Page 39 of Rancher's Pride

Would The Five be able to catch him before he got to me or the girls? Should I stay locked in the house until he’s found? Was it safe for us to go anywhere? Was it safe to stay here? There were a million thoughts running through my head, and I couldn’t slow it down to rationally think through any of them.

“Toot’s stop thinking. I can hear your brain on super speed from where I’m sitting.” He put his arm around my shoulders and I melted into the crook of his arm. “Why can’t he just leave us alone? He has a new life, with the baby he always wanted. Why is he doing this?” My words were whiney, and I felt like I was younger and Nash was always there to listen.

“We’ll figure it out Fallon, I’ve already got people checking things out in Kentucky. His access to you ends now.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

NASH

She was tense at my side, but I wouldn’t let anything happen to her. Suddenly she sat up and looked at me, a goofy grin stretched across her face. “Do you remember that time you and the guys came home from some job you’d been on and stumbled upon the party in the Timmons pasture?” Fallon asked, as she reached for her glass of water. “I thought Kipp was going to lose his mind.”

“You hiding in the bushes was priceless.” I laughed. Being with her, laughing, talking about old times was how we were supposed to be. This was right, and I wanted right forever. “I turned around and there you were poking your head out. I wasn’t sure if I should laugh or haul you out by your hair.”

“But you never said a word. You just loaded up a bunch of the other kids and took them home. Then youcame back alone for me.” Her voice had been filled with laughter and was now soft thinking back to that night.

“But when I’d gotten back, I realized how drunk you were and I’d never been so mad at you in my life.” Shaking my head, I thought back to that night. Fallon was falling down drunk, and I knew Miller would have made her life hell if he’d found her there.

“I’d decided you were going to leave me there until morning, so I grabbed whatever booze I could find and was going to wait until morning. Then headlights popped over the hill and I was worried you’d told Dad.” She leaned back on the couch and let her head fall back.

“Seriously? I never would have ratted on you.” I looked over at Fallon. A slight smile appeared on her face, and she had her eyes closed. “You were eighteen. It was the last party before everyone went their own ways. We’d all done it.”

“Why are you always rescuing me, Nash Powers?” I reached out and brushed her hair off her face.

“Someone had to watch out for you.” My words were soft, but it was true. Miller and Julie had their hands full with Tayla and Lark getting them to the rodeo’s they’d entered. Kipp was pulling double duty, busy with the security business and making sure the ranch was running smoothly. It always seemed like Fallon was left out.

“Everyone was busy and you’re a free spirit. Your parents didn’t know what to do withyou. Kipp was too focused on other things, so that left me to worry about you. I’m sorry I didn’t do a better job over the last few years.”

Words weighed heavy on my heart and I needed to tell her, needed to let her know how I felt. Taking a deep breath, I looked at her again, “but I’m more sorry I let you walk away twice. I’m sorry.”

“I’m not talking about the past anymore.” She shifted and moved until she was straddling my lap. Instinctively, I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her to me. “You’re still the one there for me.” Her words were whispered, and she rested her hand on my chest. The heat from her palm felt like it was branding me. It was the same spot her hand had always landed, and the place I’d had her name tattooed on me. Unless you were looking for it, you wouldn’t see it and I hadn’t ever told anyone it was there. But her fingers were pressing over it and my heart beat faster. Fallon’s body molded to mine, and it felt natural, like this is how it was supposed to be.

This is what I’d dreamed about for years. Our kids are sleeping. Fallon and I on the couch talking about our day, what funny things the kids had done, then taking her to bed and ravaging her all night. Stop thinking of it Nash, you have no right to think of a life like that. She’s still a married woman. The daughter you share is asleep in her bed, but that’s where this has to end.

“Can I confess something?”

“I don’t know if I’m ready for any more confessions, Fallon. The last one you told me ended with me having a kid.” She stiffened in my arms. “I’m joking. You know you can tell me anything.”

“I wish I’d never left, and I will always regret not coming home with you three years ago, even if we had to keep us a secret.” They were words I’d longed to hear. Pulling her up, I grabbed the back of her head and entwined my fingers in her hair and pressed my mouth against hers. Her cherry lip gloss was the same as she always wore. The familiar taste brought back every memory of having her in my arms, under me, wrapped around me, and I wanted that again.

Our tongues slid against one another slowly. Exploring her mouth wasn’t new for me, but it was definitely something I loved to revisit any time I could.

Fallon shifted and dropped to her knees between my legs. Slowly, she moved her hands up my thighs and her fingers danced over my belt buckle as she popped it open. She grabbed my shirt and pulled; the snaps opening all the way up from the force. Her hands on my bare chest sent electric shocks through me. I wondered if my heart would stop. How many nights had I wished for her touch? But she’d been in someone else’s bed.

Her husband’s bed.

“Stop, Toots. We can’t do this again. We shouldn’t have done it the other night.” My voice was husky andfull of regret. Why did I have to be a good man? Why couldn’t I just be the type of man to take what I want and not care about consequences? She looked up at me and I pulled her to sit on the couch. “I won’t fuck you while you’re wearing another man’s ring.”

“I cut that ring off before I left Kentucky.” She held her hand up and the light indent on her ring finger just proved my point. As far as she knew, no paperwork had been filed in the time she’d been here.

“Until we know your divorce is final, I won’t take you to bed, and we won’t cross that line again.” I couldn’t believe the words that were coming out of my mouth.

“Nash, it’s over. The divorce papers are a formality.” She sat back on her legs and crossed her arms.

“Fallon, you know it’s not just a formality. In everyone’s eyes, you’re a married woman. I won’t hide my feelings for you. I want the world to know you’re mine and right now all they know is you're someone else’s.” Leaning forward, I brushed her hair back from her face and the sadness in her eyes killed me.

The furnace kicking on with a thud made her jump and brought her back to the situation at hand. A frown crossed her beautiful face, and she scoffed. “My god Nash, man up.” She stood and marched out of the room, slamming the door to her room. Little did she know this was me “manning up.” It took every ounce of restraint to tell her no, but I wasn’t going to be one more person to disappoint her.

The night in the loft shouldn’t have happened, and I knew it. Everything in me wanted to take her to bed and make love to her every moment I could, but I wasn’t that man. Her husband was a shit bag and didn’t deserve her, but being the “other man” wasn’t something I wanted to be.

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