Wyatt (Lucky River Ranch, #2)

by Jessica Peterson

For those of y’all with hearts like wild horses. Don’t let them rein you in. (But if a cowboy wants to tie you up and have his way with you, well…)

“You’re like sunshine, you know? Sounds cheesy, but it’s true. I always feel so much better when you’re around.” Her swallow is audible. “I’ll be your sunshine anytime, Wyatt.”

“C’mon, Sunshine. Give me what I want.” “Yes, Daddy.” Dear God. “What did I tell you about⁠—” “I thought Daddy was okay?” Her eyes dance. She’s teasing me, and I fucking love it. When am I gonna stop feeling like a lovesick asshole? “Changed my mind. It’s definitely not okay.”

My parents have preserved it as a kind of museum exhibit, an ode to my teenage obsession with Peeta from The Hunger Games

Best friends and blow jobs do not go together.

It’s too early for a beer, right? It is cold outside. Nobody would judge me if I put whiskey in my coffee.

“Such a gentleman,” Patsy says. Sally looks up at me, her eyes dancing. “When he wants to be.” “Here, Patsy, let me get yours too.” “I can do that,” John B grunts. “I know.” Patsy grins. “But cowboys do it⁠—” “Please don’t finish that thought,” Sally says. “Please do,” I say with a snicker.

I coulda sworn I saw a hickey on Sally’s neck the other⁠—” “It wasn’t a hickey,” Sally replies. John B sighs. “I beg you, don’t elaborate.” “Beard burn?” Patsy asks. Sally’s face is red as a beet, but she’s smiling. “Yes.” “Oh, y’all, I’m so happy for you!”

Mind you this is her mom

“I want to help. Let me. It’ll be fun being in the kitchen together, mostly because it’ll give me a chance to grope you.” He wags his brows. “I like it when you grope me.” “Aw, handsome, I like it when you grope me too.”

“Make one fucking sound,” he whispers. “I dare you, Sunshine. I dare you to get us caught. What do you think your daddy would do if he saw us like this? His sweet little girl being fucked hard by her real daddy and liking it.” I bite his palm. He lets out a small scoff,

“Never again,” he grunts as he comes in my mouth a second later. “I’m never letting you sleep in any bed but mine again.”

“So you don’t hate the books then,” she says thickly. Joyfully. I scoff, my breath rustling the dark brown hair that falls into her face. “I fuckin’ love ’em, Sally. Almost as much as I love you.”

“Don’t act so surprised, Sunshine. I’m in love with you. Been in love with you for a long, long time.”

my God, Wyatt. Why didn’t you tell me?” I lift a shoulder, like I haven’t been agonizing over that question for years. Decades. “You had so much to do. So many things to accomplish. You’ve always aimed so high, and I wasn’t gonna stand in your way.” She fists her hand in my shirt. “Don’t make me quote the corniest-slash-best love song ever written.” “What’s that?” Sally searches my eyes with an urgency that makes my pulse hiccup. “Ever consider you could never ever hold me back, even if you tried? You’re not a roadblock, Wyatt. You’re the wind beneath my fucking wings.”

Maybe she was ready to hear that I loved her, but she’s not ready to hear I’d drop everything—my family, my job, my plans for the future—to be with her. But then a small smile breaks out on her face. “You’d do that?” “Stupid question.” “That’s…wow. One hell of a gesture.” “I’m one hell of a boyfriend.” “Ha.”

“I do the opposite of dismemberment.” I gesture to the horse’s leg. “Look, I literally put bodies back together.” “Which means you know how to take ’em apart, too, don’t you?” I crank my drill. “Keep talking shit, and you’re gonna find out.”

“I believe I owe y’all an apology.” He sniffles. “I didn’t—I assumed the worst about all of you, and I’m sorry.” Sally gives him a look. “Dad, you pulled a fucking gun on my boyfriend.” John B’s voice wavers when he says, “I wasn’t gonna actually shoot anyone. Safety’s still on, see?”