Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 88463 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88463 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
“Whatever.” She tries to sound like her normal bratty self, but her voice is breathy, and when she steps out of my hold and smooths her hands down her shirt, there’s no mistaking the way her nipples are puckered.
She’s not oblivious to me either.
“Fine.” She sniffs and turns away from me. “I’ll start in the corner over here.”
She bends over, and I have immediate regrets.
Especially when Gideon walks in and catches me ogling her ass.
Goddamn it.
He lifts a brow, and I shake my head and turn away.
“I do have to go,” he says with a heavy sigh. “My flight leaves tomorrow afternoon.”
“We can ride out with Dusty first thing,” I reply.
“I’m sorry to leave early.”
I shake my head and clap him on the shoulder. “Don’t be. You’ve been here for almost three weeks, man. The furniture comes tomorrow. The house is mostly cleared out. After tomorrow, things are pretty much business as usual around here.”
He nods, but I see the guilt in his eyes.
“Stop it. I’m a big boy. You don’t have to hold my hand.”
That has him rolling his eyes as he goes back to peeling the paper he started on before his phone call.
I glance between the two of them. Neither of them notices me. I love them both. We have a history, and we’re family.
But the way I’m feeling about Willow is . . . more. Can I have her without completely destroying what the three of us have?
I don’t know, and that’s what has me holding back. I know that I can’t simply fuck her and then move on and expect everything to be the same between us. Ruining our Three Amigos status isn’t an option for any of us.
Catching feelings for Willow only complicates things. And I don’t need any more complications in my life.
But keeping my hands to myself isn’t feeling like much of an option either.
Mornings on the ranch have always been my favorite time, even in the heart of winter when it’s twenty below zero and the wind feels like it’s cutting through you.
The sun hasn’t quite come up yet as I pour my coffee and take it out on the porch off the kitchen and sit on the steps, watching the mountains come awake. Spring has definitely sprung here at the ranch. I have grass to mow, and plenty of cleanup from winter now that the house is done. There are some dead trees that I need to take out, and I’ll use the wood for fires this winter.
I also need to speak to Dusty, who should be coming by later this morning to talk with Gideon and me, so I can get the working side of this ranch back up and going. I want to get beef cattle bought, fence lines repaired, pastures checked.
There’s still so much to do out here.
This summer is going to be a lot of work.
And that’s okay. I’m ready for it.
But for right this second, I’m going to sit here and enjoy the sun coming up over those mountains, and the way the sky looks like it’s on fire. I’ve been all over the place, traveling for hockey, or just for fun, but I’ve never seen anything like the view before me.
This is home.
This is where I’m supposed to be.
“Mornin’,” Gid says as he steps outside with his own coffee. He sits next to me and takes a sip. “Dusty coming this morning?”
“Yeah.” We’re quiet for a few minutes, and it’s nice to sit with my brother in the early-morning quiet.
“Heard from Willow?” he asks after a bit, and I shake my head.
“Not since she and Aiden got home last night.”
“You should probably stay away from her, you know.”
I don’t answer at first, because I’m sure that I heard that wrong.
“What?”
“Willow. Don’t go there, man.”
I shake my head and sip my coffee. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Fuck that.” He scoffs. “I have eyes in my head. Shit, you could cut the sexual tension with a knife. But she’s not a puck bunny you can fuck and then move on from. This is our Willow, and I’m not going to choose sides when it all goes to shit.”
I blow out a breath and drag my hand down my face. “There’s a lot to unpack there. First of all, insinuate that Wills is anything in the realm of a goddamn puck bunny again, and I’ll bust up your pretty face.”
“You can try.”
“Second of all, no one’s asking you to choose sides in anything because we’re exactly what we’ve always been.”
“You’re a liar if you think that’s true.”
“It is true. I haven’t touched her.”
“I’m simply making an observation.”
I shake my head. Christ, if Gid sees that I’m suddenly seeing Willow in a sexy light, I must have been obvious as fuck.
Because she is sexy. There’s no denying that.