Page 85 of A False Start
A bird swoops past, and his young horse flinches.
“Well, stop acting like a grumpy old man.”
“I told you I had something I needed to work out.”
“For what? You really didn’t tell me shit. And I’m just supposed to sit around here twiddling my thumbs, all fucking confused and horny, waiting for you to do whatever cryptic bullshit you’re doing?”
He growls and hops off his horse when we hit a long metal gate that leads into a big open field, unlocks it and swings it wide.
“Are we back to not talking? Aftereverything?” I scoff, agitation rising in my chest as I urge Spot into the open field, not a clue where we’re going. Based on the sun’s position, this must be the land that separates Gold Rush Ranch from my brother’s farm, Cascade Acres.
Griffin gets back onto his horse as it skitters sideways. His big palm slides up its neck and I’m momentarily jealous. I want those hands onme.But he needs a couple of weeks forsomething.
He murmurs gently to the horse, taking me back to the night we spent together. The words he murmured against my skin. The way he claimed me as his.Mine,he said. But now he’s pushing me away? Again? Ignoring me.
And it enrages me.
“Did last weekend not mean anything to you?” His head shoots up like I’ve just slapped him. “Just tell me! I can’t stand not knowing. I mean, I’m supposed to be the immature one here, right? Can you just fucking tell me something? Anything? You? Me? Us? This land? Are we fuckingtrespassing?” I wave a hand as I shout the last word, my agitation boiling over.
And it’s that flailing motion that sets his horse off. The bay rears on his hind legs before scooting to the side, and I distract Griffin just enough that he’s caught off guard. His body topples to the ground with a heavy thud. I swear it rattles my bones just watching it happen. I hear my scream, but it doesn’t sound like mine. It sounds distant, drowned out by the pounding hooves of his horse taking off and blood rushing through my ears.
He’s flat on his back when I jump off Spot and race to his side. I know barely anything about his head injury, but I suspect that a good thump to the head is not what he needs. I think of how adamant he was about wearing a helmet and am immensely grateful he’s been a stickler for safety.
“Griff. Griff.” I fall to my knees beside him, hands clutching at his shirt, feeling his firm, warm skin beneath my hands. “Griffin!” I sound shrieky and frantic as I check him over, straight into his dark eyes.
He bursts out laughing.
“Are you okay?” I pant out, trailing my hands over his beautiful body as though I could heal whatever hurts just by running my fingers over it.
And the asshole just laughs harder.
“Griffin! Are. You. Okay?” I swing a leg over him, straddling his waist. Because clearly the idiot is fine. Unless he doesn’t stop laughing. Then I’m going to be the one to hurt him. Why does someone so fucking annoying have to be the only person I’ve ever been so consumed with?
“No.” He laughs, scrubbing a hand over his face. “I’m in love with a fucking crazy person.”
I still. His body shakes beneath me as I struggle to wrap my mind around the words that just spilled from his lips.
“What?” The blood drains from my face.
He sighs and places his hands over mine, which are now braced against his pecs. He gives me a little tug, clamping me onto him and forcing me to meet his eye. “I’m not telling you anything because I’m embarrassed about what I’ve done in the past. And I don’t know what to say. You deserve so much fucking better than me. I’m still trying to wrap my brain around it all.”
He shakes his head, huffing out a disbelieving breath. “I’ve spent years scaring people away by being a growly asshole. And then you waltzed in, and even when I’m on my worst behavior, when other people back away slowly, you just sit there smiling. Looking at me like I hung the fucking moon. I want todeservethat look. And right now, I don’t. Right now, you wouldn’t look at me like that. I want to lay it all out for you. I want to make a plan to show you I’m serious. Becausethat’swhat you deserve. So just let me work this out in the only way I know how, okay?” He rolls his lips together, no doubt taking in the shell-shocked expression on my face.
“And also, I own this land. I held onto it when I sold the main farm to your brother. So, we aren’t trespassing.”
The scent of sweet grass swirls around me. I gaze out over the beautiful rolling hills, the greens, the golds. There is so much about this man I don’t know. He’s so secretive, so restrained in so many ways. So accustomed to doing everything on his own. But my heart doesn’t seem to care. It practically beats out of my chest for him.
I should be more scared about what he’s just told me. Whatever shit he’s hiding sounds problematic. But I’m a little hung up on another part of what he just told me, and deep down, I know there’s very little he could do to scare me off. “Can you back up to the part before that?”
His full lips quirk up. He looks so fucking good when he smiles. Younger and more carefree. It’s worth waiting for, worth all the grumpy glares in between when I get a peek at this version of him. This version that onlyIget. It feels so good to have something all my own.
I want Griffin to be all mine.Mine.All the scowls, and growls, and smiles. All the hickeys. A streak of possessiveness flashes through me as I let my mind wander to other women who have gotten those things from him in the past. I want to claw their eyes out. Few people have truly loved me in my life, and I’m so desperate to be told that. Tofeelthat. If I get it, I’ll never let it go.
“The part about you being a crazy person?”
Dick.
“Yeah. That part.”
