She cups my face, her words deliberate. “I. Don’t. Give. A. Shit. Do you hear that?”
I nod. “Yeah?—”
“I love you, Brett Turner slash fucking Rock Altman, and nothing and nobody is gonna keep us away from each other.”
I press a kiss to her forehead. “I love it when you’re fired up.”
“I wasn’t kidding about that shotgun. Just one warning shot would do it.”
“I think we’ll leave the logistics of law enforcement to George for the time being.”
She sighs. “Not a risk taker, are we?”
“Says you who wants to tie Benny up and throw rotten tomatoes at his head.”
“Well, fresh tomatoes would be a waste.”
My lips meet hers and we kiss for a brief moment. I pull back gently and say, “You probably heard, but Andre wants me to do a press conference.”
“I think it’s a good idea. You can say what you need to say, once it’s done, what else will those vultures stick around for? Pictures of me in my Daisy Dukes? I don’t think so.”
I can’t help but smirk. “I’m pretty fond of those little shorts, not that I want anyone else noticin’.”
“Ooh, are you the jealous type?”
“I can be when the need arises.” I wrap my arms around her waist. “I think together we can navigate this whole thing, if you’re willin’?”
Her face softens. My girl scowls a lot, but when it comes to me, I’ve noticed she’s a lot less harsh than she is with everybody else. I like I bring out a different side to her. “Of course I’m willing, dumb-dumb, do you think I’m just doing all of this for kicks?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Good, because we’ve got horses to feed, then their exercise and grooming, and that’s just the start of it.”
“There you go again, bein’ all bossy,” I chuckle.
“Better get used to it,Cowboy,I’m no pushover.”
I grin, letting her go as I take her hand. “Lead the way, Princess. We don’t wanna keep the animals waiting.”
Bailey
Aside from the police presence around the property, today has been a good day. Brett is far enough away from the massive camera lenses to do what he needs to do without being photographed, but we both know this can’t go on forever.
We’re grooming Zeus and Spirit, who I rode over this morning, when a booming male voice sounds through the barn. There always seems to be someone bursting through the doors no matter what.
“Thought I’d find you here.”
Brett straightens, glancing across to the voice. “Well, I’ll be damned. Dale?”
His best friend.
“What? You think you can handle the press without your side-kick? I don’t think so, bud.”
He strides toward us and they pound hug. “What the hell?”
“Like I said, you need someone in your corner so you don’t screw this up.” He glances at me. “Well, hello, ma’am, you must be Bailey.”
My eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “Uh, yeah, how’d you… oh.”
