“Josie’s Tennessee fling is Dad’s new trainer,” Cleo said, sinking into our mom’s worn leather armchair.
I’d briefly told my sisters about what had happened in Tennessee, safely avoiding the fact that I’d begun falling for a man I’d only known for a few days.
“Oh shit,” Lennox parroted, looking between the two of us. She ran to the window and peeked outside while I hid behind my hands. “Hell yes, Josie! He ishot.”
“You two are not helping,” I groaned, falling back onto the matching couch. “How am I supposed to face him? To be around him?”
Lennox sat down beside me. “When’s the last time you talked to him?”
I blew out a breath, shame creeping in on all sides. “Oh, you know, when I snuck out of his bed and left him a note that said I was sorry.”
“And he never called?” Cleo asked, leaning forward. “Seriously?”
I groaned. “No, he did. I ignored them.”
It had damn near killed me. Lincoln had called a few times a day for the first week after I’d left. I always checked for a voicemail, but they never came. It was better that way. If I’d heard his voice, I likely would’ve dropped everything and run back to him. But as the days flew by, his calls lessened, and I wondered if he’d moved on and forgotten about me.
“Why is he out here as a trainer when he was working as a bartender?”
“I don’t know, Cleo. We didn’t talk about his previous occupations before I jumped him.” She opened her mouth to ask something else, but I cut in. “And before you ask, the only other things I know about him are how he takes his coffee and how good he is in bed.”
My sisters were quiet for a moment before Lennox broke the silence. “And? How good is he?”
Nope. I didn’t want to think about how good Lincoln made me feel or the sheer number of orgasms he’d given me. I didn’t want to think about the way his rough, calloused hands had felt running over my body. And damn sure didn’t want to think about how those memories still carried me over the edge and back again.
I grabbed the pillow beside me, burying my face in the cushion before groaning loudly.
“I guess that means he’s pretty damn good…” Cleo mused, earning Lennox’s chime-like laughter.
“This isn’t funny, y’all. I don’t know what to do.”
“This is a second chance. You were miserable when you came home from Tennessee last year, moping around the house like someone had died,” Lennox said.
“But I’m in a–”
“Girls?” Dad called, opening the door. I whipped the pillowfrom my face, momentarily scared that Lincoln would be hiding behind our father. “What the hell are you three doing? We’ve got work to do.”
“Don’t worry about it, Daddy.” Cleo stood, walking toward him. Her eyes softened as she pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Where do you need us?”
My day was alreadya bust and things had barely begun. There were a number of things I needed to do in Dad’s office, including a stack of bills to pay, time sheets to finalize, and files to update.
Ellis had been helping me sort out some inconsistencies I’d noticed on the bank statements. Over the past year, we’d been short about ten thousand dollars a month. When I’d showed Dad, he’d waved it off as an oversight and had asked me to get the firm involved since they oversaw most of our accounts.
But Dad’s office was on the first floor of the barn, right next to Bishops. The location made my job easier overall, but that was before my father had brought in a bomb and thrown me for a loop.
Because Lincoln had been shadowing Bishop all morning. They’d gone in and out of his office countless times, and I couldn’t focus on a damn thing when he was near.
Instead, I’d remained glued to my dad’s hip since the moment I’d stepped back outside. He’d been annoyed at first, especially since he could run this clinic with his eyes closed. When he opened his mouth to argue, I’d told him Mom wanted me to keep an eye on him since she wasn’t going to be here to do it herself.
For all their teasing earlier, my sisters backed my little white lie so Dad didn’t question it. He knew our mom fussed over him, especially since his diagnosis, and would put up with my hovering if only to please her.
But the real reason was far more embarrassing. I couldn’t risk turning a corner and seeing Lincoln standing there as tempting and delicious as the first night I’d met him. It felt like he was everywhere and nowhere at the same time. I was paranoid as hell, worried about what he’d do or say. Not that I cared about people knowing our history, however short it was.
I was more worried about the stupid fucking butterflies that had suckerpunched me right in the stomach when I’d come face to face with him.
You have Ellis, I reminded myself. He’s good for you. He’s responsible, respectable, and most importantly… local.
Not that watching Dad was a hardship. I’d always loved seeing him work. The only person who rivaled him for passion about Black Springs was Bishop, which is why the ranch ran like a well-oiled machine.
