Liam

by Alexis Winter

  I keep my mind clear of all thoughts as I drive back to town. But instead of going home, I go to Amy’s. I need to talk about it all—process it.

  I walk into her apartment and flop down on the couch at her side.

  “What’s up?” she asks, muting the tv show she’s watching.

  “Tyler kissed me,” I admit, not looking away from the spot on the wall I’m staring at.

  “What?” She bounces up and down. “I thought he was cool with being friends?”

  I take a deep breath and adjust myself, so I’m facing her. “Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve been getting closer, as friends. I think he’s getting the wrong idea about us. I mean, we laugh and joke around. I help him out with his work and go out there even when I don’t have any real reason to, other than to just hang out.” I pause, swallowing down my fear. “He caught me checking him out today. He was mucking the stalls and he wasn’t wearing a shirt. I didn’t mean anything by it.” I shrug. “I mean, he’s good looking. That doesn’t have anything to do with why I don’t want a relationship with him.”

  “Maybe you just need to put a little distance between the two of you,” Amy suggests.

  I roll my eyes. “I wish I could. But now, I have a whole new reason to go there.”

  Her brows pull together as she pushes her red hair behind her ear. “What?”

  I can’t look at her when I say it. I force myself to look at my hands in my lap. “Liam O’Connor.”

  She giggles. “You have a crush on the ranch owner?”

  “Something like that. I don’t know what it is about him. He called me at the clinic once and he had me hooked from hello. I hadn’t even seen him then, but already I knew I’d drop my panties for him if he asked.”

  “So, you haven’t seen him?” She’s wearing a wide smile, now suddenly amused by the mess that is my life.

  “I met him after he called, and he is drop dead gorgeous, Aims. His voice is deep and demanding. He has silky black hair, ocean blue eyes, and cheek bones that go on for days. He’s tall and built. Sexy as hell.”

  She laughs. “So, what’s the problem? Go for it,” she encourages.

  “He’s a billionaire. He has a super model girlfriend and he’s always jet setting around the world. He’s not available in more ways than one.”

  “So?” she says, confused.

  “So, what? He’s not an option.”

  She lets out a long laugh. “Ves, he may not be the one, but he would be a fun ride. Who cares if it doesn’t work out? Just have some fun for God’s sake.”

  10

  Over the next couple of weeks, I go to the ranch every couple of days to check on Lucy and the other animals. Tyler has said hello in passing, but he hasn’t been overly friendly either. Our friendship is now strained.

  Liam walks into the barn as I’m looking over Lucy.

  “How’s she doing today?” he asks, standing in front of the work bench, looking over his shoulder at me.

  “She’s doing really well. She’s getting enough vitamins and minerals, plenty of exercise and rest. She seems really happy.”

  I walk out of her stall and close the gate. When I turn around, he’s facing me as he leans against the work bench. “Have you changed you mind yet?”

  I crack a smile, seeing him dirty and sweaty from working on the ranch all day—sexy. “Changed my mind about what exactly?”

  “Coming here to work full-time. I’ll make it worth your while.” He grins.

  A giggle slips past my lips. “Oh yeah? How’s that?” I grab my bag and pull it on my shoulder.

  “Name your price. I’ll pay you anything you want. Want my car? It’s yours.”

  I smile and shake my head. “It’s not about the money, Liam. It’s about being happy. And I’m happy running my own practice right now.”

  He takes a deep breath that makes his chest visibly rise and fall dramatically. “Alright.”

  Instead of sticking around to talk, I pull my bag higher on my shoulder and start toward the door.

  “Ves?” he calls out from behind me.

  “Yes?” I spin back around.

  He stands up and slowly walks toward me. With every step he takes, my heart pounds harder and my breathing quickens.

  “Would you mind staying a little longer?”

  “Um, no. I guess not. Is there another animal that needs to be checked out?” I look around the barn like there may be a line.

  “Follow me,” he demands, walking past me.

  I turn around and follow him out of the door and across the gravel driveway. He opens the door to the house and leads me through to the kitchen in the back. With him being a billionaire, I would have thought this house would resemble a mansion on the inside, but it’s warm and homey. The dark, hardwood floors are clean and shining with the sunlight that’s streaming through the window, and the wood paneling walls match the floor perfectly. Even though the outside of the cabin has been re-done, the inside has been kept original—everything but the kitchen that holds all the top of the line appliances, granite countertops, and gray tile backsplash.

  “Have a seat,” he says, motioning toward the table in the corner as he rounds the island and bends down.

  I take a seat like I am asked to and watch as he pops back up with a bottle of wine. He takes down two glasses and brings the items back to the table. He pulls the cork from the bottle and fills both glasses before handing one over.

  “What’s this?” I ask, lifting the glass to my lips and taking a sip.

  He does the same, then shrugs as he takes the chair next to me. “I just realized that you’ve been here for a few months now and I still don’t know anything about you. I thought it was time.” His blue eyes shine as they lock on mine.

  “Oh, okay. What do you want to know?”

  He leans back in his chair and looks me over, his eyes locking on mine then traveling downward, lingering a bit longer on my chest. “How did you get to where you are now?”

  I take another sip of wine and think about where to begin. “Well, I’ve always had a love for animals. I used to bring home wounded animals to nurse back to health. By the time I was ten, I knew I wanted to be a veterinarian. So, that’s when I started getting serious about school. I graduated at the top of my class, went to college, then came back home and worked any job I could, to get the money to open my animal hospital. We just opened a few months ago, but it’s always been my dream. I have plans of hiring more employees and hopefully opening more clinics across the state in the future.”

  “That’s very interesting. I’m happy that you’ve done so well for yourself. Not many people can take a dream and turn it into reality. I’m very envious of you.”

  I feel my brows lift with surprise as my lips turn up into a smile. “You’re envious of me?”

  He smiles wide, a genuine smile that causes his eyes to light up. “Why is that so hard to believe?”

  I lift my hand and motion toward him. “You’re the billionaire. I’m just someone that plays doctor on animals,” I joke.

  He shakes his head and diverts his eyes. “I never wanted this life.”

  I straighten my shoulders and back. “What did you want to do? And why are you living the way you are if you never wanted it?”

  He finishes off his glass of wine and pours another, topping mine off. “I grew up wealthy. The oil company has been in my dad’s family for generations. This place,” he motions toward the house and the ranch with his eyes. “It’s been in my mom’s family for just as long. My mom left when her and Dad got together, and they lived the way my dad’s family always has—wealthy.”

  “Awe, so it was like two people from opposite sides of the tracks.”

  He snickers. “Exactly. She was born and raised on a ranch, barely making ends meet, and my dad, he grew up in a mansion, surrounded by priceless things and going to private school.”

  “How’d they meet?” For some reason, I’m caught up in his story, in the idea of two completely different
people finding happiness together.

  “My mom got a job as a secretary at the company. My dad walked in one day and saw her. The rest is history.” He picks up his glass and takes a sip. “He said that he knew she was the one the moment his eyes landed on hers.”

  “That’s sweet. So you got the ranch from your mom’s side and the oil company from your dad’s? What did you want to do?”

  “My parents, they traveled a lot for work and took lavish, month-long vacations. They cared more about work and money than family. So when they’d travel, I was brought here with my grandpa. He basically raised me. He taught me how to work the ranch, and when he passed away, it all became mine.” He looks around the kitchen. “I was only eighteen when he passed, so after I graduated high school, I came here and started working for myself. My parents were completely appalled. My mom couldn’t figure out why I liked it so much after everything she did to get away from it. But I had happy memories here.” He softly runs the tips of his fingers around the rim of his glass, causing it to almost whistle. “They let me be. They said if I was happy, they were happy. But then, one day their plane crashed, and nobody survived. The company was left to me, and it was either sell a company that had been in my family for generations or step up and run it. So, as you see, I did what I had to do to keep what was rightfully mine.”

  I nod, understanding. “So, why are you back now?”

  “The company is basically running itself now. I’ve hired on a board and they handle any problem that arises, allowing me a little more time to do what I want to do. I will only have to go back occasionally to touch base and sign-off on things. But for the future, I hope to spend more time here like I’ve always wanted to.”

  I smile and lift my glass. “I hope you get your dream, Liam.”

  He grins and shrugs one shoulder while lifting his glass to his lips. “I’m used to getting what I want.”

  There’s a long silence while we both sit, quietly drinking our wine. Suddenly he breaks the silence. “Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?” He leans forward, putting him even closer to me, and it makes my skin break out in goosebumps.

  “Sure,” I agree.

  “The other day when I arrived and caught you almost running to your car, did I miss something? Did something happen between you and Tyler?”

  I take a deep breath, averting my eyes to my nearly empty glass of wine. “Tyler and I went on a date a while back. It wasn’t anything serious, it was a just as friends.” I tip the glass and finish it off, and he refills it. “We had a lot of fun. He took me to dinner and then out for drinks and dancing. I told him I wasn’t looking for a relationship. That I didn’t have time for it with work. And he agreed to keep things casual. But the day you’re talking about, we went for a walk and he kissed me.” I shake my head and roll my eyes. “It pissed me off because he knew that I wanted to keep things casual between us. So, what you saw, was me running away from him.”

  His brows furrow together as he leans back and looks me over. “Really? You and Tyler?”

  I laugh. “We’re just friends—now strained friends because he couldn’t keep his word.”

  “Did you reject him because of your lack of time or because you didn’t like him as anything more than a friend?”

  My heart pounds hard in my chest and my palms begin to sweat. My stomach feels like it’s tied in knots.

  “I could very easily carry on a relationship with him. He’s funny, sweet, we seem to have the same interests, and we had fun together. But he’s not what I want, and I don’t know why.” I shrug. “I just know deep inside that he’s not the one. So, there’s no point in pretending.”

  His eyes seem to darken as he leans in a bit closer. “What do you want, Ves?”

  I feel like this is the moment of truth. I could lean forward and kiss him, finally taste how sweet his lips are, or I could walk away, not letting him know that, for some reason, he’s what I want.

  I open my mouth, still not sure of what choice I’m going to make, but suddenly, the choice is no longer mine. Tyler walks in the back door, causing the screen door to slam close and us to jump back, further away from one another.

  “Oh, I’m sorry.” He comes to a stop as his dark eyes focus on mine. “I didn’t realize anyone was in here.” He walks to the fridge and pulls out a bottle of water, pausing just long enough to look at the two of us sitting at the table with an open bottle of wine. His eyes flash from Liam, to the wine, and then to me. He tears them away and turns to leave without another word, leaving us alone yet again. But the spell has been broken.

  11

  After Tyler interrupts our conversation, it gives me the out I needed. I excuse myself and he doesn’t stop me from leaving, even though the further away I get, the more I can feel the pull he has on me. As I’m walking across the gravel to get to my car, Tyler steps out of the barn. He doesn’t say anything, he just watches as I walk past. I can feel the anger rolling off him in strong waves, and they’re all directed at me. If looks could kill…

  I climb behind the wheel and kick up some dust from leaving so fast. I hate that he’s mad at me. I’m sure it just looks like I’m another money-hungry girl that leaves the cute hard-working guy for the sexy billionaire, but everything going on has nothing to do with any of that. I didn’t turn Tyler down because he wasn’t good enough. I turned him down because deep in my heart, I know he’s not the one for me. I may have used my work as an excuse, but it all boils down to, he doesn’t give me the feelings I should get.

  Liam, on the other hand, I’ve been like clay in his hands from the day I heard his voice. Something inside of me craves him, it begs me for just a taste, even though I know nothing can or will come out of it. I just wish Tyler could understand.

  I take a few days to clear my head. I didn’t want to see Tyler or Liam. I just needed some time to process the way I’m feeling. I go to work and spend the rest of my time with my family or with Amy. I wait a week before going back. And even though I haven’t heard from either of the guys, I’m afraid to confront them. But the time is now. I have to check on Lucy.

  I walk into the barn and see Liam through the open back door. He’s shirtless as he bales hay. His tan arms are flexing with each movement, and every muscle on his back is hard and defined. Just seeing him shirtless and glistening with sweat causes me to squeeze my thighs together. My lips part as my breathing picks up, my eyes watching as each muscle moves and flexes in a delicious way.

  He stops and wipes the sweat off his brow, turning and looking at me from over his shoulder, catching me gawking. His eyes turn dark as they intently watch me, his chest rising and falling quickly from his tiring work.

  It feels like something is being exchanged, but I force myself to snap out of it and turn my back to him to catch my breath. When I look up, Tyler is standing directly in front of me. His eyes quickly move toward Liam. “Don’t waste your time with him. He works his way through more woman than a playboy. Better get over this schoolgirl crush you have before he uses you and throws you away too.” He turns and walks back the way he came.

  My body is on alert. First from seeing Liam looking sexy as hell and the way he looked at me, then from being called out by Tyler. I close my eyes and push away all feelings, opting to get my job done and leave.

  A week later, it’s time to go back to the ranch. I take my time driving, in no hurry to see them. I know Tyler will probably still be mad because he thinks I’m choosing Liam over him. And to be honest, I’m afraid to see Liam because I felt the connection we have and I’m afraid I’ll lose everything I’ve worked so hard for if I get mixed up with him.

  Hopefully I can get in and out without either of them even knowing I’m there.

  As I’m driving over to the ranch, the sky fills up with dark clouds. The wind picks up and blows through my open windows, and the leaves on the trees flip, preparing to catch the falling rain. I lean forward and look up at the sky through my windshield to see the dark gray storm clouds as the
y roll in faster than I can drive. I quickly roll the windows back up, wanting to stay dry and warm for when the sky opens up and the rain pours down.

  I press the gas harder, picking up speed to seek shelter before the eye of the storm hits.

  By the time I’m pulling into the drive, rain is coming down in thick sheets. I throw the car in park and jump out, running into the barn. As I make it inside and am pulling the door closed behind me, my clothes are soaked and clinging to my body. Thunder claps loudly overhead and I see a flash of lightening out the window. One of the horses gets spooked and she snorts, kicking at the wall of the stall.

  “Shhh,” I coo, trying to calm her as I make my way over.

  I stand on the bottom rung of the gate and lift my hand to pet down her nose. She seems to settle, even moving into my touch.

  “There you go. That’s better,” I say softly, continuing to rub her nose. “It’s just a storm. It can’t get you in here.”

  Thunder cracks loud again, directly overhead and the horse bucks faster than I thought possible. Its front hooves come up over the gate, and as they come back down, I fall backwards and get clipped in the head before I hit the ground.

  I land hard on my back and my eyes blur. I raise my hand to touch my forehead, and blood paints my palm when I pull it away. My vision grows dark around the edges and then it completely consumes me.

  There is a dull ache in my head and my ears are ringing. I feel something warm touch my forehead and my eyes flutter open to see a blurry image of Liam hovering over me. I try to lift my hand to touch him, but it falls lifeless to my side as the darkness takes over again.

  I can hear echoes of voices talking. I can hear the horses snorting and neighing. I hear thunder, and I feel the cold, wet rain as it splashes against my face.

  A deep, rich scent settles over me, and the next thing I know, I’m warm and dry. I’m too tired to open my eyes, so I breathe deeply and live in this moment.