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“Goddamn, I love me some cowboys in tight Wranglers. ’Tis the rodeo season for fine asses,”
“So what? You don’t have to have Daddy issues to sample a finer cuisine.”
“Hang on so I can worship this cunt like the goddess you are. Start countin’.”
All the air gets sucked out of my lungs at the realization. I just slept with my ex-boyfriend’s dad.
“I hadn’t expected you to get over him by ridin’ his dad, but who am I to judge?”
RIP Noah Hollis. Died of humiliation while covered in horse shit in front of her one-night stand who turned out to be her ex’s dad and is twice her age. And now the new farrier on her family’s ranch.
I brush a hand through my hair, trying to wrap my mind around the fact that I not only slept with a woman twenty-two years younger than me, but she’s my son’s girlfriend.
“Before you get upset with me for followin’ the rules, just remember all the ways I’d break them for you.”
She rolls her eyes. “Oh, just tell him to shut up, or you’ll make him your stepson.”
How the hell am I supposed to sit next to my ex-boyfriend and pretend I’m not thinking about his dad whispering in my ear what a good girl I am for taking his dick so well?
“What’s your poison?” he asks once we squeeze our way to the bar. Men twice my age. And off-limits.
I grab my drink to avoid blurting out that she should shut up and just take our order. Before Jase says something hurtful about his dad or, worse, I tell her she’s wrong because what we did that weekend was far from precious.
“Sweetheart, I handled you just fine when I had you bent over my bed, your pussy spread wide open for my cock as you choked on your own moans. I had you comin’ in eight seconds, remember? So no, I’m not worried.”
As the alcohol takes over, I wave my arms above my head. Derik’s hands find my hips. He moves with me as I sing along and whip my head back and forth. When his hardness presses into my back, I turn around so I can tell him to put Derik Jr. away.
“Why’re ya torturin’ me with that mouth I can’t kiss?” He plucks my lip with his thumb, then shoves it inside. “It’s bad enough I want somethin’ I can’t have. Even if I could, I wouldn’t deserve you, anyway.”
“Now call me a train because I’m about to get railed,” she singsongs and then mimics a train whistle.
“I have a lot of regrets in my life, Noah. Lovin’ you would never be on that list. I wanna know you beyond our physical attraction.”
Looking at Noah, I see the sun rising on a cool autumn day. Fallen leaves on the ground crunching when you walk on them. The scent of caramel pecan and pumpkin spice wafting through the air in early October. She’s my favorite time of year. And now, she’s mine.
“On your knees, Goldie. Now.” I blink once at his harsh tone, but goddamn, it also turns me on. It’s gotta be all that monster smut I read before bed. Red flags? Nah, I’m color-blind.
My gaze finds his as I bite my lip to keep from begging like a sugar addict desperate for candy.
Whichever side of Fisher this is, my pussy’s on board with a first-class ticket.
“That’s why I was waitin’, Goldie. I knew the moment I had your hot mouth on me again, I’d fall too fast. I’ve never been drawn to a woman like this before, and it scares the shit outta me. I don’t wanna run you off by movin’ too fast, but my heart is all in, Noah. I know it’s supposed to be wrong—being twice your age, Jase’s dad, and the workplace policy—but when I think about you and how I feel when we’re together, nothing has ever felt more right.”
The vulnerability in his tone has my chest aching. The power of his words places a chokehold on me because I want nothing more than for us to be together without the secrecy.
Dear Jesus, thank you for this food, but please make this dinner less awkward before I do something stupid like blurt out I had sex with our new farrier and am possibly falling hard for him, too. If you could send a hurricane, tsunami, or meteor to end this dinner as soon as possible, that’d be appreciated.
Noah's always been the exception. She makes me feel safe to reveal all the bad and ugly parts of myself. She listens and doesn't pity me. But she's the one person in this world I can't have.
“Did you mean what you said earlier about fallin' in love with me?” Fuck, she's not making this easy. “Yeah, Goldie. Meant every word.”
If he finds out I lied to him and secretly dated his ex, he won't forgive me a second time.
“I will always wish it were me and not you who died that day. We'll be reunited someday, and when that time comes, I will catch you and never let go. Rest in peace, baby girl.”
“I remember everythin’ about you, Noah. There’s nothin’ about you I’m gonna forget. Not the way you lick your lips when you’re nervous or aroused. Not the way you wrinkle your nose when you’re unsure of or don’t like something. Not the way you cock your hip when someone’s pissed you off. And definitely not the way you beg for me. So tell me what you need tonight, and I’ll give it to you. Anything.”
She owns my heart. My soul. Every ounce of my love. “Fuck, Goldie.”
I wince at having to sit through an entire dinner with him. And my ex-boyfriend. I guess, technically, they're both my ex-boyfriends.
She hitches a thumb over her shoulder toward my bedroom door. “With Mr. Tall, Dark, and Rugged in your kitchen makin’ you a feast? Good luck, bestie. You have more willpower than I do. I’d be on my knees, beggin’ him to pick me, choose me, love me.”
“You broke my heart.” She pauses and lowers her gaze as if getting the words out is more painful than her ankle. “Each day you’re here takin’ care of me only adds to the reasons I fell for you in the first place. But I can’t act on those feelings. You’re off-limits, and keepin’ my distance is another level of torture. I don’t mean to come off as ungrateful because I’m not, but your being here is a constant reminder of what I can’t have. Most girls get to go through heartbreak and cry themselves to sleep in the privacy of their own room. I can’t get over it when the person who caused the pain
...more
Fisher went in there to rescue my horses and didn’t leave until he got Donut.
The love of my life risked his life to save my horses, and now I may never get the chance to tell him how much I love him ever again.
“Oh my God,” I gasp when I read Landen’s text. “What is it?” I look at him in shock. “They found a body.”
Why do i have a feeling the body is jase.
“Ian?” She nods. “Caught him on camera.” Then she lowers her eyes again. “He didn’t survive.”
Pftttt i was way off
Smiling, I pour my heart out to her. “You’ve been mine since I laid eyes on you. Even when we couldn’t be together, I was always yours.” Then I press my lips to her knuckles. “I’m madly and desperately in love with you, Goldie. Nothin’ would make me happier than you being mine out in the open for everyone to know you own my heart.”
“Fallin’ in love with you was so damn easy and tragic at the same time. I’m ready for the world to know.”
“Noah, I have loved you for no less than three hundred and sixty-five days, and if you’d do me the honor of being my wife, I promise to love you for the rest of my life and all the days after. Goldie, will you marry me?”
I chuckle at the memory of when someone called guest services because they thought someone was being murdered. They asked if we had any weapons in our room, and I responded, “Only if you count my husband’s tongue.”
“Thank you. I can’t believe you get to sit behind me and chant push, push, push durin’ my labor before I get to do it for you. My hot girl summer just turned into fat girl winter.”
He didn’t have to give me a second chance in the first place, but the fact that he did, means the world. Hell, it changed my life. It brought me to Sugarland Creek. It made me want to be a better man. And for the first time in a decade, it made me feel worthy of being a father and husband again.
