Page 24 of Until Easton

He sighs. "Your funeral." Then shakes his head. "I'll see what I can find out and take care of it," Miles says. A few minutes later, I watch the taillights of Miles' car disappear the further he drives away from the ranch house. Becca's grandad leans back in his rocking chair on the front porch and folds his arms. "You and my granddaughter have formed a serious attachment to each other." Arthur gazes out at the setting sun.

"Yes, sir. I like her—more than like her if I can be honest." I lower myself to sit on the porch swing nearby.

"I can tell." He pauses for a beat. His chair creaks with the rocking back and forth. "My granddaughter is one of a kind. Doesn't nothing on God's green earth mean more to me than her," Arthur tells me.

"I feel the same."

Arthur clears his throat. "Good." Then stands. "I like you, Easton. Keep making her smile as you do, and it will stay that way." As he's walking toward the door, Becca steps outside.

"Hey." She kisses his cheek. "Your medicine and milk are sitting beside your recliner, and they have a John Wayne marathon playing on the TV."

"Thank you, sweetheart."

Becca joins me on the porch swing, and I tuck her into my side. "So, a cat, huh? I didn’t peg you as a cat person. What happens to him when you're on the road?"

"Take him with me," I tell her, and she laughs.

"You take your cat on tour with you—how does that work?"

"We tour on the bus mostly, so he hangs out there. And, if we happen to stay in a hotel," I shrug, "I sneak him in."

"You must love that cat," Becca says, then we sit in silence for a few minutes before she asks, "Are you concerned with the break-in?"

I sigh. "I am. The letters I've received over the past year never really bothered me, but this shit is too batshit crazy for my liking." Before we can get any deeper into the conversation, my phone rings, I pull it from my pocket, and Becca sees Emerson and my niece's faces on the screen. "My sister." I answer the phone. "Hey," I say to Emerson and look to Becca, who goes to move away.

"I'll give you some privacy. I need to check on my grandad anyway."

"Hold on, Em," I tell my sister, then pull Becca back to me. "Give me your lips before you go."

"You're very bossy."

"You like it." I cover her mouth with mine. When we finally break away, Becca's pupils dilate, and her eyes become hooded with desire. The way she looks at me has my cock swelling. "I'll come to find you."

"You better." Becca walks into the house, and I lift the phone to my ear.

"Are you still with me?"

"Alright. Spill it," Emerson demands. "I just overheard a very heated lip wrestling match with you and a mystery woman."

"Her name is Becca. Her family owns the ranch."

"Don't leave this girl with a broken heart," Emerson warns.

"She's different, Em," I admit, and the lack of a smart-ass remark from my twin causes me concern. "Em, are you still there?"

"I'm here." She's quiet for a few more seconds. "You're serious?"

"She's the one, Em. My person. Becca is my yesterday, today, and all of my tomorrows." I hear my sister sniffle. "Are you crying?"

"You tell anyone, and I'll kick your ass," Emerson threatens, and I laugh. "East."

"Yeah?"

"I'm so fucking happy for you," Emerson says, and emotion pools in my chest.

"Thanks, Em."

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