by Lexie Davis
Amanda stared at him. “Why do you hate momma so much? She was not to blame for what Ricky did.”
“She married him.”
“She did the best she could. People make mistakes and they learn from them. Momma learned the hard way from her mistakes.”
“You still defend her after all these years.”
“You still hold a grudge after all these years. You’re a grown man. Isn’t it time you let go of your childhood?”
Hugh didn’t say anything. Harper licked her lips nervously trying to get out from the middle of them. She took the casserole that Amanda had brought to the kitchen and searched the cabinets for some pain reliever. Her head throbbed and it wasn’t just from her accident. The family tension was enough to make anyone sick to their stomach.
“You okay?” Ellie asked.
Harper poured two pills into her hand and downed them with a glass of water. “I’m fine. They haven’t spoken to each other in years. It was bound to happen. They need to clear the air, but I don’t really want to be in the middle of it.”
Ellie nodded. “Are you hungry? I can order some take out or something.”
Harper smiled. “Honey, you’re not in the city anymore. We have casseroles and home cooked meals around here. No take out food.”
Ellie scrunched her nose. “What is it?”
Harper shrugged. “I have no clue. They’re usually good though.”
“It looks like barf.”
“Try it.” Harper grabbed a plate and scooped some out of the dish for her sister. “If it kills you then I know I shouldn’t eat it.”
Ellie’s horrified look made Harper laugh. It felt so good to have her sister around. She missed hanging out with her the most. They really were best friends and she didn’t know what she would do without her.
Ellie took a bite of the food. “Not bad. I definitely wouldn’t order it, but it’s pretty good if it’s all you’ve got to eat.”
Harper laughed. “Drinks are in the fridge.” She glanced out back and saw the men working in the barn. “I’m going to the barn to talk to the guys.”
“Are you dating that cute one?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, my goodness.”
“He found the little gift you sent me, too. He was standing right there when I opened the box.”
“Hey, couples can use toys together.” Ellie opened the fridge and grabbed a soda. “He probably knows how to make a woman smile with his own set of toys though.”
Harper laughed. “Mom dropped you on your head when you were little, didn’t she?”
“Maybe.” She took another bite of her food. “Probably. The jury’s really out on that one.”
Harper left her at the house while she walked to the barn. Gabe was the first to spot her and he stopped what he was doing and came toward her.
“How are you feeling, baby?” He hugged her and kissed her lips.
“Considering my dad and Amanda are fighting, good.”
He smiled at her. “It was bound to happen.”
She glanced around. “What are you guys doing?”
“I’m going to start training the horse that nearly killed you.” Gabe rubbed his forehead. “I think the guys are rearranging the stalls. We have two pregnant horses and they’re due any time this month.”
“Were you still going to the rodeo this weekend? It starts tomorrow, right?”
“You’re still going to let us go?”
“Well, yeah. I mean, you look forward to this all year. Go have fun.”
Gabe lifted her and kissed her lips. “I thought with everything that happened you’d want us to stay around here to make up for lost time.”
“No.” She looped her arms around his neck. “I’m recovering and my family is here so there isn’t going to be much work. You guys can go have fun for the both of us. It’s fine.”
Gabe sat her down and leaned in to kiss her. It’d felt like forever since she’d had his lips on hers. He cupped her head lightly and stroked his tongue along hers. He felt so good against her even though she knew nothing more would come of it. There was no way she was fucking her men with her father in the next room. Her sister would just applaud.
She pulled back first and stared into his eyes. Something deeper happened between them as a result of the accident. She didn’t know if they felt responsible or if they simply cared deeply for her. She smoothed her hands along his sides and gripped the hem of his shirt.
“Even with your head bandaged up, you’re so beautiful. Sometimes I can’t get enough.” He kissed her again.
“Hey, none of that.” Aaron tossed a rag toward Gabe who flipped him off in return. “Her family is here.”
Harper laughed. “We’re just kissing.”
Aaron came over to them. “Well in that case.”
He smiled as he leaned down to kiss her. Each man made her feel something new, something special. Gabe was the serious one and the intensity of being with him was strong. Aaron was the shy one. He kissed her softly as if he were afraid she’d break. She looped her arms around his waist and held him to her. It felt so good to be in their arms.
She struggled with pulling away from him. She didn’t want to leave but she had to go. Kissing her men in the barn while her family was near seemed so scandalous and risqué. She loved it.
She went to the barn and smiled at the men working. “Stop whatever it is that you’re doing.”
Nick, Logan, and Cooper glanced over their shoulders at her. She smiled at them and walked toward where they stood. “Ya’ll have a rodeo to get to and I want hugs and kisses before you go.”
“Hugs and kisses? That’s all you want?” Logan asked.
“Well, considering I just got out of the hospital, we should probably take it easy for a few days.”
Logan grinned at her. “You’re so sexy. How can anyone take it easy?”
He leaned down to kiss her. His arms instantly went around her and pulled her closer. He was possessive. He was good at seducing, and she melted like butter in his arms. He bit her lower lip before soothing it with a swipe of his tongue. She felt dizzy. Breathless.
He pulled back and held on to her. “How close are you to ignoring the doctor’s advice?”
She laughed. “You’re incorrigible.”
“He wouldn’t be Logan if he wasn’t.” Nick pulled her into his arms and simply held her for a moment. “I’ve missed this. You looked so helpless lying there and it scared the shit out of all of us. I’m glad you’re okay. I’m glad you’re here and you’re feeling well.”
Leave it to Nick to be the consoler. God, that man made her feel wanted and special with just one look. He didn’t have to say anything though he always knew the right words to say. She felt so loved, though that probably wasn’t the right word. What they had wasn’t love, but lust.
She kissed his scratchy jaw. “You don’t have to worry about me. I’m hard headed. I’ll be fine when you guys get back from the rodeo. We can play then.”
Nick smiled a perfect white smile and kissed her. “Looking forward to it, baby.”
Cooper was the last one of the group that she had yet to talk to one on one. He was the one that facilitated her family coming to Kansas and she couldn’t thank him enough for it. She smiled at him and he came to her, bending to lift her into his arms. She looped her arms around his neck and held on to him.
“I told you that you needed to save the horse and ride a cowboy.” His deep blue eyes looked almost navy in color. She could stare into them all day and never grow bored. “I know for sure there’s one cowboy that will agree to that idea. Probably five, if I had to guess though.”
Harper closed her eyes and laid her head against him. “Is that right?”
“Yeah. You said you didn’t like horses anyway. I know you love cowboys though.”
She smiled at him and leaned in to kiss him. “You’ve got that right. A city girl that loves cowboys.”
He walked over to the main wooden table in the middle of
the barn and sat her on it. “You’re gorgeous. On the inside and the out.”
He gently pushed her back so that she lay reclined on her elbows. “What are you doing?”
“Sex is obviously not going to happen, but nobody said anything about not having an orgasm.”
She stared at him like he’d gone mad. He hooked his fingers into the waistband of her pants and tugged them down. She had no idea how well this was going to work. The doctor said she needed to take it easy. It took a while for her to heal and she was pretty sure having Cooper eat her pussy was not on the road to healing.
His tongue lapped at her folds and she lost her train of thought. Nick scooted in behind her and let her rest her head against his lap. Gabe and Logan played with her nipples. Aaron stood off to the side smiling at her while he watched them.
“Hold her legs back.” Cooper instructed.
Aaron moved forward and lifted her legs so that she lay with her pussy on display for Cooper. Cooper’s hands slipped underneath her ass and held her up so his mouth could cover her pussy. His tongue stroked her while Gabe and Logan pinched her nipples. They pushed her shirt up enough to actually swirl their tongue around the hard, aching buds.
“Ooh,” Harper cried out. Aaron’s tongue licked at her clit while Cooper thrust his tongue into her pussy. Nick watched her from above, smoothing his fingers along her cheeks.
Her brain was in a fog of sensation. She had little energy but these men, her men, renewed it quickly without much effort. She loved how they made her feel. She loved how much they wanted to please her.
She cried out when she came, her pussy grasping hard at emptiness. It would have been much better with a cock inside her but the idea of being able to do that simply didn’t fit with her head injury. Nick held her upper body still so she didn’t thrash too much beneath them.
“Ah, baby, you’re perfect.” Logan lifted his mouth from her breast and kissed her lips.
Gabe kissed her cheek and smiled at her. “You feel okay? You thrash when you come and we don’t need you getting another concussion. That kind of pain isn’t meant to happen with pleasure.”
She smiled at him. “I’m fine. I don’t want to move though.”
Aaron and Cooper dropped her legs to the table and stared up at her. She wasn’t sure how she got so lucky by having them here, but she definitely knew she wouldn’t take it for granted.
“You know we can do this all day right? I would love to spend my day with you in bed, eating your pussy until my beard chafes your inner thighs. Then maybe I’d give you my cock.” Cooper lightly bit her inner thigh before moving away. “God, you’re an amazing woman. Don’t ever forget that.”
She sat up with Nick’s help and pulled her shirt down. “Why do you say that?”
Cooper propped his hands on his hips. “Because. There’s something fierce inside you that has strength and elegance. I don’t know. We all thought you’d come in here and kick us to the curb. Instead, you want to make this ranch work because you don’t want us kicked out on the street.” He blew out a breath not quite looking at her. “I just want to say thank you. We needed this place and I’m starting to think you did, too.”
* * * *
Harper thought about his comments long after she dressed and left the barn. She knew her father wanted her to sell the place. She’d almost let him convince her of it, too. She didn’t owe the men anything but she simply couldn’t just turn her back on them either.
Harper sat at the kitchen island while she ate a bowl of ice cream. She wasn’t as tired as she thought she’d be. The men had left for Cheyenne and her father and sister were fast asleep in their rooms. She didn’t know what she wanted to do with the place. The main money maker was something she didn’t understand. She was not a rancher. She wanted to fix the place up but if she didn’t sell it, she had to figure out a way to get her investment back. Her father even offered to give her some of the money to put into the place to make it sellable.
“How did I know you were in here eating ice cream?” Hugh walked into the kitchen and kissed the side of Harper’s head. “You’ve been choosing ice cream as a midnight snack since you were old enough to get into the freezer.”
“Old habits die hard.”
He nodded. “What’s wrong? Does your head hurt?”
She shook her head. “Nah. I mean it does, but it’s livable. I was just contemplating what I should do with this place. I don’t want to give it up, but if I do renovations, I need to find some way of getting my money back.”
He folded his arms over his chest. “You know my opinion.”
“You know mine, too.”
He took a deep breath. “Why do you care about those men? They’re adults and they can find another job just like anyone else.”
“It’s not that simple. Not in this economy.” She sat her empty bowl aside. “They’re good people. Hard workers. They come from all walks of life. Most of them have been homeless. Janine gave them a chance. She took them in and gave them a family. I can’t break that up.” She licked her lips. “Cooper thanked me for not selling this place. They need something that gives them stability in their life. This ranch has always been it. I can’t get rid of it.”
“This Cooper…Are you seeing him?”
“Maybe. It’s complicated.”
Hugh gave her that knowing look he always had when she did something he didn’t approve of. Harper didn’t care. She was an adult and she would do what she wanted with whomever she wanted regardless of what people thought.
“So you keep the ranch. Are you moving to Kansas?”
She swallowed. “No.”
“So you’re keeping the ranch for them?”
It sounded stupid when he put it like that. A silent investor. She could do that, but it didn’t really define her relationship with the men. She fully planned to go back to Atlanta soon and when she did, she didn’t know when she’d come back to Kansas. It didn’t seem fair to consider herself in a relationship with them if she couldn’t actually be with them like they deserved. Especially since they couldn’t come to Atlanta with her.
“I don’t know what I’m doing. I might sell it. I don’t know. I want to renovate it but I need to find a way to get my money back or I’ll be forced to sell.”
“Do you like it here?”
She smiled. “I do. Crawford has its charm. I enjoy it.”
Hugh reached for her hand. “Then you’ll find a way to keep it. Your mom would want you to have this connection to your grandmother. She didn’t understand why I was so upset with her but she knew that one day, this legacy would live on. Despite what I thought of my mother, she was a caring person. Amanda was right. She paid for her mistakes for the rest of her life because she lost not one child but two.” He met her eyes. “I’m not going to do that with you. I was angry that you wanted to stay here and I let stupid stuff cloud my judgment. I’m so sorry about that. If you want to renovate this place give me a budget plan and I’ll pay for it. Not with the previous terms I gave you either. No obligations. You tell me how much you want to put into this place and I’ll make sure it happens.”
Harper stared at him. “Why?”
“Because whatever you decide to do with it, you’ll do something great. I believe that. I always have believed in you. You work hard and you persevere through some of the muddiest messes I’ve ever seen. It was wrong of me to send you here alone. I made a mistake in doing that. I just hope you didn’t inherit that stubborn gene of mine and hold it against me.”
“Dad, the past is in the past.” She squeezed his hand. “I’m just glad you’re here now.”
He smiled. “Me, too.” He walked around and hugged her. “You always were my baby girl. Even though you’re completely independent and on your own now.”
She smiled. “Yeah, well, some positions you don’t really grow out of.”
He kissed the top of her head. “Get some sleep.”
“I will.” She smiled at him as he went down the hall.
Chapter Eight
Harper spent the night drawing up a budget plan. She also spent time ordering the products she needed online and had them shipped to the ranch house to start the renovations. When every thing was said and done, she would have one beautiful place for whatever she wanted to do. She Googled area kids programs for troublesome youth and found that few existed in the area. It lingered in the back of her mind that that was what Janine did informally. It only made sense for her to continue that tradition. She wasn’t sure about what the guys thought. A day program seemed like the best option and teaching the youth to take care of the animals would help keep them involved in something of worth. She also knew from experience that it wasn’t what her parents gave her that made them great. It was the fact that they took time to be with her one on one and as a group. Both her mom and her dad took time to be there for different things she and her sister had going on. They made sure to make their events feel important and any little accomplishments were praised. If they had failures, they offered encouragement to do better next time. They were great parents, and she credited her drive to succeed in the real estate business to them and her upbringing.
“Hey,” Hugh came in her office and sat down. “I’m going to have breakfast with Amanda. She wanted me to invite you if you felt like it. She’s going through old photos and thought that you’d like to have some of our family.”
Harper pursed her lips. “I really think I should stay here. I didn’t exactly listen to the doctor yesterday so I should probably try to today. Tell her I’ll meet up with her some other time.”
He nodded. “You okay?”
“I’m tired.” She planned to curl up with a cozy blanket and a good movie with Ellie once her sister woke up.
“Okay. I’ll see you later then.”
“Have fun.”
Harper sat all her stuff aside and went to the living room. Ellie came in looking like the walking dead and plopped down on the sofa.
