Chapter 17
“You’re making me extremely nervous,” Corbin said as he watched Belle lean out the open hatch of the hayloft.
She glanced back over her shoulder and sent him a sassy smile. To say she looked stunning with her ebony hair flowing around her shoulders and her naked body highlighted by the blue sky and the afternoon sun would be an understatement. She looked like a fantasy come to life.
His fantasy.
How many times in high school had he thought about this exact scenario? Being naked in the Holiday Ranch hayloft with a dark-haired beauty. Back then, he had wanted that beauty to be Liberty. But now, he only wanted Belle.
“I’m just trying to see where Gilley is.” She leaned a little farther out and his heart dropped.
“Dammit, Bella!” He got up from the blanket they’d spread on the hay and pulled her away from the opening and into his arms. It never failed to amaze him how well she fit.
“You are such a worrywart.” She looped her arms around his shoulders. “Do you know that?”
“I do.” He kissed her. She melted into the kiss just like she had melted into his arms. He started to lower her back down to the blanket, but she stopped him.
“We don’t have time. I have to go into town and meet with Tammy Sue about her daughter’s birthday party.”
“I thought you were taking time off.” He kissed his way down her neck. As always, she smelled like sunshine and lemons.
“I was, but I can’t let my pregnant sisters take on all the town’s events. The Memorial Day picnic proved event planning is too much for them and Liberty won’t be back until Monday.”
“Actually, she and Jesse are coming back today.” He filled his hand with a soft naked breast and groaned with pleasure. But that pleasure was short lived when she pushed out of his arms.
“Today? They’re coming back today? But what about the Grossmans’ wedding in Houston?”
“Jesse said the bride cancelled it last minute.”
Belle looked horrified. “And Liberty didn’t try to talk her out of it? Danielle really loves Joshua. She just got cold feet and needed to be talked down from her panic.”
Corbin sighed because it looked like he wasn’t going to get another roll in the hay. Which was probably for the best since he had a pile of work he needed to get done—not to mention horse stalls to clean out and foreman resumes to look over.
He grabbed his boxers and pulled them on. “I don’t think talking people down from their panic is Liberty’s forte. That’s yours, Bella. Which is why you two make such a good team. Liberty is the assertive businesswoman who won’t take crap from anyone and you’re the—”
“Weak doormat.”
He glanced at her. “I was going to say the sweet negotiator. The one who makes everything come together and run smoothly without a hitch. Liberty might be a vocal leader, but leaders can’t lead without a strong wingman. Or woman in this case.”
“You think I’m strong?”
“One of the strongest women I’ve ever met.”
A bright smile spread over her face. “I am pretty strong.”
“Hell yeah, you are. You certainly brought me to my knees last night.” Her entire body flamed a pretty pink and he couldn’t resist dropping the jeans he’d just picked up and pulling her back into his arms. “Don’t tell me you’re embarrassed about what you did, Bella. Because you certainly didn’t act embarrassed last night, my brazen lioness.”
She beamed. In the last few days, he’d come to realize how much she loved being called empowering names. And he loved how she took on the roles.
“Brazen lioness?” She scraped her nails over his back, sending heat straight to his groin. “Maybe you would like to feel my claws.”
“I’d love to feel your claws.”
She showed him more than just her claws. She used her teeth and her tongue to drive him absolutely wild. When he was on the edge of oblivion, she straddled him and rode him hard and fast. She seemed to love being on top and he certainly didn’t have a problem with it.
“I think I like the lioness as much as the goddess and the siren,” he breathed when they had both found release and were cuddled together. A sniff had him tensing. When hot tears hit his chest, he completely panicked. “Bella.” He lifted her chin to find her green eyes watery and her cheeks wet. “What’s wrong, baby? What happened?”
She swallowed hard. “She didn’t even call to tell me she was coming home.”
“Oh, Bella.” He pulled her back in his arms. “Don’t cry. I’m sure Liberty feels just as hurt about your fight as you do.”
“She has a funny way of showing it.”
He sighed. “I hate to admit it, but Liberty is a lot like me. We keep our emotions close to our vest. When someone hurts us, we completely shut down. That’s what I did when my mama kept dropping me off with relatives. I just shut down and acted like I didn’t care.” He hesitated. “But I did care. Liberty cares too. We’re just not like you and Sunny. Y’all wear your emotions on your sleeves and that’s not a weakness. It’s a strength. So why don’t you just do what you really want to do and go see her? I know she’ll be happy you did.”
She lifted her head. “You think so?”
He smoothed back her hair. “I know so. When Sunny and I fight, I’m secretly happy when she shows up and refuses to let me sulk.”
A smile tickled the corners of her mouth. “You are a sulker.”
“Just one of my many flaws.”
The smile faded and she reached up and cradled his jaw in her soft hand. Something entered her eyes that made his heart tighten and his breath get locked in his chest. “You don’t have that many flaws, Corbin Whitlock. You like to make people think you do, but I know better. I know underneath that tough exterior is a soft heart that when it loves, it loves completely. If your mama couldn’t see that, then that’s her problem not yours.”
That soft heart felt like it was swelling right out of his chest.
Which scared the hell out of him.
He forced a laugh. “Boy, do I have you fooled. Now come on, let’s get dressed. You have a sister to go see.”
He volunteered to keep Gilley, but the dog whined so much when Belle went to get in the car that she ended up taking him with her. Corbin knew how the dog felt. As he watched her car drive away, he wanted to whine and chase after it.
What had she done to him?
The last few days, he had thought of every excuse he could think of to get her out to the ranch—something was wrong with Homer, Mimi’s tomato plants looked like they might be dying, he bought some new flowers to replace the ones Gilley had trampled but didn’t know how to plant them. At night, he thought of more excuses to show up at the trailer—he’d left something he needed for work, he wanted to make sure the air conditioner was working, he accidentally bought dog treats for Tay and thought Gilley would like them.
He knew Belle saw right through his excuses, but she never said a word. She just showed up at the ranch or welcomed him into the trailer. That was just who she was. She was a giver.
He, on the other hand, was a taker.
He was taking from her. He knew he was taking. But he couldn’t seem to stop. She filled the hollow emptiness inside him. An emptiness he had ignored all his life. Now that he knew how it felt to feel full, he wasn’t sure if he could ever live with the emptiness again.
And what if he didn’t have to?
The question dropped into his head out of nowhere like a thousand-pound barbell. It jarred him, causing him to tense and wake up Tay who was sleeping in his arm.
“I’ve lost my mind, Tay,” he said as he stroked the kitten’s head. “If I’m actually considering making things serious between me and Belle.”
The kitten blinked her blue eyes at him as if to say, “And you aren’t already serious?”
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Damn. How do I think this is going to work? Do I think she’s just going to smile and bear it when I kick her family off their ranch?”
Again Tay stared at him and he what she was thinking.
“Oh, no, I’m not taking on all the Holidays.”
Except as soon as he spoke the words, he realized he’d already taken on all the Holidays. Hank, Darla, and Mimi were living under his roof. And Belle was living in his—
“No!” He shook his head adamantly. “Absolutely not. Belle has not taken over my heart. I’m letting good sex make me think things I have no business thinking. I’m not in love with Belle. I like her—I like her a lot. But I don’t love her.” He pointed a finger at Tay. “Got it?”
Tay only stared back.
Frustrated with his thoughts, he headed inside and spent the rest of the day working on anything and everything to keep his mind off Belle. It didn’t work. No matter how busy he was, thoughts of her drifted in.
It was a relief when Sunny, who had gone into town for groceries, came home in the late afternoon and walked into the office. Her sprain had healed and she was back to being as feisty as ever.
“Whatcha doin’, big brother? Besides making loads of money for me to spend.”
“I’m looking through foreman resumes.”
Her eyes registered surprise as she flopped down in a chair across from his desk. “You’re hiring a foreman? What happened to my brother who thought he could handle a ranch by himself?”
“He figured out that it’s harder than he thought. And since the end of the month is fast approaching and Hank, Darla, and Mimi will be leaving soon, I figured it would be a good idea if we had an expert taking over.”
She stared at him. “So you’re still going to kick them out?”
“I’m not kicking them out, Sunny. They knew the terms of the loan.”
She hesitated. “And what about Belle?”
He gave an innocent shrug. “What about her?”
She rolled her eyes. “Did you really think I wouldn’t figure out what you two have been up to?”
“We haven’t been up to anything. Belle has just been helping out while her parents and grandma are away.”
“And where have you been going for the last couple nights?”
“I told you. To have a drink at the Hellhole.”
Sunny threw up her hands and huffed. “Good Lord, Cory. You must think I was born yesterday. I know you’ve been going to the trailer to see Belle because I followed you last night.” He went to interrupt, but she stopped him. “Before you go all postal on me, you aren’t the only one who worries about your sibling. I worry about you too. I warned you about getting involved with Belle, but it looks like you didn’t pay me a speck of attention. You never pay me a speck of attention. Which is why I’m thankful to have Jesse as a brother now. At least he listens to me.”
That hurt. “I listen to you. But I’m a grown man and you have no business following me around.”
“Really? Just like I’m a grown woman and you had no business hiring that security team in Paris to keep tabs on me?”
She wasn’t supposed to know about that. He cleared his throat. “That’s different. You were a young woman in a foreign country. All kinds of things could have happened to you.”
“That’s bullshit, Cory, and you know it. I get that you love me. I get that you worry about me. I appreciate you taking care of me when we were kids. I didn’t have a mama and daddy to love me, but I had you. And I’m grateful for all you went without so I could have everything. But I’m a grown woman now. I don’t need someone watching my every move and making all my choices. I need a brother who trusts me to make my own choices.”
“Fine. Make your own choices.” He turned the laptop to her. “You want to choose the foreman for your ranch, choose the foreman for your ranch.”
“I don’t want to choose a foreman.” She hesitated. “I don’t want this ranch.”
He shook his head. “Don’t start that again. All you talked about as a kid was the Holiday sisters and how much fun it would be to live on the Holiday Ranch. You drew picture after picture of this ranch.”
“I was a kid who wanted a stable—”
“Home. Exactly. And I gave it to you.”
She growled with frustration. “Dammit, Cory! Would you listen to me for just a second without cutting me off? Yes, as a kid I dreamed about having a life like the Holiday sisters. I wanted to live on a ranch surrounded by five sisters who were my closest friends and ride horses and jump from haylofts and skinny-dip at Cooper Springs.”
“And you can do all those things now. Except jumping from haylofts. That’s too dangerous.”
She closed her eyes and took three deep breaths before she opened them. “I’m leaving, Cory.”
“What? What do you mean you’re leaving?”
“I mean I’m packing my bags and heading to Houston to live as a twenty-three-year-old single woman in a big city until I figure out what I want to do with my life.”
“Wait a second, you can’t go to Houston. I got this ranch for you.”
“I thought that at first. But after seeing you here, I realize that you never got the ranch for me. You got it for you. You dreamed about this ranch, didn’t you? You dreamed about living here as much, if not more, than I did.”
He shook his head. “Absolutely not.”
She smiled sadly. “Then you’re lying to yourself. But I’m not lying to myself, Cory. I don’t want someone else’s dream. And that’s what this ranch is. This is the Holidays’ dream. Not mine. And not yours.”
“Then why did you come here with me and act like this was what you wanted?”
“Because you wouldn’t listen to me. So Jesse and I thought that if I went along with it and came here, you’d figure out soon enough that ranching isn’t for you and head back to Houston. We didn’t think you’d take to ranching like a Labrador dog to water.”
Corbin stared at her. “You and Jesse? You plotted against me?”
She sighed. “Now don’t get all riled up. We thought we were doing the best thing for everyone. You’d figure out you weren’t a rancher and the Holidays would get their ranch back.”
“Did the Holidays know about your plot?”
She nodded. “Hank’s and Rome’s jobs were to show you how tough ranching is.”
“And the rest of the Holidays’ jobs?”
“To endear you and make it hard for you to kick them out of their home.”
To endear him.
Darla’s baking. Mimi’s country advice and mothering . . . and Belle’s seduction. It had all been to get the ranch back. He hadn’t thought he would ever again feel the way he had after his mama dropped him and Sunny off with another relative. But that’s exactly how he felt now.
As always, anger was the way he dealt with the pain.