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Chapter 1
Blake
I slam the door closed behind me as I enter my brother Ty’s home, making his wife jump. Her hand flies to her chest, and her mouth drops open in surprise. She shakes her head at me then lets out a sigh. Everyone in the Jennings family is loud in some way. We’ve never been a quiet bunch.
“Little early to be mad,” Mary-Jane says, going back to cutting something on the kitchen counter.
The smell of bacon and eggs fills the room and makes my mouth water. But she’s right. It is too early to be as fucking pissed as I am. I’m more than pissed. I’m walking around in a state of agony and there is only one person who can fix it. And she won’t give me the time of day.
This was the fourth morning in a row I’d woken up from a wet dream about her. This time it was of her riding me. Digging her nails into my chest as she took her pleasure and moaned my name. I had a vision of her dark hair, usually in a tight braid, spilling free and falling around her. I watched it bounce with every glide of her hips down on my cock.
“Fuck,” I mumble, trying to push the thought from my head as my cock comes to life. It can’t be normal for a guy to walk around like this. I’m constantly rock hard, and it never seems to ease. The smallest thought of her and he’s throbbing, begging to have her. It’s driving me fucking insane with need. It’s eating at me, and I’m starting to feel like I’m going to crack. I don't know what will happen when that time comes.
Mary-Jane rolls her eyes when what sounds like a bull comes stomping down the hallway. My older brother fills the room, and he’s sporting a pissed-off face, too. I’m sure we look identical in our frustration.
“You fu-freaking knock when you come in here. You had no clue if my wife was even dressed,” Ty barks, pointing at me.
I have to stifle a laugh at the correction of his own curse word. No one curses more than my brother. Well, like he used to. Now that their little boy, TJ, is here, Ty is trying to clean up his language. It’s not working out so great.
“And you.” He turns to look at his wife, who places her hands on her hips, clearly not intimidated by Ty in the least. Even if he is easily double her size. “Why was the door unlocked?”
“I fed little TJ out on the porch swing early this morning. When he fell back asleep, I put him back down,” she tells him tartly.
Ty walks over to her, picking her up and placing her on the counter before stepping between her legs.
“I didn’t even feel you get out of bed.” He says it so softly I almost don’t hear it.
“’Cause you’re not sleeping. You work this farm all day, then you try to get up with me for feedings.”
“I worry about you getting worn out,” he tells her.
“The only one getting worn out is you. I’m fine, Ty,” she tells him as he drops his head to hers and gives her a kiss.
I stand there and watch, so jealous my teeth hurt. I’ve always been the laidback one in the family, and now I feel like a live wire is shocking the shit out of anyone I come near. I never thought Ty would be the first one out of us to get married. Dolly’s still a little young, so I’d always thought I’d be the first. Hell, before Mary-Jane showed up, Ty couldn’t even get it up, compliments of a bull-riding accident a few years previous. I’m starting to wish I had the same problem. I never have any blood left in my brain with it all in my dick. Maybe that's why I always come across as an asshole, when before I was always the coolest of the Jennings.
Then there’s Trace. He doesn’t even know women exist. The only thing he looks at with doe eyes is food. Has been that way as long as I can remember.
Now me, I always knew I wanted what our parents had. But I didn’t think that was possible. I’d never met a woman who even sparked an interest within me to head down that road. Not until the day I saw Luciana and I knew she was it. She was what I’d been waiting for. She hit me like a truck loaded down with bricks. Might sound crazy, but it was there and I knew it. One look and I knew she’d be mine. I felt it bone deep, something I’d never felt before in my life.
The first time I laid eyes on her, she was standing outside the veterinary office in town. I was across the road from her, talking to some tourists and giving them directions, when my eyes landed on her. I stopped mid-sentence and stared at her. When her eyes finally came to mine and she gave me a soft smile, all the air left my lungs. But it was gone as fast as she gave it, and she turned to walk inside the clinic. Since that day, I’ve been trying to get her attention and I’m failing miserably. I’m not used to this. I’m the light-hearted one in the family. The smooth talker. But Luciana wasn’t having any of it. The most I could get out of her were one-word responses, no matter how hard I tried. But I’ve seen her with other people. With everyone else she laughs and smiles. I’ve even seen her giving people some sass. I want that aimed in my direction, but I can’t get it from her. When she sees me coming, a concrete wall falls into place and she does everything she can to avoid me. It’s driving me fucking insane. At first I thought it was cute, but as time goes on, I feel like I’m going to explode from need f
or her. Like I’m running out of oxygen. If I don’t have her soon, I feel like I’ll die. And I don’t mean beneath me in my bed. Don’t get me wrong, I want that, too, but it’s more than that. I need her. All of her.
“There are other girls in town, Blake. Plenty who have been trying to get with you for a while,” Ty says, breaking into my thoughts once again. “It’s not like you don’t flirt with everyone.”
“I don’t flirt. You just think having manners is flirting.”
Mary-Jane starts to giggle because I’m right. The thought of another woman only pisses me off. I already have one. I’ve had her from the moment I saw her. As far as I’m concerned, she’s the only woman who exists for me.
I don’t date girls from town. That’s like shitting where you eat, but that rule went out the window with Luciana. None of the rules apply when it comes to her. She’s the one. We aren’t together and I’m already lost for her, thinking about how I’d never let her get away from me. She might not know it yet, but she’s mine and there is no way in hell I’m ever letting her go. Maybe I should stop trying to be the nice guy. Moving in slow and trying to get her attention hasn’t worked. I need another plan. One that works a whole lot faster. Otherwise I’ll up in the loony bin or something. I feel like that’s the direction I’m headed.
I move towards the kitchen breakfast bar and take a seat, knowing Mary-Jane will make me something to eat for breakfast. God knows I can’t cook to save my life. Dolly, our little sister, will sometimes take pity on me and come over and make me some meals, but she’s been MIA a lot lately. I should probably look into that, make sure she isn’t getting into trouble.
“Don’t you have some land to tend?” my brother says.
“There is enough breakfast for everyone,” Mary-Jane says in a chastising tone.
“He’s not eating what I plan on eating,” Ty growls, and Mary-Jane smacks his chest playfully. He smiles at her and they laugh. The change I’ve seen in my brother is crazy. He hasn’t smiled this much since before we lost our parents and he took over watching out for all of us. Goes to show you what the love of a good woman can do for you.
“Besides, I’ve got a plan,” Mary-Jane says, looking over her shoulder at me and then back to Ty. “Down.” Ty gives her one last kiss before pulling her from the counter and placing her on her feet.
“A plan for me?” I question, not sure what she thinks she can do.
“Yep. I came up with it last night. It’s perfect.” She claps her hands excitedly, her dark curls bouncing with the motion. Ty reaches out and absently starts playing with one, not caring about our conversation in the least. “So I got an email from the Long View Veterinary Clinic yesterday.”
With that, she has my full attention. I know that’s where Luciana is working. The clinic has been in town for as long as I can remember, and Dr. Long is always hiring new people here and there to help with the workload. It can be hard to keep up with all the farms around here, not to mention the usual house pets.
“Well,” Mary-Jane says, leaning in. “I guess Luciana wants her specialty to be in large farm animals and cattle, so she doesn’t have to stay in the clinic. Dr. Long asked if we could use her help. She wants to work some barns.” There aren’t a lot of vets who know how to treat horses. Dr. Long is one of them, but he’s a busy man and can’t always get out to the land fast enough. I could see why he’d hire someone with that interest. It’s much needed around here. “He’s been training her and thinks she’s ready to go out on her own. I was thinking I’d let her come out here, stay with Ty and me. Since this family has four farms between us, we have more than enough to keep her busy. Then you can finally try to get close with her. Maybe even—”
“Not happening,” Ty chimes in. Apparently he can twirl Mary-Jane’s hair and listen at the same time.
“No, it’s not,” I agree. I don’t like that idea one bit. Though I know her family probably isn’t going to like the idea I have, either. I know she lives with them still, ’cause I might have done some light stalking. Followed her home a few times when she left the clinic after dark on her long drive home.
“What? I just gave you a freaking gift.” Mary-Jane shakes her head like I’m crazy.
“She’s not staying here. I only have a couple of months left where I can fuc—bang my wife wherever I want without someone walking in on us.” Ty voice leaves no room for argument. He will give Mary-Jane just about anything she asks for. Unless he’s asked to sacrifice any time with her.
“She stays with me. Besides, I’ve got two wild horses I need a hand with. I can use all the help I can get and they’re over on my land.”
Mary-Jane studies me for a second.
“I don’t think she’s going to like that very much,” MJ says, making we wonder how close she and Luciana are. Hell, does she talk to everyone in this town but me?
“She doesn’t have a choice. She wants to work on Jennings land, then she only has one option: doing it from mine.” I know it’s a dick thing to demand, but I’m beyond caring. I know what would happen if she was staying here at Ty’s. I’d snap and end up showing up and throwing her over my shoulder and storming out, probably making things worse. It would be better if she stayed with me. Then I couldn’t just lose it one day.
Mary-Jane lets out a little huff, but I know she’s in. It’s the same sound she makes when Ty cavemans her into doing something. “All right, I’ll call Dr. Long. But I have a feeling you’re going to have a fight on your hands.”
I couldn’t agree more. Looks like I’ve now got three wild horses to break in.
Chapter 2
Luciana
“Are you going to take the job?”
I look over to my older sister Fernanda, who’s washing dishes. She points to the paper in my hands, and I fold it up, putting it in my back pocket. I grab a dish towel and dry the ones she’s finished with as her three kids run through the kitchen at full speed. She yells at them in Spanish and they stop in their tracks, then creep slowly away from us, not wanting to get into trouble.
“You sound exactly like Mom,” I say, elbowing her.
“I guess I’m on a roll tonight, so I’ll keep nagging like she used to. Are you going to take the job or not, Luciana?”
I sigh and shrug. “I don’t know.” I let out a long breath.
She dries her hands and then turns to me. I can feel her eyes boring into the side of my face, but I don’t look up to meet them. She doesn't just sound like our mom, she can also cut you with a look, getting us spilling all our truths.
“Luciana,” she snaps, and my eyes come to hers. “This is your dream. You have to do this. You’ve been working in school for so long, and you were finally able to get into Dr. Long’s office. It’s over two hours one way for you to get there every day. If you were able to work on a farm full time, you’d get the clinical hours you need in no time. Then you’d be able to finish and become a vet. The real deal.”
I nod, knowing she’s right. But I look around the small house and think of all of my responsibilities here. Of leaving them. I might be gone a lot between the drive to the clinic, the hours there, and studying, but I do help as much as I can here. It might not be a ton, but it’s something, and a little goes a long way.
“Stop that. Stop it right now.” She points her finger at me. “I can see your brain already trying to talk yourself out of it. When Mama got sick you tried to give up on your dream, but we wouldn’t let you. And now that she’s gone you don’t have that excuse anymore. Mateo and I may not have much, but we work hard and we make it just fine. Don’t you dare use us as an excuse for quitting your dream.”
“Fernanda—” I try to speak, but she interrupts me.
“There’s nothing to say. You’re going. And when Dad gets home, you’re going to tell him. Don’t ask, tell. Lo entiendes?” She says it like a question, but it’s anything but.
I want to get mad and tell her she’s not the boss of me, but she’s only pushing for me to follow my dreams. How
can I be mad at her? I’d do the same thing if it were her. “Yes, I understand.”
Before I can say another word, Mateo and our dad come in the side door. Mateo immediately scoops up Fernanda and kisses her on the neck. She giggles, and I can see the blush on her cheeks as she closes her eyes and breathes him in. My heart aches at how in love they are. They have been since they were sixteen, and not a day has gone by since that he hasn’t worshiped the ground she walks on.
“Hey pequeña,” my dad says, coming over and kissing me on the cheek.
“Eat while it’s still hot,” Fernanda says, still blushing from Mateo’s welcome.
The men sit down, and I go back to drying dishes and trying to think of a way to tell my father what I want to do.
“Luciana has some big news,” Fernanda says, and I roll my eyes. Mateo grabs her, pulling her into his lap. Guess she took care of that for me.
I pull the letter out of my back pocket and hand it to my father. Dr. Long gave it to me before I left today and told me to have an answer by tomorrow. I’d wanted this so badly, but dreaming is a lot different than doing. And now that I’ve been given the chance to leave home and work on a farm full time, I’m scared.
I wait silently, watching my dad read the note and then pass it to Mateo. As much as my sister runs the house, we all respect our father’s wishes. If he doesn't want me to go, then there is no discussion.
We all live in the house my father built when he and my mother came to America. He started saving as soon as he could work in Mexico, until he had enough money to come here and buy a piece of land. He and my mother made our home and had my sister and me a few years later. We grew up here, and when Mateo asked my father for permission to marry Fernanda, my father said yes, but on the condition that they live here. Our culture is very much about helping each other and living together as a family unit, so the fact that I’m asking to leave home and live somewhere else is a big deal. My mother knew my dreams of working with animals and living on a farm. She always supported me in this, but when she died three years ago from breast cancer, I felt like a piece of that dream died with her.
