
“He can’t do that!” I said, surging to my feet and starting to pace beside the bed as I gripped the towel to my chest. “Oh my god, Booker. I’m so sorry. This is all my fault. The ranch?—”
“Is fine,” he said gently, reaching out and taking my hand to draw me down into his lap. “The ranch will endure, no matter what. This is why I had investors, and we still have three more.”
“But if he got to one of them, he could get to the others.”
I’d thought Camden’s threat was an empty one when he’d shouted it as he fled the barn. I didn’t think he’d actually follow through. Mainly because it seemed too much like hard work. But if his father was behind this, then he was spinning some kind of story to make it look like he was the victim. We’d assumed he’d try to cover his back, but he was doing damage control in a whole other way.
There had to be a way to stop this. I couldn’t bring down the business that Booker had put so much into. What he’d worked so hard to become a reality here at the ranch.
“Hey,” Booker said gently, his fingers coming to my chin as he tipped my head up so he could see my eyes. “Don’t worry about this. What we’re doing here will happen no matter what the investors decide. It might just take longer. The important thing is that we’re here doing it together. Got it. Nothing in my life is more important than you, Reece. And together I know we’ll build something amazing here.”
Booker leaned in and kissed me. The towel that had been wrapped around me dropped into my lap, and he smiled against my lips.
“See, my luck’s changing already,” he murmured.
But then his cell rang again and ruined it all.
I went to pull away, the panic of this being another investor dropping us making my heart pick up speed.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Booker asked as he chased after my lips.
“You should answer that.”
“There’s nothing more important in this moment than me making sure you’re okay,” Booker told me, and from the look on his face, I knew he was being nothing but truthful.
Could the ranch plans continue without the backers? It would mean Booker investing everything he had. I should look over the financial projections again. Maybe if I could put out another social media campaign and raise our brand awareness…
Booker sighed. “You’re in work mode, aren’t you?”
I looked at him sheepishly and nodded just as his cell rang again.
This time when Booker pulled it out of his pocket, he grinned. “Get dressed. There’s something I want to show you.”
Okay, I was about to get whiplash with what was going on here today.
“Erm, okay.” I stood reluctantly from Booker’s lap, confused about what was happening, and he patted me on the ass before gently pushing me toward the closet.
I looked at him, grinning down at his cell, and picked up the lacey little number from the dresser that I’d been planning on putting on before finding Booker in the bedroom.
“I guess I’ll save this for another day, then.” I shrugged dramatically as I tossed it into the closet over my shoulder.
Booker groaned as he watched the scrap of red lace fly away. “You’re killing me, Reece.”
Instead, I grabbed some jeans, slipping them on without any underwear, and then grabbed one of Booker’s flannel shirts and slowly buttoned it up over my bare breasts.
Booker watched me hungrily and then audibly gulped.
“Okay…Yeah…We can be quick. Ten minutes tops,” he rushed out before he grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the bedroom.
Men. So predictable.
Booker thankfully allowed me time to put my boots on, and as he charged out of the house, we found a confused-looking Xander standing there, staring at his phone.
“What’s so important?” he asked, looking from Booker to me and then frowning again when it became apparently obvious what we’d been interrupted from the beginning. “If this is you wanting to show off about your sex life, then I’m not sure I want to be involved. And it’s a bit creepy, honestly,” he huffed.
Booker rolled his eyes and laughed, not even bothering to deny it as he tugged on my hand and led us down the steps.
“Come on, we can take the truck,” Booker said, climbing into the driver’s side and then whistling loudly as he leaned out the window.
Val came charging out of the house and jumped through the passenger door as I slid in behind her. Xander watched in outrage.
“I know you’re not thinking I’m sitting in the flatbed while your dog takes the people seat,” he said.
“She called it first.” I shrugged and closed the door while Xander huffed.
“I’m taking the other truck,” he said, spinning on his heel and getting in the ranch truck he must have just arrived in. “I’ll follow you,” he called out the window as he started the engine.
Booker turned his truck toward the driveway, and we headed away from the ranch. He’d said it would only take ten minutes, but I had no idea where we could go in that amount of time.
The question was solved as we pulled up to the road and found Dex on a ladder fitting a sign that had definitely not been there the last time I’d come down the driveway.
“What the…?”
“Close your eyes,” Booker rushed out.
I glanced at the excited man at my side and then did as he asked. It wasn’t often that I saw Booker get so excited about something, and I was intrigued enough that I’d have done anything he asked. Not that I wasn’t just about to do literally anything he asked, but most of that you couldn’t do out in public.
“Stop thinking sexy thoughts,” Booker grumbled as he brought the truck to a stop and killed the engine.
“How did you know?” I asked, not even bothering to deny it.
He leaned closer, and I felt the ghost of his lips brush against mine, making me gulp as he whispered, “You get this cute little blush on the tops of your cheeks, and your breath quickens.”
Booker kissed me, leaning forward as he wrapped his hand around my neck and deepened the kiss to the point where I was squirming in my seat, desperate for more.
“Don’t open your eyes until I tell you,” he growled, nipping at my lips, and I felt my breath catch in my throat.
Damn. This man could turn me to liquid in an instant.
I heard Booker climb out of the truck, and then the door opened next to me, and his hands came to mine. Booker guided me out, steering me a few steps away from the truck before he turned me around and placed his hands over my eyes.
“Are you sure you’ve done that right?” Booker asked someone. “I don’t want it dropping off and killing someone.”
“Are you doubting my work?” Dex asked in outrage. “Here I am balancing on a ladder with no help at all so you can pull off this epic surprise and what thanks do I get? Nooo, let Dex risk his life for?—”
“Will you just shut up already and get down here,” Booker growled, but I could hear the grin on his lips in his voice. “You’re ruining the view,” he teased.
There was the sound of two feet hitting the ground, and I jumped. “Please tell me he didn’t just throw himself off a ladder to make a point?”
“Awww, I knew you loved me, Reecey baby. Don’t worry. When the time is right, I’ll free you from this brute, and we can run away together.”
I felt a breeze whisper past my face, followed by a grunt from Dex as he stumbled away from us laughing. I didn’t think I wanted to know what they were doing.
“Okay, ready?” Booker asked.
“I don’t know anymore,” I said nervously.
“Trust me, you are,” he whispered in my ear.
When Booker pulled his hands away from my eyes, I blinked against the bright light that momentarily stole my vision, and then I focused in on the new sign that hung over the driveway.
“Oh, Booker, it’s perfect,” I said happily.
He wrapped his arms around me and hugged me against his chest as we both stared up at the timber sign, which was framed by two horseshoes, displaying the name…
Second Chance Ranch.
It was for me, and it had been for Booker too. Now we were going to share that with anyone else who needed it, too.