by Miley Maine
I tiptoed across the hallway and peeked in on Ian. He was turned sideways on his bed with his head on a giant stuffed animal and his legs on his pillow.
“Good night, baby. I love you,” I whispered, before blowing him a kiss.
At the last minute, I changed my mind about having James sleep alone and I laid down on top of the covers. If we’d gotten married, this would be my life now.
“Hey,” he said, but his eyes weren’t even open.
“Go to sleep, you.”
“Hey. I wanted to say something else.”
These drugs were good for the soul, I guessed, or maybe they just took away James’s tightly controlled filter.
“Go ahead,” I said.
“Are you happy here?” he asked.
What kind of question was that? “As much as anyone is.”
“No, really. Is there something else you want?”
“In an ideal world, I’d go to college and then to vet school. But for now, I’m good. Ian is healthy and he’s happy,” I said. “He could stand some more speech therapy and a few days at preschool every week, but that’s not required.”
“Why doesn’t he have those things?”
“I can’t afford it.” This was really a no-brainer. Had James forgotten what life was like for most of us? A lack of extra money had been his reality, too, until he’d gotten out of Laurel Bay.
“The ranch isn’t doing well?” he asked.
Had the ranch ever been doing well? There were times when it made a profit and times when it didn’t. That had been true even when James lived here. “You don’t remember right now because you’re high, but I own the ranch,” I said. “It’s doing fine right now, but I’m in debt. We had a rough season with the cattle last year, and they all needed extra care to get well. Then the roof needed repairing and several things just fell apart all at once.”
“Why did my dad give you a failing ranch?” James asked, not trying to conceal the note of anger.
“He didn’t. It was making a small profit when I took over. We just had a few things go wrong all at once.”
He seemed to settle down once I explained. “How much do you owe?” he asked.
There was no way I was giving him an exact amount. He didn’t need to know that. “I’m thinking about filing for bankruptcy. I was talking to one of the firefighters who’s also a lawyer when you walked in the other day.”
He didn’t ask what the lawyer’s advice had been. “I’m sorry,” was all he said.
“It’s not your fault.”
“It might not be my fault, but I haven’t done anything to help either.”
“And I haven’t asked you to.” I touched his cheek. “Go to sleep. We can talk about this later.” I had no intention of doing so, but he didn’t have to know that now.
As I was drifting off, he moved his left hand out from under the covers and took my hand in his. I didn’t move my hand away; after seeing him injured, touching him felt good. We both fell asleep that way.
When I woke up the next morning, the sun was streaming through the windows. The other side of the bed was empty—James was gone.
I checked my phone. My alarm had been turned off. Mary and Walter wouldn’t come into my room and Ian knew better than to touch my phone. That left James.
Ian’s door was wide open, which meant he was probably downstairs. My hands flew to my mouth. In my concern for James last night, I had forgotten all about bringing James into the house with Ian.
From the stairway, I heard voices float up from the kitchen. Voices, including Ian’s and James’s. I pressed a hand to my stomach as it lurched. I checked my reflection in the mirror before I headed downstairs.
At the table sat a pale-looking James still dressed in the scrubs Dr. Smith had given him last night, and next to him sat Ian, who was dressed in a Spiderman costume with the fabric around the mouth peeled up just enough for him to eat.
From the placid look on James’s face, he must not have seen Ian without his mask on yet. Across the table, Mary and Walter chewed on pieces of toast, as if having James in the house was a totally normal occurrence.
I wanted to scream. I pushed the feeling down. “My alarm didn’t go off,” I said.
“Oh, I turned it off,” said James. “I thought you should sleep in. I did the milking and asked Walter and Mary what all needed to be done.”
I wasn’t thrilled that he touched my alarm, but I’d address that later. “You shouldn’t be moving your arm too much.” It was insane that someone who’d been shot so recently could look so hot. James’s hair wasn’t as neat as usual, but his dark eyes were clear and focused, and his toned body was easily visible through the cotton fabric of the scrubs. My quick glance in the mirror showed that I hadn’t faired nearly as well.
“It’s fine. I’ll be starting physical therapy soon enough,” he said.
I pressed my lips together. My appetite was non-existent, but I picked up the toast Mary put in front of me and slathered it in grape jelly. I had to be at the vet’s office at noon for my shift and I’d need to have eaten something.
“Walter, Mary,” James said in a formal tone. Oh no, I thought. What was happening? Even Ian, busy cramming half an orange into his mouth, sat up and listened. “I found out the ranch has had some financial setbacks. I’d like to help,” James continued.
Oh, Hell no. He was not going to butt into my business like this.
“Well, son, I appreciate that. But this ranch is Bree’s now, one hundred percent. It’s legal and everything. When we signed it over to her, we never dreamed we’d have such a rough year. But she’s really been a lifesaver, for us and for the ranch,” Walter said.
James turned his piercing gaze on me. “In that case, Bree, I’d like to help. My salary isn’t that high, but I have very few expenses. I’d like to cover the ten thousand dollar debt you owe on the ranch.”
My jaw dropped. “How’d you know how much the total was? I didn’t tell you.”
Mary covered his hand with hers. “I told him.”
I rubbed my forehead with both hands. If we were married, James would have automatically covered any debts with his salary. But we weren’t married.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” I said.
“No strings attached,” he said. “I won’t bother you or ask you about what you’re doing.”
Images of Ian back in speech therapy, Ian on stage singing at a preschool performance, and Ian running on a playground with other kids his age flashed through my head. Could I afford to pass up this opportunity? And if I accepted help from anyone, shouldn’t it be James? This land should have been his, after all.
“I’ll think about it,” I said.
James smiled. It was a rare sight. His dark eyes were warm and his smile was kind. Before any of us could say anything else, Ian broke the silence. He held up the goop we’d made a few weeks before. “Do you want to touch my spider slime?” he asked.
James, to his credit, didn’t flinch. “I’d love to.”
Secretly, I was pleased that he wanted to help. It made me think that when the day came and I worked up the nerve to tell him about Ian, he’d be a good father to him.
Maybe, when the day came, he’d want to pay for braces, and Little League, and band camp, too.
12
James
That day, the rest of the team refused to let me leave the ranch. Bree left to work at the vet’s office and I didn’t want to get in my father’s way, so I spent the day on the computer, reading our reports and the reports from other teams who had been investigating cyber-attacks and attempted attacks on power grids.
By the afternoon, my arm was aching quite a bit. Not wanting another percocet, I made sure I took ibuprofen every four hours. My eyes were on fire from staring at the computer screen, so I closed them for just a second.
“James?” someone was whispering. “Don’t accidentally shoot me.”
I rubbed my face as I woke up. “Bree? Why would I shoot you?”
“I figured an agent might be easily startled.”
“My gun isn't loaded. Not with a four-year-old in the house.” And especially not while I was still slightly addled. “What time is it?”
“Nine. At night. You slept through dinner. And through me coming in here, taking a shower, and getting my pajamas out of the dresser.” Bree started twisting her hair up into a bun and then piled it on top of her head. “Are you hungry?”
“Not really. Is everyone else in bed?”
“Yes.” Bree stuck her toothbrush in her mouth and started brushing. “For the past thirty minutes,” she said around the foam.
As a teen, I’d been in and out of her house. We’d brushed our teeth in front of each other plenty of times, but we’d never spent the night together in the same bed until after we’d broken up. In fact, we didn’t sleep together in any fashion until the Christmas of our senior year, right when we both turned eighteen.
She looked adorable in her pajamas with her hair up. I realized I was staring at her when she raised her eyebrows at me.
“I should shower and brush my teeth, too,” I said. “And I’ll move to the guest room.”
“No rush,” she said. “You can use my shower.” She pointed at my sling. “Do you need any help getting your shirt off?”
“No, I should be fine. I dislocated my shoulder last year chasing a perp through a warehouse, so I learned how to get a shirt off one-handed then.”
“If you say so. Ian’s been changing his own clothes for years, as you’ve probably noticed from the costume changes, but when it’s time for a dress shirt, he goes limp and it’s like dressing an octopus,” she said. “So I have some practice.”
I laughed, picturing her wrestling with her son. “I seem to remember someone else hating any dressy clothes.” On school picture day, Bree’s mother would force her into a dress and Bree hated it. She always changed immediately afterward, stuffing the poor dress into her backpack where it would sit for weeks.
“Lies,” she said, but she grinned at me. She pointed to the cabinet. “Towels are in there.”
Getting my shirt off wasn’t fun at all, but I got it done and I felt much better after the shower. Too late, I realized I hadn’t taken any clothes into the shower with me. Hell, I didn’t have any clothes with me at all. This morning, I’d asked Jennifer to drop some off from my hotel room, but if she had, it must have been while I was passed out.
Dammit. Nothing Bree had would fit any part of my body. And I sure as Hell didn’t want to wear my father’s clothes. I’d have to sneak downstairs and see if my bag was downstairs.
I wrapped a towel tightly around my waist and left the bathroom. Bree had turned the lights out and moonlight shone through the bedroom window, illuminating Bree where she lay on her side facing me, lying on top of the covers.
Her thin T-shirt was fitted and clung to her body. I couldn’t help but notice that she didn’t have a bra on and her full breasts pushed against the gray fabric. She wore cotton shorts, which highlighted her round bottom and shapely legs.
Quickly, I averted my eyes before she noticed me staring.
She shifted. “James?”
“Sorry to wake you,” I said. “Did Agent Ramirez bring my clothes?”
“Oh, yeah.” She pushed herself up and pointed to the corner of the room. “They’re over there. Sorry I forgot to tell you.”
“No problem. Thanks for bringing them up.”
She rubbed her hand over her face and stood up. “How’s your shoulder? Did you keep the stitches dry?”
“Yeah. I’ve gotten pretty good at doing that over the last few years.”
“Do you get stitches a lot?” she asked.
“Not a lot.”
“Let me see.” Instead of turning the overhead light on, she ushered me into the bathroom where I’d left the light on. She blinked a few times as her eyes adjusted.
“It’s really fine,” I said. I was still wearing only a towel, and having Bree this close was causing my body to react.
She crowded in close and looked, but didn’t touch.
“Well?” I asked after she didn’t say anything.
“I’ve stitched up quite a few cows.” She huffed a laugh. “Not quite the same, but close. It looks good. No sign of infection, and you haven’t pulled at them too much.”
“See? I told you I know what I’m doing.”
“It’s a dangerous job,” she said.
“Sometimes. But probably not much more so than a local sheriff or a firefighter. Anyone who’s responding to an emergency can find themselves in danger.”
She was still so close to me, I could smell the sharp scent of her citrus lotion. She’d never liked perfume and always preferred something that smelled natural. This was no accidental temptation—Bree was never oblivious. And before now, she’d kept a very careful distance from me, so this had to be intentional.
Was she lonely? Bored? I had trouble believing that she missed me after all the things she’d said. But maybe it was more complicated than that. It certainly seemed complicated to me.
It didn’t matter. If she made the offer, I’d take her up on it.
“Even putting out fires isn’t that common for us. Mostly I catch horses that have escaped,” she said.
“Do you remember that time the horse got into the city pool?” I asked, mostly as a distraction from the sight of her still in front of me. Her pretty face was flushed a light pink color and a tendril of hair had escaped her bun. I wanted to smooth it back, but I kept my hands to myself.
“Yeah.” Her voice was really quiet. Instead of stepping back, she stepped closer. “We were lucky my mom had an apple in her purse. That horse might have kept swimming otherwise.”
I couldn’t help but smile. All the adults had been so upset, but as kids, the horse in the pool had been the best thing that had happened all summer. “Is that pool still open?” It seemed like she was trying to telegraph that she wanted to take things further, but wasn’t ready to make the first move. This time I didn’t stop myself from reaching out to touch her stray hair. I smoothed it back and tucked it behind her ear. I could take things slow, give her time to think it through instead of pushing.
She ducked her head. I didn’t move my hand, but kept it up and put it on her cheek instead. I didn’t step away.
She looked back up at me. “I haven’t been with anyone.” She paused and looked away, taking a deep breath. “I haven’t been with anyone in years.”
“It’s been six months for me,” I said.
With a sudden motion, she stepped forward, resting her head against my good shoulder. “Do you want to?”
“The answer to that is always going to be yes.”
She turned her head to the side and her lips brushed over my neck. “Why?”
I brought my hand up to rest on her back. I smoothed my hand up and down her spine. “Because I will always want you.”
There was so much more I could say. You are beautiful, sexy, and full of life. No matter how angry you get at me, I admire your spunk and your frankness, which is something I don’t always get in the rest of my life.
She tipped her head forward until her lips were directly against my collarbone. Her warm breath on my chest made my cock rock hard.
“I want you, too,” she mumbled.
“You sure?”
She turned her head to glare at me. “Of course I am.”
“Okay, then,” I said. I got my hand behind her head, encouraging her to lift it up. Once she was looking at me, I closed my mouth over hers. Now that I knew she was into it, I pressed forward, letting her feel how hard my cock was. She rocked forward with a loud moan, pressing her hips against mine as we started a slow kiss.
I tugged the rubber band from her head, letting her hair spill down from her bun. I buried my hand in her hair, keeping my other hand firm against the back of her skull. I licked over her lips and she opened her mouth for me, letting me kiss her deeper.
Only havin
g the use of one arm right now sucked. I wanted to use both hands to please her, but I’d have to make do. I ran my hand from her head down her back, over the thin shirt to the small of her back and down to the swell of her round bottom. I pressed my hand over her shorts, cupping her backside and pulling her toward me.
I groaned at the feel of her hips pressing into mine. I wanted every part of her, and I was going to have to watch it before I exploded from want and finished before I was ready. I dipped my hand into her shorts, running my palm over her bare skin.
Bare skin. No barriers between us. A surge of lust coursed through my veins.
“No panties,” I panted. I had to slow down.
“Didn’t think I’d need them,” she replied.
“Did you plan this?”
“The thought occurred to me.”
With a groan, I pushed my hand under her shirt, finding her breasts bare just as I’d thought. Still moving slower than I preferred with only one hand, I tugged the shirt up and over her head.
Now she stood in front of me, naked except for her tiny shorts. I ducked my head, kissing her jaw, her neck, then getting my mouth on her breast. I licked over her nipple, letting it tighten in my mouth.
She shivered, arching forward to push her breast farther into my mouth. “You like that?” I asked.
“Yes,” she breathed. I made my way to the other one, giving it the same treatment while she threw her head back and moaned.
“I can’t get enough of you,” I said. Standing up again, I ran my hand over her flat stomach, then dipped my hand into the front of her shorts. My fingers moved over her sex, finding her slick folds. “You’re wet.”
“That’s a good thing,” she said with a moan.
“Yes, it is.” I said, pressing my finger into her pussy.
Pulling my fingers from her body, I wrapped my arm around her and guided her toward the bed. “Let me lock the door.” While I locked the door, she sprawled on the bed, letting her hair fan out around her. She lay on her back, which gave me the perfect view of her gorgeous body.
