As much as I wanted to believe that he would stay with no reservations, a small part of me, a very small part, considered the possibility of that promise being made in the heat of the moment.
Reece, stop!
I frowned and huffed. I needed to be present and stay in the moment without trying to rationalize what I was doing, just go with the flow and enjoy whatever this was we were doing. Maybe he would stay, maybe he wouldn’t. Either way, there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about a decision ultimately up to him.
Even if the thought of him leaving makes my chest tight…
Which was insane because we barely knew each other. Damn sure didn’t feel that way though. All I could think about was Shore talking about the connection she had with Wilde and how meeting him changed everything about her life. I loved their story but didn’t fully get it until now.
I lifted my hand and traced my fingers over his jawline, allowing them to glide through the soft texture of his beard. I moved higher and the pad of my finger moved over his lips, which made me grin because he frowned like he knew what I was doing. The steady rhythm of his breathing didn’t change. He looked so damn peaceful, with his deep brown skin against the pale pink of my sheets creating a contrast that shouldn’t have fit but did.
Or that could have just been my crazy ass mind making him fit into my life and in my bed. I brushed my mouth over his again before I quietly scooted back and climbed out of bed. I had to check on my babies. We got pretty heavy snow last night and I needed to make sure they had food and water. The heaters were still going, because Ro checked last night, but I wanted to lay eyes on them.
I yanked on a pair of sweats, my snow boots, and grabbed Ro’s hoodie. I selected a knit hat instead of my Jaxson since I didn’t braid my hair last night. After I pulled off my bonnet and removed the hair tie, shaking my ponytail free, I worked the hat over my hair and tucked as much of it underneath the cable knit material as possible. Once I was dressed, I attempted to sneak out of the room but paused at the door to the bathroom when Ro’s sleep laced, raspy voice drifted from the bed.
“Where you going?”
I turned to find him on his back now, with the bedding only covering his lower half. My eyes danced over his chest, traveling lower before I pulled my life together and managed to send my eyes north. His sleepy gaze was locked on me but I was caught enjoying the view based on the arrogant smile that eased onto his face as he folded an arm beneath his head.
“I need to check on my babies.”
“Hang on, I can?—”
“You can stay right there. I’m perfectly capable of feeding my horses without a chaperone.”
His gaze traveled over my body before he nodded. “It’s cold as shit out there so I’m not going to argue.”
“Good because you wouldn’t win.”
He muttered something else and closed his eyes while I left him there and headed into the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. When I was done, I tossed out that I would be right back. Ro’s eyes were already closed, so he only mumbled words I couldn’t decipher and I left him there.
I shivered as soon as I stepped out of the front door. The entire property was covered in snow, a good six to eight inches more than yesterday. I shoved my hands into the pocket of the hoodie and began trekking across the yard to my dad’s old pickup truck. Wilde had come out to put chains on the tires a few weeks ago but I was stubborn and kept driving my Jeep. Today I decided to do the right thing because the massive tires and height of my dad’s truck made it easier to navigate through the snow, even if I had to drive slow as hell to get where I was going.
I climbed in and sat quietly, blasting the heat while I gave it a minute to warm enough to be comfortable. Being inside made me think of my dad, it still felt like him, which had me thinking about whether or not he would approve of me having Ro in my life. He always joked about me never getting married because I set my standard so high. I told himhewas my standard, so if that was the case, it was his fault. He’d grunted and laughed, expressing that I was going to be miserable for the rest of my life if he was my standard.
That was so wrong. My dad was the best man I knew and the way he loved and showed me how to be loved would make it hard for anyone to come behind him. I smiled without meaning to because I had a feeling Ro was going to do a pretty good jobof being the type of man I deserved, the type of man my father would respect enough to accept in my life.
The thought had me driving to the stables with a smile on my face. When I realized my babies were good and my heart was at peace, I fed them, loved on them a little, and then made my way back to the house. My eyes landed on the foreman’s cabin, which had me climbing out my dad’s truck and making that my first stop. I entered the house, heading straight to the room where Ro’s things were, shoving all of his clothes inside before I headed to the bathroom to get the rest of his things, placing them all in the duffle which I carried with me after locking up.
When I walked into my house and dropped it by the door, the smell of coffee slapped me in the face and I grinned, yanking my snow boots off. My jeans were next to go because I wanted to be comfortable. I crossed the room and stood in front of the fireplace which, thanks to Ro, had a flame blazing. I was greeted with a mug of coffee from Ro who was up and dressed in his sweats from last night. Well, minus his hoodie I was currently in, leaving him with just a T-shirt.
“Thank you for this.” I lifted the mug then tipped it toward the fireplace.
“You’re welcome. I see you got my stuff. I’m about to hit this bathroom. Be right back.”
I nodded and took my first sip, moaning my approval because it was perfect. By the time Ro was back, I was ready for my second cup and functional enough to figure out what we were eating.
I topped my cup off, added creamer, and hopped on the counter, watching Ro as he filled a mug for himself. He immediately made his way to me, stepping between my legs, enjoying his first sip before the cup was placed on the counter and his focus was on me.
“The horses good?”
“Yep.”
“You good.”
“Mhm.” I lifted my mug and drank some before I cuffed it in both hands. “Should we talk about last night?”
“What about last night?” he said with those piercing brown eyes on me.
