Page 85 of The Scars We Heal

“Need help?” Jake offered me a hand, but I waved him off.

“I grew up on a ranch, I should know how to mount a horse,” I retorted. I’d admit, it was a little shaky getting up, but soon I was sitting tall in the saddle and Jake and I were riding side by side.

We rode past the gate closing off the grazing land from the house and headed toward the hills.

I inhaled a deep breath, getting a whiff of the cool breeze and the earthy scent of sagebrush. “I missed this place,” I murmured.

“I think this place missed you, too,” Jake replied, looking over at me with softness in his gaze.

“For so long, I thought I was fine where I was,” I explained, looking out at the horizon. “But every time I came back home to visit, something inside me felt different. It was like my heart knew Whitley and I belong out here.”

“Sometimes our gut instinct just knows best.”

I nodded.

Jake cleared his throat after we’d ridden in silence for a few minutes. “Maybe it’s because today has been really fun and the scenery is getting to me, but I wanted to ask you something. This might be too soon, and I know we aren’t officially together but…” He looked over at me from his horse. His hands wrung together, and a bead of sweat dripped down his temple. “I need to go with my gut.”

Raising my brows, I teased, “Should I be afraid of what you’re going to say? You’re not kicking us out of the guest house, are you?”

“No! Not at all.” He stumbled over his words. “Well, technically no. Because it’s up to you if you want to do this or not.” Jake let out a sharp exhale, gathering his composure. “Basically, I was wondering if you and Whitley wanted to move out of the guest house and into the main house. I was just thinking we spend so much time together and you’re either at my place or I’m over at yours more often than not. The main house is bigger, has more space for Whitley to grow, and maybe, I don’t know. If it’s too soon, you can tell me no and I won’t be offended.” He kept rambling, not giving me the change to interject.

An awkward laugh tumbled out of me. “I’d have to see what Whitley thinks, but she loves y—she likes spending time with you as much as I do,” I corrected midsentence.

“You also don’t have to right away,” he added. “But I obviously like having you around.”

I reached my arm out toward him, our horses adjusting so we were closer together and able to link hands. “I like being around you, too.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

jake

So, what kind of games do you have around here?” Caitlin asked, surveying the living room. After I’d proposed moving into the main house and we took the horses back in for the day, we decided to have a night in. Caitlin dropped Whitley off at Maggie’s house after horseback riding because she wanted a sleepover with Grandma, and it worked out for us because Caitlin and I never really got the chance to have an evening alone outside of going out with the rest of the crew.

I chuckled. “Not very many, unless you count playing cards.”

Her face lit up with an idea. “I’ll be right back,” she said, before rushing out of the house across the lawn. Five minutes later, she came back from the guest house with Uno in her hand. “Strip Uno.”

I raised my brows in amusement. “Uno?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know how to play poker, and I think removing clothing raises the stakes, don’t you think?”

“I’d give you all my clothing now if you asked for it.”

Cait playfully pushed my shoulder away. “Stop being a horny man!”

“Isn’t that the goal of strip Uno, though? Eventually one of us will be naked, and then what? Do you expect me to just go to bed after that?” I teased, knowing either way I’d be fine as long as she was next to me.

“Exactly,” she answered, but her voice came out breathy with a small rasp to it. Her tongue darted out, dragging across her lips, and my gaze bounced down to her mouth.

“Careful, Cait. You’re treading dangerous waters,” I whispered, stepping closer to her. My hands cupped her jaw, and I planted my lips on hers, tasting the wine she had been sipping on.

Our kiss swallowed her soft moan, and my dick twitched in my jeans before she pulled back.

“Naughty.” She tsked before handing me the card game. “Play fair, now.”

She walked over to the couch to sit, and my eyes tracked down her back, along her curves to her ass. I’d be taking a bite out of that later.

As I settled on the floor across from her, she dealt each of us seven cards.