Page 56 of Gotta Dig Deep
“He’s been a good friend. I thought I could count on him.” She mumbled this against Horse’s shirt, tears dampening the fabric. “Not in this, though. He’s cut me out. Like a cance—like a disease, lop off the offending limb.” She straightened and shook her hair back, staring up at Horse through watery eyes. “It’s stupid that it hurts so much.”
“Not stupid.” His lips pressed firmly against her forehead, and the bristle of his beard helped ground her. “He lashed out. Man’s in pain because he’s lost an imagined chance, and he wanted to spread the pain around. He tried to hurt you and hit the target because you’re a damn good woman, Glenna.”
“Oh, and he didn’t have any news other than we’re one of the few ranches the scumbags have approached since they took over the Snyder place. That’s it, sum total of his contribution.” She leaned back in, resting her forehead at the center of his chest. “Way to help out, Cooter.” She winced. “Reggie.”
“Nothing more or less than I expected, really. And knowing they aren’t doing a wholesale sweep of the area does help.” One of his hands slid up and down her spine, the other again cupping the back of her neck. “Glenna, doll, it’s okay to be angry.”
“I’m not mad.” She shrugged. “Except at myself, maybe. I just feel like the worst of friends.” She relaxed into his touch. “He already had ideas about me and you.”
“Well, I’ve got ideas of my own on that front.” Horse’s voice was pitched lower, quieter. A folded knuckle lifted her chin until she was staring up into his eyes. “And if we weren’t in the middle of a mess, I’d have already acted on them.”
“Maybe I want you to act?” Glenna’s tongue slipped out to wet her lips and she watched as his eyes followed the movement, darkening. Feeling bold, she rested a hand on top of his shoulder and lifted to her toes. “Maybe that’s what I want?”
With a groan, he captured her mouth, lips sliding across hers. His head angled and she opened, touching her tongue to his lips, remembering what he’d liked. Another groan rumbled from his chest as he took control of the kiss, tangling their tongues together, thrusting and gliding across the other. Her breaths came in gasps, sounds he took in, giving back that pleased rumble as she renewed the kiss. His arms were around her, rigid bands at her back and waist, while her hands traveled. Up his neck and into his hair, they explored down the front of his chest to his waistband, untucking the shirt hem to find his flesh.
Horse made a desperate sound as he broke off the kiss, holding her to him firmly, yet gently, as if she were a fragile prize.
“Woman, you make it hard to be good.” He was pressing tiny kisses to the side of her head, mouthing the lobe of her ear. “Gonna wreck me. I already know.”
“Why do you have to be good?” Her core was throbbing insistently, and she pushed her hips forward, hissing when she gained pressure from his erection. “We’re both adults here.”
“Yeah, but there’s also an end-of-the-world group of assholes out there ready to do bad things. The last thing I want is to have you in bed and then be interrupted by havin’ to kick someone’s ass.”
“I see your point.” Glenna’s lips curved up. “But I find I don’t like how sensible you can be after a kiss like that.”
“Darlin’, if things were any other way, we’d already be doing dirty, filthy, naked things together.”
Horse urged her head towards his chest. She went easily, standing and swaying in the quiet with his arms around her and the soft, steady thud of his heart underneath her ear.
The rest of the day and the entirety of the next were just as frustrating. Nothing seemed to be happening, and while her days were filled with the normal chores around the ranch, it felt as if the whole world was holding its breath, waiting. For what, she didn’t know, and wasn’t sure she wanted the knowledge.
While Horse was attentive and sweet, feeding her attraction with gentle kisses and tender touches, he determinedly went to his own bed in the guest room every night. Her mug of coffee would be waiting for her the next morning, and Shamu would be standing by the door, ready to get to work, but Glenna wasn’t sure she’d felt this lonely after Penn died.
Knowing he was right down the hallway wore on her nerves, and she’d conjured a dozen scenarios where she’dneedto wake him in the night. None of them were reasonable, or something she’d ever do, but the idea of walking in on him sleeping and simply crawling into his bed pressed in on her, turning her into a rambling grump.
The third time she’d snapped at Shamu for being underfoot Glenna knew something had to give.
Another thing she didn’t know was what.
Chapter Fifteen
Horse
“Nothing, seriously?” He tried to tone down the bark in his voice, knowing that the man on the other end of the line didn’t deserve it. “Sorry, Retro. Shit, man. This is just fuckin’ hard, you know?”
“I get you, brother. But there’s nothin’ twangin’ the web of info out there. We’ve cast our net far and wide, and it’s pissin’ me off just like you that we got nothin’ to show for it. Can’t say we’ve never had some shit go dark like this before, which means we don’t quite know where to go next. You gotta trust me that we’re all pullin’ on contacts and pokin’ into holes to find out something.” Retro’s accent was thick, his voice dark with anger, and Horse knew the man was giving him the unvarnished truth. “Way I heard it, you’ve got a dog in the fight now, so I completely understan’ wantin’ to keep your woman safe. Always said you were a good man, Horse. You’ve proved it time and again.”
“She’s more of a want than a certainty,” he hedged, then grimaced when he heard the lie in his own voice. “Shit, okay, it’s more than a want. I believe she’s it for me, man. I know it in my bones. I just gotta get her through this and then see where things stand with her.” Taking in a hard breath, he told Retro one of his greatest fears, “Make sure even without the threat that things go both ways. Know what I mean?”
“Fuck yeah, I lived that, brother. My ole lady was in a fuckin’ mess when I met her, and I stole her away, then I held myself back until she could get her feet underneath her.” Retro’s voice turned musing. “Once we got to that place, though, lovin’ her was sweet as pie and twice as delicious. I’m tellin’ you, it’s worth the wait.”
“I believe you. The little tastes I’ve taken have only whetted my appetite for the full meal. When that happens, though, I don’t want shit swirling the drain, you know?”
“Fuckin’ know it, man. I’ll keep pokin’ and pullin’ best I can, see if we can get you to the other side. I’ll give Myron another call, keep him in the loop and vice versa. One of us will reach out if we hear the least thing.”
“Thanks, brother. Means a lot.”
“Oh, ho. Don’t think this shit is rent-free, man. I’m keepin’ a tab runnin’ for you.”
