Page 50 of New in Town

He pulls her in, tucking her under his chin. He should just tell her; the rules clearly don’t matter anymore. He could tell her that they never mattered to him.

“Okay but I really do need to hurry now,” she sighs, sitting up.

“I’m not going anywhere. Call me after work and I’ll come pick you up. Take you to the ranch, cook you dinner, and take my time with you all night.”

“Thatsounds like the best date yet. I’ll take as much of this as I can get,” she says as she gets up to move towards the bathroom. “You know, until the wedding,” she adds before disappearing through the doorway.

His stomach twists, his heart feels as if it’s suddenly made of lead.This didn’t change anything for her. He wants to tell her to open her eyes and see what they have here. See that this is something real.

“Were you interested in joining me?” she calls over the sound of a shower turning on.

He should leave. If she wants this to end, then he should just end it now, before it hurts him any further. He drags his hands through his hair, looking up as she reappears. A playful smile dances across her face as she leans her bare hip against the doorframe, waiting for him.

Who is he kidding? He stands and moves towards her. He knows he isn’t going to be the one to leave first, or ever. He’ll never walk away from Maddie.

* * *

“Hey brother, grab a rope.”

Grey moves from his truck towards the branding pen where the guys are gathered. He knows exactly what is happening, and it is one of his favorite tasks. He’s just arrived home from Maddie’s, still in his clothes from the night before. Brett raises a knowing eyebrow at him but luckily doesn’t say anything around the others.

He leans on the fence beside his best friend to watch Riley take his turn. The newest ranch hand brings his horse around, looking for the next calf and swinging the lasso above his head. Casting his first rope, Riley just barely misses his mark, dropping the rope and moving to his next lasso. Riley likes to make branding weekend feel like the rodeo. This one lands, and he moves from his horse to tie the calf down.

Riley is fast, he can see why the guy did so well on the rodeo circuit. But Grey knows he’s still faster. He looks over at Brett who smirks back, clearly thinking the same thing.

“It’s convenient that you wear your cowboy shit on dates. Get Bullet and show them how it’s done.”

It takes no time at all for Grey to get out there with his horse and his ropes. He loves this, and his ranch family. As he sits atop Bullet, looking out over the sweeping plain and up into the eclipsing mountains, he lets his shoulders drop and exhales the worry he carried the whole drive home. He has Maddie right now and he is seeing her again tonight. For now, that will have to be enough.

When they’re ready for the next one, Grey and Bullet locate a target. He lands his first lasso with ease and as soon as his boots hit the ground, he moves to tie the animal. He moves through the task with ease and turns to find Riley’s face in the crowd.

“Taking notes?” he asks, a smug curve to his lips.

“I don’t understand why you stay away from the rodeo, your times would smoke everyone,” Cooper says with disapproval.

“Because he doesn’t like the rodeo,” Floyd replies calmly. “Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you have to, son.”

“He likes it enough to take his girlfriend to it.”

At Cooper’s reply, Brett lets out a barking laugh. “It’s so nice to not be the one getting shit from y’all about a girl.”

“I’m glad that’s the one he decided to come to, he saved my ass that night. It’s so messed up to jack someone else’s rope,” Riley scoffs.

“Dane is so jealous it’s unreal,” Gracie says from her spot on the fence.

“Well if he keeps eyeing up Maddie like he did that night, we won’t have to worry about Dane anymore. Grey looked like he was going to end him.”

Grey stiffens. Riley was a few years below them in school. He wouldn’t know how bad the fights got or the labels slapped on him for defending himself. Brett and Floyd, Gracie and Wyatt, they all remembered. The way moms would yell at the principal to kick Grey out of school for being an unruly, violent brute. They blamed him for all theirperfectsons coming home beaten and bruised. He didn’t have a mom that cared to defend him. He had no one to point out that the other boys were starting the fights and seeking him out.

To someone like Riley though, Grey was just a tough guy. Something admirable. Brett flashes him a reassuring look while Floyd nods subtly at him. Little shows of support that he is indeed admirable as an adult.

“Grey won’t get the chance. If he’s going to mess with Maddie, I’ll make sure I get to Dane first,” Laurel’s voice sounds from behind them.

Brett moves to pull her into his arms. “Done with the captain for the day, Killer?”

She nods. “I am, he says to tell you hi.” Then turning to Grey, “We need to catch up about our girl!”

Grey reaches out to pat Bullet. “Want to take a ride?”

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