Page 40 of Rancher's Pride

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

FALLON

Laying on my bed, my body still humming with my need for Nash, I considered taking matters into my own hands. I’m so tired of taking care of myself, and I could still feel Nash’s touch pleasuring me, making me feel something other than despair. But now he’d grown a conscience out of nowhere.

Unknown: You never dropped to your knees for me, but you do it for him any time you can.

Unknown: You’ll be doing that for me when you come home.

Unknown: Did he turn you down? That must hurt, judging from your face.

Unknown: Touch yourself. Come on, touch yourselfso I can watch.

Unknown: I’m your fucking husband and I want you to touch yourself, bitch, do it.

The texts were rapid fire, and every one caused more bile to rise in my throat. He saw us. Jumping off my bed, I pulled the door open and ran to the now dark living room. He must have gone to bed. Running up the stairs in my bare feet, I realized that over the month I’d been here; I hadn’t come upstairs. Knocking, I waited.

“What do you want, Fallon?” Nash asked as he opened the door to his room. His hair was disheveled, and he’s taken off his shirt. I was kind of surprised he hadn’t put it back on. The tattoos on his torso made me weak in the knees. I’d always been a sucker for a man with ink. Andrew didn’t have any, and one more time I wondered what I’d even seen in him?

Our eyes both moved to my phone when it vibrated in my hand. “He’s texting again.” I held my phone out and Nash looked at the last few. His eyes narrowed, I watched him clench his jaw, and the muscle flexed.

Unknown: Now you’re in his room?

“You’re not staying in that room tonight. Take mine and I will figure out how he’s seeing things.” Nash didn’t hand my phone back to me. He just stomped around the room, gathering a few things, and pointedto the bed. “Sleep Toots, I’m taking this.” He held up my phone before walking out of his room.

Looking around, I saw a photo frame on the nightstand. Walking over to it, I picked it up and was shocked as I stared at myself. I’d been probably twenty-three when it was taken. I was on the back of my horse, Goliath. Smiling, I thought back to when I got the beast. I was twelve, and he was already massive, but my dad thought he’d be perfect for me. We fought with each other from that day on. He had his own ideas about what way we should go, and I tried to make him see that I was the boss.

He shouldn’t have been a good barrel racing horse, but once we’d figured one another out, we acted as one. He moved stealthily around the barrels and I’d won more buckles on his back than I could ever wear.

This picture was from one of the rodeo’s I’d won at. It was taken when we were flying down the middle of the arena, heading for home. I was tucked down, letting him fly, my hat suspended in mid-air, my long hair flying out wildly behind me. I was spurring him on and my legs were almost straight out just before I would have brought them down against his flanks.

Smiling, I could almost hear the crowd, feel the wind against my face, and imagine his power under my ass. “It was the most exciting run I’d ever seen you do.” His voice was low behind me and I almost dropped the picture.

Looking over my shoulder, I smiled at Nash,leaning against the door frame. His arms crossed and eyes locked on me. He held up my pillow. “Thought you might need this.” He tossed it on the bed.

“Why do you keep this beside your bed?” I asked as I set it back down and turned to face him.

“It was the moment you were truly free and happy. Before your world came tumbling down, when everything was right and you didn’t have a care in the world.” He shrugged, but didn’t move further into the room.

“What do you tell your dates when they come here? Isn’t it creepy having a picture of a girl beside your bed?”

“I told you, I don’t bring women home.” His expression was flat, and I wasn’t sure I believed him.

“Ever?” My one word question was more from disbelief. I hadn’t expected him to be a monk, but never bringing anyone home seemed excessive.

“Nope.”

“Why?”

His brow lifted slightly, and he smirked. “Bringing home random women when there’s only ever been one I want here seemed counterintuitive. I didn’t want to look around and see the memory of another woman in my bed, or on the couch. This place was for you, Fallon, nobody else.” He took a ragged breath and moved into the room and sat on the end of the bed. “We talked about your dream house years ago, remember? Two story, big front porch so we could sit out there withfriends. A big kitchen and dining room so we can make it into the gathering place and the window seat so you could watch the storms come in.” He looked at the floor instead of looking at me.

“Nash.” I whispered. He was right. We’d talked about a future, how we wanted our lives to look and he’d remembered it all. His eyes filled with pain and it made me ache to know I’d caused it.

“I know I’ve been a dickwad and when all this shakes out, I want the chance to show you I’m not that man that left three years ago. Being with you and the girls is the only thing I want. I’d give everything up for you, Fallon, and I wouldn’t even care. We could be broke, living in a small shack, and I’d do it as long as you were with me.” He finally looked up, and the sincerity in his eyes made my heart grow.

I sat beside him and took his hand in mine. “I want all traces of him out of your life before you’re mine again.” He whispered. Lowering my head, I let it rest on his shoulder and I nodded.

“Me too. I want to be only yours Nash, thank you for waiting for me.” We sat in silence for a long time. It would have been so easy to lie down in his arms and forget there was a world outside the surrounding walls.

---