Rein In (Willow Bay Stables Book 3)

by Anne Jolin

  “Ryley.” A woman approached from beside us. “That’s rude.”

  I shook my head. “It’s okay.”

  The girl blinked a few times against the sun and continued to stare at me.

  “Can I tell you a secret?” I asked, and the man behind her grunted but I ignored him.

  She leaned forward. “Yes. I love secrets.”

  Letting go of Aurora’s hand, I squatted down and gestured for her to come closer.

  “The truth is, I wear black because sometimes color scares me,” I whispered to her, though I was sure given the close vicinity that most everyone could hear us if they were listening.

  I didn’t care.

  The little girl, Ryley, shook her head. “How can you be scared of color?”

  “Well, it’s very bright,” I told her.

  Unsatisfied with my answer, she crossed her arms over her chest. “So?”

  “Sometimes if you spend too long in the dark, you forget how pretty the light can be.” I was starting to feel a little silly, but her eyes seemed to follow me, and I hoped that was a good sign.

  “Maybe you should leave the dark then.” She nodded definitively, and I laughed.

  My eyes tilted up to see Aurora smiling down at us. “I’m trying,” I told her.

  Ryley seemed to be okay with that and took off running toward what looked like a cake table.

  I stood up and forced myself to smile at the people still watching me so closely.

  “I’m Rayne, by the way.” The woman with hair like the girl’s smiled. “This cowboy’s better half,” she said, gesturing to Aurora’s brother.

  The corners of my mouth tipped up. She was funny, like her daughter.

  Something about my interaction with the two of them made me feel more at ease.

  Grant approached from behind and slapped me on the shoulder in the way men seemed to do to each other at gatherings like this. Or at least I suspected they did, I’d only ever seen it on TV or read about it in books.

  “I see you’ve met Rhys.” He dipped his chin in the direction of Aurora’s father.

  Larry nodded.

  “He’s a fine young man,” Grant praised, and it radiated through my soul. “We’re real proud of his work here.”

  Never had a man praised me, not once in my entire life.

  My too-loose suit suddenly felt tight, and I couldn’t breathe.

  I needed her but I was too afraid to touch her after what he’d said.

  “Did you say you needed to use the bathroom?” Aurora lied.

  She could read me well and she knew I needed her.

  “Might as well kiss her here, son.” Grant laughed and my pulse, which was running at Mach ten, came to a skidding halt.

  I looked at Aurora and she shook her head.

  “Oh, please.” Grant rolled his eyes. “The two of you in love are about as subtle as a freight train”

  Love.

  The group around us burst out laughing, but I was sure my stomach was somewhere on the ground next to my feet.

  My nerves grew a mind of their own and my stomach rolled in circles.

  Love.

  He knew.

  All this time and he knew and didn’t care.

  Love.

  I felt Aurora’s arms slide around my waist, and instantly the clutter in my head cleared.

  I was in love with her.

  “Thank you, Grant.” She smiled at him.

  He winked at her and then looked at me. “I’ll still bury you out back if you give her any trouble.”

  I nodded. It was all I could manage.

  I was a lucky bastard.

  Her dad stepped forward, and I felt his hand curl around my left shoulder. “We all got a past, kid,” he drawled. “You hurt her, and I’ll help him do the diggin’, though. We clear?”

  “Uh, yes, sir,” I answered him.

  He tapped me twice where his hand had just been. “Right, let’s get us some eatin’ then.”

  With that, her family walked away and left us standing there.

  “That went well.” Aurora rested her chin on my chest.

  I raised my eyebrows at her.

  “Okay, fine.” She laughed. “Well-ish?”

  I nodded. “Well-ish.”

  I could settle for well-ish.

  “SHHH,” I WHISPERED, TUGGING HIM behind me down the hallway.

  Rhys glanced behind him, eyes a wreck with anxiety. “I don’t know if we should.”

  “It’ll be fine.” I smiled. “Come on.”

  He reluctantly allowed me to pull him through the doorway to my bedroom.

  I let his hand slip from mine so I could close the door behind us and heard him moving around in the space.

  Turning around, I leaned back on the door and watched him.

  The palm of his left hand smoothed over the duvet, and his eyes flicked up toward the large, gray window.

  He looked so out of place here, even in his suit. Like there was something about the very blood in his veins that bucked at the idea of belonging to this place. I could understand that. Grant’s home was lavish, and Rhys had lived a life so opposed to such grandeur that I wasn’t sure he even really recognized its influence in our society.

  A good man like Grant or my sister’s husband, with the kind of money they had, could make a difference in our world. That wasn’t the kind of power Rhys understood. He knew only the heavy hand of manipulation and the underbelly of a motorcycle club that took advantage of his youth.

  Despite the horrors he’d undergone as a result of his decision to walk away, it would, to this day, be his greatest accomplishment. I wouldn’t want to live in a world where someone burned through his beautiful heart and left his soul corrupt.

  His fingers drew lines in the light on the windowsill as he watched the fundraiser still in full swing below us.

  The black suit hung loose on his body, the telltale sign that it was too big for him, but it didn’t matter to me. He was still, hands down, the most handsome man my eyes had ever had the pleasure of falling on. The black hair on his head was still a wild mess, as per usual, and when his features hit the evening light just right, you could see his heart on his sleeve.

  Walking to the window, I stood in front of him, running my hands up his chest.

  “Do you think they liked me?” he asked hesitantly.

  My fingers tugged gently at the knot on his tie. “I think they want to,” I answered him with honesty.

  The large palms of his hands settled on the sides of my waist. “Yah.”

  “Give them time,” I urged.

  In truth, we were both pleased with my family’s reaction to the introduction, but I understood why Rhys wanted more reassurance. If the roles were reversed, feeling the way I do about him, I would want the people he loved to love me, too.

  But it wasn’t every day a Daniels daughter brought home a man like Rhys. He was hard to get to know, and the way his past hung a shadow over his head made it hard for people who didn’t understand him to give him the benefit of the doubt.

  Grant’s words, his acceptance, had been insurmountable.

  I wanted that for Rhys, more than I wanted it for myself. He’d never known a male role model, not once in his life. Grant was becoming that influence he’d never had, and I hoped with time that my father could become that for him, as well.

  The men in my life were some of the best in the world, even if from time to time they could be somewhat thick in the head.

  “For what it’s worth”—he leaned his head down to allow me to pull the tie over his head—“I liked them.”

  My smile reached my eyes as I discarded the silk onto the ground beside us.

  Love.

  That was the word Grant had used.

  “The two of you in love are about as subtle as a freight train”

  His words ran on a loop parallel to the beat of my heart.

  Love.

  I was sure that in this life and the next, I would never feel the same
way about another person as I did about Rhys.

  “Thank you for meeting them.” My head tipped backward to look up at his handsome face. “It meant a lot to me.”

  His hands at my waist tightened, and the light in his eyes burned brighter.

  “I would do anything for you,” he vowed.

  It was a vow, pure in every way, and I believed him with my whole heart.

  My hands slid back up his chest, my fingers starting with the buttons of his dress shirt at the base of his throat.

  “What are you doing?” he asked, and I could feel his body tensing around me.

  Standing up on my tiptoes, I let my lips hover just a breath from his. “I want to be closer to you.”

  His chest strained against his shirt as his breathing became more erratic. “Are you sure?” he whispered back.

  “I’m sure, Rhys,” I promised him, our lips still not touching. “Take me away.”

  His mouth closed the distance between us, and like every time we kissed, I felt the world around us disappear.

  We kissed like star-crossed lovers in an old fairy tale with nothing left to give but each other.

  I opened his dress shirt and his hands came off my body only long enough for me to slide it down his shoulders.

  My heart felt magic in the room, not the kind that you wished on, but the kind that made you believe in something more than just this life because how, how could one lifetime of kissing Rhys be enough?

  I would always want more.

  His hands shook as they trailed up the exposed back of my dress and paused at the nape of my neck. The silent hesitation was his way of asking for permission, and so I broke our kiss to tell him, “Yes.”

  There was the faintest sound of a clasp being released before I could feel the fabric of my dress graze over my skin as it fell to the floor, leaving behind it a shiver as the night air took its place around me.

  I watched him watching me, and even my heart, the one so fond of conquering, took a second to regain its composure.

  “You’re beautiful, Aurora,” he breathed as his hands caressed slowly down each of my sides, leaving a ripple of curiosity in their wake.

  My cheeks blushed crimson in his praise.

  His hands at the nape of my neck now threaded in my hair, trembling as each wrestled with the clips that held my hair in place on top of my head.

  He was nervous.

  “Do you want me to?” I found my voice to be somewhat unrecognizable.

  He smiled. “Please.”

  I lifted my arms above my head and pulled the pins out one by one until finally the length of my hair fell down around my face.

  “There she is.” He stole my heart with the look on his face. “My angel.”

  He guided me backward toward the bed, his lips on mine, then mine on his, and I could feel the cool of the sheets on my skin as he lay me down.

  It had never felt this way, two souls as one.

  Rhys kissed the edge of my jaw, and my body quivered underneath him. “I think I’m in love with you,” he confessed, and my soul took refuge, clinging to the bars of my heart.

  There had never been a moment more beautiful than this one, not in any memory would I ever feel this way.

  My fingers threaded into his hair, and I promised him in return, “I am in love with you, Rhys White.”

  His body shook over mine.

  “Sometimes…” His heated eyes lifted from the hollow of my throat to stare in my eyes. “I think I love you so much it hurts.”

  Tears stung and I swallowed against the lump in my throat. “I know,” I told him.

  I imagined love would always be somewhat painful for Rhys, and I was okay with that.

  He would shoulder that hurt in the shadows, and I would provide enough light for him to see the sun.

  It was the way the world would turn, our world.

  I stood at the window wearing his dress shirt, watching as the party began to dance.

  He’d have to leave soon, but I couldn’t bear to wake him.

  My eyes flitted over to the bed where he lay naked, wrapped up in white sheets. His black hair marring the pillowcase was the only thing dark about him in this moment, and it made my chest ache.

  Never in twenty-five years had I been made love to and never, not as a man, had Rhys made love to a woman.

  This was ours.

  His muscles flexed against the bed as he dreamt, and my body sighed in response.

  It already missed him and I could still see him.

  This was love.

  We were in love.

  He would have to go soon, it was almost ten.

  Leaving the window and his shirt below it, I crawled back into bed and felt his arm slide around my waist.

  “Angel.” He whispered faintly in his sleep and I clung to the sound of his voice.

  We would have a few more minutes of normalcy, I thought to myself as he pulled me into his front, just a few more minutes wouldn’t hurt.

  Just a few more minutes.

  I smiled into the open room.

  What a wonderful night.

  “Good morning, my dear.” Grant beamed as I walked into the kitchen.

  It was early, but he’d invited my family over for brunch this morning seeing as they, and many of the other guests, had been put up in a hotel overnight due to the drinking. And I wanted to talk to him before they arrived.

  “Did you sleep well?” he asked, sipping his coffee and looking up from his paper.

  I stretched, my body sore from last night, and smiled. “Very well, thank you.”

  “Wonderful.” He looked back down at his paper.

  Twisting my wet hair up in a bun, I hit the button on the teakettle and looked at the clock.

  It was nearly nine, which meant that it would not be long before the Daniels zoo invaded Grant’s kitchen.

  “Grant?” I asked, waiting for the water to boil.

  “Hmm,” he hummed.

  “Did you really mean what you said yesterday?” I leaned against the counter. “About Rhys.”

  He lifted his head and studied me for a moment. “That I think he’s a good man?”

  “Yes.” I nodded.

  Resting his paper on the counter, he pulled the reading glasses from his face. “Yes.” He nodded. “Do you believe Rhys is a good man?”

  I felt my cheeks eagerly form a smile. “Yes.”

  Grant leaned forward onto his elbows. “He loves you.”

  “I know.” I smiled.

  Grant didn’t say anything.

  “Aren’t you going to ask if I love him?”

  The older man chuckled. “I know you love him.” Grant smiled.

  “Oh,” I whispered.

  Just then, there was a knock on the back door.

  “If I had to conjure up a guess, my dear, I’d guess that one’s for you.” Grant put his reading glasses back on his nose and picked up his paper.

  My bare feet padded through the kitchen, and I peeked out over the patio.

  It was Rhys.

  God, it was impossible how I already missed him.

  Opening the door, I stepped outside. “Hi.”

  I let my eyes soak up the look of him in his ripped jeans and those black boots.

  “Hi.” He fidgeted a little with his hands before stuffing them in his pockets. “Grant asked me to come for brunch,” he said.

  Looking over my shoulder, I saw Grant smiling into his coffee mug.

  “I hope that’s okay,” Rhys added.

  I’d woken him last night with just enough time to get back to The Shed before curfew. It had been like torture going back to sleep in that empty bed without him.

  Standing up on the tips of my toes, I wrapped my arms around his neck. “I could think of nothing better.”

  The regular community service work had been suspended at Equine for Hearts today to allow volunteers and staff to recover from the fundraiser the day before.

  It would be the first Sunday Rhys and I would hav
e off together.

  He pulled me into his arms, burying his face in my neck the way he always did, and we hugged.

  “I love you,” he whispered.

  Somehow, in the light of day, those three words seemed to be even lovelier.

  “I love you, too.” My heart called out to his, and they wrapped up in each other.

  I imagined that if there were such a thing as fate, she must have given half of me to him because I only felt whole when he held me.

  “Well, good morning to you.”

  I heard my sister’s voice come from somewhere on the other side of the patio.

  Rhys and I unwound our bodies, but his hand stayed planted at the small of my back as my family walked toward us.

  “Morning,” I said.

  “You two retired early.” She waggled her eyebrows, adjusting Christopher in her arms, and I felt Rhys muscles flex against my back.

  He was nervous, and she made it worse by teasing even though she was trying to help.

  “Be quiet,” I hissed.

  Thankfully, Daddy and Owen were a few paces behind her, too far out of earshot to hear anything she’d said. Which meant that at least for this morning, I wouldn’t have to strangle her on the front lawn.

  “There’s my little dude.” I made grabby hands, and London passed Christopher over to me.

  “Morning darlin’.” Daddy kissed my forehead and then nodded over my shoulder. “Rhys.”

  “Larry, sir,” Rhys answered him.

  Owen’s good morning was something of a grunt, and Rayne shoved him in the shoulder.

  “Don’t mind him.” She rolled he eyes. “Turns out your dad can still drink him under the table. Just try telling him that, though, and see what happens.”

  Daddy snorted. “’Course I can.”

  “Pipe down, old man,” Owen groaned, rubbing his temples furiously.

  “Glad to see everyone made it.” Grant appeared from inside, and some more formal morning greetings were dished out.

  “Helluva party, Chancey.” Daddy slapped him on the back.

  Just then, Ryley came running up from the garden with her hands behind her back and whispered something to her mom.

  “Sure, sweetheart.” Rayne smiled and tilted her head in our direction.

  “I brought you something,” Ryley said to Rhys, and I watched as he kneeled down in front of her.