Unable to Resist (32 page)

Sam pulls up with the truck and trailer, and Aiden and I high five each other.

The three of us load Belle and the filly into the truck. And, Belle does great considering she had to walk on three legs.

“Drive slow,” I tell Sam.

He curtly nods, and hops into the truck. His solemn eyes are a dead giveaway he blames himself. I grab his forearm. “Sam, this isn’t your fault.”

He shudders a bit when Belle whinnies from the trailer. “Then whose fault is it? I should have been there.”

I shake my head, with my mouth in a thin line. “No, you got sick. You couldn’t help it. Whoever did this, the person let them out, and it’s their fault. You didn’t do this.”

Sam nods, but seems unconvinced. When I step away from the truck, he shuts the door, and the truck roars to life.

When they pull away, I turn to Aiden as he hops up on Leo.

He has a stupid smile on his face, which is not all that odd.

“What?” I ask, looking around.

The rain has stopped, and he takes his phone out of his pocket.

“I think I should take a picture and send it to your girl,” he jokes.

I give him a confused look and put my foot in the stirrup to mount Simon. Aiden rolls his eyes and motions at my shirtless chest. In the heat of the moment, I’d forgotten my shirt had been used to tend to Belle. I scoff, and flip him off. “Shut up.”

The sun has set, and the moon provides light through the clearing clouds as we slowly walk back to the ranch. The only sounds of the night are the horses’ hooves crunching on leaves and our steady breathing.

“So, I know you and Ann are together, but what the hell, man?” Aiden starts. “I thought you were done with women.”

I shrug my shoulders. “She’s different. I can’t explain it.”

Actually, I can. She’s fucking wonderful. She makes me want to be a better person. She really sees me. Saying that to my little brother might make me sound like a pussy, so I’ll keep the whipped-talk to myself.

Aiden takes off his hat, and sets it on the horn of his saddle. “So, she’s nothing like Lauren?”

I cringe at the sound of her name. “No, the total opposite. Ann is warm and kind. She sees the beauty in the world, looks for the best in everyone. Lauren was a conceited and selfish human being. There isn’t a single selfish bone in Ann’s body.”

“I saw her at the grocery store yesterday,” Aiden admits, almost guilty.

I groan in annoyance. I don’t have to ask who ‘her’ is. “You did?”

“Yeah, she said she called you the day you left with Ann. She seemed pretty pissed that you left with her.” Aiden repositions himself in his saddle and slowly moves his gaze away from me.

“I don’t understand why she gives a shit.”

Aiden rolls his head from side to side. “She says she doesn’t like Ann. She’s been to her bakery. Met her and got a bad vibe.” Aiden turns his nose up.

She would get a bad vibe from Ann, simply because Ann is nothing like her. Women like Lauren want spineless friends—friends who’ll agree with everything they say and do. Ann is not that woman. It doesn’t surprise me she found an enemy in Ann.

“I don’t really care, to be honest, brother. She’s history. We’re done. Hell, we never really had anything serious.”

She’d tell you a different story, though. She had a bad habit of making things a bigger deal than they really were.

“She’s called a few times in the past week and I haven’t answered. I’m with Ann, she’s my future,” I state without a fleck of doubt. “Lauren needs to back off.”

Aiden nods. “Does she know that? She works with you, dude.”

I hope not for long. I’m ready to quit and be done with that life.

Lauren is the receptionist, and I’m seriously second-guessing hiring her. She’s a nuisance.

“I’m sure she knows. The last time I talked to her, I told her to stop calling me. If that isn’t a clear enough signal that we’re completely over, the woman might be blind or deaf.”

The barn is in sight and I hop off of Simon to pull my phone out. “I’m going to call Ann. I’ll see you in the house.”

Aiden salutes, clucks to Leo and they trot off.

Ann answers on the first ring. “Hey, Cowboy. You doing alright?”

My face instantly breaks out into a smile at the sound of her voice. “Hi, Red. I’m doing okay. Had a bit of a scare with one of our horses, but everything is okay now.”

Ann lightly gasps. “Oh, what happened?”

I take my time walking Simon back to the barn as I tell Ann the story.

“Do you have any idea who would do something like this?” She asks with worry and a little anger.

I drum my thumb on the saddle horn. “Not a clue, I’ll have to check into it tomorrow. I’m just glad Belle and the filly are okay.”

“I bet, sweet girls, they are,” she says, with a nurturing tone to her voice.

Belle would be the perfect horse for Ann. They are a lot alike, and I’ll admit, it would be an honor to share Mom’s horse with her.

“Would you like to come see her, soon?” I ask. I can imagine Ann and Belle sitting in a stall together, Belle’s filly playing next to them.

“I’d love to, but I want to see you soon, too. How does Wednesday sound? I don’t think I can wait any longer than two days to see you,” Ann says shyly.

As if she needs to be shy about this anymore. I wish she had no doubt in her mind whatsoever that I want to be around her every second, too. With time, Ann will be whole again.

“Wednesday sounds great. What do you have in mind?” I grab a brush and begin to clean Simon’s wet fur.

Ann laughs a few melodic notes into the phone. “That’s for me to know and you to find out.”

I shake my head, feisty girl. I can sense her feeling pleased with herself through our conversation. “Okay, I’m intrigued,” I answer.

She snickers on the other end of the line. “You should be. It’ll be fun. Wear something comfortable. We’re staying in.”

If it’s possible, the smile on my face spreads wider. Like any other guy, I like to go out and have drinks, listen to music and dance, but there’s something to be said about staying home with your girl. I don’t have to share her with anyone; our attention is solely on each other. It sounds perfect for our first official date.

She’s been mine since I laid eyes on her. Sure, we only made it official a week ago, but that girl has my heart. That sweet, passionate, almost-broken girl captured me. There are still times during the day I can’t believe I landed a woman like her. I’m damn lucky she gave me the time of day.

“Well, I can’t wait. It sounds like it’ll be a good time,” I say earnestly.

“Have a good night, Cowboy. I miss you. I’ll see you in a couple days,” Ann says with sincerity.

I mentally fist pump like a caveman. “I miss you, too. See you soon, Red.”

Leading Simon to his stall, I toss him a flake of hay and head to the house. As much as I missed being home and sleeping in my bed, the house feels empty. It needs to be filled with more than just Aiden and I, and I know who I wish was here to fill it.

Monday morning rolls around like the bitch she is. I hate Mondays for obvious reasons. Everyone hates Monday, right? It’s so cliché.

But, it didn’t start out that way.

Like every Monday, my alarm greets me earlier than normal so I can be downstairs in time for the shipment of new supplies. Once the delivery guy leaves, I whip up a few batches of cupcakes and cookies. I slice the cake Liv made last night and start the coffee maker. I might hate the taste of coffee, but good Lord, the smell? That shit can work some serious wonders.

Plugging in my iPod, I blast music through the speakers across the shop. Shaking and shimmying in the kitchen, I have a dance party for one.

“Hey, woman,” Liv says as she walks down the stairs into the kitchen a few minutes later. “Having a party without me?”

I wiggle my hips, and gesture for her to join me. Skipping over to where I’m currently dancing, she grabs my hands and we dance ourselves silly. Dipping and turning each other around in circles, we laugh until the timers go off.

Not even frosting cupcakes could keep us from moving and grooving. Icing bags in hand, we swish our hips to the beat of the music and laugh the early morning away.

Liv swooshes her hair out of her face and turns to me. “I really missed you, you know?”

My heart swells. “I missed you, too. It’s good to be home.”

By the time eight rolls around, a line of people has formed outside. I wave to familiar faces through the glass and unlock the door, letting them in. The end of September brings cooler mornings, and a gust of cold wind hits me in the face causing a shiver to move across my body.

Chet and Alfred, my regulars, stumble in laughing like they do almost every time I see them.

They light up when they see me standing behind the counter and, without exchanging words, they shuffle to my side of the counter, trapping to trap me in a hug.

“Hi, sweetie,” Chet says to my right.

“We missed you,” Alfred says from my left.

I awkwardly attempt to hug them back and sniffle a bit.

Why am I so damn emotional?

“Oh, boys, I missed you, too. How have you been?”

They love when I call them boys, they say it makes them feel young, not that I think they need it. They may be in their sixties, but both men still run a mile a day, and regularly do Bikram yoga. Yeah. I don’t even do Bikram. It’s too much for me, but it always reminds me how able-bodied these men are.

I’ve come to love their presence. They are a shining light of funny and slightly obnoxious.

They both give me one last squeeze and step away.

“We’re good. I’m still taking Alfred’s money during our poker games, and he still moans and groans over it, so you didn’t miss much last week.” Chet winks at me knowing he’s taken a stab at his friend.

Alfred’s eyebrows sink in a disagreeing manner, and sly smile appears. “You bastard!”

Chet mocks Alfred, looking slightly like a teenager. “I know, I know.” He jokingly waves his arms in the air.

I pat both of their shoulders and snicker a little. “The usual, then?”

They both nod, and walk to their table.

My phone buzzes.

Duane: Good morning, Red. Waking up without you was hell. I miss you.

My heart grows inches in size as I read his words. Saying I had a hard time sleeping last night would be a massive understatement. It sucked. I tossed and turned, unable to get comfortable. I had to stack pillows on the opposite side of the bed into a makeshift Duane to feel even a tiny bit relaxed. Pillow Duane didn’t do it for me, needless to say.

Me: Morning, Cowboy. I miss you, and I missed your snoring ass last night.

Duane: False ma’am. I do not snore.

Me: Umm, truth. You do, but it’s cute.

Duane: Well, at least it’s cute. What are your plans for the day?

I smile at the easiness of our relationship.

Me: Just opened the shop. You missed my dance party this morning.

Duane: Dammit. Think of your man next time, will ya? Record it.

My man? I love the sound of that. Re-reading his latest text, I pfft behind the counter, and a couple customers sitting close look at me with their eyebrows raised. I straighten my back, and turn to make myself look busy, while still texting.

Me: Will do. Heading to work?

Duane: Yep, I’ll be here until about five. Should be a busy day, so if I’m not able to call or text, know that I’m always thinking about you. You’re always on my mind.

Dear heart,

Stay in my damn chest! I need you.

It was just a text, woman, chill the hell out.

I giggle at my response as I write it, knowing he’ll love it.

Me: Right back at you, sweet boy. See you soon. Have a good day.

My phone vibrates with a picture message. I hoot a laugh. Duane sent a picture of his best Scarlet O’Hara face with the caption:

Duane: Oh my lady, I love the way you talk to me.

Me: I know, it’s part of my charm. Now, get to work. I’ll call you tonight. Thinking of you, always.

I close my phone and head to top off a few customers’ coffee cups. Straightening the wall of books, my phone vibrates.