Page 33 of When It Burns

She smiles at me before leaning in and kissing me hard. After a few minutes, she pulls back and says, “Well, Cowboy you are full of surprises, but you’re right. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I nod and lean in to kiss her again. I’d meant for it to be a quick kiss, but this girl has destroyed every bit of my self-control. She tugs on my hair again while she nips at my neck. Feeling my last bit of restraint slipping, I wrap my hand around her throat and pull back so she’s forced to look into my eyes before saying, “Caroline, you’ve got thirty seconds to get your pretty little ass in the car before I change my mind and haul you inside. But something tells me you don’t want your new friend to hear you beg for my cock tonight.”

Her eyes heat before she laughs. “Point well made. Goodnight, Theo,” she says as I open the door and she sits in her car.

I lean down so I’m level with her, and say, “Goodnight, Sunshine. Sweet dreams.” With that, I close the door and wave at her as she backs down the driveway. Yeah, like I’ll be dreaming of anything other than her in my bed tonight.

* * *

By the timeFriday afternoon rolls around, my cock is pissed and wishing I hadn’t chosen last night to be a gentleman. After tossing and turning all night thinking about how good it would feel to sink into Caroline’s tight pussy, I’d finally given up on sleep and went for a run around the time the sun was coming up. The farm property I purchased needs a lot of work, but I can see a ton of potential in the land. Something about the stillness of my new home makes me feel incredibly close to my family out here after all the summers we’d spent on my grandfather’s ranch.

We had an uneventful day at the station, and after a quick shower and cup of coffee, I was getting ready to head out for the evening. Caroline texted me earlier to make sure I was still willing to serve as their driver, a result from our bet last weekend. I confirmed and had to admit I was looking forward to seeing her today.

Throwing on an old pair of jeans, a plain black shirt and grabbing my favorite hat, I walk out of my bedroom and down the stairs. Bear is sitting on the sofa, and I sit down beside the large lab. I reach out my hand to pet him but before I can touch his head, he stands and hops onto the floor. Taking a few steps away from me, he collapses into a ball on the rug and lets out an annoyed huff at me. I roll my eyes at his antics before muttering “asshole” at him under my breath.

After checking the time I shout upstairs to my sister, “Margaret, are you ready?”

I hear some shuffling before she screams back, “Yeah, one more minute!”

I turn the TV on and watch a few minutes of ESPN while I wait for my sister to be ready. The commentators are discussing the upcoming start of the college football season. Living in the South, football has always been unavoidable this time of year, but I don’t feel the familiar twinge of grief I usually do when thinking about the sport. I guess it’s a result of my work with the Saints, but instead of missing my brother, I feel a bit of the excitement he used to feel about this time of year.

About twenty minutes later, Margaret finally comes downstairs dressed in jean shorts and an old George Strait concert tee. “Alright, Theo. Are you ready? We’re gonna grab Caroline and Hannah at their houses and then head to Boot Scooters. Sound okay?” she asks, sitting down to throw her cowgirl boots on.

“Yeah, that works for me. What’s the bag for?” I ask, eyeing the overnight bag she has sitting beside her.

“I am going to stay at Hannah’s tonight. I know she needs some help with some things around the farm, but she’s too damn stubborn to ask. I asked her if I could stay over tonight, and I am going to figure out how to help her tomorrow,” Margaret replies.

“Does Hannah know you’re staging this intervention for her?” I ask shaking my head at my sister.

“Nope. I just told her I needed a sleepover and promised more muffins in the morning,” Margaret says, reaching down and pulling out a bag of muffins she’s tucked into her overnight bag.

That causes me to laugh before I ask, “Got it. Is Caroline staying over too?”

Margaret gives me a knowing smirk and says, “No. I texted her about my plan and she thought it was good. She’s been trying to help Hannah for years, but we don’t want it to look like we’re ganging up on her. Plus Hannah’s farm is on the other side of town, and I thought if last night was any indication, the last place I want to be is in the truck while you tell her goodnight.” My sister wrinkles her nose at me in mock disgust, and I let out a small laugh.

“Come on sis, let’s get going,” I say, making my way to the front door after making sure that Bear has food and water in his bowl.

We load up in the truck, and Margaret makes quick work of fiddling with the radio until her phone connects to the speaker. She blasts a playlist of nineties country songs while I drive, singing loudly and dancing around in her seat. Her singing is terribly off-key, but I ignore it, just happy to see her smiling. The breakup she’d been through had hit her harder than she’d wanted to let on, and I was glad to see that Springside seems to have been the right move for both of us.

We are a minute away from Caroline’s when she leans forward and turns the radio down. She looks at me for a moment before saying, “You know Theo, we’ve been through a whole lot of shit, but don’t forget you deserve happiness too. I’ve seen the way you look at Caroline, and while it may gross me out a bit I still know she’d be lucky to have someone that loves as hard as you do.”

I don’t take my eyes off the road, feeling a lump in my throat at my sister’s words. “Thanks sis. I am really glad you decided to move to Springside with me. I think Mom and Dad would be proud of us,” I say.

Margaret smiles as I pull into a parking spot in front of Caroline’s apartment before she replies, “Oh, I know they would.” With that, she pops out of the front seat and motions for me to follow her. We make our way upstairs and knock on the door.

“Just a sec,” Caroline calls from inside. After a moment, she swings the door open, and I am pretty sure my jaw hits the floor. Her brown hair has been curled and is wild around her face. She’s wearing the tiniest pair of denim shorts I’ve ever seen and a light pink shirt that says “Should’ve been a Cowgirl” along with a pair of tall white boots.

“Hey Cowboy,” she says with a wink before turning to my sister and squealing “Margaret, oh my god you look incredible!”

“Thanks! Let’s go dance,” my sister says before turning and walking back down the stairs.

Caroline grabs my hand and smirks at me before whispering, “Come on, Cowboy. I’m ready to have your hands on me on the dance floor.”

Yep. I’m fucked.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

CAROLINE

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