Page 10 of Seeking Her Studs

But instead of heading to the door, he wraps his fingers around my suitcase and lifts the massive thing like it weighs nothing.

He looks back at me expectantly, as if I’ll just follow him with no further discussion, like a lost little puppy.

And that’s exactly what I do.

CHAPTER SIX

Reese

I run toward the old camper where I know Briggs will be. Ever since he promised Kaylee he’d turn the dilapidated thing into sufficient lodging for a teen girl, he’s been cleaning up the surrounding area and planning out layouts for when five years lapses and it’s ours to start renovating.

And I would help him if I didn’t think it was the world’s dumbest fucking idea. If you gave me my own place at sixteen years old, then I would have a lot more people calling me daddy, and not in the sexy way.

But none of that matters anymore, because the impossible has happened.

“Hey bud,” I smack him on the back of his head when he doesn’t notice me behind him. Sweat is dripping down his shirtless back as he pulls a vine out of the ground that’s creeping up the metal walls. Sunny lazily gets up from her spot in the shade to come say hi.

Briggs removes his earbuds, and I can hear Slipknot blasting out of them.

“There better be a fire or in ten seconds you’re going to start helping me.”

“Why would I help you with something that is blatantly a horrible idea?” This isn’t the first time we’ve had this conversation, but I really feel like I can’t stress it enough.

“Because it will make Kaylee happy.” He wipes the sweat from his brow, leaving a smear of dirt behind.

“Eating filet mignon wrapped in bacon every day would make me happy, but I don’t do it, do I?”

“No fire? Alright then. Ten, nine-” He counts as if he could actually make me do anything I don’t want to do.

“Worse than a fire. None of this even matters, anyway. Colt just texted us, saying he’s on the way back to the ranch with Hollywood.”

It takes a moment for Briggs to comprehend what I’m saying.

“Shit,” he finally relents. “What the hell is she doing back here?”

Hollywood is our nickname for Blaire Evans. Calling her Blaire without the Evans feels too intimate for a celebrity like her. But her full name also feels too formal. So we have our own little nickname for the woman that tears our life apart every time she enters it. I wasn’t exaggerating that she’s worse than a fire. At least I can extinguish a fire, but there isn’t a damn thing we can do about the damage Hollywood inflicts.

“Colt wasn’t exactly generous with the details,” I say as the familiar rattle of Colt’s vintage Dodge truck gets closer. “But it sounds like we’re about to find out.”

We walk to the door and sure enough, there she is, riding shotgun in his truck. Both of them are staring ahead like they just left a damn funeral. I’m guessing the ride wasn’t full of lively chatter about the good old days.

We walk towards the truck as Blaire swivels in her seat and gracefully extends her long legs out of the car. She’s dressed in what I’m guessing is some weird celebrity fashion that looks like she slaughtered a cow on her way to attend a cult. But even draped in the ridiculous white and red splotched fabric, she looks like she owns the world. Her shoulders push back as she straightens herself out and her head lifts high. The sun highlights her elegant cheekbones and button nose while bringing out the red in her long auburn hair. Fuck, just seeing her again makes me lose my breath. It also makes me want to knock one out with the big fellow when I’m alone later and I really shouldn’t be doing that to the image of an engaged woman.

“Hey Hollywood,” the ground crunches under my feet as I take a step closer to her. “And what do we owe the pleasure of you visiting our cute little town?”

Yeah, I’m not above using her words against her. The woman has been missing in action for five years. She doesn’t get to just waltz in and expect us all to sing kumbaya like we’re a part of that cult she looks like she just came from.

She rolls her eyes. “I know of all people, you’re not actually offended by that.”

“Oh?” I cock my head as I take a step closer. “It’s been a while. How much do you actually still know about me?”

Her eyes meet mine, ready for the challenge. I’m glad to see that the fight is still in her, simmering under the perfectly composed media darling.

“Because I know you’re as stubborn as those bulls you like to ride, and that doesn’t go away so easily.”

The corner of my lips pulls up in a crooked grin. “Well, at least you remember that I love riding stubborn things.”

Pink flashes across her cheeks, and in that moment, I know I still got her. She might be engaged to America’s prettiest pretty boy, but her blood still works for me.

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