Page 57 of Cowboys Next Door

I snort, shaking my head as I flop onto the sofa in the living room, Eli taking one of the overstuffed armchairs. Rose remains standing with Hudson, her eyes wide and disbelieving.

“You guys don’t control my decisions,” she growls. “Iwilldo what’s best for Gran!”

A burst of heat rushes through me at her passion, her anger arousing me. But I’m angry, too. I’m mad that she doesn’t realize she’ll be sucked back into the life she’s always known, lured into the world she left behind.

“The best thing for your grandmother is having you here,” I intone. “With everything that’s going on…”

“Can’t you see how happy she is that you’ve come? Leaving will only upset her,” Eli adds.

Rose’s brow furrows. “I really don’t understand you. This is for her. If I don’t find a solution to this eminent domain problem, she’ll be homeless, and so will I.”

Slowly, she sinks onto the couch beside me, and I reach out instinctively to touch her knee. For a moment, I think she’s going to pull away, her annoyance palpable, but she doesn’t, her form relaxing under my fingertips.

“We won’t let that happen.” I squeeze her hand gently as I’m overcome by affection for her. “You think we could ever let that happen to your grandmother? Or to you?”

She cocks her head to the side. “But you won’t let me go. Is it because I need to borrow a truck?”

Rose stares at me, and I’m reminded of the first time I kissed her, to stop her from yelling at Eli and me. I’m getting the same urge now as Eli’s hands fall on her shoulders. Our eyes meet, and he exhales.

“No,” he confesses. “We just don’t want you to go.”

She tilts her head up and looks at him, shaking her blonde tresses. “But I’ll be back,” she swears. “I’m just going for a few days.”

“You say that now, but once you’re back where you’re from…” Eli shrugs and rubs her shoulders nervously.

“There’s nothing for me in Washington, guys,” she laughs sadly. “If there was, I would have gone back already. Trust me when I say I don’t miss it there. I don’t think I could ever go back, and I wouldn’t leave Gran…”

Her eyes flicker from one of our faces to the next, and I want to embrace the flame of comfort her words give me.

“But it’s more than that… I really can’t leave you guys.”

I want to believe her, and I can see Eli struggling with the same demons.

“A few days to get what I need in Seattle,” she goes on. “That’s all I’m doing.” She tips her head back to look at Eli standing over her. “I’ll bring you each back a souvenir, and I’ll call every day,” she teases. “You’ll get tired of hearing from me.”

“We can’t get tired of you, Rosie,” he sighs, his massage growing deeper, more deliberate as Hudson draws closer. “That’s the problem.”

“You might be the first thing the three of us have ever agreed on in our entire lives,” Hudson chuckles, and even I can’t help but laugh and nod in agreement.

Hudson sits at her feet, his hands caressing the material of her jean legs as he looks up at her. “The decision is ultimately yours,” he tells her quietly. “You’re right: we can’t make you stay. But I think the sentiment is clear.”

Rose exhales deeply and closes her eyes as my hand trails higher up her leg, toward the center.

“But if you go, you’ll be missing out on all this for all those days.” I rise to my knees to find her earlobe.

Goosebumps erupt over her body, and I smile to myself.

She wants to stay. We just need to convince her.

CHAPTER20

Rose

They really don’t want me to go!

Connor’s hand presses harder against my center, his lips curling into my earlobe as he whispers sweet nothings. Eli’s fingers dig deeper into my shoulders, and I sink further back against the cushion of the couch, allowing all six hands to caress separate parts of my body.

They think I could really leave this? When have I ever been cared for more in my life?

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