Romancing the Rancher, page 14
“Too strong for you, filha?” her mother joked. “Perhaps you should drink some water.”
“That’s a great idea.” Josie stood up and headed for the kitchen.
“There’s water right here. . . .” Yvonne called out, but Josie was already moving on through the mudroom door.
She slid her feet into the first pair of boots she found, grabbed her jacket, and headed out into the night. Since her anxiety attack, Rio had installed floodlights between the barns, the outbuildings, and the house, which illuminated her path. There was no chance of anyone sneaking up on her now. It also meant it was hard to see the beautiful night sky.
The back door shut again, and she looked over her shoulder to see Evan coming after her. She waited, her arms wrapped around herself, until he reached her.
“Hey.” She turned into him and rested her head against his chest. He put an arm around her shoulders. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m just still mad at my mom,” Josie confessed. “And I don’t know how to deal with her right now.”
He persuaded her to walk toward the shelter of the barn where they couldn’t be seen from the house.
“There’s no need for you to be mad. As I said, I get what’s she’s saying.” He hesitated. “And she’s not wrong, is she? We both know you’re not based here permanently or anything. There’s no point fighting with her about something that can’t be changed.”
It seemed like Evan had come to the same conclusions she had, which for some reason made her even madder. She moved out of his embrace.
“But I don’t know what I want to do! I’m incapable of making that kind of decision right now!”
“Okay.”
She glared at him. “That’s supposed to be helpful?”
He smiled. “It’s not my job to tell you how to live your life, Josie.”
She walked away from him for a few paces and then spun around. “I’ve always had a plan. I don’t know how to function without one.”
“Maybe you just need a new version?”
“That’s even less helpful than your first suggestion.”
“Then I might as well go for a strikeout. How about you just play things by ear? Your brother basically runs the company, and he’s not going to kick you out on your ass anytime soon. Why not take advantage of that and just let things ride until you are ready to make some decisions?” He held her gaze, his voice gentle. “You’ve been through some difficult things, Josie. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”
She walked toward him. He slowly straightened and held one hand out in front of his face.
“Now, don’t—”
She stopped and looked into his eyes. “Will you kiss me?”
“Anytime you want.”
“Now?”
“Sure.” He drew her close into the shadow of the barn wall, bent his head, and took her mouth in a voracious kiss. “I’ve been wanting to do that since the moment I saw you in the kitchen.”
Josie slid one hand behind his neck and joined in until they were both breathing hard, and she’d somehow managed to untuck his shirt from his jeans and her fingernails were scratching his back. He bucked his hips against hers, the thick line of his shaft pressing against her stomach through his jeans.
“I want you,” Josie whispered.
“Like right here and now?”
“Yes.” She bit down on his lip, making him groan. “Please.”
His hand slid up her thigh past the hem of her dress to her lace panties. “We’ll have to be quick.”
“I don’t think that’ll be a problem.” Josie wrestled with his belt and the button of his fly. “Thank goodness I wore a dress tonight.”
“Yeah,” he groaned as his fingers slid past her panties to the slick, wet heat of her need. “You know this place better than I do. Where’s the safest place for us to get this done without being interrupted and me getting shot?”
“The feedstore has a lock. It’s just inside the barn on the right.”
“Okay.” He picked her up, her thighs straddling his hips, which made her gasp. “Let’s go.”
Even with the short distance he carried her, the delicious friction of his jeans against her lace panties made her writhe against him. He set her down momentarily as he wrestled with locking the door, and then sat her on the countertop, pressing himself between her thighs as if he belonged there.
“No condom,” he murmured as he disposed of her panties and thrust his fingers inside her. She fumbled to unzip his fly in the darkness.
“We’re still good. Implant, remember?” She pushed down his jeans and boxers in one motion and sunk her nails into his muscled ass. “Please hurry.”
“I’m on it.”
She felt the flex of his hips and then he drove his shaft deep inside her in one sure thrust. She immediately climaxed and hung on to him like the champion bull rider she was for barely more than the eight seconds needed before he came hard.
* * *
“Way too fast.” Evan nuzzled her throat. “Sorry.”
“That was perfect,” Josie breathed. “Just . . . perfect.”
He eased free of her, his gaze caught by the wetness he’d left behind, and bent to kiss her bud. She shivered and his dick twitched, ready to do it all over again—but better.
“Glad there’s a sink and plenty of hot water in here.” Evan snapped on the light and paused to take in the stunning sight of Josie, her head thrown back, eyes still closed, and her arms braced on the countertop. He’d never actually seen heaving breasts before. Apparently, they did exist outside the romance novels he’d secretly borrowed from Daisy, which to be fair, had given him some amazing pointers about how to sexually please a woman.
He washed himself before zipping everything up and patting down his hair.
“I’ve got you.” He returned to Josie with a warm soapy cloth and towel. She took them off him.
“If you clean me, we’ll never get out of here.”
“Especially if I just use my tongue.” He winked at her, handed over her panties, and stood back to let her get straightened out.
She slid down from the countertop. “How do I look?”
He considered her. “Very fuckable.”
“Evan Miller!” She shook her head. “I meant, do I look presentable?”
He took in her flushed cheeks, sensual eyes, and bee-kissed lips.
“Nope.”
“Dammit.” She sighed. “How about we take a walk around the paddocks to see the bulls before we go back in? Half an hour out in this weather will soon take care of my happy glow.”
Chapter Eleven
Evan frowned and stared out of the kitchen window at the horses in the paddock below the house. It was a windy morning, and tails and manes were flying as the horses played, ran, and swayed together like a school of fish. It was two days since he’d last seen Josie. If he was a betting man, he’d be putting money on her mom keeping her too busy to see him.
“What do you mean you can’t tell me?”
He was talking to Josie on the phone about the weekend, his cell jammed under his chin as he made his breakfast. He had a sense she wasn’t being straight with him.
She sighed. “Look, I’ve got plans.”
He remembered to be reasonable. “Like with your mom?”
“Exactly.”
“Cool.” Evan set his empty coffee mug in the sink. “Then why not just say that?”
“Because it’s complicated.”
“What—she’s taking you to Vegas to marry you off to another man?”
His joke seemed to fall flat as she went very quiet.
“Josie? You still there?”
“Yes.”
“Look, it’s fine, okay? Have a good weekend and text me when you get back.”
“Evan . . .”
He ended the call. He was not going to be the kind of jerk who expected his girlfriend to account for every second of her time to him. They were both adults, and if she had plans that didn’t include him then that was fine. The problem was that was all well and good in theory, but he wondered whether she didn’t want to tell him what she was doing because she didn’t trust him.
After checking the time, he went back out to the barn to finish up the rest of his chores. Danny and Adam were around somewhere, but they all knew their jobs and wouldn’t get in each other’s space. As he went into the feedstore, he met Adam coming out.
“Hey,” Adam said. His faint smile disappeared as he looked over Evan’s shoulder. “Hell, no.”
“All right, then!” His father called out from behind them. “Where do you want me to start?”
For a moment, Adam and Evan shared a look of horror, and then his big brother turned to their father.
“It’s entirely up to you, Dad.”
“Nope, you’re the boss now and I’m sure you’ve got a new system in place already. Just consider me like a special team or backup.”
“Are you sure you’re feeling okay, Dad?” Evan asked, eyeing him suspiciously.
Jeff frowned. “Yes, or I wouldn’t be out here, Son.”
“I mean it’s not like you to offer to help rather than order us all around.”
“As your mother reminded me last night, things have changed. I’m taking a back seat and Adam’s making the decisions now.”
“Well, yeah, you said all that, but none of us thought you actually meant it.” Evan glanced at Adam who nodded.
“I meant it!” His dad’s frown was rapidly turning into a scowl. “Now, stop your blathering and give me something to do!”
Adam cleared his throat. “You can, um, start letting the rest of the horses out into the pasture and check they’ve got fresh water in their stalls.”
“Good. Then I’ll get on with that.”
Jeff stomped off down the center aisle of the barn and Evan whistled.
“I wonder how long that’s going to last? I bet he’s going to be complaining about something you’ve changed before lunch.”
Adam groaned. “I figure it’ll be less than an hour.”
Evan held out his hand. “Winner has to do the other person’s evening chores?”
“Deal.” Adam shook his hand.
Evan was still grinning when he came around the corner of the barn and almost ran into Danny.
“Hey.”
“Hey.” Danny paused. “What’s so funny?”
“Dad taking orders from Adam.”
“You’re kidding.” Danny draped the lunge rope over his arm. “I missed that?”
“Yeah.” Evan couldn’t stop smiling. “He said he was taking a back seat.”
“Like, sure.”
“I know! I mean—” Evan suddenly remembered who he was talking to. “We’ve got a bet going as to how fast Dad loses it.”
“I should get in on that.”
“You should.” Evan nodded and went to move past Danny. “Talk to Adam. Winner doesn’t have to do their evening chores.”
“I will, and . . . Evan?”
Evan looked over his shoulder. “Yeah?”
“It’s good to see you smile.”
There was nothing he wanted to say to that, but maybe, just maybe, things would get easier between him and Danny as time went by. He was whistling by the time he reached his truck and checked he had the necessary tools to repair one of the gates in the lower pasture. Dealing with stuff head-on was obviously the way to go.
He pulled out his cell and flicked through his contacts until he found Josie’s number and called her.
“Hey.”
Not surprisingly, she didn’t sound very pleased to hear from him.
“Hey, I just wanted to clarify something.” Evan took a deep breath. “I know you don’t want to see me this weekend, but is it because a, you’re doing something you think I won’t approve of, not that I have the right to approve or disapprove of anything you do, obviously, or b, my famous inability to keep a secret?”
She took so long to answer, he thought he’d lost the connection.
“It’s kind of b, but it’s not about you, Evan, and it’s not my secret to share.”
Evan tried to work through the ins and outs of her reply.
“Okay, so you can’t share because there is a secret, but it isn’t yours to tell, and you don’t want me blabbing it to the wrong person. Makes sense. Thanks. Have a good one.”
He ended the call and walked back to the storeroom to get some more nails. His cell rang again, and he put it to his ear.
“You’re such an idiot, you know?”
“Yup,” Evan agreed even as he started to smile.
Josie lowered her voice. “I can’t tell you because if my mom finds out it would be a disaster.”
“Okay, and you’re right. I shouldn’t assume that everything is about me.”
“Correct.” Josie paused. “I could meet you at the Red Dragon for drinks tonight?”
“Only if you have time.”
“I’ll find it.” Josie spoke with conviction.
“Text me when you’re on your way, or do you want me to swing by and pick you up?”
“No, I don’t want you anywhere near my mother. I’ll meet you there.”
* * *
“Who are you talking to?”
Josie jumped and almost dropped her cell phone as her mother spoke from right behind her. She was in the kitchen making a fresh pot of coffee after helping muck out the stalls earlier in the morning, and her mom had obviously just gotten up.
“It was Evan.”
Who was absolutely and completely a huge dork who made her smile.
Isabelle raised her eyebrows. “I know you’re going out with him. You don’t have to hide it.”
“It’s not that. You just startled me.”
She hoped to hell that her mother hadn’t overheard her conversation. It would be kind of ironic if she was the one to give everything away after basically telling Evan he was incapable of keeping a secret. Although, to be fair, her reluctance to tell him where she was going also had a lot to do with his current sensitive spot about hasty marriages and Las Vegas.
She poured her mom some coffee and offered her the jug of cream.
“I’m meeting Evan at the Red Dragon tonight for a drink. We were just finalizing our plans.”
Isabelle took a seat at the table. She wore a cream bathrobe with feathery collar over her pajamas and high-heeled slippers with jewels on them. She’d already put on her makeup, which she did regardless of where she was or what her day would look like. Josie had watched her drive a herd of cattle looking as glamorous as someone on a photoshoot. It was a skill and a mindset she envied.
“Everyone tells me he is a nice boy—if a little immature.”
“He’s definitely nice.” Josie stirred her coffee and then shared the spoon with her mom.
“He certainly seems keen on you.”
Josie smiled serenely, and her mother chuckled.
“You can talk to me about him. I love to hear about your boyfriends.”
“I know.” Josie sipped her coffee.
The last thing she wanted to do right now was get into any chatty mother-daughter conversation. Isabelle was an expert in worming things out of her, and this time for some reason, her feelings for Evan were too new and unsure for her to want to share them with anyone.
“He won’t inherit that ranch,” Isabelle said. “Leanne says Jeff has left it to Adam.”
“It makes sense not to break it up,” Josie mused. “I’m sure Evan will be just fine.”
“I suppose he will since Leanne isn’t short on money. Declan left her very well provided for, indeed.”
“Lucky Leanne, but I’m fairly certain Evan would rather have his parents and Adam around for as long as possible rather than wishing they were dead so he could inherit something. He’s a good person.”
“Who probably needs to get out into the world a bit more.” Isabelle laughed. “Leanne said he’s never been out of the country! Can you imagine that?”
Josie set her mug down on the table and met her mom’s all-too-innocent gaze.
“If you’ve got something to say, why don’t you just go ahead and say it?”
Isabelle reached for her hand and spoke in a rush. “I’m just worried about you, minha filha, that you might make choices you regret while you’re not feeling quite yourself.”
“Choices like Evan Miller, you mean?”
“Yes! Obviously, he’s a dear, sweet, boy and the son of one of my best friends, but he’s hardly your type, is he, darling?”
“My type?” Josie asked.
“Yes, a businessman—someone who has aspirations beyond working on a ranch for the rest of his life.”
“You own a ranch. You know how much work and dedication is needed to keep it going.”
“Yes, but that’s not what I envisioned for you, darling—l . . .”
“Can we stop this?” Josie gently removed her hand from under her mother’s. “I’m not a child, Mamãe. I’m perfectly capable of making my own decisions about the men I date.”
“But—”
Josie stood up. “I have to get changed. I’m meeting Rio over at the bull breeding pens.”
“But we’ve always shared everything.” Isabelle pressed her palm to her heart, her eyes filling with tears. “I meant no offense—”
“None taken.” Josie smiled down at her. “I just need some space right now, okay?”
Isabelle nodded and waved her hand at the door. “Then please go ahead. I wouldn’t want you to be late to help your brother.”
Josie ran—there was no other polite way of putting it. One of the things she’d promised herself after waking up in the hospital after the break-in was that she’d make her own life—that she wouldn’t share everything with her mother—that she needed to be herself.
It was hard. Josie brushed away a tear as she went to change. It wasn’t as if her mom was unkind or trying to influence her, she just liked to be involved in everything. They’d spent so many years as just the two of them supporting each other against the world that sometimes Josie felt like her mother’s shadow or her younger sister rather than her daughter.
