We weren’t having sex. This was full-on cuddling. Something we only did in the dark of her bedroom. Something I otherwise never did. With Autumn, I could have her plastered all over me for the rest of the day. Tomorrow too.
A few minutes ago, I’d gotten a surprising text from Tate. It wasn’t the call I wanted, but at least it hadn’t been Taya. She kept leaving me messages to call her. If what she had to say couldn’t be texted or emailed, I didn’t need to hear it. I had to keep things professional.
I showed Autumn the message.
Tate: We’re doing grid moves this week. If you think you can still stay upright on a horse, we could use a hand.
“Grid moves?” I asked Autumn. “Is that a new term?”
“I don’t know. Tate started using it when he took over. He’s got books for his books.”
“When you say things like that, I feel like Tate and I could actually get along.”
She giggled. “You’d either be best friends or mortal enemies. Do you know how he and Scarlett got together?”
“He demanded she date him?”
“He agreed to the local bachelor auction fundraiser.”
I’d have loved to see him paraded in front of a bunch of women and sold off, but Autumn’s tone made it sound like the fundraiser was a light, fun time. “Since when does Bourbon Canyon have a bachelor auction?”
“I don’t recall when it started, but I knew Scarlett had a thing for Tate. Summer and I suspected Tate felt the same. Scarlett was Chance’s fourth-grade teacher, so they knew each other.”
“So you encouraged Scarlett to bid on him?”
She shook her head, her smile mischievous. It was one of my favorite looks on her. “We invited her to the auction, and we bid without telling her it was her name we were bidding under.”
“You bought your brother for your friend?”
She grinned. “The rest is history. All of us pitched in. Summer had to bid crazy high. He was a hot commodity.”
Instead of being disgruntled at how amazing everyone thought Tate was, I chuckled. An entire family pooling money to help their loved one find love.
What would it be like to have a big family like that? To have all that support when things went to shit? To have someone to celebrate with during the good times?
College graduation had been just another day, only one without classes. I’d had no one to tell when I’d gotten my first real job. And when I’d landed the role of Silver Casino and Hotel CEO, I’d treated myself to a dinner out. Then I’d gone home alone.
The emptiness inside me turned restless. I was married into that same family, but I doubt they’dcelebrate me. “Are you going to buy a significant other for Teller and Tenor?”
“We might have to.” She brushed the backs of her fingers over my cheek. “Are you going to help my brothers move cattle on Monday?”
“I’m curious to see if they plan to get me trampled and call it an accident.”
“That’s dark.” Yet she was grinning. “You might have to dust off those country-boy skills to keep up.”
“They’ll keep up,” I growled. It’d been more than a few years, but fencing had come back like I’d been doing it around Silver my entire adult life.
“I wish I could see it.”
“I’ll just be another guy on a horse.”
“You’re not just any guy.”
When she said shit like that, my chest threatened to puff up. She didn’t drop superficial compliments on me like other people had my whole career. When she said something, she meant it.
My wife was generous, realistic, and honest. Traits that’d make returning to work difficult.
A few strands of her hair escaped her bun. I let them slip through my fingers. The color was bright against the bronzed skin of my hands. “Why can’t you witness me be a superhero cowboy?”
