Page 46 of Cowboy of Convenience
Grady's lips flattened, his jaw going tight. "I never in a million years thought you would get hurt. If I did, I wouldn't have brought you here."
Evelyn smoothed down the front of his T-shirt. "I know, and I promise I'm fine." She continued petting him, pretending it was simply to offer comfort when actually she just wanted to touch him. Feel his body under her hands.
Last night Grady had touched her in all sorts of ways and she hadn't done any touching of her own. They'd sneaked back into her bed and she'd promptly passed out, drained from both the chaos of the two days before and what was arguably the most mind blowing and sexy orgasm of her life.
But now she was wide awake and feeling a little needy. A little like she wanted to comfort him. And it was making it a little hard to keep her hands to herself.
Luckily, Grady didn't seem to mind. He leaned into her touch, his wide hand moving over her thigh as he did some touching of his own.
"What now?" Evelyn traced the hard line of a pec through the soft cotton of his T-shirt. "Do you have anything else you need to do today?"
Outside of teaching classes at the studio, her life had become the exact opposite of the one she’d lived in New York. Here, there were no events to attend. No social gatherings to pop into. Hell, she'd even started forgoing her bikini waxes and facials, falling into what could best be called a DIY beauty routine.
And she didn't hate it.
"I should probably grab a few things from my house and bring them to yours while Gram-Gram is out on the town." His eyes came to hers. "That is, if you're still enjoying our little ruse."
"I'm enjoying it." The words came out too fast, giving her away.
And Grady didn't miss it. His lips pulled into a wicked smile. "That's good to hear, because I've got plenty more ideas up my sleeve."
Warmth bloomed low in her belly, rushing to pool lower. "What kind of ideas?"
Grady moved in closer, his big body blocking out the morning sun. "I think I'll let them be a surprise."
She swallowed hard as anticipation and excitement swirled in her belly, nearly making her forget the events of the past few minutes. She started to feel guilty about it, but maybe Grady was trying to forget too. He said having her here made it easier, and maybe that was because she provided a distraction.
And if that's what he wanted, she was happy to give him all sorts of other things to think about.
Evelyn leaned closer, knees spreading wider as she inched toward him, thighs braced around Grady's hips. "Maybe I should come up with a few ideas of my own." She traced one finger down the center of his chest before hooking it into the waistline of his jeans. "That way I'm not the only one who has something to look forward to."
“I think I like plotting with you, Ev.” Grady reached out to tip her chin up. “I can’t wait to see what you come up with.”
His lips hovered over hers. For a second she thought he was going to kiss her, but, like this morning, his mouth didn’t so much as brush hers before he backed up. “We should get going.”
He grabbed her behind the knees and swung her around in the seat before closing her inside the truck. It was a little abrupt. And a lot disappointing.
But maybe it was better if they didn't interact too much while there was a chance his mother could see it. She was clearly suffering and something like that might only make her more confused.
Grady got behind the wheel and slowly eased them back out onto the road. He turned away from town and headed for Grizzly Peak, the mountain both he and Gertrude called home. As much as she hated what just happened, she wasn't upset about finally getting to see the place Grady called home. She might have taken a minute or two to imagine the place when she picked Gertrude up. Or dropped her off. Or looked in the general direction of the mountain.
"How long have you lived on Grizzly Peak?" Over the months, she’d sort of developed her own little backstory for Grady, but it was becoming more and more clear it wasn't even remotely close to what his real life was like. Not only was Grady not quite as easy-going as he seemed, but his day-to-day experience seemed to be quite a bit more complex than she guessed. Between working for the police department, dealing with his sick mother, and running the ranch, it was no wonder he had a slightly bossy edge to his personality. He had a lot to get done and not nearly enough time to accomplish it.
"I think I bought my place six or seven years ago." Grady stared out the windshield, looking significantly less relaxed than he was this morning when they woke up. "Part of me planned to stay on the ranch forever, but this place came up for sale and I decided to live there. At least for a little while."
"Does that mean you expect to move back to the ranch?" Obviously he couldn't move back there now, not with the way his mother seemed to struggle to understand who he was. But there would come a point where it wouldn't be an issue any longer.
It was probably one of those blessing and a curse sort of things. Watching someone you love suffer was miserable and you didn't want them to suffer anymore, but the end of their suffering would be...
The end.
"I guess I'll just have to wait and see how things shake out." Grady shrugged. "There's not much I can do but take life as it comes right now." He blew out a loud breath. “And lately it’s been coming at me like a fucking freight train.”
She understood that. It was how she’d felt the past year, taking on a whole different sort of life than what she’d had in New York. At the time she thought it was awful to face something so different it left her feeling stupid and incapable.
But today put it into perspective.
What Grady was dealing with was awful. The most terrible, miserable thing she could imagine. And he’d been handling it alone.
