“If I say both, are you going to try and run away from me again?”
“Maybe.”
Jake rolled off me and settled back against the pillows. After a minute, I laid down beside him, our heads touching as we stared up at the stars. It was so beautiful out here. The storm that threatened earlier had given up and passed on, leaving the cool night sky clear, sparkling with a million tiny stars twinkling overhead.
I laid there, thinking about all the things I wanted to say. There were so many thoughts. So many things Jake needed to know, so many things I needed to share. But there was one thought dominating the mess inside my head. “Thank you, Jake.”
“For what?” he asked, rolling to his side and propping his head up on his elbow.
“I don’t know. For everything. For not hating me. For chasing me through the field. For helping me up. For the orgasm. For being responsible enough to stop us when we both know I couldn’t.”
“Responsible or dumb?”
“If I say both…” I started to throw his words back at him but stopped, laughing when Jake’s fingers found my ribs and started tickling me.
A moment later, I was begging him to stop before I peed myself.
After a while, I found my voice, “Why’d you bring me here, Jake.”
We were snuggled together under the blanket Jake had thrown over us, lying in the back of his truck like we had no cares in the world. And even though we did, between us we had a mountain of responsibility and expectations weighing down on us like anchors, it was nice to pretend we didn’t, even if it was just for a moment.
Jake wove his fingers through my hair and massaged my scalp. It took everything I had not to moan at the sensation.
“Because we needed a minute. At least I know I did,” Jake admitted, his voice soft and soothing.
“Me too,” I agreed, snuggling further into him.
“Hey, Kel?”
“Yeah?”
I felt Jake stiffen beside me. I knew whatever he was about to say, he wasn’t confident. “Will you tell me about my daughter?” he asked, freezing.
“You want to know about Cassandra?”
“Yeah, I do.”
How could I deny him? “What do you want to know?”
“Everything. Tell me everything.”
ChapterTen
Jake
“Jake Robert Samuels, get your ass in here and sit down!” My mom scolded, yelling at me through the kitchen window.
“Don’t have time.”
“Make time.”
“Later, Mom.” I tried to brush her off. “Gladiator’s out again, and Nash is on his way to the hospital with a broken arm.”
Jumping off the porch, I marched across the yard and slid behind the wheel of my truck, making a beeline for the barn.
Gladiator was a beast and an asshole of an animal. For some reason, he’d chosen today to push through a fence and go wandering. Now I had to find the big bastard, somehow get him back where he’s supposed to be and out of trouble, then get the fence fixed before sundown. This wasn’t the life I thought I’d have.
In the barn, I tossed supplies in the back of the truck and got moving. With Nash out of action and probably on light duties for a couple of weeks, the rest of us would have to pick up the slack. Not that I was opposed to hard work, I’d just been hoping to take more time off over the next couple of weeks and get to know Cassandra. I’d still make time for that. There was no way I was missing out, but it just meant earlier starts.
