Page 69 of Love Me Back
Tyson opened his mouth, and then quickly shut it. I didn’t know what he’d planned to say, but I was glad he kept it to himself. He nodded once and shut the door.
Jessie whipped the blanket off her head and frowned at me. “I don’t know why he hates me.”
“He doesn’t hate you. He’s worried I’m chasing a dream I can’t catch. It’s what we all worry about with each other. The only thing our parents ever asked of us was to do what made us happy. It’s why Carson and I didn’t interfere when Ty wanted to join the club.”
“What were they like?”
“My parents?” She nodded, and I thought about the best way to describe them both. “My dad was tough. He was a cowboy through and through. He worked for Pops. That’s how he met my mom. He was about seven years older than her, but he loved her to pieces. If us boys disrespected her in any way, he was on us immediately. He used to tell us that our mom brought us into the world and if we didn’t show her the respect she deserved, he would take us out. He meant it too.”
“He sounds wonderful.”
“He really was.” I missed my parents so fucking much. The first few years they were gone, we all barely survived. Hudson was the worst. He barely spoke. Got up before dawn, worked the ranch, and didn’t sleep until sometimes well after dark. We thought he was trying to follow them to their graves.
Emerson was barely eighteen. He never really got a chance to sow his oats. We were all too busy taking care of Tyson and Addie. And Pops, even though he thought he was taking care of us.
“What about your mom?”
“You remind me of my mom.” Her eyes widened, and I chuckled. “She was a pistol. Mary Powell spoke her mind and didn’t care who she upset. She always said, the truth didn’t have time for feelings. Pretty words never got the work done, and life was too damn busy to sugarcoat it.”
“She sounds like my mom.”
“Tell me about her.”
She shook her head. “Maybe later. We shouldn’t keep my uncle waiting.” She crawled out of bed and walked to thebathroom. With a hand on the doorway, she looked at me over her shoulder. “If you hurry, I can help you shower.” Then she winked and walked away.
I threw the blankets off and swung my legs over the side of the bed. I was tempted to launch myself onto the floor and crawl to the bathroom. But I didn’t want her to have to lift me into the shower. So I moved as fast as my broken body would let me and met her in the bathroom.
With two of us in there, it might have taken a little more time than it needed to. Though I had to say, shower sex was a little less dangerous when you sat on a chair and let your woman ride your cock while she made herself come.
The morning was spent driving over the ranch. I showed Garcia the horses we had available to go now, as well as the yearlings that weren’t fully trained yet.
We moved to the breeding barn, and he looked over the stock we had. He had options as far as horses went. He only had to decide whether he wanted them now, or wanted to wait until the younger horses were trained. The other option was having a horse bred specific to his needs.
Though he wasn’t fooling anyone. I knew horses weren’t the reason he was here. And when Jessie went back to the house to help Addie get ready for the cookout, he made it known.
“You have an impressive operation here, Grayson.”
“Thank you. Though we both know you aren’t really here to buy horses.” I crossed my arms and waited for him to deny it.
“On the contrary, I would like to purchase a few for my grandchildren. I do not make it a habit to lie, especially when it concerns business.”
“We want no part of your business. Jessie is mine, and I plan to make her my wife. That is not a door that you can open toexpand any part of your dealings.”
Garcia smiled at me; it was not a pleasant smile that said he was happy. Quite the opposite. It was a smile that men shared when they struggled to keep their temper in check. King had a similar smile. I had seen it on more than one occasion.
Jessie’s father, Dario, glared at me, while her brother, Jamie, looked away and coughed into his hand. Two of these men thought they could intimidate me. They assumed I would be easy to scare. They were wrong. I might be broken, but I wasn’t weak.
“I have no intention of pulling my niece into any part of my business. We do not involve our women. But I will concede that I had a reason beyond the horses to come here. I wanted to be sure she was happy and well provided for. She may not believe it, but she is very important to our family.”
“She is equally important to mine.”
Garcia nodded without a word. The moment was awkward as no one spoke again for several minutes until Hudson found us.
“Gray, King is here.”
“Gentlemen, if you will follow me, I will introduce you to Kingston O’Rourke. The president of the Silver Shadows MC.”
“Lead the way,” Garcia said with a smile.
