The sound of the breeze through the trees and the horses huffing in their paddocks behind me is the only sound as I look between them.
“Marley, please.” Brana’s frosty blue eyes have moved on to pleading, but I won’t leave my horses.
I shake my head. “No.”
“We don’t know what they might do next. It’s not safe, Marley.” Mason is trying to be forceful, but I won’t be pushed.
Locking eyes with him, I shake my head again. “No.”
“Marley, I’ll take care of your horses, it’ll just be a few days.” Mason says, the same pitiful, pleading look on his face that Brana is giving me.
Taking a step to the side, I smile and wave my hand to the gelding, who doesn’t like men, that I’ve had to start over with at square one because of the explosion yesterday. “Be my guest.”
All three of us turn our heads toward the round pen and look at the beautiful horse who is looking at the two men on the other side of me like he would rather put a hoof in their side than let them get close to him.
When no one moves, I turn back to Mason. “And besides, if you knew for sure this would be over in a few days, you wouldn’t be sending everyone away. I’ve got your number Mason Wade, you can’t talk your circles around me.”
He narrows his eyes at me, and we stare at each other, a battle of wills that he knows he can’t win. He may be the bigger, stronger one, but I’m just as stubborn as he and Gray put together.
Brana huffs a breath. “Fine, but you don’t go anywhere without me. I will be your shadow for the foreseeable future.”
Shrugging my shoulder, I smile sweetly at him. “Fine.” I can think of worse things than having a gorgeous man following me around. The help will be useful through the day, anyway.
“I mean it, Lepa, you can’t go anywhere without me until this is settled.” Brana sets his hands on his hips, the muscles of his forearms shifting under his skin. When did a man’s forearms start making me feel warm all over?
“I’m not arguing with you.” I slide my hands in the front pockets of my jeans shorts and lift my shoulders in a submissive shrug.
Jax’s eyes dip to my chest, and then my waist, and quickly flick back up. His eyebrows twitch together, and he turns his head to look at the gelding in the pen again.
Did he just check me out?
More importantly,did I like it?
Based on the butterflies punching around in my stomach and wanting his attention, I’m going to go out on a limb and say, undoubtedly, yes.
Shaking my head to refocus, I ask, “Am I the only one staying?”
Mason lifts his ball cap and scratches the edge of the bill on his head before he flips it around and sets it back down on his head. One of his tells that he’s frustrated. “No, Hallie is staying, too.”
Stepping over to my twin, I set my hand on his forearm. “Everything is going to be fine, all of you guys are here and, I promise, I’ll be more aware of my surroundings.”
Eyes that look like mine stare down at me and he lowers his head a little to speak softer. “I can’t let anything happen, it almost killed me last time.”
Swallowing around the lump in my throat, I recall his guilt after I was attacked and whisper, “Bubby, you’ve got to stop blaming yourself. No one could have known he was in that field.” I rarely call him bubby anymore, it was my childhood nickname for him, and I only use it as an adult when I’m feeling emotional.
Letting any part of that night into my head has the power to send me into a spiral that can have me up all night with nightmares, so I try my damndest to push all the memories out.
His hand gently closes around my arm protectively. “Promise me you’ll be vigilant. You’ll let me know if you see anything, and I mean anything, unusual.”
I smile at him. “You’ll be the first person I look for.”
He nods as he wraps his hand around the back of my head and kisses me on the forehead before turning to go back to the house.
He only gets five steps before I yell at him. “Hey.”
He turns and shields his hand over hiseyes since he turned his cap around and the bill isn’t shading his eyes from the sun. “Yeah.”
I smile even bigger. “You’re going to be a great father, you know that?”
